Creative Space for Wanderers
Ahaz follows Jotham, but as with his fellow Israelites in the northern kingdom, he is lured into the ways of wicked and evil people: …and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at …
and Amaziah begins at age 25 and rules for 29 years. He did well in the beginning, but didn’t remove the “high places” and the “people continue to offer sacrifices and burn incense” in such places (). The narrative of the rise and fall of Amaziah has no reference to prophets or seeking God’s will. …
and Chapter 11 begins with the story of Jehosheba, the sister of Ahaziah (Judah) hiding Joash (his son must have been really young) for 6 years while the queen mother (my term) Athaliah ruled Judah. She’s not the least bit righteous! Her ascension to the throne we the result of killing off the rest of …
“Some time later…” we pick up the story where the Arameans continue their annoying military coop attempts. The siege in Samara (i.e., against Joram, king of Israel) has reached the point where people are starving. Joram is convinced this is all at the Lord’s calling, but shows little sign of repentance: The king said, “This …
Moab Defeated by Joint Armies Chapter 3 recounts a time when the kings of Israel (Joram), Judah (Jehoshaphat) and Edom (well…governor of Edom) united to confront Moab. Joram was a notch better than his ancestors, but still far from being good in God’s eyes. Still, for some reason, this union was allowed and the unified …
and “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come Down!’” Ahaziah managed to survive a year as king of Judah (or as it is referred to here, “king of Samaria”), but his days are about to end. He has a fall and is seriously injured, so he dispatches messengers to call upon Baal-Zebub, the god of …
Continue reading “Elijah Succeeded by Elisha; Chariots of Fire”
Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.” This psalm appears to be a reaction to horrible leadership, judges who “devise injustice,” who are wicked from birth! The title attributes this to David which is quite interesting since this would precede Jeroboam and his …