Well, it's back to the home stretch of the journey through Old Testament History. After this journey, I will be visiting the homes of some of that history's most famous men: the prophets! But first, we backtrack to the days of Solomon, the richest, wisest and, unfortunately most decadent of the kings of Judah.
As we saw, he went from a young lover, to a wise leader, to a disillusioned old man. With every year of his long reign he sought to compromise his beliefs to maintain his political power. When he wanted to build a relationship with a tribe or nation, he would marry a beautiful woman close to its leadership. And then, he would take "concubines" to run his expanded household.
After years of high taxes to the people of the land, the power shifted to his only mentioned son and successor, Rehoboam. Members of Solomon's cabinet counseled the young king to ease up on the royal tyranny, but he instead chose to listen to his spoiled friends. Things got worse for the people in and around Jerusalem, and millions "voted" with their feet in a civil war that split the people for the rest of their history as free nations.
The northern kingdom of Israel went from bad to worse, while the southern kingdom of Judah (with Benjamin and Levites joining them), went from good to bad, with two or three revivals as prophets proclaimed coming doom. The end almost came for them all under the Assyrians until the good king of the south prayed and submitted himself to God. Only Jerusalem and some suburbs stood when the Assyrians were wiped out by angels from heaven!
With a new lease on life, Judah continued for about two hundred years, one in four of those years under the reign of the next king, the evil Manasseh. But then, we learn something new! The old king came to his senses by a miracle of God's grace. He couldn't undo his evil, but his grandson oversaw one last revival before the end came when Judah's last king rebelled against Babylon. Just as the prophets had said, judgment fell against both the kingdom and the temple.
The Chronicler ends his tale with a preview of the return from Babylonian captivity. It was time to rebuild under the watchful eye of a series Gentile Kings.
Monday, August 27, 2018
Route 66-17 Theater of Trouble
Before returning to the depressing path of Israel's history, I thought I'd step into the theater and catch a drama God shared with his people some time ago. It is a true story, but told in a way that maximizes the drama.
Set in the days of the patriarchs, maybe even as far back as Abraham, the reader is shown the behind the scenes planning of the tragic tale of trouble coming upon a good man by the name of Job. He had it so good, that his life seemed charmed. But, with God's permission, an adversary orchestrates a reign of terror on this one family. But the patriarch Job made it through two rounds of devastation.
And so, the darkness in the theater just seems to get darker. The audience scratches its collective head, wondering why they came. Why live the good life if nothing good comes of it? But we sit there awaiting the intermission. As Job sits on the ground in misery, his wife will have nothing of it. Where is the man to turn now?
As Act II begins, we find three friends willing to sit quietly and mourn with our hero. But then they begin to speak. We know that what they say makes sense, but that it doesn't apply to Job. Job complains that they don't know what they are talking about. We want to shout at the friends, but we respect the venue. Finally, a young man enters from the wings with a lot of good advice to the well meaning friends. It seems that perhaps even Job is confused.
The concluding act finds Job "face to face" with God Himself! The interrogation begins and Job begins to "get it". Mankind has messed up everything in touches. The system works in spite of them as God works behind the scenes. Though in the "image of God", mankind cannot hope to become a family of gods. Instead, we grow strong against the odds, made stronger because we know that God has our best interests in mind.
As I walk back into the sunlit street of history, I have new insight into what is going on. The story of the rise and fall of the twin kingdoms now has meaning. I can walk those streets, kicking a can down the road. God knows what is at the end of that road.
Set in the days of the patriarchs, maybe even as far back as Abraham, the reader is shown the behind the scenes planning of the tragic tale of trouble coming upon a good man by the name of Job. He had it so good, that his life seemed charmed. But, with God's permission, an adversary orchestrates a reign of terror on this one family. But the patriarch Job made it through two rounds of devastation.
And so, the darkness in the theater just seems to get darker. The audience scratches its collective head, wondering why they came. Why live the good life if nothing good comes of it? But we sit there awaiting the intermission. As Job sits on the ground in misery, his wife will have nothing of it. Where is the man to turn now?
As Act II begins, we find three friends willing to sit quietly and mourn with our hero. But then they begin to speak. We know that what they say makes sense, but that it doesn't apply to Job. Job complains that they don't know what they are talking about. We want to shout at the friends, but we respect the venue. Finally, a young man enters from the wings with a lot of good advice to the well meaning friends. It seems that perhaps even Job is confused.
The concluding act finds Job "face to face" with God Himself! The interrogation begins and Job begins to "get it". Mankind has messed up everything in touches. The system works in spite of them as God works behind the scenes. Though in the "image of God", mankind cannot hope to become a family of gods. Instead, we grow strong against the odds, made stronger because we know that God has our best interests in mind.
As I walk back into the sunlit street of history, I have new insight into what is going on. The story of the rise and fall of the twin kingdoms now has meaning. I can walk those streets, kicking a can down the road. God knows what is at the end of that road.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Rabbit Trails into my Life
Sometimes one just gets bored.
Sitting at my computer with no ambition to speak of, I looked something up on Wikipedia. Being satisfied with the answers found there, I decided to follow a rabbit trail.
That rabbit trail is a version of a game "Six Degrees of Separation" in which actor Kevin Bacon is linked to anyone in the entertainment industry. To me, the diversion is to click on "Random Article" on Wikipedia. That brought me to Koyasan ReihÅkan, a very unlikely place to begin. Scrolling down the article about ancient Chinese art, I came upon the date May 1, 1961, one of two dates in my lifetime. Not exactly a good springboard, but it was something.
I got lucky, for on that date, when I was a poor boy living in northern Florida, a book had been published based on something I was somewhat familiar with: life in the deep south. The book was To Kill a Mockingbird, which I was told was a crime in Florida where the bird was the state bird. I thought it an odd name for a book and I was only in second grade when it came out. The next year, its author Harper Lee received the Pulitzer Prize for writing it. She had grown up in Monroeville, Alabama, on the Alabama River.
The most famous town on the Alabama River was Selma, the starting point for the famous Civil Rights March to the capital of Montgomery. When I used to visit my grandmother, and step-granddad after she remarried, I was still too young to care much about all the fuss happening there. My grandmother was still working at the Selma Times-Journal at the time. Or I think it was her and not her new husband (they married in 1961, I think). [I apologize for the misremembering]]
Counting my grandparents who lived there I went successfully navigated within 6 degrees from a totally foreign subject -- literally -- to my family. It was a fun exercise and I recommend it to anyone who comes upon this blog. I'd love to hear any successful "Six degrees" anyone comes up with.
Sitting at my computer with no ambition to speak of, I looked something up on Wikipedia. Being satisfied with the answers found there, I decided to follow a rabbit trail.
That rabbit trail is a version of a game "Six Degrees of Separation" in which actor Kevin Bacon is linked to anyone in the entertainment industry. To me, the diversion is to click on "Random Article" on Wikipedia. That brought me to Koyasan ReihÅkan, a very unlikely place to begin. Scrolling down the article about ancient Chinese art, I came upon the date May 1, 1961, one of two dates in my lifetime. Not exactly a good springboard, but it was something.
I got lucky, for on that date, when I was a poor boy living in northern Florida, a book had been published based on something I was somewhat familiar with: life in the deep south. The book was To Kill a Mockingbird, which I was told was a crime in Florida where the bird was the state bird. I thought it an odd name for a book and I was only in second grade when it came out. The next year, its author Harper Lee received the Pulitzer Prize for writing it. She had grown up in Monroeville, Alabama, on the Alabama River.
The most famous town on the Alabama River was Selma, the starting point for the famous Civil Rights March to the capital of Montgomery. When I used to visit my grandmother, and step-granddad after she remarried, I was still too young to care much about all the fuss happening there. My grandmother was still working at the Selma Times-Journal at the time. Or I think it was her and not her new husband (they married in 1961, I think). [I apologize for the misremembering]]
Counting my grandparents who lived there I went successfully navigated within 6 degrees from a totally foreign subject -- literally -- to my family. It was a fun exercise and I recommend it to anyone who comes upon this blog. I'd love to hear any successful "Six degrees" anyone comes up with.
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