Mark 16

Mark 16 always puts me on edge.  I don't know what to do with the parenthetical information from verse 9-20.  It brings to mind all kinds of questions about the integrity of early manuscripts, the hand of the early church in shaping things, the inerrant nature of the Word of God, etc.

I wish I had time to dig into it, but I suspect that one could spend their entire life digging into it and still not get to the bottom.

The rubber meets the road issue is whether God can guarantee the integrity of His Word as a source of truth for all generations, how literally we take that text, how to treat it with intelligence, how to interpret scholarship and how to discern the bias or impartiality of this scholarship.  Ouch.  It makes my head hurt.

Meanwhile, I have school to get up and running, dishes to clean and errands to run.  I understand what Virginia Woolf meant when she said that a woman writer needs a room of her own, although I'm still not convinced that such a room is the best use of one's life in all but a handful of circumstances.  Instead it seems to me that most writers are unhappy, brooding sorts.  Yes, they have the ability to inspire, but they can also weigh us down with too much ponderous thought.

I've sifted through a bit of the scholarship on the authenticity of the various endings--no easy conclusions.

Psalm 139

This one has to be my all time favorite psalm--the intimacy of God's knowledge of us, the detail of His awareness makes me feel comforted, included, well-loved.

Here are some favorite lines:

"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." -Psalm 139:16

Although I don't believe that the Lord has predestined every detail of our lives, I do believe He is outside of time and knows the scope of things.  He is unbound by time and His perspective is different and more comprehensive in ways that we cannot fully understand.  This is my best guess at the age old question of predestination vs. free will---that both are true and somehow his perspective is perfect and able to include both as equally true because of this.

John Calvin's Commentaries

At the advice of Spurgeon, I'm dipping into John Calvin's commentaries when able. Tough reading. Ponderous. But, there are gems that reveal the depth of his meditations and relationship with Christ along the way:

Portrait attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger

"There is scarcely any assistance God bestows, however evident and palpable it may be to our senses, which our indifference or proud disdain does not obscure." (on Psalm 18)

"If natural things always flowed in an even and uniform course, the power of God would not be so perceptible. But when he changes the face of the sky by sudden rain, or by loud thunder, or by dreadful tempests, those who before were, as it were, asleep and insensible, must necessarily be awakened, and be tremblingly conscious of the existence of a presiding God. Such sudden and unforeseen changes manifest more clearly the presence of the great Author of nature."

Weary of Wandering in Kings

I have been in the books of Kings and Chronicles for a long while now....how long?  Not sure....but at least 4 months, though it feels like 4 years.

It reminds me of the first time I read through Leviticus as a new Christian.  The minutia of the law and regulations seemed to drag on and on....and on.  Funny, but now I typically enjoy Leviticus.


So why is this particular stretch of the Bible wearing me out?  Who doesn't like reading about kings, the key players of the kingdoms?  These books are full of the drama of continual war, conspiracies, and miracles--what's not to intrigue?  Here are some of my thoughts on why I'm struggling in the Era of the Kings:

Confusing Names

One of the biggest struggles within Kings is the need to keep track of many similar names. 

First, there are duplicate names.  Both Israel and Judah contain a Jehoram, an Ahaziah, Jehoash, and a Jehoahaz.  To confuse things further these kings often reign as contemporaries of each other. There are also variants of spellings on the same names: Jehoash can also be Joash.  Jehoram can be Joram. And finally, there are just a whole lot of "Jeho"  "Ahaz"  combos in general.  It requires a good deal of clear thinking to gain any traction when trying to distinguish between and remember these figures to begin with.  The additional element of name confusion requires intense effort.

Weaving Chronicles, Kings & Prophets

Another obstacle is the concurrent accounts of things between Chronicles and Kings.  If a person wishes to read the full accounting of each historical figure or era, they must jump between the chronological accountings in Kings, Chronicles, and the various prophets.  As we have 2 books of both Kings and Chronicles, and a wide entourage of prophets to weave throughout, the reader is forced to jump around constantly.  It's logistically demanding to flip pages, flip commentaries, reconcile the accounts, even when following a clear chronological sequencing.

Same Old Problems, Just New Players

Finally, when reading through the Kings, I find the same old problems cropping up over and over again.  There is the matter of not removing the high places.  There are many kings who do evil in the sight of the Lord and few who do good.  Even those who are good are not THAT good.  Even the best of them tend to have offspring that undo their work.  It's a depressing theme that unfortunately holds true throughout life as well.  Those who do their best are often at the mercy of those who screw it all up.   God looks on, but He doesn't always bring immediate justice.  His pacing and perspective varies...though longsuffering, He will not tolerate injustice indefinitely.   

Kings--Part VI

J8 Amaziah

Joash's son, 25 years old when began reign, reigned for 29 years. He's described as a good king, though he was not in the flavor of David, but of his father. He did not remove pagan shrines from the land. After he was established, he killed his father's assassins though not their children.  Prosperous time for Judah.

He took a census and hired some of Israel's units to accompany Judah. A godly man counseled him against this, so he sent the troops away. These troops plundered villages of Judah on their way home. He fought and conquered the Edomites in the Valley of Salt. Amaziah took plunder from pagan shrines and erected worship to the idols even though counseled against this by a prophet.

Amaziah challenge Israel's King Jehoash to a battle. Jehoash sent back a story of a thistle threatening a cedar and told him that his conquest of Edom shouldn't inflate his ego. Amaziah persisted, so Israel went to war against Judah, routed the army, went into Jerusalem and plundered the temple, destroyed part of the wall, and took hostages too, going back to Samaria. This is deemed judgement for Amaziah worshiping the gods of Edom

"But Amaziah refused to listen, for God was determined to destroy him for turning to the gods of Edom." 2 Kings 25:20

Curious line...the tension between freewill and God's meted justice intrigues me.

Eventually, Amaziah fled to Lachish to escape a conspiracy against him; however, they sent assassins after him who killed him.

I12--Jeroboam II

Son of Jehoash, reigned in Samaria 41 years, which was the longest reign in Israel history.   The first 12 years he co-reigned with his father, Jehoash. He restored the borders to where they were during Solomon's reign and recovered territories near Dead Sea as predicted by Jonah. 

Jonah, Hosea &  Amos all prophesied during Jeroboam II's reign.

 It was a prosperous time for Israel economically, but a regressive time for Israel spiritually.  Constable notes:

As Israel declined spiritually, God strengthened Assyria politically and militarily. The two periods of Israel's greatest decline correspond exactly to the two periods of Assyria's greatest growth, namely, during the Omride dynasty and shortly after Jeroboam II's reign. This is precisely what God had said He would do if His people forsook Him (Deut. 28:1, 25, 43, 44, 49-57). One writer correlated Assyria's rise to power with Israel's apostasy.92

The cause and effect relationship is unmistakable.

"For the Lord saw the bitter suffering of everyone in Israel, and that there was no one in Israel, slave or free, to help them. And because the Lord had not said he would blot out the name of Israel completely, he used Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash, to save them." 2 Kings 14:26

God is actively monitoring the progress of his pet nation. With regard to Amaziah of Judah, his choice was to let Amaziah follow his own tendencies to his destruction. In contrast, he chooses to use Jeroboam II as a tool of mercy to Israel. It makes me also think of Jehu who was used as tool of justice. This teaches that God choose to use the bad for good in all ways....sometimes in the course of allowing their behavior and the consequences to play out: "You reap what you sow." In other instances, the evil man is used for the greater good despite his wickedness. This also seems to speak to the idea that the greater sweep of history is prioritized over the individual man.

J9-Uzziah (Azariah)

16 years old when became king, son of Amaziah who was killed. He reigned 52 years which was the longest reign of either kingdom to this point.  He ruled in Judah during a period when 7 or 8 kings ruled in Israel (Constable's Notes). First 23 years was co-reign with father, Amaziah and last 11 was a coreign with son Jotham.

Went to war against the Philistines, built new towns in the areas he conquered. Meunites paid tribute to him, and he was respected in Egypt. Constructed towers and cisterns. Loved livestock and the soil. He had a trained and well equipped army ready to go and strong men under him.  Uzziah was a popular king.

Rembrandt, Uzziah with Leprosy, 1639  

"He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God, and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him prosper." 2 Chronicles 26:5

"His fame spread far and wide, for the Lord gave him marvelous help, and he became very powerful." 2 Chronicles 26:15

With the advent of his power, Uzziah became prideful and offered incense in the temple. Azaria the high priest, along with 80 priests, went in to reprimand him. Uzziah was furious at the priests and leprosy broke out on his forehead. He had leprosy until the day he died.


Isaiah recorded the events of his life per 2 Chronicles 26:22-23  Isaiah's vision in Isaiah 6 takes place the year Uzziah died.

I13--Zechariah

4th and final king of Jehu's dynasty---all downhill from here.  He reigned only six months before he was assassinated by Shallum in public.

Visuals for Kings

Could be an interesting exercise....courtesy momstoolbox.com

courtesy basic.org

courtesy bible-history.com

Keeping Track of Kings--Part V

One of the clearer charts of the kings--Ken Carlson.org

I-10 Jehu

Jehu reigned 28 years, was an instrument of divine justice.

Elisha called some of his students to find and anoint Jehu, a commander of Israel's army. He took him aside from his comrades and anointed him secretly saying that he would be God's means of eradicating Ahab's line. When he went back to the others, they pressed him to share the conversation and quickly got behind him as king.

He then located Joram who had retreated to Jezreel to recover from wounds he incurred fighting the Syrians. King Ahaziah of Judah was visiting Joram there too (divine timing). A messenger went out to meet them, drawing them out of the tower. Both Joram and Ahaziah went out, meeting him at Naboth's plot. Joram inquired if Jehu had come in peace. Jehu responded that how could there be peace as long as Joram's mother fostered witchcraft and idolatry. Joram shouted treason and sought to flee, though Jehu shot him through the heart with an arrow. His men also killed Ahaziah in his flight.

He called all Baal worshippers to Baal's temple, enclosed them inside, and set the building on fire. He killed of all of Ahab's line and then some (over zealous in killing friends and other leaders).

Israel's territory was reduced during his reign. He is generally considered one of the better kings of Israel, which I don't fully understand.

Image of Jehu from Black Oblelisk, British Museum, 825BC
Jehu giving tribute to Assyrian King
image courtesy of lessonforus.com

British Museum--Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

backstory on the discovery of this obelisk

I-11 Jehoahaz

Jehoahaz reigned 17 years, concurrent with Joash of Judah's reign. He was evil, so the Lord allowed King Hazael of Aram to defeat Israel repeatedly.  At one point he prayed to the Lord and the Lord relented.  The army was greatly reduced during his reign. He allowed Asherah poles to stand.

I-11 Jehoash

Jehoash reigned 16 years, concurrent with Joash of Judah's reign, refused to turn from evil, compared to Jeroboam.

He was with Elisha before he died, and Elisha prophesied partial conquest of Aram because Jehoash shot one arrow through the window but only two more toward the ground expressing a lack of doubt.  Had he shot more to the ground, it would have symbolized greater faith.

He reconquered many of the towns Aram had aquired during his reign after his father's death.

J-7Joash/Jehoash

As a child, Joash was hidden until he was 7 by his sister Jehosheba, then brought forth to reign with the help of the high priest, his uncle, Jehoiada who orchestrated a plot with the help of his commanders and the royal guard.

Made repairs to temple through a new general fund. Later gave the King of Syria all the wealthy objects of the temple and royal palace to stave off the Syrians/Arameans. He was afraid of their King, Hazael, who conquered Gath.

After the death of the high priest, the leaders of Judah went back to worshiping Asherah poles and encouraging the King to abandon the temple. Zechariah, Jehoiada's son, stood in front of the temple and prophesied against them saying that they were hurting themselves in their abandoning of the Lord. The people then plotted to kill him and Joash him to be stoned to death in the courtyard of the temple. His last words were essentially "may the Lord avenge my death."

His trusted officers betrayed him and killed him on the way to Beth-millo.

Keeping Track of Kings--Part IV

courtesy www.stevethomason.net

J5-Jehoram

Jehoram was 32 years old when became king, reigned 8 years--Jehoshaphats' son, married Athiliah, Ahab's daughter. Did evil.  Judah lost control over Edom and also Libnah during this period, and they gained their independence.  Jehoram tried to fight Edom but his men fled.

According to Chronicles, he led his people into pagan worship again after his father had made some positive progress away from this.  He also killed his brothers. Elijah wrote a letter to him prophesying his doom and death from intestinal disease.

It also comments that the Lord stirred up the Philistines and Arabs during his reign.  They attacked his royal palace and looted it, including the capture of his wife and sons.  Only Ahaziah was spared.  The Chronicler's comment:  "no one was sorry when he died."

from Constable's Notes
courtesy of Sonic Light

I8 Ahaziah

Ahaziah fell through lattice in his upper chamber and was sick/injured.  He inquired of a pagan prophet of Baal to see if he would live.  Elijah rebukes him for this.  So Ahaziah died and had no son to take his place.  The throne reverted to his brother Jehoram.

I9 Joram/Jehoram 

Joram reigned over Israel  for five years before the other Jehoram began his reign. Son of Ahab, brother of Ahaziah.

I10 Jehu

Jehu was anointed by Elisha per God's direction.  He was a commander under Ahab.  Elisha was told to find him, anoint him, then open the door and run!  Elisha went to Ramoth Gilead and found Jehu sitting with other army officers.  He pulled him away to talk privately and told him God's plan for him.  When he went back to the others, they pressured him  to tell them what Elisha said and threw their cloaks on the ground to symbolize their allegiance.

Jehu immediately went to Ramoth-gilead where king Joram of Israel was recovering from his wounds.  Ahaziah of Judah was there too visiting.  They heard that Jehu was coming and sent messengers to meet him three times.  Finally they both rode out to meet him, ended up meeting him at Naboth's vineyard.  Jehu confronted him about the wickedness of his family.  Jehoram turned to flee, but Jehu got him between the shoulder blades. Per Jehu's orders, he was thrown on the plot of Naboth's land.  Jehu also pursued  Ahaziah of Judah, chased him and killed him.

He came to Jezreel where Jezebel was in a tower painting her eyelids in preparation for his visit.  Some of her eunichs threw her out the window per Jehu's charge to them.  He then went into the palace and ate and drank.  Later when he thought to bury her, her bones were scattered by dogs, per prophecy.  What a sad death--betrayed by her own men, scattered by dogs, but not less than she asked for.

Jehu sent a challenge to the city of Samaria where Ahab's 70 sons were being raised.  The leaders feared him and sought submission--so at Jehu's request they made two piles of the sons' heads at the city gate.  He also killed all Ahab's friends, adviser's, etc...perhaps over zealously??

Jehu also tricked Baal worshipers to go to the temple and then he closed the doors and set it on fire.  He was executing the Lord's judgment, but wow.

From Constable's Notes for 2 Kings, courtesy of Sonic Light

J6-Ahaziah

Ahaziah came to throne in 12th year of year of Jehoram, King of Israel, 841BC. Mother was Athaliah.   He was the youngest son of Jehoram and the only one left after the marauding Arabs took the rest of the sons.

Chronicles comments after his father, Jehoram's death, Ahab's advisers led him wrong---he made an alliance with Israel to fight King Hazael. 

 He did evil like his grandfather Ahab & grandmother Jezebel.  He was 22 and reigned for 1 year.  He fought with Israel under Jehoram against King Hazael.  He visited the wounded Jehoram in Jezreel, which Chronicles comments was part of his downfall.  This visit was providential, as he and Jehoram went out to meet Jehu, sent by God to execute judgement on Ahab's dynasty.  Jehu killed both the recovering Jehoram and Ahaziah, who fled.  The comment in Chronicles is that there were no others capable of assuming the throne after him within the family.

Athaliah as depicted in Anthoine Dufour's
View desfemmes celebres, c. 1505,
Dobree Museum, Nantes, France

J7-Queen Athaliah

After seven years, Jehoiada, the high priest, organized a plot to bring Joash to the throne.  He gathered 5 commanders who executed the plan, gathering men to guard him and providing them with weapons.  He announced Joash and brought him forth as king, presenting him with the book of the law at the temple.  Athaliah heard noise and ran to the temple to investigate.  Jehoiada had her taken to the city gate and executed

She assumed throne after son, Ahaziah, was killed. Daughter of Ahab and sister of Israel's King Jehoram.  As soon as she assumed the throne, she started killing off other family. Jehosheba, Joash's sister, hid him for six years. Joash was Ahaziah's infant son. 

The King of Israel's Assistant 2 Kings 6--7

"Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. The prophet told the king, “Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.” But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lordmade it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” Elisha said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” This is exactly what happened to him.The people trampled him to death in the city gate." -2 Kings 7:17-20

Grace wanted to know why the assistant was punished so severely for not believing Elisha's unlikely prophecy that grain would be cheap the next day.  Earlier that morning Briggs and I had been discussing how Jesus hid truth through the use of parables to some.

The overarching theme of questions is "why?"   Why does God punish lack of faith in some and not in others. If we are saved by faith through grace and all of this is a gift of God, why are we held responsible for our lack of faith?  I can think of more examples--Peter's feet sinking in the water, Jesus testing Philip in John's account of the feeding of the 5,000.  Why the tests?  Are we to put the natural order of the world aside and push back the rational part of our mind?

Otto Ellinger, "The Seige of Samaria is Lifted"

Perhaps we should not be so quick to strip these instances of their context and extrapolate them to suit our own life situations.  This over-application and oversimplification of the Bible haunts me.  It's much too common these days.  I worry about people who know verses but no context.  It seems a careless way to approach a text and a fast path toward abusing it.  A gem shines best in its setting and the Lord is a master jeweler.  He carefully crafts the settings for the gems of truth in His Word.  How bold we are to strip them out and prefer our own.

I suspect each of us is responsible to be faithful to the measure of truth and light that has been revealed to us at any given time.  Why He reveals much to some and nothing to others is not on my work order--only that I study and respond judiciously to the light He's meted out in my own setting, my own circumstance.

Returning to these stories of various assistants (the Syrian Commander, the assistant to Joram, and Philip the disciple), I'm encouraged to think that the Word bothers to put such weight on these figures.  More of us are assistants and under the leadership of others who may be godless (like the King of Aram) or leadership that is corrupt but should know better (Joram).  Some of us, though not under Jesus Christ directly, are under exceptional people of faith, as Philip was under Jesus, yet we still fail the tests of faith.   I'm thankful that all of these circumstances are not impediments to God.  He works around the faithless to help the faithful.  He sometimes guides us tenderly along as he did with Philip.

But what about the assistant to Joram?  His consequence was to see the miracle, yet to be trampled to death under the feet of the excited mob the following day.  Wasn't Joram more culpable than his assistant?  Why does he escape unscathed, even rewarded with the Syrian plunder. More whys....  And why frame the story of the Syrian army's flight through the eyes of the disparaged lepers?

I've got to get back to the text here.  The historical texts of the Old Testament are tight lipped friends, but they do speak if we listen carefully and thoughtfully.  It's not a skill that comes easy in our culture, but that is no reason to press on and learn to listen to its rhythm...in context.

Here are some snapshots from Matthew Henry's commentary that I'm pondering:

"When the king's skeptical aide questioned the likelihood of such incredible plenty, Elisha added that he would see it with his eyes, but would not eat of it. "If you would believe," writes Moody, "you must crucify the question, 'how?'" (cf. our Lord's disciples before the feeding of the 4000 in Mar_8:4). Man's extremity is God's opportunity of magnifying his own power; his time to appear for his people is when their strength is gone, Deu_32:36." -Matthew Henry

The is the second time I've encountered Matthew Henry phrase, "Man's extremity is God's opportunity."  He must have been understandably fond of it...a useful truth that fits many situations.

"Note, Unbelief is a sin by which men greatly dishonour and displease God, and deprive themselves of the favours he designed for them. The murmuring Israelites saw Canaan, but could not enter in because of unbelief. Such (says bishop Patrick) will be the portion of those that believe not the promise of eternal life; they shall see it at a distance - Abraham afar off, but shall never taste of it; for they forfeit the benefit of the promise if they cannot find in their heart to take God's word." -Matthew Henry

This thought scares me!  There is such a slippery balance between unbelief and healthy skepticism. Skepticism always feels safer.

"The wants of Israel supplied in a way that they little thought of, which should encourage us to depend upon the power and goodness of God in our greatest straits." Matthew Henry

In my own straits, do I lay hold of the truth that God can work them despite the unlikely setting?  I'm certainly a student of the setting and prone to place too much weight on my own self-analysis of the situation than upon God's willingness and ability to work within or above or around it (as he does with Naaman working around Joram, and who would have guessed he would spare unfaithful Israel and Joram through a a supernaturally induced panic attack?  What appears is not always what is.

Part of an installation by Barbara Kruger, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC

"Justly are those thus tantalized with the world's promises that think themselves tantalized with the promises of God. If believing shall not be seeing, seeing shall not be enjoying. This matter is repeated, and the event very particularly compared with the prediction (2Ki_7:18-20), that we might take special notice of it, and might learn, (1.) How deeply God resents out distrust of him, of his power, providence, and promise. When Israel said, Can God furnish a table? the Lord heard it and was wroth. Infinite wisdom will not be limited by our folly. God never promises the end without knowing where to provide the means. (2.) How uncertain life and the enjoyments of it are. Honour and power cannot secure men from sudden and inglorious deaths. He whom the king leaned upon the people trod upon; he who fancied himself the stay and support of the government was trampled under foot as the mire in the streets. Thus hath the pride of men's glory been often stained." -Matthew Henry

Why is it so hard for most of us---certainly me---to give ourselves up to the mysterious workings of God? Did he design us with this inherent weakness? Before the Fall proper, Eve doubted God and listened to the serpent. In paradise the doubt began.