Athaliah No More
Greetings in the Lord~
Today's word comes from 2 Chronicles 22 and also Psalm 109. For me, 2 Chronicles 22 tells of a time period of Israel's Biblical history that is really interesting, and Psalm 109, well it kind of scares me, to tell you the truth. I'll let you read that one on your own! While the passages are completely unrelated as far as who and when the instances took place, there are common themes, however, namely, that there comes a time when enough is enough and God determines the downfall of rebellious individuals. Also, both passages talk about people carrying out great treachery, deceitfulness, and violence to achieve their selfish ambitions, while interestingly enough, the Lord also raises up people to carry out His purposes, which, truth be told, might also be seen as treacherous and violent! Herein lies the great conundrum of understanding Providence, free will and the will of God. Does God have favorites? It would seem so, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." Romans 9 does an excellent job of discussing this "Sovereign Choice" of God and His love for those who love and obey Him, but today I must move on to the word at hand.
So, at 2 Chronicles 22 we are thrown into the third generation of the dramatic saga of the dynasty of Omri (of Israel's northern kingdom, evil) and the house of Jehoshaphat (of Israel's southern kingdom, Judah--good). Only by this point, intermarriage had occurred between the two kingdoms, which led to the spiritual corruption of Judah, Israel's southern kingdom. So what results is much unnecessary bloodshed as these family members eliminate their relative rivals for the throne, as is the common practice of the pagan kings. They also forget God and begin to worship idols and lead the people astray. It is at this point that the Lord determines, enough is enough, so it seems, and raises up circumstances like war and diseases and also warriors to purge the kingdoms of the spiritually corrupt family line of Omri. Jehu eliminates the house of Omri in the north, and circumstances and Athaliah (Israel's only female ruler and granddaughter of Omri!) eliminate the corruption within the house of Jehoshaphat, preserving only 1 young male heir of the Davidic throne. Upon the untimely death of Athaliah, all is restored back to purity, so it seems, with her grandson Joash, going on to repair the temple of God and tearing down the false idols. Whew--way too much drama!
However, the point to focus on today is the life and actions of Athaliah, who married Jehoram, King of Judah. As a granddaughter of Omri and daughter of the evil King Ahab, she only knew spiritual corruption and the ways of the pagans surrounding Israel. Her mother was Jezebel, a beautiful sorceress and cunning manipulator whose heart was full of violence and greed. With sophistication, Jezebel introduced witchcraft into Israel and the people accepted her idolatrous ways willingly. Unbeknownst to them, the spirit of witchcraft glazes the heart with hard rebellion and dulls the senses to discernment, wisdom, truth and ultimately, guidance by the Holy Spirit. Witchcraft is rejection of God and worship of demons, even the devil himself. It opens the door for spiritual darkness to reign and pervasive spiritual blindness results, as what happened in the northern kingdom of Israel.
In the US, it was the years of the Clintons that most resemble Ahab and Jezebel as idolatry, adultery and spiritualism was brought into the White House in an unassuming way with the displaying of "Easter" trees, the channeling of Eleanor Roosevelt, emails referencing "Molech", and close associations with known occultists like Marina Abramovic. And much like the ancient Israelites, we as a nation were enamored and pleased with them as a ruling couple and did not much fuss over the spiritual corruption or tales of misdeeds that encircled them. Well, similarly, too, a time has come for the intermarriage of "Athaliah" and they will rise up and seek their own power and voice, but will not have the seductive advantages of Jezebel. Rather, these Athaliah's will try to take things by force and bombastic talk. Ruthless, brash, and power-hungry, these Athaliah's will challenge obstinately the framework of legitimacy and truth and goodness that has been ordained by God through His words, our Constitution, and our Judeo-Christian heritage and try to rule with a different vision and beliefs. Such is the raucous time period we are living in now; but as we can see from Israel's history, Athaliah's reign of oppression was short-lived and in the big picture, unimpressive and irrelevant. In the day of her demise, no one will come to her defense or aid or take up the banner they have raised for themselves. Much of the media "outrage" and liberal diatribes these days will likewise be pruned off and fade away. As it is written in Psalm 112:10--"The wicked will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing." Though they flame up quickly as a dry branch, soon will be but an ash heap, blown away by the wind. So it is a good reminder to stay faithful to God; His favor and hand of protection are on those that love and obey Him.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Today's word comes from 2 Chronicles 22 and also Psalm 109. For me, 2 Chronicles 22 tells of a time period of Israel's Biblical history that is really interesting, and Psalm 109, well it kind of scares me, to tell you the truth. I'll let you read that one on your own! While the passages are completely unrelated as far as who and when the instances took place, there are common themes, however, namely, that there comes a time when enough is enough and God determines the downfall of rebellious individuals. Also, both passages talk about people carrying out great treachery, deceitfulness, and violence to achieve their selfish ambitions, while interestingly enough, the Lord also raises up people to carry out His purposes, which, truth be told, might also be seen as treacherous and violent! Herein lies the great conundrum of understanding Providence, free will and the will of God. Does God have favorites? It would seem so, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." Romans 9 does an excellent job of discussing this "Sovereign Choice" of God and His love for those who love and obey Him, but today I must move on to the word at hand.
So, at 2 Chronicles 22 we are thrown into the third generation of the dramatic saga of the dynasty of Omri (of Israel's northern kingdom, evil) and the house of Jehoshaphat (of Israel's southern kingdom, Judah--good). Only by this point, intermarriage had occurred between the two kingdoms, which led to the spiritual corruption of Judah, Israel's southern kingdom. So what results is much unnecessary bloodshed as these family members eliminate their relative rivals for the throne, as is the common practice of the pagan kings. They also forget God and begin to worship idols and lead the people astray. It is at this point that the Lord determines, enough is enough, so it seems, and raises up circumstances like war and diseases and also warriors to purge the kingdoms of the spiritually corrupt family line of Omri. Jehu eliminates the house of Omri in the north, and circumstances and Athaliah (Israel's only female ruler and granddaughter of Omri!) eliminate the corruption within the house of Jehoshaphat, preserving only 1 young male heir of the Davidic throne. Upon the untimely death of Athaliah, all is restored back to purity, so it seems, with her grandson Joash, going on to repair the temple of God and tearing down the false idols. Whew--way too much drama!
However, the point to focus on today is the life and actions of Athaliah, who married Jehoram, King of Judah. As a granddaughter of Omri and daughter of the evil King Ahab, she only knew spiritual corruption and the ways of the pagans surrounding Israel. Her mother was Jezebel, a beautiful sorceress and cunning manipulator whose heart was full of violence and greed. With sophistication, Jezebel introduced witchcraft into Israel and the people accepted her idolatrous ways willingly. Unbeknownst to them, the spirit of witchcraft glazes the heart with hard rebellion and dulls the senses to discernment, wisdom, truth and ultimately, guidance by the Holy Spirit. Witchcraft is rejection of God and worship of demons, even the devil himself. It opens the door for spiritual darkness to reign and pervasive spiritual blindness results, as what happened in the northern kingdom of Israel.
In the US, it was the years of the Clintons that most resemble Ahab and Jezebel as idolatry, adultery and spiritualism was brought into the White House in an unassuming way with the displaying of "Easter" trees, the channeling of Eleanor Roosevelt, emails referencing "Molech", and close associations with known occultists like Marina Abramovic. And much like the ancient Israelites, we as a nation were enamored and pleased with them as a ruling couple and did not much fuss over the spiritual corruption or tales of misdeeds that encircled them. Well, similarly, too, a time has come for the intermarriage of "Athaliah" and they will rise up and seek their own power and voice, but will not have the seductive advantages of Jezebel. Rather, these Athaliah's will try to take things by force and bombastic talk. Ruthless, brash, and power-hungry, these Athaliah's will challenge obstinately the framework of legitimacy and truth and goodness that has been ordained by God through His words, our Constitution, and our Judeo-Christian heritage and try to rule with a different vision and beliefs. Such is the raucous time period we are living in now; but as we can see from Israel's history, Athaliah's reign of oppression was short-lived and in the big picture, unimpressive and irrelevant. In the day of her demise, no one will come to her defense or aid or take up the banner they have raised for themselves. Much of the media "outrage" and liberal diatribes these days will likewise be pruned off and fade away. As it is written in Psalm 112:10--"The wicked will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing." Though they flame up quickly as a dry branch, soon will be but an ash heap, blown away by the wind. So it is a good reminder to stay faithful to God; His favor and hand of protection are on those that love and obey Him.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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