Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
"Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son."
Ahab is remembered as one of the more despicable royal heirs of David's throne. And though he humbled himself before God and Elijah, he was not fondly remembered. Melville resurrected the name to describe a monomaniacal, self-righteous sea captain whose messianic pursuit of evil drove him and his whalers to a fatal encounter with it. King Ahab's infamous, but colorful wife lives on with appearances in Revelation, biblical paintings, movies, and popular music.
Elijah's ominous prophecy -- that the consequences of his evil deeds would survive him -- deserves some reflection. Some time later, Isaiah made a similar promise of doom to Hezekiah. The king invited an embassy from Babylon to inspect his treasury. They might have been impressed, but they certainly remembered that Jerusalem would be worth pillaging when the time came. (Which they did 150 years later.)
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah,
“Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: the time is coming when all that is in your house, everything that your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried off to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD. Some of your own descendants, your progeny, shall be taken and made attendants in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Hezekiah replied to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and stability in my lifetime.”
Isaiah had an eye to the distant future and worried about the king's foolishness. But the politician Hezekiah worried only about the moment. He might have replied in his best King James fashion, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
We're told that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. But I think, those who ignore the moral code, who violate human dignity, whether legal or not, invite doom upon themselves and their descendants. The study of history can be very selective. Defense minded persons recall military defeats and conquests. Idealogues rewrite history summoning obscure, irrelevant, and uncertain events to support their outlandish visions. Righteous people honor their ancestors' honest hard work, and thank God as they squander their present entitlements.
But those who fear the Lord observe his moral code in season and out of season. They remember hardships and blessings, and that the Lord remains with his people always. They know that hard times are not necessarily punishment; nor are good times a reward for good behavior. The end is always near and always remote. It is not so soon that we should eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. Nor it is so distant that we can ignore it altogether.
They know the Lord is always near, and they delight in his presence.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.