He who has ears let him hear

Years before Josiah's birth, a prophet was sent by God to king Jeroboam. He cried out against the altar which Jeroboam had built and proclaimed that the Lord would raise up a descendant of David, named Josiah. Josiah would institute reforms that would level the idolatrous high places and false worship that Jeroboam had introduced to God’s people (1 Kgs. 13.1ff). At eight years of age Josiah, the 2nd David, began to reign in Jerusalem. It is customary for the author of the Kings to give an evaluation of the king and his reign. Josiah receives more praise and commendation than any of the OT kings (2 Kgs. 22.2). “He did what was right from ADONAI's perspective, living entirely in the manner of David his ancestor and turning away neither to the right nor to the left” (CJB).

Why did Josiah live so godly in a time when Judah had strayed so far away from the Lord? The answer may be found in the Hebrew word "shama." This word is a very common word in the book of Deuteronomy and this connection is one of the reasons scholars often call this section of scripture Deuteronomistic History. Shama can have several meanings and many derivatives, all of which are connected to the idea of hearing. Shama can mean to “hear, listen, accept, understand, and obey.” Knowledge of shama might help us understand why Josiah received such high marks as the king of Judah.

During the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah commissioned the renovation of the Temple. Hilkiah, the high priest found the book of the Torah in the Temple (2 Kgs. 22.8). Hilkiah sent word to the king through the scribe Shaphan and Shaphan read it to the king (22.10). Josiah “heard” (shama) the word of the Lord and tore his clothes (22.11). Josiah sent Hilkiah to inquire the Lord in behalf of himself, the people, and all Judah what they must do since they have invoked the wrath of the Lord. The Lord’s wrath is great because the people haven’t “listened” (shama) to the words in the book (22.13).

The Lord’s response was not pleasant for Judah. They would fall into captivity, but there would be good news for Josiah. Since Josiah has “heard” the words of God, God has “heard” him (22.18-19). The lesson: Why did Josiah do what was right and walk in the ways of David? He was willing to “hear” God. The result of hearing God was that God heard him and promised that he would go to death in peace. Hearing God has a two-fold effect: God will hear us and assurance even in death!

It Just So Happened

The canonicity of the book of Esther has always been in question. The primary reason is because God is never mentioned in the narrative. Even though God is never mentioned in the book of Esther, the author cleverly disguises the presence of God with literary sarcasm and kismet.

The narrative begins when king Ahasuerus has a banquet. After several drinks he demands that his wife Vashti come out and display her beauty to the other men. It just happened that Vashti refused (1.11-12). The king decided to dispose of his wife and seek another wife. It just so happened that Esther was very beautiful (2.7). Esther’s beauty did not go unnoticed, King Ahasuerus thought her so beautiful that he made Esther queen.

One day Esther’s uncle, Mordecai just happened to be sitting at the king’s gate, when he “learned” that two of the king’s eunuchs were conspiring to kill the king (2.21-23). Mordecai told Esther of the plot and she told the king and it was written in the records.

The king happened to appoint Haman the Agagite as his second in command. The Agagites and the Jews had a long and dark history. The Agagites were the first nation to attack God’s newly formed covenant people. God had promised to erase their memory from the earth (Ex. 17.8-16). Perhaps this bad history is what prevented Mordecai from paying the proper respect to Haman (3.2). From that day, Haman made it his personal ambition to have Mordecai and all the Jews of the empire killed.

Haman’s self-worth had begun to grow. He had been promoted, he alone had been asked to dine with the king and queen, and everyone was paying him great respect, that is, except for Mordecai. Haman had gallows constructed to put Mordecai to death. The next day he would dine with the king and request that Mordecai be hung. But it just so happened that the king could not sleep that night and decided to review the records. He learned that Mordecai had uncovered the conspiracy. About that time, Haman just happened to come into the king’s presence to demand that Mordecai be put to death. The king asked Haman, “what should be done to the man who delights the king?” Haman thinking that he was the man said the man should wear the king’s crown, robe, and he should be allowed to ride the king’s horse. The king told Haman to see that such an honor was bestowed upon Mordecai.

Esther finally told the king of the plot to kill the Jews. As the king was deciding the fate of Haman, it just so happened that Harbona, one of the king’s attendants, looked out the window and saw the gallows that Haman had constructed to kill Mordecai (7.9-10). Haman’s instrument of death literally killed him. Mordecai was exonerated and all the Jews of the land were spared. Perhaps there is good reason why the ancient readers accepted Esther. God’s work can be seen even when his name is not!

Mommas don't let your babies grow up in the time of the Judges

Since Mother's day is only a few days away, I thought it would be fitting to look at 3 mothers during the period of the Judges. Judges 13:2, 17:1, and 1 Samuel 1:1 all begin with the same formula: "Now there was a certain man from _____ whose name was ______." These are the only OT occasions for this formula except 1 Sam. 9.1. Perhaps we should compare these 3 occasions since they occur in the period of the Judges and understand the first two examples as contrasts for the third.
Samson's mother miraculously conceived and bore a son. There are many allusions from other significant OT texts that foreshadow the extraordinary character that Samson was to be. Samson's mother was barren as was Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel. An angel appears to Samson's parents as one appeared to Abraham and Sarah. A nazarite vow is pronounced from birth. Samson's parents ask the angel to reveal his name as Jacob did in Gen. 32. It seems that God has invested a lot in the birth of Samson. Yet, Samson and his parents seemed to have trouble understanding his role as deliverer of Israel and thus he never became an effective leader. He led no Israelite into battle, he married Philistines women, he violated all 3 of the Nazarite vows, stayed with a foreign prostitute, and sought a life of personal vendetta. Samson may be the greatest disappointment in all of scripture.

In Judges 17, Micah's mother becomes obsessed with idols. Micah means "who is like the Lord?" (implication is that no one is like the Lord) yet his mother tries to have a carved image "like the Lord." Micah eventually made himself an ephod, made idols, and even made his own priest, all of which led to the Danites own unauthorized cult. Where did Micah learn his bad habits?

Contra these men with Samuel. His mother Hannah is also barren. She prays to the Lord for a son and vows to give him back to the Lord in service. His mother worships the Lord and offers sacrifices at Shiloh every year. His mother is true to her word and gives Samuel to the Lord's temple service. When trouble overtakes her, she seeks the Lord's help. Hannah's son led to wonderful changes. The word of the Lord returned to Israel (3.1). The priesthood was purified, and Israel revived its genuine worship of YHWH through the spiritual leadership of Samuel.

Lesson: Mothers have powerful influence. Effective mothers can produce national results. Happy Mother's Day!!!

Jesus the King

Perhaps we can gain further understanding of Jesus’ baptism by looking to the first Old Testament kings. The title “Messiah” or “anointed one” gained significance during the time of Samuel. God's first "anointed ones" were kings. Israel asked for a king like the other nations (1 Sam. 8.5). God was disappointed that the people had rejected him, but granted them Saul. Saul's failure led to the anointing of a true king, one who sought after God's own heart (16.1). If we examine how one came to be God's "anointed one" it could give us further insight into God’s ultimate “anointed one.” There seems to be four common characteristics that were foundational to the kingship of Saul and David. Both were divinely selected (9.17; 16.1, 12), both were anointed by a prophet (10.1; 16.13), both kings received God’s spirit (10.6-13; 16.13), and both kings were publicly acknowledged as being chosen of God (11.15; 2 Sam. 4.2).

Matthew’s account of Jesus’ immersion has four similar characteristics to the anointing of Saul and David. John was preaching in the wilderness of Judea preparing the people for the one whom God had selected. Jesus appeared and was immersed by the prophet John (3.13-16). The spirit of God descended on him in the form of a dove (3.16). God publicly acknowledged him (3.17). Immediately after his immersion, Jesus proved to be the true king and spiritual leader by overcoming a period of temptation in the wilderness, something ancient Israel was unable to do. Perhaps we can view Jesus’ immersion as his anointing as God’s true king.

There is a great lesson to learn from this. God can take our mistakes and do great things with them. Israel’s request for a king was a rejection of God. But God does not allow man to frustrate his will. Rather than trust in God’s promises, Israel wanted to trust in a human king. God molded the idea of a king into his will for man. God would bring salvation to mankind through a king (Matt. 27.11; John 1.49). Who else, but God, could take a means of rejection and turn it into a means of salvation?

YHWH immo

Shortly after the anointing of David, the author of 1 Samuel switches the narrative to Saul. It is easy to understand why. David has received the spirit of the Lord as it has departed from Saul (1 Sam. 16.13-14). The text tells us that Saul is tormented by a bad spirit from God. One of his courtiers recommends music to soothe his condition. Saul asks for recommendations and the servant refers David, the son of Jesse. The servant’s description of David would make a wonderful resume (1 Samuel 16.18). His first hand knowledge of David demands that he has some kind of relationship to Jesse’s family. David is a skilled musician. He is a brave man, able to fight. He chooses his words wisely and is good looking. These are fine attributes but perhaps the last one is the most impressive: “YHWH immo.” The LORD is with him!

The servant does not use the Hebrew title “El” (God), but the personal name of Israel’s God, YHWH. This is the same God who created the heavens and the earth. Who was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is the God who took care of Joseph. The God who summoned Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt with the mighty help of plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. The God who made a covenant with Israel and kept it even though Israel sinned (Ex. 34.6). The God who defeated Dagon. Now the same God is with David.

Could there be a greater characteristic in one’s life than this? I can’t speak for you but perhaps there is no greater epitaph for a person than to say, “The Lord was with him.” When I die, I hope I have lived in a way that someone will say, “The Lord was with him and now he is with the Lord.”

Dancing Between Opinions

Before the great contest on Mount Carmel, the prophet Elijah rebuked Israel with a question: “how long will you limp along on two opinions?” (1 Kgs. 18.21). Israel was trying to worship both God and the Canaanite god Baal. Ahab married the Sidonian princess Jezebel and had sanctioned her god Baal to be worshipped. The purpose of his question was to force a decision among the people who refused to decide. “Limping” was evidently a cultic dance in celebration of Baal. When the contest of Mount Carmel began, the prophets of Baal began to “limp/dance” around the altar (18.26). Elijah asks the people are you going to dance YHWH’s dance or Baal’s? The response of the people was silence (18.21). The last thing these people want to do is decide. The contest will have to answer Elijah’s question.

As the prophets of Baal have prepared the sacrifice, altar, and have begun their ritual dance, there is no voice, no answer (18.26). With sarcasm, Elijah responds “Shout louder! After all, he's a god, isn't he? Maybe he's daydreaming, or he's on the potty, or he's away on a trip. Maybe he's asleep, and you have to wake him up (CJB).” Since Baal was the god of rain and storms (fertility), the ANE peoples believed that Baal had been killed by the death god Mot whenever there was a drought. The people would cut themselves hoping that their spilt blood would encourage Mot to release Baal. The prophets began slashing themselves hoping that Baal would answer them, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response (18.29).

When it was Elijah’s turn, he prepared the altar, prayed to God, and doused the altar with water. Fire from heaven came down and devoured the offering and even the water. The people came to the conclusion that YHWH is God, YHWH is God (18.39). No longer are there “two opinions.” Not only did God win that day, but the people won as God sent rain to bless the land.

Perhaps there are a couple of lessons that we can learn. God is mutually exclusive. You cannot be whole heartedly devoted to two things (Rev. 3.16). Next, God helped the people believe. From Abraham, to Jacob, to king Ahaz, God often went out of his way to help people believe in him. Finally, life comes from having God as our one opinion. The followers of Baal got death (18.40). In this narrative, one’s opinion really did matter!

My God has Hands

One of the dark periods of pre-monarch Israel was the spiritual leadership of Hophni and Phinehas. After suffering a miserable defeat at the hands of the Philistines, the elders of Israel came to the conclusion that they had lost because they had not carried the ark into battle with them. They quickly disbursed to Shiloh and carried the ark to their next battle; with the accompaniment of Hophni and Phinehas (1 Samuel 4). The Hebrews foolishly believed that YHWH would have to fight for them if they carried the ark. God let them suffer a terrible defeat. Not only were many Israelites killed (Hophni and Phinehas), but the ark was taken captive. The news of the disaster led to the death of Eli and the premature labor of Phinehas’ wife. She gave birth to a son and in her dying words she named him “Ichabod” (without glory).

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this narrative lies in the events following the capture of the ark. In 1 Samuel 5, the Philistines take the ark to the Temple of Dagon and set it before the statue of Dagon (a position of submission). The Philistines believed their god had defeated Israel’s God. The next morning the statue of Dagon was found lying on its face. So they set Dagon back up. The next morning the temple priests were alarmed to find the torso of Dagon lying across the threshold. His hands and head had been “cut off.” With a touch of humor, the author of 1 Samuel tells us that the “hand of the Lord” was heavy upon the residents of Ashdod; opposed to Dagon who has no hands.

There are two lessons worth noting. First, rather than performing an internal check, Israel thought holy war ritual would encourage God to deliver them. Second, it is stunning that the Philistines continue to believe in a god that does not exist. Even when their god is proven to be powerless, they continue to put him on a pedestal and act as if nothing happened. Unbelievably, the Philistines seek to be controlled by a god that doesn’t exist, while Israel tries to control the God that does. The Philistines had the right attitude but the wrong god. The Israelites have the right God but the wrong attitude!