Friday July 28, 2007

July 28, 2007

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21

21:7

Interesting to note that God is not willing to destroy Jehoram because of his covenant with David. “Destroy” is indeed a relative term, because many of Jehoram’s relatives—and, of course, thus David’s descendants—end up losing their lives. But God doesn’t define that as “destroying.”

21:8

Where is Edom? Edom doesn’t exist any longer. But here is where it apparently used to be:

• According to commentary on Crosswalk, they have disappeared:

“Edom fell under the growing Chaldean power (Jeremiah 27:3,6).

There are many prophecies concerning Edom (Isaiah 34:5,6; Jeremiah 49:7-18; Ezekiel 25:13; 35:1-15; Joel 3:19; Amos 1:11; Obad.; Malachi 1:3,4) which have been remarkably fulfilled. The present desolate condition of that land is a standing testimony to the inspiration of these prophecies. After an existence as a people for above seventeen hundred years, they have utterly disappeared….”

• Wikipedia says:

The Edomite people were a Semitic-speaking tribal group inhabiting the Negev Desert and the Aravah valley of what is now southern Israel and adjacent Jordan. The region has much reddish sandstone, which may have given rise to the name "Edom". The nation of Edom is known to have existed back to the 8th or 9th century BCE, and the Bible dates it back several centuries further. Recent archeological evidence may indicate an Edomite nation as long ago as the 11th century BCE, but the topic is controversial. The nation ceased to exist with the Jewish-Roman Wars.

The Edomites are descendend from Esau. When Israel and Esau parted ways, Israel ended up in Egypt for 400 years while Esau went to the land of Canaan. God eventually called the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan to kick out the inhabitants, which included the descendents of Esau, the Edomites.

21:12

Interesting that Elijah refers to David as Jehoram’s “father” not “grandfather” or great grandfather, like we do. I wonder where/how/at what point did we coin the terms to distinguish between generations of fathers. Is there a Hebrew term for grandfather now? In ancient Hebrew?

21:14

“So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow.”

Yet, God does not define this as “destroy.”

21:15

God curses Jehoram with an illness that causes “lingering disease of the bowels, until the diseases causes your bowels to come out.”

Ugh, yuck! God has chosen not to destroy Jehoram for David’s sake (21:7), but instead has chosen a verrry long and painful death. And terribly yucky, too. And yet God does not define this as “destroying.” Interesting.

What could this sickness be? Not sure, but it sounds a bit like Crohn’s disease. Ouch.

21:17

I wonder why Ahaziah was spared.

21:19

Jehoram seemed to be on par with all of Israel’s recent previous evil kings, and they were ostensibly treated to appropriate head-of-state funerals. Jehoram, however, “passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David (ok, a little respect here), but no in the tombs of the kings.”

22:2:

Ahaziah, Jehoram’s 22 year old successor, was evidently a one-hit wonder, presiding as king for only one year. He inherited all the bad apple advisors from his father, which, to me, smacks of a set up. Poor guy probably didn’t have a clue what was coming to him.

The writer mentions that A’s mother, Athalia, was a daughter of Omri, a former king of Israel who doesn’t score very highly on his devotion to God.

22:7

“God brought about Ahaziah’s downfall” through Jehu, son of Nimshi, whom the Lord has anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

It just seems that God doesn’t do this very efficiently. He does it very much in his own timing. It has taken him quite a long time to “destroy the house of Ahab.”

22:9

Interesting: Jehu & co. find and kill Ahazia and then they buried him (with Kingship honors? Doesn’t say). Their respectful burial of Ahazia (however the buried him, we evidently will not find out) was reasoned, according to the writer quoting the executioners, in that “He was a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” Wha??

After the ensuing blood bath with Athalia, Jerhosheba, and Jehoida, et al, ending up with Athalia’s execution, “…the city was quiet because Athalia had been slain with the sword.” Interesting conclusion to this passage.

Romans 11:13-36

God is the hero of our faith, not us

This section is a helping of humble pie to gentiles who are tempted to boast about believing in the messiah when the messiah’s people rejected him. Paul acknowledges the validity of the argument that “branches were broken off so that I [a gentile] could be grafted in” but reminds the boaster that those branches were broken off because of their unbelief. If a believer boasts about his faith, then he seems to prove that he doesn’t understand the very faith he proclaims to own, for true faith in God is a gift from God, not something that a person can muster or create by himself. Therefore, there is no reason to boast about this faith, and therefore there is no reason to gloat at the Jew who has rejected the messiah. God is the hero of faith in Him, not man, be he a gentile or Jew.

11:23 God is able to graft anybody into the kingdom

God gives no man the keys to everlasting life. “And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”

11:26 All Israel will be saved

I don’t understand this. Does this mean all Israel, as in, the land and enduring geography/legacy/idea of Israel, or each individual Israelite soul?

11:32 It hardly can get more Calvinistic than this

“For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”

Whew…God ordained our utter sinfulness in order to have mercy on us?

Proverbs 20:7 is a favorite for fathers

The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.