2 Kings 9: Deception – Part V
Monday, June 19, 2023
Death
“Here the death of Ahab is not grounded only in the Naboth’s vineyard incident (1 Kings 21:21-24) but is related to retribution against Jezebel for killing God’s prophets (1 Kings 18:4; 19:10, 14). (Meeks 573-574)
These are very scary stories indeed. Scarier still because this violence is a result of people’s individual and collective actions. Ahab and Jezebel took God’s people in an ugly direction, and today we see their ugly end at the hands of God’s warrior, Jehu. We do not like to have these images before us because they remind us of the darkest part of ourselves, and they demand that we make an accounting of our own actions before God. Many of us use the strategy of denial when we are asked to look in the mirror. We put away what we wish did not exist; but this action has negative results. Many of us wish to re-write reality without making any change in ourselves, but of course this only delays the inevitable. And this is what we see today, the inevitable finally takes place. In the earlier parts of this story, the wicked Ahab and Jezebel have things all their way. Today that ends, and they are fully rewarded for their actions.
We have come through Lent to rejoice in Eastertide with its light and gift of eternal life as God’s promise against the clutches of eternal death. Today we have an invitation to avoid a fate like the one we read here. Rather than hiding and hoping to have our own way, we will want to open ourselves to the healing light of Christ and ask for change. A change in our hearts. A change in our way of being. A change from death to life.
During the time of the prophets, Christ walked among his people through the hands and feet of his prophets as they carried out Yahweh’s promises. The sweet promise of eternal life in Christ is announced even during the dark days when Ahab and Jezebel hunted down those who spoke and healed in God’s name. Through the prophets, Christ dwelt among us even before his birth in the stable, and Christ will continue to dwell among us. When those who worship our modern Baals beset us, let us turn to Christ. Let us ask for God’s guidance and rescue in any darkness or sadness of the present time when the prophets among us are being murdered. Let us turn to Christ who is the only hope of the world, the only antidote to death, the only life that is eternal. And let us make good on our Lenten promise to open ourselves to transformation. Let us receive the healing light that is the Easter promise. Let us receive the healing indwelling of the Spirit.
Image from: https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/jezebel-part-2/
Meeks, Wayne A., Gen. Ed. HARPERCOLLINS STUDY BIBLE (NRSV). New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1989. Print. (Meeks)
Adapted from a reflection written on April 5, 2011.
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