Naboth is avenged.
Remember Naboth? He was the man
who owned the property next to the king, Ahab, and Ahab pitched a fit because
Naboth would sell him his ancestral lands.
Jezebel had him killed by wicked men on trumped up charges and then took
his property. How fitting then that her
son, Joram, now the king, goes out and the confrontation between he and Jehu is
on this very plot of ground and that Joram meets his end here. Certainly there was no mistaking Jehu's
antipathy towards Jezebel, speaking of her many whorings and sorceries. Joram, a coward like his father, ends up shot
in the back while he was in flight. It
is also in Jezreel, the ancestral home of Naboth that Jezebel meets her end as
prophesied. She should have been in
mourning for her husband and son but instead she made herself up like the queen
to confront Jehu. Her arrogance knew no
bounds and ultimately it is her own servants who willingly toss her out the
window to her death and the prophecy concerning the dogs picking clean her
bones is fulfilled. An ignominious end
to an ungodly life.
Is Jesus saying we shouldn't ask for anything? He says, "your Father knows what you
need before you ask him" as a way of saying don't pray like the
Pharisees. In the prayer He teaches the
disciples He keeps the petition part simple doesn't He? "Give us this day our daily
bread." That's it, daily
bread. I have heard preachers who try
and argue that it means tomorrow's bread but it is clear from the story of the
manna being provided daily and the parable of the man who had huge crops and
built bigger barns and encouraged his soul to rest in abundance that we can
only pray for today because it is all we're given. Our lives are meant to glorify Him today and
our petition for the kingdom to come is immediate, come now, come quickly. We are so accustomed to the stuff of earth
that we don't always long for the coming of His kingdom until we have too many
problems to love this life. Let us clear
all our accounts today in order that at the end of the day we can rest in
anticipation and peace.
Paul speaks of proper sexual relationships and only relates
these to marriage. Sexual immorality
includes all sex outside of marriage, period, end of sentence. Sometimes I fear that we worry more about
certain types of sexual immorality far more than we do other types. Too often marriage is little more these days
than the blessing by the church or state of an existing sexual
relationship. Sex has become the
defining characteristic of humanity in our day as it has been throughout
history. Paul understood that the sexual
drive was strong and the frustration of that drive leads to immorality but he
confines it properly to marriage. We
need a stronger teaching and understanding of the physicality of life and the
sacredness of sex between husband and wife in order to counter the societal
belief in nothing more than instinctual satisfaction. Jezebel still rules and reigns.
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