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Message in a JPEG, Inc.
In the time of the Kings, we got a King’s offspring as a replacement, or who could steal it. Today we vote for our Kings or leadership, or who could steal it. And we have good, bad and mediocre Kings.
In Israel, David was a good King. Rehoboam was a bad King. Josiah was a mediocre King until his good Priest found the Book of the Law that had been forgotten about. Manasseh was a bad King until God used the Assyrians and Babylonians to wake him up. Good Kings tore down the High Places of idolatrous worship; bad Kings ignored them or built them up.
Maybe we can say the same thing about us today. We are measured by our adherence to God’s Law of personal responsibility and to God’s Appointed Sacrifice, or we are measured in our defiance of God’s things.
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6. and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
7. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.
8. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram,
> > Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amasiah <<
and Joram begot Uzziah,
9. Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10. Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah,
11. and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
A while back I was involved in a Bible Study, and we were looking at the genealogy in Chapter 1 of Matthew’s Gospel. Stunned, I noticed that some of the names of Judah’s Kings were missing. Here I had spent years working on Ussher’s chronology, discovering how this chronology proves God’s preserved lineage from Adam to Christ, and now I find an ‘apparent’ error in the Bible. And the most basic of errors!
How could God let this happen? How would I answer the skeptic’s charge? How would I reconcile my faith in Scripture? No one had ever pointed this out to me. But then again, maybe I am just the last to know? Or maybe we just do not mention it. I searched the Internet, finding ‘3 times 14’ to be the only view (must be more?!).
If I have learned anything from the study of Ussher’s Annals, it is that one does not take everything at face value. I have found that I must look further into Scripture to understand the meaning of an ‘apparent contradiction’. I also learned that through the process of investigation, we can find logical answers, and from these answers our understanding of God’s Holy Word is actually enhanced, and our mission is blessed. I investigated the missing names and their backgrounds in the Old Testament.
The problem begins with the arrangement of Joram (Jehoram) to a wife in Athaliah. I did know that Athaliah eventually became Queen, or more appropriately, self appointed Queen, who came to power by killing most of the members of the Royal Family (after the death of her son Ahaziah).
As I looked further, I found that she was a granddaughter of Omri, and also a daughter of Ahab, both evil Kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. Two great role models. I did not find Scriptural proof, but she was probably the daughter of Jezebel, Ahab’s wife.
Athaliah’s actions certainly demonstrated Omri’s, Ahab’s, and Jezebel’s traits. After 6 years of leading Judah down an idolatrous path, she was finally dealt with, and Joash (Ahaziah’s son and Athaliah’s grandson), who was hidden for 6 years, was made King over Judah.
But why the missing names? Jehoshaphat was a good King (but instead of jumping up and down in his chariot – I am not Ahab!, he should have stood still on God’s Word concerning all alliances with evil, particularly with Ahab), Joram (Jehoram) certainly deserved to be forgotten,
Ahaziah(1) did evil, Athaliah(2) did worse, Joash(3) was a good King, and Amaziah(4) was just okay. But we see that Uzziah is the next in line after Jehoram in Matthew Chapter 1. Why 4 missing names, or realistically 3?
After a time of reflection, I remembered the “sins of the father (Jehoram) passed on to the 3rd and 4th (a pretender and three kings) generation” (Ex 20:1-6, 34:7, Nu 14:18, Deut 5:9), all about worshipping idols. Athaliah and her heritage certainly personified the idolatrous and evil practices of any day, and should stand to warn the Church, in any day.
Even though Athaliah, probably in response to God’s destruction of Ahab’s family by Jehu, attempted to exact revenge on God’s promised Davidic Line to Jesus, the promise was still fulfilled by God.
And any apparent contradictions, when fully investigated, are just used to illustrate the point that God’s spelling is perfect, and that God gives warnings concerning idolatry and alliances with those who practice it, and the fulfillment of the warnings is at some point addressed and readdressed...
Is it about ‘losing our first love’? And adoring all of our –isms-.
