“The Forbidden Arrogance of the Sun” ~ ✨
There is a saying among Chinese people: “One fears not being born with a bad fate, but most fears being given a bad name.” This is not a saying without wisdom.
In traditional thought, whether Eastern or Western, a good name is believed to guide or reveal a person’s life. Therefore, some parents hire specialists to name their newborn children, hoping that a good name will guide them toward a good life. In Western families with Christian faith, parents often name their children after notable figures in the Bible, for example, males: David, Peter, John, Paul, James; females: Mary, Elizabeth, Ruth, etc.
The names of the people used by God in the Old Testament, the Israelites, mostly carry spiritual significance. For instance, Jacob was renamed Israel, meaning “he struggles with God and with men and prevails”; the prophet Elijah means “The Lord is my God”; the prophet Elisha means “God is salvation.”
The common notion is that a good father begets a good son, and a bad father begets a bad son. However, this is not absolute. Let me cite a few examples here.
We read about Uzziah, the renowned king of the tenth dynasty of the southern kingdom of Judah. His son Jotham could be considered a good king, yet he fathered the extremely wicked Ahaz. And this worst of villains fathered Hezekiah, whose name means “The Lord is my strength.” Hezekiah, generally regarded as a good king, in turn produced a son, Manasseh, who became king and was utterly wicked. Because of Manasseh’s evil deeds, the fierce anger of the Lord against Judah could not be turned away (2 Kings 23:25-26). My observation is that unless ordained by God, nothing can be accomplished; or, kings initially raised up by God who later become proud-hearted will find their glorious achievements dimmed.
Israel, originally the favoured child of heaven, became the arrogant child of heaven; a nation meant to proclaim God’s holy name to the Gentile nations became a people who profaned God’s holy name. The twelve tribes of Israel split into northern and southern kingdoms 120 years after the founding of the monarchy, that is, 40 years after the peak of King Solomon’s reign.
The account of the northern kingdom concludes in the Book of 2 Kings chapter 17. The writer succinctly described the reasons for the northern kingdom’s downfall. In short, from beginning to end, they did not keep God’s laws, were wicked and unrighteous, fervently worshipped idols, even made their children pass through the fire, provoking the Lord to anger. For over 200 years, the northern kingdom of Israel did not repent, so God vomited them out, using the king of Assyria to capture the capital Samaria. The northern kingdom was thus destroyed.
Subsequently, people from various Gentile nations moved into the Promised Land God had given to the Israelites. They worshipped idols, practiced detestable things, and committed all manner of evil, provoking the Lord’s fierce anger, who sent lions among them which killed some. The king of Assyria sent back one of the priests who had been taken captive from Samaria to teach the people how to worship the Lord (2 Kings 17:28).
The priest, speaking from personal experience, instructed these inhabitants, letting them know that the Lord God had previously made a covenant with the Israelites and commanded them what they ought to do. If the Israelites had done them, God would have caused them to live, prosper, and prolonged their days in the land they were to possess (Deuteronomy 5:33). Because the Israelites did not obey God’s law, God drove them out of this Promised Land. Now, the priest, through his own personal experience, instructed these Gentile residents in the land of Israel that they too should obey the law of the land’s God.
Through the priest’s instruction, God made it known to the Gentiles that whoever fears the Lord God, whether Israelite or Gentile, God will show grace and mercy (e.g., Naaman the Syrian commander); conversely, Gentile peoples who rebel against God will share the same fate as the Israelites – certain destruction.
From their entry into the Promised Land until now, the Israelites have not listened to God’s word. Meant to be a blazing sun, they instead ended up burning themselves. None of the 19 dynastic kings of the northern kingdom feared God; their vile and evil deeds were passed down through generations, ultimately leading to the kingdom’s destruction. Among the 20 dynasties of the southern kingdom, a few kings feared God, protected their territory, and cherished their people. Sadly, they turned from fearing God to self-aggrandizement; from humble obedience to prideful arrogance, ultimately ending in failure. The southern kingdom finally fell about 100 years after the northern kingdom’s destruction.
Among these kings, the most regrettable are Hezekiah and his great-grandson Josiah. Both were God-fearing kings with remarkable achievements. Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done (2 Kings 18:3); Josiah also walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left (2 Kings 22:2; Deuteronomy 5:32). They fulfilled their duties as national leaders: besides building the nation, defending its borders, ensuring the people had food and joy, more importantly, they wholeheartedly followed God’s law, leading the nation in repentance and turning back to God. Earlier good kings of Judah had never removed the high places, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense there, for which they cannot escape blame. But Hezekiah and Josiah accomplished this: they cleansed the temple, tore down idols, destroyed the high places, etc.
However, these kings, who did what was right in God’s eyes, when they saw the glorious achievements of their reigns, became proud-hearted, leading to spiritual blindness and acting perversely. Josiah’s untimely death was due to his being “attacked by kingly pride,” not listening to the words of the King of kings, insisting on fighting the king of Egypt, ultimately leading to his defeat and death (2 Chronicles 35:20-24).
History is humanity’s best teacher. The Israelite nation, God’s first choice, was meant to be a blazing sun, to be the people of the Lord God and proclaim His holy name. Sadly though, they became a sun that ignited its own fire, thus consuming Israel’s 400-plus years of national life. The historical lessons of Israel have impacted generations. “Using the past as a mirror for the present” should be the way for rulers and leaders; for the wisdom of human history is the most practical wisdom. Yet, how many monarchs/heads of state of nations founded on Christianity, or church leaders in various places, have truly learned the lessons from the Bible?
The principle of “Obedience to God brings life, rebellion against God brings death,” is clear from Adam and Eve onwards, and through the history of Israel in the Old Testament, we see it vividly. The Israelites transitioned from the era of the Law into the era of Grace.
Likewise, Gentile peoples are justified by faith in Christ and have become God’s people. In Christ, there is no longer any distinction between Israelite and Gentile. The rise and fall of the Israelite nation, witnessed in the Old Testament, should serve as a warning for all people in the present age.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding (Psalm 111:10). Those Christians who love God are the ones who honour Christ as the Head of the church and as everything to the church. Any local church that honours Christ as Lord, and consistently maintains holiness, humble obedience, allowing the Lord to reign in all things – God will surely raise up that local church, and He will raise up that person who loves the Lord.
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 