lent women – Consider the Lilies

And finally…

Gloria, by Micah Hayns (from the post on Miriam)

Alleluia, Christ is Risen!

Jesus said to [Mary Magdalene], “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew,“Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher)...’Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”'
John 20: 15-16,18

It seems fitting to end this Lent series on Easter day remembering Mary Magdalene, the very first disciple to see the risen Jesus, and the very first to proclaim the resurrection.

As this is my final post I want to thank you for joining with me this Lent, and for all your encouragement along the way. The journey began back in February with Hagar who was pushed out into the wilderness. And goodness, what a journey this has been! None of us knew back then that the whole world would also be propelled into a strange kind of wilderness. It has felt for me that these women of old have been alongside us through these strange times, and they have taught us important truths along the way.

They have reminded us of the gifts and challenges of family life (Rachel and Leah, Rebekah), of the importance of friendships (Naomi and Ruth), of not being afraid to stand up for what is right (Shiprah and Puah, the daughters of Zelophehad), of peace making (Abigail, Esther), and of the value of a deep faith (Naaman’s servant, The widow with the oil). There have been some who were hard to like (Athaliah, Jael), and some whose stories were so painful they were hard to face (Rahab, Dinah).

And Miss Lent 2020 goes to…*

I wonder if you would like to share in the comments section which of the women you most enjoyed, either because you related to them, or because they interested or surprised you in some way. I’m sure others would enjoy reading your responses; I know I would. It’s hard for me to pick an all-round favourite as I’ve loved them all, but I think I would go with Miriam. The image of her leading the women in dancing in the wilderness really spoke to me this lent.

I would like to thank the six ‘guest bloggers’ (Megan, Milly, Emma, Alannah, Matilda and Philippa) for their thoughtful responses and for the time they put into doing this. I’d also like to thank Micah for being willing to create so many of the beautiful images, and for putting up with my demands (and one point he even declared ‘Mum, I’m not a machine!’). And whilst I’m doing an Oscars-style list I’d better even thank my husband John for his proof-reading and one-liners. He’s very much enjoyed that he gained a small fan base!!

I’m going to take a break for a while but my plan is to do something similar for Lent next year, perhaps with women from the New Testament and the early Church.

Prayer

When Hagar was in the wilderness she was met by an angel who told her that she was seen and heard by God. Centuries later Mary Magdalene was seen by the risen Jesus in the garden. I pray this Easter that you too would know what it is to be seen and heard by God, and that you too would experience the light, love and life of the risen Christ.

O Lord God, our Father. You are the light that can never be put out; and now you give us a light that shall drive away all darkness. You are love without coldness, and you have given us such warmth in our hearts that we can love all when we meet. You are the life that defies death and you have opened for us the way that leads to eternal life. None of us is a great Christian; we are all humble and ordinary. But your grace is enough of us. Arouse in us that small degree of joy and thankfulness of which we are capable, to the timid faith which we can muster, to the cautious obedience which we cannot refuse, and thus to the wholeness of life which you have prepared for all of us through the death and resurrection of your Son. Do not allow any of us to remain apathetic or indifferent to the wondrous glory of Easter, but let the light of our risen Lord reach every corner of our dull hearts. Amen
(Karl Barth, 1886-1968)

*This was of course from John!

The Shunammite Woman: a rising hope

2 Kings 4

We come to our final woman of the Lent 2020 series on this Good Friday and you will see why I have chosen to remember her on this day when we remember Jesus’ death on the cross.

We are now very used to our women being unnamed, but usually these are poor or seemingly unimportant. Our final woman was ‘well to do’ and actually rather wealthy, and she was a friend to the prophet Elisha, but for some reason none of the household are named.

The woman lived in a spacious house with her husband in the town of Shunem (where Abishag came from). She was a keen host and enjoyed providing food for the elderly prophet Elisha and his servant Gehazi whenever they passed through the town:

So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal.
2 Kings 4.8

After a while she decided it would be sensible if Elisha stayed overnight rather than having to travel to his home after dinner. She was clearly a woman with an eye for detail and she prepares a room for him at the top of the house:

Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.
2 Kings 4.10

Elisha and Gehazi want to thank her for her hospitality and so have a conversation about what they might offer her. She declines saying she has all she needs, “I have a home among my own people”

For her, that is blessing enough.

The men decide that as she is childless and ‘her husband is old’ then she can’t really be satisfied until she has a son. They tell her that by next year she would be pregnant, and she is.

The child grew and one day whilst out with his father in the fields he becomes seriously ill:

He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
2 Kings 4. 19

What a tragedy for her. The woman acts quickly. She takes the child upstairs to Elisha’s room, shuts the door and then prepares the donkey to go travel to see the prophet, who is at Mount Carmel, a day’s journey away. Elisha spots her and sends Gehazi to meet her to find out what’s wrong, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’.

She doesn’t want to speak to Gehazi, but to Elisha and, although the servant tries to keep her away, she pushes forward. Her reaction seems to be anger:

Did I ask you for a son my Lord? Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes?”
2 Kings 4.28

Perhaps she felt she was worse off now than she was before she had a child. Alfred Lord Tennyson said ’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’, but in these early moments of grief it didn’t feel like it to her.

Elisha and Gehazi go with the woman to her home and Elisha went upstairs to see the dead boy. He prayed to the Lord.

Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm.
2 Kings 4.34

The boy returned to life and was given back to his mother, who fell to the ground in worship and thankfulness.

Reflection

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, 
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” 
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23.44-46

Pieta made by Michelangelo in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome

Today is Good Friday and we remember Jesus’ final hours where he was beaten, humiliated and crucified. In his death, Jesus took onto himself all the pain, suffering and sin that is in the world. We also remember Jesus’ mother Mary, who was with him until his final breath, and who held his dead, lifeless body in her arms, just as the Women of Shunem had done many years before.

Before we get to the joy of the resurrection on Easter, perhaps we could spend a bit of time today reflecting on the grief that is around us. I don’t know about you but I find it hard to stay with the pain of Good Friday and my natural inclination is to move towards the joy and hope that is to come.

But let’s stay here for a while, and let us remember all those who are grieving today. Those who’s loved ones have died, those who have been unable to hold dying relatives in their arms in their final hours, mothers who have had to witness the death of their children, all those known to us who are suffering, and who might also be wondering if the love they had was worth the pain of the grief.

Let us place all our prayers at the foot of the cross, in the hope of the resurrection and new life.

Prayer

Eternal God,
in the cross of Jesus
we see the cost of sin
and the depth of your love:
in humble hope and fear
may we place at his feet
all that we have and all that we are,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

A Collect for Good Friday from Church of England Common Worship

The Widow and Elisha: Oil’s Well that Ends Well*

2 Kings 4.1-7

For the last two days of our Lenten journey we go back to the time of the Kings and to just before we met Naaman’s servant girl. We will reflect on two women who reach out to God through the prophet Elisha, and both of their stories are told within the same chapter of 2 Kings.

Our first woman is only known as ‘the widow with the oil’ and her husband, who had been part of a group of prophets, had recently died. She was left with the household and children to care for; she was also left with his debts. It wasn’t long before one of the creditors came for their money and, as the widow had none, demanded that the woman give him the only thing she had left: her two sons, to work for him as slaves. Alongside the tragedy of losing her sons this would also mean she would have had no hope for economic survival.

The women reached out in desperation to the prophet Elisha. He asks her what she has already:

‘Tell me, what do you have in your house’
2 Kings 4.2

She tells him that she has nothing at all, ‘except a little oil’.

Elisha tells the woman to go to her neighbours for help. She wasn’t to ask for food or money which might have been one solution. She is to ask them for empty jars. Not a few empty jars, but loads of them.

She does what is requested, gathering as many jars as she can.

‘Go inside and shut the door behind you and you sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side’
2 Kings 4.4

She takes the little oil she has and, with the help of her children, she pours it into the jars: the oil flows until every single jar is full. There is abundant oil, enough to sell to pay off her debts, and to live off the remainder.

Reflection

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; 
therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness
Hebrews 1.9

Oil was a precious commodity in those days. It was necessary for the provision of food, but it has also been used for centuries in Judeo/Christian worship to symbolise holiness and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Moses spoke of oil mixed with spices and burned as incense ‘as a memorial on the altar, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD’ (Leviticus 2.2). Oil was used to make a particular place holy, and it is still used in Christian worship at baptism and at the ordination of priests.

Today is Maundy Thursday and traditionally all the clergy gather at cathedrals for a special service that includes a ‘blessing of oils’. During the service clergy remember their vows and receive oils to use in services throughout the year. This year the services will be live streamed, and we will have to remember that the Holy Spirit is not confined to bottle or to a building!

It is easy to focus on all the things we don’t have at the moment: we miss our families and friends; some of us will miss going to a Maundy Thursday service with the washing of the feet and the stripping of the altar; those on their own might yearn for physical contact; and many of us are struggling financially. Perhaps we feel exhausted and depleted like those empty jars.

Elisha encouraged the widow to look inwards to see what she already had. She had a little oil and that could be used. What do we have right here and now? There will be something to be thankful for. And perhaps we could pray for the Holy Spirit to be present with us, that we would be filled, like those empty jars, to overflowing, and that we would know God’s abundant blessing.

Prayer

This prayer is often sung during confirmation and ordination services – you can listen to a version here whilst you pray

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
and lighten with celestial fire;
thou the anointing Spirit art,
who dost thy sevenfold gifts impart.

Thy blessed unction from above
is comfort, life, and fire of love;
enable with perpetual light
the dullness of our mortal sight.

* I was asked yesterday for more of my husband’s one-liners, so he was given free rein with the subtitle today!

Shallum’s Daughters: wall builders

Nehemiah 3.12

We are nearing the end of our series of women from the Hebrew bible and today’s women come at the chronological conclusion of the forty posts as the final posts will be going backwards in time to reflect on women who might be able to help us connect with the Easter story.

Today’s women share only one single verse in the bible and seem rather inconsequential compared with the women we’ve been reflecting on recently; yet they were part of something far bigger and therefore deserve a day to themselves.

Shallum son of Hallohesh, ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem, repaired the next section [of the wall] with the help of his daughters.
Nehemiah 3.12

When the Babylonians invaded Judah in c.587BCE (2 Chronicles 36.15-21), they destroyed the city of Jerusalem, including the Temple (built by Solomon) and the city walls. At this point in our story, the Jewish people had been in exile for around 70 years.

The Jews were allowed to return home to Jerusalem by King Cyrus and they were given permission to rebuild the temple (Ezra) and restore their damaged homes. The people were vulnerable to attack as the city walls were damaged and so God called Nehemiah to oversee the restoration. The book of Nehemiah is essentially a historical account of the rebuilding of the city walls:

Rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah by William Brassey Hole (1846-1917)

Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come let us rebuild the wall.
Nehemiah 2.17

And within the book there is an entire chapter (3) which consists of a long list of names of all those who rebuilt a section of the wall. It’s not the most riveting part of scripture I have to say, but it shows that each and every person named was important and had a role to play:

And so it continues…

The men of Jericho built the adjoining section, and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them. The Fish Gate was rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah. They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.
Nehemiah 3.2

The daughters of Shallum are the only women named in the rebuilding work. I find it intriguing to wonder what their role was. How exactly did they help their father? Perhaps they financed the work, or brought food and drink to the labourers? Or did they do actual hard labour, carrying stones, placing beams, hoisting doors and shovelling rubble?

Whatever their exact role involved, they were part of the working party who finished the wall in only 52 days, enabling the Jewish families to return home (chapter 7) to live and worship in safety.

Reflection and Prayer

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”
But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
John 2.19-20

The daughters of Shallum helped to build the walls in Jerusalem that were still standing during Jesus’ final journey into Jerusalem. He may even have ridden through the gate they built when he arrived on the colt. Or perhaps he passed their section of the wall when he was being dragged towards the cross on his final journey.

I thought it was important to include them in this blog because it’s good to remember those who just get on with the task in hand, without fuss and ceremony, and often without being given any accolades for what they do.

During this curious time of Covid-19 it can feel that our world is crumbling around us and structures that we thought of as strong and solid turn out to be weaker that we ever imagined. When things are crumbling we can really appreciate the multitude of people performing every day tasks that keep us secure and enable us to function. Let us pray for hospital porters, cleaners, catering staff, nursing assistants and all those who keep our nursing homes and hospices running smoothy.

And let us remember that Jesus’ body (which he compared to the temple), although utterly broken and destroyed, was indeed raised in three days. And like the daughters of Shallum each one of us is called to play our own little part in the rebuilding work of God’s kingdom, a kingdom that can never be destroyed and will last forever.

Behold our lives, our faculties, our wills: we have given them all to You. We are Yours; dispose of us according to your will. We see well enough, O Lord, how little we can do. But now having drawn near to You, having ascended this watchtower from which Your truth can be seen,
and while You depart not from us, we can do all things. Amen
(A prayer of Teresa of Avila)

Queen Vashti: #MeToo

Esther 1

In October 2017 American actress Alyssa Milano posted on Twitter: “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote #MeToo as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem”. This was in response to allegations relating to renowned film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was recently sentenced to 23 years in prison. The #MeToo became a global movement in a matter of days opening up an important conversation about women’s experiences, particularly in industries such as film and theatre.

The story of Queen Vashti is perhaps one of the earliest accounts of a woman standing up to a powerful man.

Vashti was the Queen of Persia, the first wife of powerful King Ahasuerus (Xerxes 1), and her story is told within the Book of Esther (which is named after another fabulous woman who we will look at tomorrow), during the days of Jewish captivity in Babylon.

For the Persian rulers it was a time of peace and prosperity which meant that there was plenty of time for the king to display the glory of his kingdom. King Ahasuerus was certainly a dedicated host. One of his parties, which gathered together officials, nobles and governors from across the kingdom, lasted nearly six months!

Vashti’s story begins with one such banquet, one that is so lavish that there were couches made from gold and silver, drinks were served in golden goblets, and the wine was so plentiful that:

by the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.
Esther 1.8

It was a party that Weinstein and his Hollywood crowd would have approved of!

At that time the men and women of the royal palace lived largely separate lives, and Queen Vashti had her own quarters. Whilst the king celebrated she hosted her own banquet for the women of the kingdom.

After seven days of revelry, and when the king was ‘in high spirits from wine’ he sent his seven eunuchs to bring Queen Vashti to the men’s banquet. He demanded she be brought to their party and displayed:

wearing the royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the officials her beauty.
Esther 1.11

Some theologians argue that this meant the king demanded she should wear nothing at all but her crown! It’s not clear if this is the case, but Queen Vashti was clearly distressed by the command.

She says no!

Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command.
Esther 1.12

What a risk to take! The king was furious and ‘anger burned within him’. He had wanted to impress his party by showing how beautiful his wife was; and instead she had humiliated him publicly.

He wanted revenge. And so, like Henry VIII, Weinstein and countless other despots since, he worked out a way to bring her down. He consulted his sages and lawyers and they found a by-law which said he could depose her as Queen because she has been disobedient to the king.

The nobles wanted to punish her to ensure the obedience of all their wives:

For this deed of the queen will be made known to all women, causing them to look with contempt on their husbands…. there will be no end of contempt and wrath.
Esther 1.17,18

The Queen was deposed and a letter was sent throughout the whole land to every province, in every local language, with the decree that:

every man should be master in his own house.
Esther 1.22

We hear no more of Vashti and she is replaced by a young Jewish woman, Esther, who we will hear about tomorrow.

Reflection and Prayer

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about this series is discovering how the stories of the women from Old Testament are at the same time ancient but also very modern and relevant to us today.

Queen Vashti said ‘no’ to the king at considerable cost to own life. We don’t get to hear why she did this. Some have argued that it was because of modesty (Midrash), others that she was unhappy with her appearance that day (Babylonian Talmud), and still others that she was a proto-feminist fighting for her integrity. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1878) says that her action was the ‘first stand for women’s rights’ (1).

Whatever the reason, she was certainly bold and you might be interested to hear that there is even an #IamVashti campaign which was started by feminist Jewish theologian Meredith Jacobs – you can read her excellent article here.

The Book of Esther is curious because it is the only book of the bible which doesn’t mention God, an odd choice perhaps as we begin Holy Week!

Let us pray for all those who continue to be exploited by the powerful, for all those who have the courage to stand up to power, and for ourselves, that we would use our own power well.

Lord Jesus, who hears the voices of the powerless,
and gives strength to those who speak up:
create safety for stories to emerge,
embolden our community to examine itself,
shine your light on abusive power, and
help us commit to holiness in every relationship,
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

https://time.com/4269357/queen-vashti-feminist-history/

Judith: The Mata Hari of the Second Century BC

Strozzi, Bernardo; Judith with the Head of Holofernes; Christ Church, University of Oxford; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/judith-with-the-head-of-holofernes-229201

Guest post by The Revd Philippa Judith White, Succentor of Christ Church Cathedral

If you are familiar with the more esoteric reaches of the Revised Common Lectionary – esoteric enough in and of itself – you will know that, every so often, it sends us to read the Apocrypha: the set of books written after the Old Testament proper, but read as Scripture by Jews and many Christians. And, if you’re among the seventeen people (and the odd dog) who do follow the Morning Prayer lectionary, then every three years, in October, you’ll read edited highlights of the story of Judith, told in the Apocrypha in the book that bears her name.

For the rest of the world, the story of Judith is well worth seeking out. It’s a war story – and like the best war films, it focuses on a small human drama that puts the whole ghastly gigantic conflict into a human scale that we can comprehend.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria, is waging war upon the whole world. He sends his best general, Holofernes, to conquer Israel. Holofernes starts with a border city, Bethulia. He uses tactics that have worked before: he besieges them. And sure enough, before long the city leaders are ready to surrender.

Not, however, if Judith has anything to do with it. She isn’t introduced until chapter 8 of her own book, but she comes in like a whirlwind. After a brief introduction in which we learn she’s a wealthy and beautiful widow, she’s straight into action. She summons the city elders and tells them off. How dare they consider surrendering? What on earth were they thinking? They are sheepish. They ask her to pray for rain, so that they can hold out under siege for longer. And Judith laughs: she’s going to do better than that.

Then Judith said to them, ‘Listen to me. I am about to do something that will go down through all generations of our descendants. Stand at the town gate tonight so that I may go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the town to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand.
Judith 8: 32-34

The story leaves the elders at the town gate and follows Judith out to the enemy’s camp. She has taken off her mourning clothes; she’s dressed to the nines, and she’s stunning. She gets herself picked up by enemy patrols and sweet-talks her way to Holofernes the general, to whom she introduces herself as a deserter willing to turn her city over to him. On one condition: that she’s allowed out of the camp each evening to pray, and that she doesn’t eat his food – she’s keeping kosher and she’s brought her own, in a bag that her maid is looking after. Holofernes, smitten, falls for it. He agrees to everything; lets her get him drunk; and summons her back a couple of nights later with one thing on his mind.

Judith arrives. She’s set it all up perfectly. Holofernes sends all his guards out and the two of them are alone. She drinks him under the table and, when he passes out, beheads him. The guards are expecting her to go out of the camp with her bag of food; so they don’t stop her. And she just keeps going, back to Bethulia, back to the elders, where she opens her bag – and there’s the head of Holofernes.

When the enemies find out in the morning what has happened, they panic and flee. Israel is saved. Judith leads the city in a song of praise and lives to the age of 105 – freeing her maid, refusing all suitors, prosperous, wise and universally respected.

Reflection

Judith is my middle name, named after a very dear godmother. So I was always going to like the story of the biblical Judith. I don’t remember when I first heard it, or even whether I read it for myself; but Judith the clever, the resourceful, the faithful, the beautiful, has always been one of my heroes and I’ve always been pleased to have her name.

As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to appreciate different facets of Judith’s character. The astonishing courage of her actions – the way she risked not just her life, but her body. The mutual trust between her and her unnamed maid. The quiet courage she had shown before this moment, calmly managing her late husband’s estates and businesses, respected by everyone at a time when women – especially women acting in ways that women didn’t usually act – were not automatically treated as worthy of respect. Her willingness to position herself in a place that wasn’t just vulnerable, but that laid itself open to misinterpretation. She knew she wasn’t planning to sleep with Holofernes or to betray her city, her friends, her nation or her God – but anyone watching would have been forgiven for thinking she might. Judith doesn’t care how she’s perceived – she only cares about doing the right thing, the thing to which God is calling her. And, paradoxically, because of this she is rightly perceived as wise and holy.

Judith is not only a woman, she’s a childless widow. Feminist readings highlight this as a particularly vulnerable position – and they’re correct. But Judith is also wealthy, having inherited her husband’s estates and businesses. With means, and with the intellect to manage them, she is far less vulnerable than many people. So Judith – like many of us – occupies a paradoxical position: in some ways vulnerable, in other ways privileged. And she responds to this paradoxical position not by emphasising the ways that she’s vulnerable, nor by claiming her privilege, but by using her position and the resources at her disposal – wealth, beauty, wisdom – for the good of her city and her nation. Perhaps this can make her a particularly good example for those of us who are privileged in some ways and vulnerable for others; or for those of us trying to work out what it means to respond to God’s call in the changed circumstances around us.

Before she leaves Bethulia for the enemy camp, Judith prays. Let’s conclude with the words of her prayer:

For your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the powerful. But you are the God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed, upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken, saviour of those without hope. Please, please, God of my father, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all your creation, hear my prayer!
Judith 9: 11-12

Prayer

God of the broken, strength of the vulnerable, we give you thanks that throughout history, you have called women and men to unite with you in helping the oppressed, upholding the weak, protecting the forsaken, saving the hopeless. God of the poor, friend of the weak, give us your compassion and inspire us with your love. Teach us, like Judith, to defend and protect those in need; to challenge injustice; and to work for healing in your world. Amen

Huldah: prophetess of doom

2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34

I confess I had never heard of Huldah before and yet she is one of the seven female prophets in Jewish tradition.*

Huldah had the ear of kings and rulers and interpreted the Jewish Law with authority, and yet unlike most other biblical prophets we hear nothing about her family history, journey of faith, or personality. The frustrating thing is we get to learn more about her husband’s genealogy than hers, and he does nothing of any consequence.

Huldah, (her name means weasel which is unfortunate!) was a prophetess from Judah at the time when King Josiah was on the throne. She lived in Jerusalem with her husband Shallum, who had the enigmatic job title, ‘keeper of the wardrobe’.**

You will remember from yesterday’s post about Queen Athaliah that this period of history was one of a seemingly endless cycle of corrupt and cruel rulers of the divided nations of Israel and Judah. During this period (around sixty years) the temple in Jerusalem had been allowed to fall into ruin, the people turned to idolatry, and the laws and statutes given to Moses had been largely forgotten.

King Josiah was one of the few kings who ‘did what was right in the eyes of the Lord’. (2 Kings 22.2). He became king when he was only eight year old and he ruled with justice and equity, ensuring those who worked on the restoration of the temple were being paid and that all the temple funds were accounted for properly.

Whilst the building work to restore the temple was taking place one of the workers found an old copy of ‘the Book of the Law’ in the rubble. This would have been a collection of rolls of parchment containing sections of the Torah. This was read aloud to the king who was convicted by what he heard realising with horror how far they had moved from the Lord’s will:

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes
2 Kings 22.11

He wanted to understand what he was hearing and so he sent his high priest (Hilkiah) and scribe (Shaphan) to ask Huldah the Prophetess for guidance. She interprets the text with authority, clarity and boldness, and speaks to them of God’s judgment towards the people:

Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all the idols they have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.
2 Kings 22.17

She then tells them that God had seen and heard Josiah’s repentance on receiving the Law:

Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord…because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you.
2 Kings 22.18

God used Huldah’s prophetic voice to promise King Josiah protection and peace. The king responded by restoring God’s word to temple worship, renewing their vows to obey God’s law, and bringing back long forgotten Jewish festivals such as Passover. Alongside this he destroyed all the idols and shrines, sacked all the pagan priests and mediums, and pulled down the altars to Baal.

Neither before or after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with the Law of Moses.
2 Kings 23.25

And this remarkable transformation came about through the words of a female prophet who very few have ever heard of… Huldah.

* the others are Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail and Esther
** the job probably involved looking after the robes of the priests, rather like a verger would in our churches today.

Reflection and Prayer

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity,
to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
Ephesians 4.11-13

What is remarkable about this story is that King Josiah clearly had other learned temple priests and scribes he could call upon, and yet none of them were able to interpret scripture and explain the Book of the Law in the way that Huldah could. Is this the first example of biblical interpretation in scripture? I think it may be.

As we learn of Huldah’s gifts for prophetic teaching perhaps we can give thanks for all those women and men who have opened up scripture to us and have taught us something of God’s word.

Lord Jesus, merciful and patient, grant us grace
ever to teach in a teachable spirit;
learning along with those we teach,
and learning from them when it pleases you.
Word of God, speak to us, speak by us, what you will.
Wisdom of truth, instruct us, instruct by us, if and whom you will.
Eternal truth, reveal yourself to us, reveal yourself by us,
in whatsoever measure you will;
that we and they may all be taught of God. Amen

A prayer for teachers by Christina Rossetti (1830-94)

Athaliah: the vengeful queen

2 Kings 11

I tried reading Anna Karenina by Dostoyevky once but remember getting utterly confused by the similarity of so many of the names, with the added complexity that at times characters were called by their middle names. Our next woman, Queen Athaliah appears in a similarly confounding section of the Bible where the characters have names that sound the same and most seemed to begin with the letter J (or A).

We have Joram, Jehoram, Jehosophat, Jehosheba, Jehoash, Jehoida and they live in Jezreel. It is further confused by the fact it is a time when the kingdom is split into the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and at one stage the kings of both nations had the same name (Jehoram, but sometimes called Joram, in the same passage)!

Athaliah from Guillaume Rouillé’s Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum, 1553

Athaliah was the daughter of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel and lived in around c. 841 – 835 BC. She was married to King Jehoram of Judah and it is likely that the marriage was intended to be a union to unite the two rival kingdoms: it doesn’t work out that way. Her husband was a brutal man who had killed his six brothers in order to obtain the throne. Her brother is the other Jehoram, the one that was King of Israel at the time (you can see it’s confusing!).

Athaliah and Jehoram have children but tragedy struck when a rival faction of rebels seeking independence raided their palace and captured her entire family, leaving only her youngest son, Ahaziah, who eventually succeeded his father to the throne. Ahaziah’s rule only lasted a year as he was assassinated during a state visit to Israel by Jehu (King of Israel) who not only orders the killing of Athaliah’s son but also her entire extended family. In a gruesome additional detail we are told that the heads of the 70 murdered royal princes were placed in a basket and sent as a grizzly package to King Jehu.

On hearing what had happened to her family Athaliah doesn’t seem to grieve their demise: she is more concerned for power. She proclaims herself Queen of Judah and executed all those who had any royal claim, even killing the women and children: it is a truly horrific period of Israel’s history.

Her sister Jehosheba managed to rescue one of Athaliah’s grandchildren (Joash) from her purge, and he is brought up in secret by a priest named Jehoiada. The priest instigated a rebellion and proclaimed the child King when he was only seven years’ old.

Queen Athaliah was furious when she saw what had happened.

…all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, “Treason! Treason!’.
2 Kings 11.14

Her cries were useless. She was taken out and summarily executed at the gates of the palace.

‘..and the City was quiet, because Athaliah had been slain’.
2 Kings 11.20

Reflection

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, 
they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right,
 the other on his left. Jesus said,
 “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Luke 23.32-34

Athaliah is the only women in this lent series about whom I’ve struggled to find a single thing that is commendable or likeable. She was brutal, power hungry, and attempted to wipe out the entire line of Judah. Her sister even had to hide one of her own grandchildren from her for fear that she would commit murder. The only defence is that Athaliah was born into a violent world where both parents were brutally killed and her husband was similarly violent. Perhaps this might give us some context for her actions, but it is important to remember that women can be thoroughly evil and that some terrible crimes have been committed by women not just against them.

On reflecting on her I realise that I find it easier to consider women who are abused, victimised and enslaved than those who are powerful, vengeful and cruel. I wonder why that is?

Next week we will be heading into Holy Week where we will reflect again on Jesus’ final journey into Jerusalem, a journey which leads to his violent death on the cross. Whilst on the cross Jesus took all the pain, violence and suffering of the world onto himself and, surrounded by criminals, cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”.

Perhaps that is all we can do when faced with cruelty and violence in our world. We can pray for forgiveness. We can remember that Jesus died for the criminal and cruel as well as for those who nurture and care. And we can recognise that each one of us has the capacity to be cruel and violent as well, even if we aren’t quite as evil as Queen Athaliah!

Prayer

This beautiful prayer was found in the clothing of a dead child at Ravensbruck concentration camp

Lord, remember not only the men and women of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us: instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering – our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let these fruits that we have bourne be their forgiveness. Amen

Naaman’s servant: faith in adversity

2 Kings 5

This next story is rather close to the bone as it involves a contagious disease. Those suffering from this illness were designated ‘unclean’ and were separated from society for the protection of others. The disease was known as leprosy, although in the bible the term actually describes a multitude of skin diseases, such as psoriasis and scabies as well as ‘Hansen’s Disease, which is what we now call leprosy. Leprosy was not a discriminating disease, it infected people across society – those living in poverty suffered alongside the wealthy and powerful.

Our next woman had no power, prestige or popularity. She was merely a servant girl and, like so many of our women, we don’t know her name, but she was an Israelite girl who had been captured during one of the many raids on Israel by their Aramean enemies to the north. She is described as ‘a young girl’ and so it is likely she was around 12 years old. She had been given as a servant to the wife of Naaman who was the commander of King of Aram’s army and was known by all to be ‘a great man’ – he was highly respected, popular and had won battles for the King, but he suffered from this disease.

It might be useful to have a big of background to the political situation of the time. The year was around 930BC and Israel and Judah had been separate kingdoms for around 80 years. Israel had seen nine rebel kings who had turned to idolatry, worshipping golden calves, the god Baal, and other deities.

But despite this turbulent situation, there remained a ‘remnant’ within the kingdom who had continued to worship the true and living God, Yahweh (1 Kings 19.18). It is likely that our servant girl came from one of these families. She had a strong faith and perhaps it was this that enabled her to speak up when confronted with Naaman’s distress at his illness:

She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.
1 Kings 5.3

It isn’t hard to imagine the terror of being captured in an armed raid and being taken to a foreign land to work as a slave in the household of the very person who had captured you. Perhaps she held her captors in contempt and might secretly have enjoyed watching her master suffer from his painful and debilitating skin disease. But whether she felt this way or not is immaterial because the young woman doesn’t act on this. She seeks to help him by pointing him towards someone who she knew had the power to heal: the prophet Elisha.

It is extraordinary that these few confident, faithful words from a servant girl had such power that they galvanised the whole family, and even the king, into action.

Naaman’s wife spoke to Naaman and then he went to the King of Aram who gave him permission to travel to Israel and sent him to the King of Israel with a supportive letter and gifts. The journey would have taken them several days and, although it doesn’t say this in the text, it is probable that Naaman’s wife and the servant girl would have gone along with them. What must it have been like for her to travel back to her homeland, a place where she was once free and loved, but this time with those who had captured her and killed her people?

I wonder if she witnessed Elisha the prophet who, to Naaman’s horror, sent out his servant to tell him that his healing would come if he washed himself in the river Jordan seven times:

I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!
2 Kings 5.11

Naaman did not realise that his healing would be deeper than just being cured of his skin disease. He also needed to be healed of his own arrogance, pride, self-importance, and no doubt much else besides.

If the young girl had been there she may well have been worried whether those confident words said to her mistress and which sparked such a journey would be fulfilled. What if Naaman didn’t get healed by Elisha and the whole journey was in vain? What would be the consequences of this outcome for her?

If she had worried, she didn’t need to:

So [Naaman] went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
2 Kings 5.14

Naaman turns to God and they return to their home in peace:

“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel;
2 Kings 5.15

Reflection and Prayer

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, 
but set an example for the believers in speech, 
in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 
1 Timothy 4.12

The story of this faithful servant girl is a good reminder of the importance of having the courage to speak up about our faith at times. She could easily have believed that she was insignificant and that no-one would listen to what she had to say, and have kept quiet. Yet she shared her faith, and in doing so transformed the life of another person.

How often do we think that what we have to offer or share isn’t of much value? How often do we keep quiet about our faith in case we are ridiculed, mocked or ignored? Are there moments in your own life where you wished you had spoken up? Let us pray for the courage and faith of this young girl.

Prayer

Empower me
to be a bold participant,
rather than a timid saint in waiting,
in the difficult ordinariness of now;
to exercise the authority of honesty,
rather than to defer to power,
or deceive to get it;
to influence someone for justice,
rather than to impress anyone for gain;
and, by grace, to find treasures
of joy, friendship, healing and peace
hidden in the fields of the daily life
you have given me to plough.

The Widow of Zarephath: giving and receiving

1 Kings 17. 7-24

Whenever I can I help out at the Community Emergency Foodbank in Oxford which is run by my wonderful mother. The Foodbank provides much needed sustenance to an ever growing number of families every week who struggle to provide food for themselves and their children.

Our next woman was in a similar position.

She’s known in the bible as ‘The Widow of Zarephath’ and she lived in a thriving trade centre in the province of Sidon at the time when the king of Israel was Ahab, ‘who did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him’ (1 Kings 16.30). She had a young son to care for but as she had no husband she was vulnerable. Things were especially difficult as there was a drought in the land and she was at the point where she was down to her very last day of food, and she was close to giving up.

The prophet Elijah encountered her at the city gates where she was gathering sticks for her final meal with her son:

I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it [bread] for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
1 Kings 17.12

Elijah had predicted the drought to King Abab and for some years had been living on the banks of a Wadi (stream) where he was said to have been fed by ravens (1 Kings 17.3). When the stream eventually dried up the Lord told Elijah to go to Zarephath, and it was here that the thirsty and hungry prophet met our widow.

He asked her for water, which she went to fetch for him, but then he asked for more that she could provide:

Bring me a morsel of bread
1 Kings 17.11

It may only have been a morsel, but even that meager amount was too much for her. Elijah told her to not be afraid, to go home and make two small cakes, one for him and then one for her and her son. He promised there would be enough, not just for that day, but until the drought ended.

She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail.
1 Kings 17.15-16

There was plenty of food for them all.

The widow’s story doesn’t end there though, because even in the midst of this miracle, tragedy struck. Her beloved son became ill and died. She cried out to Elijah and in her grief looked to find someone to blame for her loss:

What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!
1 Kings 17.18

Elijah had no answer for this. Instead he took hold of her son, carried him to an upper room, and cried out to God:

O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?
1 Kings 17.20

In a remarkable act of faith Elijah stretched himself out on the boy and asked God for the boys’ life to return to him, which it did, ‘the life of the child came into him again, and he revived’.

Elijah Revives the Son of the Widow of Zarephath,
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794 – 1872)

We can only imagine the joy this woman felt to see her son returned to her. Not only had the Lord provided her with enough food to sustain them through the drought, but even the death of her son was not the end of the story.

Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.
1 Kings 17.24

Reflection and Prayer

Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish,
but how far will they go among so many?...Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted'
John 6.9,11

There are numerous echoes from this encounter between Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath to the life of Jesus, and you can see why Jesus’ early disciples thought he was Elijah who had returned (John 1.21). Both Elijah and Jesus spent time in the wilderness before their ministry, and this particular story reminds us of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, where Jesus feeds a crowd with the small boy’s meagre offering of loaves and fishes. The widow was similarly generous with the little she had, and was rewarded with abundant blessings.

We are not in a time of literal drought (far from it considering the amount of rain we had this winter in the UK!), but we are in a time of wilderness and I don’t know about you, but it feels rather like a drought. In these times it is generally the poor who suffer the most. Perhaps this story is a reminder to us all to be generous with what we have, whether that is a great deal, or only the most meagre of morsels. We might also pray that God would transform what little we can give and and make it far more.

And let us support our local foodbanks at this time, remembering that just a tin or packet from each of us creates an abundance for other ‘widows’ in a time of need.

O Heavenly Father, who by thy blessed Son hast taught us to ask of thee our daily bread; have compassion on those who live in poverty and hunger; relieve their distress; make plain the way of help; and grant thy grace unto us all, that we bear each others’ burdens according to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
George Appleton