Bittersweet

"This song is over, I'm left with only tears. I must remember even if it takes a million years." - The Who

"Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel before him" (1 Kings 16:33). For the prophet life was bittersweet. On the surface they often appear as vengeful men longing for God to rain down fire from heaven upon every malcontent they laid their judgmental eyes on. This of course is a gross misunderstanding of their character and emotional make up. They loved God and they loved God's people. Yet they themselves were often unloved. They insisted Israel return to a YHWH and his ways. Kings of course have a habit of creating their own systems and becoming a god unto themselves. Let's face it. There's only room for one king/god in the kingdom.

The land was in turmoil. It groaned under the weight of idolatry. In its polluted state it had become a fruitless wasteland. The prophet preached and prayed, from the temple, from the synagogue, on the rooftop. He lived in the shadow of ridicule and scorn, for kings have a way of raising up their own prophets and priests to function like puppets on a string. Then it happened one day. Like all kings they fade away. Sometimes quietly and others rather violently. The prophet contemplates tomorrow. He hopes in God and is wary of the political landscape. Yet in some way he can breathe again. Even if but for a moment. It is not a sigh of relief but a breath of hope that you hear if you are close enough to him.

For the prophet life is bittersweet. There is no joy in the failure of kings. God will not be mocked. So in humility the prophet meditates upon the future king, the King of kings. For he can not put his trust in chariots or horses. Rather the word of the Lord is a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path. A new day comes and with a new opportunity for those within the land to live out the redemptive story. And is that not the prophets responsibility? To live that life and preach that story. To be a window into an alternative reality. To go beyond prophetic imagination but practice obedient prophetic anticipation. Sola Fide -WHB