Gray and Plaid

I’m reading through the kings again. A decade ago I tucked into my Bible a chart detailing the names, dates, years of reign and “character” of each of the kings of Israel and Judah.  The character column lists simply, “good” or “bad.”  Yesterday a Sunday school student showed me his Bible’s updated table. It adds “mostly good” and “mostly bad” to the characterizations.

Saul-“mostly bad.” Recall: Early pardon of his enemies AND spears aimed for David.

David-“mostly good.”  Recall: Goliath, psalms galore, grace to bloodthirsty Saul AND Bathsheba.

Solomon-“mostly good.”  Recall: Prayer for wisdom, temple construction AND 1000 wives, princesses and concubines.

Fast forward a half dozen or so kings to wicked king Ahab.  Ahab who “did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.” Whose hundreds of priests of Baal faced off  against Elijah on Mt. Carmel.  Who, with his lovely Jezebel, knocked off righteous Naboth. For his vineyard. The murderous thug.  Big, ugly, sin.  Selfish,ugly, melancholic king. 

But Ahab humbled himself.  God saw his contrition.  Bad king (mostly).  Repentant king, shown mercy.  Maybe enough to move from the “bad” to “mostly bad” category?

It works both ways.

Three kings later: Jehu- zealous for God.  So zealous that he executes Jezebel, slaughters Ahab’s 70 sons.  Not satisfied, Jehu “with cunning” manages to gather the prophets and worshipers of Baal worshipers and wipe them out too.   Such a righteous warrior!  Good-er, make that “mostly good.”  

Jehu didn’t “turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam” the worship of the golden calves.  His zeal was incomplete; Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord with all his heart. 

As I make my way down through the royal annals one truth is inescapable: the good kings are not all good, and the bad are not all bad.

I think God does not want this inconvenient truth obscured.  No one is righteous, no not one. Neither is His arm too short or his ear stopped to the cries of the humble and contrite.  Ezekiel preached it to God’s exiled people. 

Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. (18:25-27)

A few days ago we received a letter from the Voice of the Martyrs ministry.  It explained that Tom White, VOM’s longstanding director and public face, had taken his own life. On April 25th, with allegations of sexual molestation of a minor becoming public, he quit the fight.  (See a beautifully written letter to his victim at http://www.wadeburleson.org/2012/04/sin-and-suicide-of-voice-of-martyrs.html) I have long supported VOM and its ministry to persecuted Christians around the globe.  I pray for God’s blessing on its leaders, especially now.  Tom White’s front cover inspirational editorial of the May issue was still sitting atop my reading pile. 

My stomach still churns, my mouth grimaces at the thought of it all.  The impact on the ministry, the victim, his family, the suffering saints in North Korea and Columbia and Nigeria whose causes he championed all these years.  A seasoned and mature seeming saint, imprisoned in Cuba decades ago for his faith.  Good?  Mostly good?  A sexual predator and hypocrite.  Bad?  The Lord only knows.

If you envision “good”  (or “mostly good”) in the column after your name in listed, 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 has a word for you:  Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.