Today's Reading May 19

This morning's reading from the Old Testament is from Second Kings, chapters 23, 24, and 25, which completes the books of the Kings. It begins very well with the accession of King Josiah. The last good king for a very long time. But Josiah is killed in battle over near Megiddo (right by Armageddon, by the way) and his son takes over and things go bad right away. His son is evil, and so are all the successors until the Babylonians come in, wreck the place, and drag off most of the remainder to Babylon. (right outside modern-day Baghdad, by the way, some things never change).
I can't help but wonder why good kings, like Hezekiah, Josiah, David, etc. are so often followed by sons who are of a different sort. One would like to think that one who ably rules a kingdom could do as well in his own household. That again still is seen today.

This evening's passage from the New Testament is still in the Gospel of John, chapter 7, verses 1 through 31. Jesus has gone secretly into the Temple during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, and teaches there. And immediately stirs up opposition. There are those who involved in various cult groups do not believe either in the divinity of Jesus, or that He claimed such, are or should be very nervous about passages such as this. Indeed, they should be nervous about the whole Gospel of John. But then, they don't seem to pay much attention to the Bible anyway.