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Many will follow the British coronation this weekend, as Charles III performs the ceremonial religious duties of a sovereign, including being anointed by oil as was done once by the kings and queens of Judah and Israel, from whom the Windsors, so it’s said, descend.
But for those of us deep inside the saga of the Book of Kings, this week has not been about the celebration of monarchy and kingdom but instead about the end of both.
The Jewish calendar includes the fast day of the 9th of Av, the saddest, mid-summer day of the year on which we remember the destruction of Jerusalem, the burning of the temple, and the exile of its people. But who ever mourns the exile of the northern kingdom or the sorrows of Samaria? When do we lament the lost ten tribes gone missing into the melting pot of colonial empire building 2,700 years ago, along with rich traditions we will never know and a bustling royal court?
This past week in Below the Bible Belt we witnessed the beginning of the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel- its demise by Assyria will be complete when we read the remaining chapters of Kings 2 next week.
The Southern Kingdom of Judah will be spared - but only for a century.
What’s striking in these heartbreaking chapters where history echoes some of the patterns we still recognize today is that the battles aren’t just about territorial claims, wealth and power. It’s also a lot about religious demands and dominion. The prophets who begin to take their place in this book, starting with Isaiah who shows up next week, will remind us again and again that the battleground is not about politics - it’s about theology and faith. Part of what made the Assyrian takeover of the region so complete was not only the empire’s insistence on total obedience to the king and his taxes - it was also to their god and their beliefs. The Assyrians had no separation of religion and state. And that was a big problem for the people who found themselves as part of the empire.
In his monumental book, The Prophets, A. J. Heschel writes about this moment:
“The Assyrians were fanatically devout. In military campaigns the king assumed the role of deputy of the god. The prowess and victories of the army were thought to reflect the power of the god Assyria. Assyria imposed the recognition of her gods as the overlords of the gods of the conquered peoples. Political subservience involved acceptance of her religious institutions. It was nearly impossible for a small vassal state to keep from being flooded with the idolatrous and superstitious practices under royal Assyrian protection. This explains the infiltration into Judah of all sorts of foreign cults and superstitions in the period she was a vassal of Assyria.”
So as the Kingdom of Israel disintegrates, the Kingdom of Judah is watching with fear, the prophets rise to raise their voice in this conversation about spirit, soul, faith and trust - who can you rely on when all around you topples? Isaiah is waiting in the wings.. We’ll meet him next week.
Shabbat Shalom! Long Live the Majesty of All.
Prophet over Crown?