THE CAMBRIAN PESHER
THE VOICE OF THE DESPOSYNI TO THE AMERICAN DISPERSION
Pesher for Summer, 2008
When the Righteous Die Young
And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing
women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an
ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.
Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, according to that
which was written in the law of the LORD, and his deeds, first and last,
behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 35:25-27
I recently had the unpleasant task of
burying one of our beloved supporters and colleagues who suddenly succumbed to
a bizarre sickness contracted while on a visit to Los Angeles. Without going into detail, let’s just say it
was something that should not have been fatal.
He was healthy and strong. He was wise to health matters as a
natureopathic doctor and he had the help of a loving family. He was surrounded by believers in prayer.
God had every reason to heal
him. There were so many who needed his
counsel. He was talented and effective in Christian work. Indeed, he was working on a project at the
time of his death that had world-wide implications for the Kingdom of God. Yet within 24 hours of my being informed of
his condition, he was dead.
I was shocked. I always thought that
he would outlive me. He comes from a
long-line of octogenarians. In my
ancestry, men have their first heart attacks when in their 40s. I am 49 and beating the odds so far. He, however, did not. He died at 62.
I cannot disclose his name. I protect the privacy of members on this
website. Some of you may have known him.
The details of his demise should be sufficient for you to identify him. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter. We all have witnessed tragedy. His story can be repeated in the experience
of many others. The question we always
come back to is “why?”
The Faithful King
The story of King Josiah is one of
the most jarring and incongruous stories in the Bible. In the litany of Old Testament biographical accounts,
we are taught that the righteous enjoy long and prosperous lives; while in
contrast, the wicked suffer untimely fates.
If the righteous do come to a violent end, it is usually because of some
shocking sin or because they were destined for martyrdom.
Then we have the account of King
Josiah, the most righteous king Israel ever had. He instituted reforms, that had he lived,
would have changed the nation forever.
Yet, in a most bizarre twist of fortunes, he confronts the king of Egypt
in battle and is slain. This fate was contrary
to the assurance of the prophetess who responded to his inquiries when he
discovered the lost books of the law:
Behold,
I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in
peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this
place, and upon the inhabitants of the same.
- 2 Chronicles 34:28
We have no reasonable explanation for
this sudden turn of events in Josiah’s life.
In retrospect, we could say that he was foolish to have engaged the
Egyptian army in battle. But that is not
what kings are supposed to do. Kings are
required to protect the integrity of their borders. What kind of king would let a standing army
pass through his territory, even if it was to attack another nation?
King Josiah did everything
right. Even his strategy to disguise
himself for the battle was calculated to get him closer to the king of
Egypt. Perhaps he felt that killing or
confronting Pharaoh would lessen the carnage that inevitably came when ancient
armies collided in battle. Perhaps he
believed God’s promise that he would not die a violent death. Regardless, the king of reforms, the most
faithful king of David’s line, was dead at 39.
“Who did sin?”
God did not want Josiah’s reforms to
succeed. He told him that. They would be
a single-generation success and that was all.
The sins of the nation were too deep, to pervasive. The national experience of Israel was coming
to an end. It was inevitable. Did God kill him to stop his success? If so, then he was a matryr.
With my blessing, my friend was
working on a project that had the evangelistic and economic potential of
ushering in the Millennial Reign of Christ.
He was on the brink of obtaining funding to the tune of billions of
dollars. Did God stop him from success? Why?
Is it not time for the Millennium? Is our species condemned to continue to wallow
in the filth of oppressive technologies and ideologies? Are we condemned to an age of scarcity, war,
and darkness? Are we not yet ready for
the promised Age of Blessing? It
certainly seems so. I cannot think of
anyone else who could have shepherded this project that had such majestic
implications. Being the right man at the
right place at the right time often means the difference between success or
failure. Now, the right man is gone.
Why didn’t King Josiah come centuries
before? Why did he have to come at the
end, when it didn’t matter anymore? Why
did God have to kill him to seal the fate of Israel?
In the Gospel of John, we are told
the story of the blind man. The
disciples ask Jesus, “Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born
blind?” Jesus responded, “Neither this
man, nor his parents, but that the works
of God should be manifest in him.”
And now we have our answer: it is not a matter of sin, but of the plan
of God.
It is a quintessential truth that a
martyr dies to accomplish a greater good.
In looking at King Josiah, there must have been some good he
accomplished in his death that he could not have accomplished in his life. And while it might not be easily discerned,
we do see a marvelous outcome: a king was lost and a nation was lost, but a new
nation and a new royal line was born.
The prophet Jeremiah took a scion from the royal harem and fled to Ireland. The two daughters of David founded a new
royal dynasty for Ireland and under the guidance of the aging prophet, a
righteous people were made. Ireland
would not have been Ireland were it not for Josiah and Jeremiah. God would not have bothered sending St.
Patrick were not Ireland a people of the covenant. And Christendom would not have survived the
Dark Ages had not the light shined brightly in the Kingdom of the Saints.
As for my friend, the story is yet to
be told. All I can say is that his
funeral brought together to one place a righteous people. And for the first time, many know of his love
for the Desposyni and the Grail Church.
Perhaps in his death, he has accomplished what he could not have
accomplished in his life. And for this,
he will be remembered by us as a martyr.
A servant of Jesus,
James
A Collect for the Renewal
of Life
O God, the King eternal, who dividest the day from the night and turnest
the shadow of death into the morning; Drive far from us all wrong desires,
incline our hearts to keep thy law, and guide our feet into the way of peace;
that, having done thy will with cheerfulness while it was day, we may, when the
night cometh, rejoice to give thee thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.