{"id":62617,"date":"2019-09-08T18:29:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-08T15:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=62617"},"modified":"2023-04-02T22:53:30","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T19:53:30","slug":"ancestral-heritage-and-the-power-to-choose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ancestral-heritage-and-the-power-to-choose\/","title":{"rendered":"Ancestral Heritage And The Power To Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[834,466,547,400],"acf":{"old_id":"62617","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34250,"related_cahpter":"302","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Allow entitlement to make you corrupt, or make the effort to live up to your birthright?","content":"

Throughout the books of Kings, the righteousness of the kings of Israel and Judah is assessed in terms of the precedents set by their predecessors. With regard to Judah, it all goes back to David: Will each king be good like David, or not?<\/span><\/p>\n

Descending from David presents a particular challenge, as indicated in the very moment the people rebelled against his grandson, Rehoboam. When Rehoboam declared his intent to be a harsh, demanding king, they responded \u201cWe have no portion in David, no share in Jesse\u2019s son\u201d (12:16). Why mention David in that moment? Abarbanel suggests they realized why Rehoboam was so unwilling to work with them: because he came from David and thought he was guaranteed to rule.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every descendent of David would have had to struggle against that sense of entitlement: will he relax into his throne, confident in God\u2019s promise of a Davidic dynasty, or will he put in the effort to live up to his birthright?<\/span><\/p>\n

Abijam and his son Asa offer one study in contrasting choices within the same family heritage. Oddly, both are identified as having had a mother named Maacah: \u201cHis mother\u2019s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom\u201d (15:2, 10). The contradiction can be easily resolved by concluding that that Asa was raised by his grandmother, who remained as queen mother, but we still want to understand her role in the story. When we discover that Asa \u201cdeposed his mother Maacah from the rank of queen mother, because she had made an abominable thing for [the goddess] Asherah\u201d (v. 13), that role becomes more clear. Maacah fills the role of the \u201cbad guy\u201d here, the evil influence, and the two kings who came from her have to decide whether to be with her or against her. Abiham followed in his mother\u2019s footsteps; immediately after she is named as his mother, we are told that he \u201ccontinued in all the sins that his father before him had committed; he was not wholehearted with the LORD his God, like his father David\u201d (v. 3). But when it comes to Asa, though he too has grown up under Maacah, the next line is different: \u201cAsa did what was pleasing to the LORD, as his father David had done\u201d (v.11)<\/span><\/p>\n

The contrast between Abijam and Asa, within their shared background, highlights each individual\u2019s power to choose. One rejects his ancestral father, emulating instead his immediate father and mother, while the other chooses to reject those influences and remains \u201cwholehearted with the Lord his God all his life\u201d (v. 14), like David before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, there are no guarantees even within guarantees; Solomon\u2019s sins caused a disruption in the Davidic dynasty despite God\u2019s promise. With each generation, we are reminded that heritage can only take one so far: every individual will have his own influences, challenges, and personality; each is held accountable for his choices, to live up to ancestral precedent and promise \u2013 or not.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":62618,"id":62618,"title":"1kings15-king","filename":"1kings15-king.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/1kings15-king.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/ancestral-heritage-and-the-power-to-choose\/1kings15-king\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"1kings15-king","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":62617,"date":"2019-09-08 15:28:53","modified":"2019-09-08 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