Walt and Sue Fitzgerald will be traveling to meet grandchild #9, Andrew Jeffrey Heath, born last night (July 7) to their daughter Megan and her husband Jeff. Susan says "Praise God that all is well!" Congratulations to the family!!
Congratulations to Tom and Rene Worden, on the birth of their daughter Emma Grace Worden earlier this morning (3:50 am, Wednesday July 7). Emma's birth weight is 7 lb. 6 1/2 oz., and everyone is doing fine. Special congratulations to Lorren and Mimi on their new grandchild!!
I never cease to be amazed at how people manage to completely twist the facts to arrive at a conclusion the opposite of the obvious. The interpretation of the Scriptures is no exception to this human failing. You may have noticed contemporary efforts to turn Judas into some kind of a tragic hero (Example). Now I just came across a new one: Jezebel as devoted, compassionate wife and dignified martyr. You can’t make this stuff up. Let me share with you the positive spin put on Queen Jezebel by archaeologist David Ussishkin in the latest issue (July/August 2010) of Biblical Archaeologymagazine.
Just a quick review on Jezebel: The wife of evil King Ahab of Israel, Jezebel came from pagan Sidon in Phoenicia. She was zealous for the promotion of Ba’al worship in Israel, and embarked on a campaign of murder to exterminate the followers of the Lord. When the prophet Elijah courageously stood against her, she threatened to kill him, though she never succeeded in doing so. In a later incident, Jezebel engineered the murder of a man and his sons so that her depressed & frustrated husband, Ahab, could steal the man’s land. She continued to promote her pagan religion after the death of Ahab, during the reigns of her two sons. Jezebel met her end when Jehu, an Israelite general, was called by God to punish the family of Ahab. As Jehu approached her palace she fixed her hair and makeup, then defiantly insulted Jehu from her upstairs window. It appears that by this time she had lost every last shred of loyalty among the Israelites, since Jehu had no trouble getting some of her own servants to throw her out the window to an ignominious death.
Jim Cook
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Music Night, June 2010
Anti-Semitism on the Rise
I never cease to be amazed at how people manage to completely twist the facts to arrive at a conclusion the opposite of the obvious. The interpretation of the Scriptures is no exception to this human failing. You may have noticed contemporary efforts to turn Judas into some kind of a tragic hero (