Daily Prophets
Day 82
“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word of God of Hosts: A time is coming when everything in your palace, which your ancestors have stored to this day, will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left behind said God. And some of your sons,… will b taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Hezekiah declared to Isaiah, The word of God that you have spoken is good. For he thought, it means there shall be safety in my time.”(Isaiah 39:5-8)
Isaiah comes to tell Hezekiah that he made a tremendous mistake showing the Babylonians everything in his palace. Isaiah knows that Hezekiah’s belief ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ is specious and mendacity in action. Unfortunately, Hezekiah revels in his own self-deception.
This is not Isaiah on his own telling this to Hezekiah, this is Isaiah relating the word of God to him. He is telling him that Babylonia will come to conquer Judah, Jerusalem, the Palace and the Temple. He is explaining to him, in plain Aramaic, that not only will everything either be destroyed or taken, even his own flesh and blood, his own children will be castrated and become eunuchs to serve in the palace of another kingdom! And Hezekiah is unfazed.
Rather than be afraid and make some plans to undo what he has done, Hezekiah is pleased because he will not suffer defeat and whatever happens will happen after his death, so be it. What poppycock, what selfishness, what narcissism! Hezekiah is caring only about the immediate moment where he will be affected, not caring about what is coming next, after his death. His legacy is a legacy of self-centeredness and greed, he is more concerned with how he will look than how he can save his nation and ensure his family’s safety and continued rule.
Rabbi Heschel speaks about Hezekiah and his ilk in his book Man is Not Alone, pg. 91/92. “We all wear so much mental make-up, we have almost forfeited our face. God…is an eternal challenge, an urgent demand.” Hezekiah’s mental make-up, like so many people, especially those in power, was more important to him that God’s challenge and demand, more important than saving his sons from disgrace and loss of dignity, more important than ensuring the people of Judah were safe and secure! Rabbi Heschel says in his book The Prophets, pg. 426/7 “The certainty of being inspired by God… is the basic and central fact of the prophet’s consciousness. It was such certainty of being inspired that enabled the prophet to proclaim…Hear the word of the Lord”. Yet, Hezekiah and so many of us would/will not hear nor listen nor act on the words of God as spoken by the Prophets.
Our political leaders are so stuck in emulating Hezekiah that they also cannot/will not hear the words of God, of the Prophets. McConnell can tell corporations to get out of politics after he made corporations gain the same rights as individuals. Get out of politics and keep giving to me and my cronies so we can stay in power. McConnell and the Republican Party don’t seem to understand that this is not politics, it is decency, human rights, abiding by the constitution in the strictest sense, and it is about standing up for the poor and the needy. McConnell who claims to be a Christian is blaspheming Christ’s name and ignoring God’s words and paths so he “will be safe in his time”. We, the People have to rise up and say NO to the Blasphemers of our Constitution and of God’s Word.
In recovery, we are all about service. Yes, transparency is a key to living well and that does not mean ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. In recovery we focus on how to be congruent and kind, open and safe, imperfect and responsible. We would never sacrifice our children for our momentary gain. We did that before, in our addictions, and we are committed to living a life that never does this again. We see ourselves as loyal and trusted servants of God/Higher Power and our goal is to continuously “turn our Will and our Lives over to the Care of God, as we understand God”. We will make mistakes, just not ones like Hezekiah, we have surrendered our narcissistic behaviors, our selfishness, our self-centeredness, our practice of mendacity to God and, in turn we have acquired a spirit of openness, service, caring, kindness, seeking justice and truth, acting in loving ways even when feeling it not, deep compassion and unwavering hope. In recovery, we know where Hezekiah’s and McConnell’s path will take us and everyone around us and we now say NO to that path.
I continue to root out my own self-deception and mendacity. I continue to check my selfishness at the door before taking an action. I continue to care for myself, my family, my community in every way possible to ensure their continued growth and health. I continue to accept my powerlessness over others. I continue to be graced with the clarity to accept the things I cannot change and the courage to change the things I should. I continue to be blessed and grateful. I continue to surrender my will to God’s Will. I continue to be imperfect and improve one grain of sand each day. How are you heeding the Call of God and the Prophet today? Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark