Thirty Years, Five Rulers

2 Kings 15:30

Then Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He attacked and assassinated him, and then succeeded him as king in the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah.

Born in 1975, I was one Martial Law baby. But of course I don’t have any memory of what it’s really like, except that Voltes V was banned during those years; The next political thing I knew was the People Power Revolution. I was in fifth grade then and for us kids, it was all ‘battle of the sexes’. You can imagine how we teased the boys after the count; Then there was the coup attempt, a.k.a ‘No Classes’; For the Centennial Celebration, I was honored to be on the sidelines as a Chorale member. Seeing FVR wave the flag in Kawit Cavite was my most patriotic moment, ever; Next highlight, (or was it lowlight?) was the Erap impeachment proceedings. It was around the time I was doing choreography for the Senate Choir and so I felt quite involved. Just don’t ask me the whys and hows of that gig, okay? haha :> Last, was the recent hospital arrest for GMA. In this timeline, I saw the mugshots  trending, reposted, and retweeted. So that’s it!, My thirty six years journeying with our five presidents.

Now imagine with me that we’re born in Samaria, and you’re around my age.  We’re just toddlers when the Jehu dynasty ended. Zechariah was last of that favored line. Sadly, he was publicly assassinated after only six months in service. His assassin, Shallum, took over the throne, but after a month suffered the same fate. We may have heard wailings, but our parents kept us from the scene. Now we know all the pregnant women back then were ripped open by Menahem - - the assassin who forced his way through the city gates and proclaimed himself king.  This brutal man reigned for a decade. He may appear to have stabilized the land, but actually it was Assyria controlling him by way of tribute. His son succeeded him, Pekaniah. But after two years, his own chief officer conspired against him and killed him in the citadel of the royal palace. It was Pekah, and yes again, the assassin became the king. But in taking Pekaniah’s life and crown,  by default, he inherited all the bad agreements too. We were supposed to go to college at this time, but because the Assyrians took the best lands up north, we had fewer career options. Twenty years after, Hoshea assassinated Pekah. Probably we’re one with him in crying hope for the land, needing new leadership. But can he? That ends our thirty three years journey with the five kings, or should we say, assassins.

There is nothing new under the sun. We’re not better than those before us. We’re not worse either. If there is one refrain reverbing in all five kings, it’s this sound: ‘they did evil in the eyes of the Lord and they did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam’. Those years in Israel were characterized by instability. There’s no guarantee of any hold. Except sin. It is constant and continuing. Pushing them downhill. Five kings, thirty three years in darkness, but nowhere can we find anyone seeking the Lord. God never failed in sending them prophets to return to Him – to His protection, His rule, His love – but no one did. Today, we cry in desperation for our country. We wonder if we really did right in choosing this man to lead us, to pick us up and bring us back to the right path. Here’s our answer: No, he can’t. Not with positive thinking, not even with patriotic pleas. Sin is the issue here. Unless our president calls everyone to spiritual reforms, to seek the Lord and surrender to Him, then no, he can’t. Hope is found in God alone. He can better write our history if we allow Him to make it HIS-story. ‘Thirty Years, Five Rulers, One God’ - - now, how’s that for a title?