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The Terror of the Text
Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us,
because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book.
2 Kings 22:13
Two weeks ago our first lesson (2 Kings 18:17 – 19:7) narrated the dramatic appearance of the Assyrian army before the gates of Jerusalem in the year 701 B.C. Today’s first lesson (2 Kings 22:1-20) narrates the qually momentous event in Israelite history that occurred 80 years later, in the year 621 B.C.: the discovery of the Book of the Law while repairs were being made in the Temple, at the command of King Josiah.
During the intervening decades Assyrian power had declined, making possible a renaissance of Judean nationalism, and Josiah embarked upon a programme to cleanse Judean worship of Assyrian and other alien elements. This reform was probably already underway when the remarkable discovery in the Temple was made.
When the contents of the document were read to the king, he tore his garments (v. 11)—an oriental gesture of consternation and despair. He demanded that the High Priest verify the authenticity of the manuscript by consulting Huldah, the prophetess (vv. 12-14). Her response was devastating: because of the violation of the words of the book, God would bring evil upon Jerusalem (vv. 15-17), making it “a desolation and a curse” (v. 19).
The First Letter of John tells us that “God is love” (4:16), and today’s second lesson (John 14:15-31) begins with the theme of love, which is so central to the Fourth Gospel. But when we red the Bible, it is not only love that we hear: reading the Bible is not always a pleasurable experience.
King Josiah’s reaction upon the discovery of the Book of the Law is a classic instance of the terror that Bible reading can inspire. The Bible has justly been called “a horrible book,” and if we are to enter into the world of this book, sooner or later it will strike terror in our hearts. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (10:31), and it is the living God whose voice we seek to hear in scripture. John Bunyan refers to “those dreadful scriptures” which had brought him to the verge of despair.
In our enlightened age we may regard such reactions with condescending amusement, since we are no longer so certain that human disobedience automatically provokes divine retribution, whether here or hereafter. Bu even for us the Bible has its terrors. Phyllis Tribble has appropriately called the Old Testament stories of the rejection, humiliation, rape, and murder of women Texts of Terror.
Today there is a tendency to limit the Bible’s message to whatever affirms the values of our enlightened, democratic society. But for the Bible to bring about genuine transformation, we must acknowledge, as King Josiah did, the emotions which the text actually produces in us, and not try to simulate the edifying reactions which we have been taught to expect.
July 9, 2006
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