Friday, May 02, 2014

King Yoram Under Pressure

Melachim B (Kings II) 6:28: Shomron (Samaria,) the capital of Israel, is under siege by Aramea, and a starving woman comes to King Yoram (Joram) to complain that she and another woman had agreed to kill and eat eachother’s babies and, after killing her own baby, the other women reneged.  Yoram blames the God of Israel and says to go take it up with him.  A disturbing exchange which raises many questions pointing to the confusion of the times:

1.       Why did the Yoram blame the God of Israel when he had not prayed to him, but to the pantheon of idols?

2.       Why did the woman come to the king for justice when in so doing she automatically admitted her own culpability in the murder of her own child?

3.       Why did Yoram do nothing to her when she admitted her crime?

There is a stark contrast between Yoram’s behavior and Shlomo’s (Solomon) with the two mothers who were arguing over the same baby.

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