2 Chronicles 21:11-15. Elijah writes to Jehoram, the king of Judah, who slew all of his brothers and some of the princes of Israel, who led the inhabitants of the land into idolatry and away from God, and who was just generally a horrible person. Elijah writes that because Jehoram has walked in the ways of Ahab and led Israel into unfaithfulness, and because he killed his brothers who were better than him, the Lord will send a great plague on his people - his children his wives and his possessions. And Jehoram himself will have a severe sickness in his bowels, which will cause his bowels to come out day after day.

I have blogged about this reading before in God's Justice Often Doesn't Look Like We Think It Should, but today I am intrigued by how, as bad as Jehoram is and as much suffering as he will go through, he doesn't even get a visit from Elijah, just a letter. Probably Elijah is trying to protect himself. After all, Jehoram killed his own brothers! Best not to get too close to him with bad news, much less a convicting prophecy

I am a big believer in "face-to-face" communications. I think a lot of our issues today stem from an unwillingness to spend time with people, and instead just shoot off a text or an email. But there are also people, including some in my own family, who I have to protect myself from right now. Whatever is going on in the world has caused them to be on a hair-trigger about certain issues, and often I wander blindly into those issues, unaware of their intense feelings on them. (And often what they believe on those issues is simply not true, but that is another story!) They cannot converse on a growing list of issues, and their anger and unhappiness makes them very hurtful should one stray into those areas. So I text with them, infrequently, and usually only to give them warnings, like Elijah here.

It is painful, especially with family and close friends, but it is necessary for my own protection. I just continue praying that whatever this evil is that has corrupted so much of the world, it lifts soon and we can go back to normal relationships with each other.