The Crowned Head Bowed in Prayer

In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.

Exodus 19:1-2

It appears that the whole journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai has taken all of three months. This is quite a feat for vast numbers of people along with their families and likely all their possessions. Yet it should be noted that when you're in a desert, any amount of time is too long to be spent without adequate food, water, or resources, it matters not who is providing. Now I'm not saying that God can't provide, at all. I'm only saying that the desert gets to be awfully weary on the soul after a while is all. There at Mount Sinai was the law given to Moses who then brought it down to the people. Of course, he came down at first from the mount with the stone tables that God had inscribed. What should he find then but a giant calf erected with everyone gathered around it to the sound of music and dancing. From there, Moses cast the stones down in anger that had been given, breaking them on the ground all around. He only had to go back up again and write them all over again this time by hand, for that.

And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa

2 Chronicles 15:8-10

Here we see that Asa, a king of Judah, was with whoever else had joined him at the time. Anyway, these gathered for a joint purpose, namely the cleansing of all the idols from out of the land. Since everyone agreed with it, both Judah and the strangers with them, they went ahead and did it everywhere in which they had domain. Asa was what you would have called a good king because he led the people well. A whole lot of people followed him from a lot of different places because of what he said and did. Sometimes leadership isn't always about what is said though. It's what you do that counts too. That is why religion matters as well because people do not want to serve someone who thinks only of themselves.

Some rulers think only of their own personal gain regardless of how it hurts or affects anyone else. Asa did none of this. He had what makes up a good king. He was also willing to stand up for what's right and to do whatever it takes to free his people. It is in this month then, the month of the third, that everyone came on together for the sole purpose of worshipping the Lord. There were different animals that came along with them for killing and eating and even for sacrifice as demanded by law at the time. If you think about it, it really was a picture of what the demands were for sin.

And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?

Ezekiel 31:1-2

Here God calls forth his prophet, Ezekiel, who also was in bondage at the same time the other Judeans were also held captive back in Babylon. He sent his prophet to go speak to Pharoah king of Egypt about someone else. Notice that his message was not just about anybody in particular. It was about the Assyrian who was a cedar in Lebanon. See, at some point Egypt had been carried off into slavery as well. The text says they remained there forty years, then returned to the land of their own. The text also indicates these have had dealings with the Babylonians who also oppressed them. Now to what purpose God calls this king forth is not entirely clear. Perhaps, if it hasn't yet come true in the past, that's a matter best left to be seen in the future.

Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.

Esther 8:9

Then comes good queen Esther again and with her the scheming old uncle. The text says his name was Mordecai, of course. Who doesn't love a good story. I think I'll take my time with this last one if you don't mind. Haman was an advisor of the king who found he didn't particularly care for the Jews. So, he got up late one night and concocted a plan to turn the king against his captives who hadn't done him a bit of harm. Last time we saw the plot being made, sealed, and delivered. But now Haman isn't here, so you might wonder what happened. It seems good queen Esther was told what was up. Perhaps her own people had told her or even her uncle Mordecai, since he was the one responsible for crafting her into a queen. Once she had gotten in place by the side of the king, Mordecai told her to keep her heritage hidden safely deep down inside. When her people were threatened, remaining silent would have let her see her own people face danger while she maybe yet kept her own life. Perhaps someone might have turned her in or found out.

Still, in that day going to see the king unannounced meant sure and certain danger. Instead, she went on because of her people. As the story goes, he didn't kill her but rather granted her favor. In return, Haman was exposed and with him the plot. Thus, the gallows he had built for Mordecai, who sat in the gates of the city, returned for him instead. Mordecai was promoted to Haman's vacant position as one of the king's advisors. This then was part of the letter he sent to all the captives there of the land. It granted them permission to come for those who would hurt them and slay them on a certain day of the month in the same of that year. As history tells, very few took him up on that offer. There was only less than several hundred who died as a result.

Now that we've seen all this, the star shape resembles the crowned head bowed in prayer. Indeed, this seems to be the month for summoning kings, whether good ones or bad, to come now and so give an account.

Sivan (3rd) / December, Sagittarius, the crowned head bowed in prayer