Inner Kings: The Thistle and Cedar

Neville's Inner Vision

Within the inner economy of consciousness, Amaziah and Joash are not princes but states of mind—ambition and authority contending for supremacy. The outward proposal to meet face to face is the dramatic surface of a deeper choice: will I trust in my small, personal alliances with others, or will I rest in the one enduring alliance with the I AM? The 'thistle' and 'cedar' are not mere wood but symbols of inner dispositions—fears of loss, hunger for position, and the towering sense of self that calls itself king. Joash's reply is a ruthless, vivid image: the fragile thing in Lebanon, boasting of marriage, is trodden by a wild beast; this is the inner voice reminding us that ego cannot resist the organic power of the divine I AM when allowed to act in consciousness. The Kingdom of God is not a treaty but a steady inner alignment, and pride is the trap that invites defeat. The remedy is simple: assume and feel as if the I AM is the rightful king here, revise the sense of competition, and let the inner authority dissolve the outer drama.