There's an amazing though little read book of the Old Testament called Judges. Believed to have been written around 1000 B.C., some 400 years after most of the events it describes, it is a book of extremes. Want to read about gang rape, mass murder, human mutilation, betrayal, theft, stark paganism, sexual abduction, superhuman strength, and warrior exploits that pit tribe against tribe and leave tens of thousands of dead and often innocent bodies on the plains of Canaan? Well, go no further than the 21 chapters of Judges.
And yet, more than the tabloid exploits, it is a book, written perhaps by the prophet Samuel or perhaps anonymously, that presents the sheer ignorance of mankind in graphic detail. And it is mankind that's screwing up here, not humankind, because the women and children are just pawns waiting for the macho males to get over it. For example, it is hard to imagine a new generation following the divine leadership of Moses and Joshua, and being given free land and prosperity by God and his earthly commanders in chief, that within one generation has chucked all pretense of following the laws of Yahweh and instead is, to a man, just out for himself. The Book of Judges' constant refrain is: "In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." It proves to be a formula for disaster.
And what have we learned in the 3,000 years since Judges was written? Are we any smarter? Do we somehow avoid the foibles and pitfalls that all those temporary leaders of Israel fell prey to? Have we evolved past all that crap?
Obviously not. It is surreal to read Judges and realize that the sins and mistakes of that day are still with us on this day, 3 millennia later. And it is just plain sad to realize that we don't seem to ever learn, even with the aid of history. We still fall prey to naysayers and demagogues, we still get conned and duped, we still take what we want and flip the bird at our objectors, and we still, as they did then, justify our actions and thus assure ourselves of entry into the pearly gates of all that Heaven can allow. For those who might think that modern sins eclipse those of the biblical days, just read Judges. How stupid we still are!
Who are our enemies? Is it Hollywood and the West Coast? Is it the media of the East Coast? Is it all those university professors who are professed or closet atheists? Is it politicians of every stripe and creed? Is it the lukewarm pastors who stopped preaching the gospel years ago so as not to offend? Is it the red hot evangelists who wouldn't know God's word if it bit them on their collective asses? Is it every ''towelhead" and every "wetback" out there that's out to separate us from our homes and our homeland and our loved ones? Is it every right wing wacko preaching red white and blue, and every left wing capitulator seeking the path of least resistance?
Of course. All of those are sometimes our enemies. But the problem is, sometimes they're our friends as well. And the real problem is that our biggest enemy is usually ourselves. And as the misguided Israelites found out, for that you need God. Because governing ourselves just as we see fit is not a long-term solution, and never has been.
What do you think?
Micah the Moderator
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