An Invitation

Come with me into the dangerous ancient world of biblical Israel inhabited by heroes, heroines, hissable villains, a chorus of naughty Israelites, countless silent victims and Yahweh the God of Israel who does whatever it takes to win his people back from the gods of Canaan to covenant loyalty.

·        Read about Othniel who wins a bride as a reward for single-handedly taking a city in which Israel’s warriors show no interest. Could this be the storyteller’s brief outline of an ancient love story? Discover how Israel’s war-hero takes on and defeats a grisly world-class oppressor and brings peace to the land.

·        Meet Ehud, Israel’s civil servant, who makes a wooden dagger which he hides beneath his clothing. He gains access to an oppressive king’s private apartment where he commits the perfect murder. Ehud makes his escape and after calling out the Israelite army, slaughters the robust Moabite invaders who have oppressed Israel for eighteen years.

·        Pause to take in the heroism of Shamgar who is not to be overlooked.

·        Marvel at the courageous Barak who charges downhill on foot as he leads his warriors to defeat an oppressor equipped with iron chariots and unknown numbers of infantry.

·        Gasp as Jael, the woman who—when home-alone—deceives and slaughters an oppressor charioteer rapist by securing his head to the floor with a tent peg and hammer.

·        Sing along with Deborah as she celebrates with glee the triumphs of Yahweh because her people are free at last from twenty years of oppression.

·        Follow Gideon as he changes overnight from cynic to popular hero. He defeats vast numbers of invaders with a token force by simply standing still and making a lot of noise!

·        Be horrified at Abimelech, a nasty man, a very nasty man indeed, who slaughters his rival half-brothers. Then beam with delight as the wheels of retribution turn in his direction.

·        Be intrigued by the story of Jephthah who is first betrayed by his family, then head-hunted to be army commander and tribal leader. As the result of a vow vowed under duress, he is obliged to sacrifice his daughter. Be further intrigued when the identity of the story’s prime-mover is revealed.

·        Be amused at the stupidity of Philistines who take the bate and attempt to answer Samson’s unanswerable riddle. Discover how Samson, armed only with a dog’s dinner
(a bone), is able to slaughter a thousand Philistines! Even though disabled and alone he is still able to kill even more Philistines and to demonstrate that their non-existent god is a creation of their own imaginations.

·        Be aghast at the grim stories in the final chapters, weep with the victims and wonder how it is that anyone survives.

·    Ponder the complex character of Israel’s God (Yahweh) who manipulates nations and   characters as he drives their stories forward. Yahweh uses any means available in order to secure the loyalty of wayward Israelites. When reason and argument fail, intimidation and violence are employed. When intimidation and violence fail, Yahweh only speaks when he is spoken to.

·       Ask yourself: for what purpose did an ancient storyteller collect these violent claret-soaked stories in which mercy, compassion and forgiveness are lacking and retell them in bright, bold colours against the sweeping panoramas of the ancient world? Judges is fraught with shocking episodes of real violence which are presented raw on the page but are neither glorified nor trivialized.

The Book of Judges was written by an ancient scribe who dared to be dark. Do not imagine that you know what is going to happen next or who will do what to whom or why in this intriguing unpredictable distant story-world in which characters take enormous risks with their lives and readers are treated like mature adults.

 Copyright © Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2007