Sam VIII Demanding a monarch: The people of Israel were clearly not happy with the sons of Samuel and their leadership. The bible states that they were corrupt and took bribes. They then asked Samuel to appoint a king so that they may be like all other nations. Samuel got very upset at his people for demanding a King. A simple reading of the text without taking into account the larger context can lead one to believe that Samuel wanted his children to lead and that is what upset him. More puzzling is G-d’s agreement with Samuel, stating that the people wanting a king, reflects their rebellion against G-d. This chain of events is particularly perplexing, as the text plainly states that Samuel’s children were corrupt and were therefore bad administrators, it is the same text that states that the Hebrews were demanding a king out of rebellion? Is the Bible doing a phsycological analysis of the legitimate demands of the people? After all monarchy was common practice in the ancient world and even the Pentateuch condones monarchy as a legitimate demand, albeit with severe limitations, but it still is considered a legitimate demand. This has baffled many biblical commentators…………………………… The Biblical system of Government is a popular issue in Biblical academic circles. There is much debate as to whether the Torah mandates a Monarchy, Theocracy, Benign dictatorship, or even a democracy. The Pentateuch seems to clearly state that it is a commandment to anoint a king. However, a close reading of the text would show that the commandment is dependent on the will of the people, as in “if you settled the land and you would say we want a king like all the other nations” then you shall appoint a king”. (Deuteronomy 17) It seems that the Biblical option of a king is 1) only if you want 2) “like the nations”, apparently it didn’t make a difference to the Biblical author what form of government we choose! If monarchy is what is popular then it is acceptable, it would follow logically that a constitutional democracy or any other system of government would be equally acceptable, as long as that is what the people want. What the Bible does stipulate is strong limitations on the “Monarchs” wealth, his stables, and his Harem. These limitations can be extended to any executive power of any later more “Modern” forms of government. The Principle implicit in the Biblical discussion of Monarchy is that various forms of government might fit different generations. However, it seems more important to the Biblical ACE that this “’amorphous” king who’s exact responsibilities and duties are left unexplained, be limited in his pursuit of wealth, lust, and power. Maimonedes in his classical work Sefer Hamitzvoth preludes his work with several principles of what would classify as a “Mitzva” or biblical precept and what would not. The 3d principle is that a Precept that is for a specific generation is not considered a biblical precept included in the traditional 613 mitzvoth. He believed that all “specific commandments” attributed to Sinai were only commandments when binding for all generations. A commandment for a limited time, like the war with Midian or the allocation of Manna is not a “Mitzva” just a local historic event, whereas resting on the Sabbath, giving tithes, abstaining from forbidden animals, and annointing a king is “binding for generations”. The biblical ACE seemed to have tremendous foresight and knew that no form of government is perfect, and that each generation as it evolves will develop its own political theory’s and put into practice as they see fit. Four main issues were important, 1) That the king not forget G-d, mainly that he shouldn’t be lulled into a false feeling of absolute power. This concerns not just the king, people often deify their leaders and worship them as demi-gods and gods. There is no difference between Kim Jong Il, Joseph Stalin, Pharoe, Adolf Hitler, and an Idol, these people killed by the word of their mouth, people would sing their praises in the morning and would show signs of physical weakness at the sight of these despots. Mainly, these people were not just above the law, they were the law. This happens because humans have an ingrained need to worship something, to stand in the presence of something greater than themselves and nullify their existence. This is what Nazi Rally’s achieved, the banners, grand hallways, parades, flaming torches, thunderous music all programmed to give people a feeling of disappearing into a powerful mass of something larger than life. Incidentally religious gatherings, rock concerts, and mass rallies all tap into that same primordial human need. That is the most powerful of human emotions and the root cause of idolatry. 2) That the king not amass to much wealth, women and power, if a ruler is no god, he is like all other men, granted, he has privileges born out of great responsibilities. However a higher power ie; the yoke of heaven is hovering above him. This divine law limits his privileges and calls for responsibility, and temperance. It is another curious Mitzvah for the king to write his own copy of the Tora to take with him, this is tantamount to the president of the USA being required to write his own copy of the US constitution and carrying it everywhere he goes! (this idea I got from AH Hazaq ubaruch to him for that) He would be reminded of the freedoms he was elected to protect, the ideals his country was founded on, and his awesome responsibility to uphold these ideals. The Hebrew king is required to carry his own personal copy of the “constitution” to meetings, to war, to the temple, everywhere he went. Actually, tradition has it that this “Mishne Torah” was rolled in a leather pouch and bound to his side not unlike the Teffilin (Phylacteries) worn by covenantal Jews today! (yes there is an implied connection….. ) 3) The king must be elected by the will of the people “and it will come to pass, where you would say, we want a king like all the nations etc.” only if the people ask for a king, “by the people, for the people”. A conquering warrior who has killed his enemies has no mandate by Biblical standards. This is a unique trait ingrained in ancient Hebrew culture as seen from Gideon who after being victorious in war, refused the Hereditary monarchy offered to him by the Israelites, exclaiming “ I will not rule you, my children will not rule you, only G-d shall rule over you”. This is a monumental event, unparalleled in human history until many generations later. King George IV said of President Washington that if he abdicates the presidency after finishing his term he will be the greatest man alive. General George Washington was hesitant to accept the presidency as the connection between military success and executive power was not the way he wanted this new political experiment to look. It was precisely the Christian dogma of “Give Caeser what is Caesers and give G-d what is G-d’s” that gave despots the ability to oppress their people. It is the Hebrew principle of “He shall not raise his heart above his brothers” that fueled the righteous indignation behind the US revolution. (for more info see Jose Faur’s Horizontal society appendices “Gideon and Washington”) These Principles are timeless and were thus transmitted to a confederacy of desert tribes who had no knowledge of Government structures and political theory. They were loosely organized by tribal elders representing distinct and separate tribes. Each tribe had their own individual identity and even different accents. Moses would guide them in receiving the law and applying it, however the “Elders” (zikne haeda) were an institution that existed to a certain extent in Egypt, they were apparently a semi-autonomous governing body that served to manage the affairs of the Hebrews internally, and vis a vis the Egyptian masters. These Elders continue to function in the Bible up until this very moment where they demand a “king to rule over us, and to fight our wars”. It is important to note that Samuel was no political leader, he was a prophet and a judge as we can plainly see the wars were fought without his input, the temple was managed independently. There is no evidence that Samuel’s unworthy sons had any more power than him, on the contrary the bible states that Samuel “Placed them as Judges in his place”. Apparently the Hebrew tribes were functioning as a semi proto democratic union of tribes each represented by elders, either voting or persuading each other what decisions to make. The people were accompanied by an aging prophet and a corrupt judiciary. However the system of government was both representative of the people and gave them full responsibility for their actions. The time period here is such, that Israel was being periodically overrun by marauding Philistines who were a superior enemy, the judiciary was not good and there was probably other issues plaguing them such as economic recession, social upheavel, bad roads etc. Instead of taking matters into their own hands and owning up to their responsibilities, they chose to give up and ask for a “King that will rule us, and we will be like all nations he shall judge us, and go before us and fight our wars” it is clear that we have a case of men not being capable of handling their G-d given responsibilities, demanding a superman who will do it for them! This is not unlike the childish and wistful approach to the Messianic Prophecies espoused by Christianity, and Various other mutations of Judaism. Jesus was a Messia by the sheer magnitude of his person, he of course was deified eventually (this is an automatic result of any idolization and idealization of a human being). The philosophy, that people will do a few actions in the earthly world (Mitzvoth, Kaballa learning, and most of all, proselytizing and fundraising) these earthly actions are to cause a uproar in heaven, that would force G-ds hand and he would send this long awaited Messiah to miraculously redeem the Jews, of course the temple would come down from heaven and all nations will gather to marvel and serve this new “Ubernation”. Regardless of the identity of the Messiah, Judaisms argument with Christianity was over the function of the Messiah, more than over his identity! The Hebrew nation is mandated by the Bible to conquer Israel, be faithful to the covenant and build a Temple. The Biblical ACE foreshadowed the exile (we are the only nation on earth to foreshadow our own exile as well as our return) and the prophecy states in various areas in the Bible the return of Israel to her roots and to her Culture. Now the leader who will be at that time presiding over these events will be named “Messiah” as a title, and that would suffice as the fulfillment of the prophecy. All this is not new or novel it is stated in Maimonedes book of judges, “Laws of Messiah” he goes on to state that if this king is unsuccessful in these three tasks he is like all other righteous kings and will not get the title. Basically anyone who proclaims himself Messia is automatically a false Messia. Were that individual the Messia, he would be busy performing his “Messianic” responsibilities, which are actually national responsibilities, required from all of us. It is ironically unfortunate that after 2,000 years of survival against all odds Judaisms most vociforeous voices are recreating another Christianity out of the remnant of a once great culture. It is out of the idolatrous belief in “Holy people, Holy seed, Holy relics, and spiritual Supermen that can shed light all over the world” that begets this detestable irrational philosophy that can result only in disaster and political/ national paralysis. Apparantly, G-d was willing to let the Hebrews have their King, and on the terms they requested! This is another example of the absence of divine intervention in the natural order of human development. “And he had a son whos name was Saul chosen and great, as there there were none in Israel Greater than him, from his shoulder and onwards, the greatest in the nation” Saul fit the bill for a Israelite version of a mythical warrior King, larger than life and capable of serving as a “saviour” of the nation. (it is in line with the wry humor of the Biblical ACE to record the seemingly useless anecdote of the missing asses, showing the day to day life of the superhero savior!) In the history of man, the King figure has developed over many generations, usually a powerful chieftain would take control of a tribe or array of tribes and these chiefs developed into these semi divine beings. Our culture shows the frailties, weaknesses, execs, and vices of these men
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 22:11:00 +0000