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Nothing New Under the Sun

A short story based on I Samuel chapter 8.

All the elders of the nation gathered together and came to their leader. They said to him, “You are old, and your successors do not follow your ways. So appoint a strong man to rule over  us, like all many other nations have.”

When they said, “Give us a strong man to rule over us,” this displeased their leader; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to what the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but me. They have done this from the day I granted them freedom until this very day, ignoring me and serving other gods. So listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the strong man who will rule over them will claim as his rights.”

So their leader told everything that the Lord had said to the people who were asking him for a strong man to rule over them. He said, “This is what this strong man who will rule over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and daughters and make them serve his purposes, expanding his empire to make him wealthy. He will not fight, but will send your sons to fight his wars for him. Some will rise in the ranks and do well, but many others will just be cannon fodder; pawns on the front line, or working in fields and factories for minimum wage to make products that he and his friends can sell. He and his followers will take your daughters to do whatever they want, without any protection from the law. He will take whatever land he wants and give them to his acolytes to exploit. He will tax your hard work and give you nothing in return. But his attendants and allies will profit greatly from his treasury. You will buy his products, and you will willingly or unwillingly become slaves to his will, which will change like the wind. When that day comes, you will suddenly remember the Lord, and cry out for relief from the strong man you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

But the people refused to listen to their leader. “No!” they said. “We want a strong man to rule over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a strong man to lead us and fight our battles and make us a great nation.”

When their leader heard all that the people said, he repeated it to the Lord. And the Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them exactly what they want.”

Selah

 

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