When I went out this morning, I discovered one of our fence panels lying on the pavement. I wedged it back in with a couple of pieces of rotting found wood, which will do for a while. But the underlying problem is an enthusiastic bay tree next to it. I often favour the temporary fix over addressing the underlying problem. That can be for another day. Glad I’m not running a country.
In Sunday’s Lectionary, the Judges reading, we see the shadow of ‘industrial warfare’ as known in the twentieth century. The Canaanites’ commander lived in ‘Harosheth-ha-goiim‘, which according to Wikipedia means ‘Smithy of the Nations‘. Can you imagine what such a place would be like?The heat and the hammering, making instruments of war. ‘The Nations‘, the ‘goyyim‘, were those peoples not of Israel. And the Israelites were justifiably afraid of nine hundred chariots of iron. War was a constant reality in those days. Maybe the Israelites weren’t so well armed, but they had their faith, and they had Deborah the prophet.