It was a hot afternoon in ancient Bethel.
A man came running from the city of Bethel, a small speck on the horizon. He ran towards a group of men hidden in the bushes. They looked at him anxiously. "Quick! What news have you got?"
The man was sweating. He was still catching his breath. He took a seat and asked for some water. Then he briefly reported his findings. "The city is well fortified. I observed it from within, and it was peaceful. There was no garrison, but still ... the walls are without weakness."
The men of ancient Judah had been despatched to attack a city called Bethel. Their scout had gone ahead to gather intelligence. But the news did not sound good. The city seemed invulnerable to attacks. It would be difficult trying to attack Bethel.
The commander of the small army of Judah was not intimidated. God would help him.
"Keep watching," he said. "Something may crop up."
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| The city was fortified and well guarded. The men were looking for a way in. |
Then evening fell, and something happened.
The men had watched the city of Bethel all afternoon. Traders, occupants, and travellers all went to the city, and through the city. At the gates, the guards asked for proof of identity. Entry was tightly guarded. It would not be possible for the small army of Judah to attack the city through the front gates.
As the men kept watching the city from their hidden place, they saw a man walking from the direction of the city. He had not exited the city from its front gates. This man obviously had come from somewhere inside the city of Bethel. If he was going towards Bethel, they would have seen him coming up the road!
Luck was on their side. The man from Bethel walked alone. He was nearby their hiding place.
They surrounded him. Knives and spears were pointed at his face and chest by fierce-looking soldiers. The Betheline was shaking with fear. He could only assume the worst.
A voice suddenly called out. "Easy, boys!" The commander walked towards the Betheline. "We need some information from you."
The man from Bethel looked at the commander with distrust. Who was this soldier? What were these soldiers doing here? They looked like a fierce army, small but lethal....
Eventually, a deal was struck.
The man would show them how to enter the city. And they would spare him and his family.
That night, the small army of Judah sneaked into the strongly-fortified city of Bethel. They killed everyone except for the man and his family.
Everybody he knew had died. All his friends, dead. All his neighbours, dead.
And he knew why.
They told him that he could stay on, in the new city. Become their first mayor, or something like that.
But he couldn't do it.
He moved away, to Hittite territory. There, he started life again. A little shop in the middle of nowhere. He called the joint Luz.
Why I wrote this piece.
This piece was inspired by Judges 1: 22-26 in the Bible. I've been reading the Bible more and more of late. You might have read my piece on Absalom.
Something attracted my attention when I read the passage in Judges 1. It's just five verses, packing all the action into a short and punchy summary. And at the end of it, the inhabitants of the city are all killed. All except that man and his family.
It was World War II. The Americans were keenly aware of the dangers when people spoke too freely. They knew that the enemy had spies embedded within the community. Spies who looked like them, sounded like them, but had sympathies their enemies. These spies would divulge their most sensitive secrets to the enemy, for a fee, or some vague sense of patriotism. In anticipation, the Americans launched a campaign: "Loose Lips Sink Ships."
Think back, about that guy from Bethel. The Bible says he went to Hittite territory and started a city called Luz. A city. Do you think it's that easy to start a city -- from scratch? He might have had a little bit of "help".
Or maybe he was already rich to begin with. Maybe he was filthy rich and he wanted to be left alone, because he was weak and selfish. Maybe? Who knows?
But I couldn't do what he did. I couldn't betray my city. I couldn't bear the thought of my friends dying, while I lived. Heck, I couldn't bear the thought of strangers dying while I live, because of me.
What kind of man does that, anyway?
Loose lips sink ships, remember that. Here are a bunch of other posters from World War 2 to remind you of that.
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| The Americans liked to fantasize that Hitler was hanging on to their every word. Exaggeration, true, but effective exaggeration. |
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| "Don't snitch!" -- a phrase that we hardly hear these days. Except maybe, in a prison, where convicts know what to do with those who snitch. (Hint: After they're done with a snitch, the snitch would think twice, maybe thrice, before snitching again. If he's still alive.) |
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| Four words for you, two of which are four-letter words. |
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| This poster probably worked on the public perception that naval seamen were heroes of the country. |
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| Even if nobody knew what hit them, the guy from Bethel probably had nightmares like this for years. Waking up screaming in the middle of the night. A fate worse than death. |
Thanks for reading.
By the way, I changed the name of this blog. It used to be "An Ordinary Guy's Jottings". I'm still ordinary, but I think I wouldn't read a blog with a name like that. I wouldn't even click.
Some other pieces from me:
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