“The king sent to summon Achimelekh the cohen the son of Achituv, along with all his father’s family, the cohanim in Nov; and all of them went to the king. Sha’ul said, ‘Listen here, you son of Achituv!’ He answered, ‘Here I am, my lord.'”-1 Samuel 22:11-12
Have you ever heard of the book “The Prince”?
It’s a political treatise written by the Italian diplomat and philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli in the early 16th century.
It’s considered one of the most influential works in political theory and is often cited for its practical approach to power and governance.
One of the more unsavory teachings in this book is the instruction to a king about what to do when he takes the throne from another ruler.
The recommendation is they should probably kill the old king and their family too.
Otherwise, they’ll always worry about revenge.
Sooner or later, someone from the old king’s family might try to take back the throne.
Now why do I bring this up?
Because it’s directly connected to the moment when Saul summoned the High Priest Achimelech.
Notice Saul addressed him as “The son of Achituv.”
Why was Saul calling for the High Priest by his family line instead of by his proper name?
This was a sinister sign.
And it points to the idea Machiavelli expressed in his book The Prince…
That if one takes the throne from another…
He had better kill not only the former king…
But the entire family as well.
See, Saul didn’t just see the High Priest as a threat…
He viewed the entire priesthood as a danger to his throne.
That’s why Saul called for the High Priest by his family’s name.
What can we learn from this?
Although Saul acted out of pure insecurity and suspicion and was wrong in accusing the High Priest of treason…
Practically speaking, he was abiding by a sound principle…
If you have a legitimate enemy in your life, it’s best to completely eradicate not just the enemy but everything connected with the enemy.
This principle is also Scriptural.
On certain occasions, the Lord has ordered the extermination of every man, woman, and child of certain people groups that He deemed a threat to His Chosen People.
We also see the same principle at play during the Passover.
We are told to eliminate all CHAMETZ in our household.
The enemy and sin are like cancer.
It has to be completely cut out of the body or there is a danger it will rear its ugly head again.
Ya feel me?
Now fast forward to the war in the Middle East today.
Israel must eliminate Hamas at all costs…
No mercy and no exceptions…
Otherwise, those bastards will return to slaughter innocents again.
I hope you’re feeling me here.
As you have pointed out in other messages and teachings, if Joshua had done the job he was supposed to do, none of the problems in the Middle East would exist today.
It’s like the old joke: If Moses had made a left instead of a right, we Jews would have all the oil fields.
Of course, no one can know what would have happened if history had gone another way, and we Jews might be in worse shape than we are now if anything in the past had changed.
What we have to come away with is not blaming Joshua, but thanking God for all that he has done depsite what history has dished out to us Jews.
The “Easy Life”, we have learned from history, leads to stagnation and social degredation, and that is what we are seeing in America, and throughout the world, today.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Steven.