The book of Judges relates to a regular pattern of Israelites turning away from God, who then used a hostile tribe, the Midianites, to punish them. The liberating figure of Gideon appeared after the Midianites had been allowed to enter the country and impoverish the people. The Israelites were suffering for their idolatry and begged for deliverance. God chose Gideon for the mission. When he gathered a large army of some thirty thousand men, God deemed this too many. If they thought victory came by superior numbers, God judged, they might “vaunt themselves against me, saying, ‘ Mine own hand hath saved me’ . STRATEGY, A HISTORY
Society
- People who wear a mask – feel something missing inside
- Pretend to be more sure of themselves – Lazy
- To relieve feelings of boredom or inadequacy takes too much effort on their own
- Coverup feelings of confusion and emptiness
- The truth of egos and personalities are much more fragile than they appear to be
- Do not want other people to glimpse that doubting self within us
- Are always susceptible to seduction, because everyone lacks a sense of completeness
The numbers had to be reduced. First, those who were “fearful and afraid” were asked to depart. This cut numbers by about two-thirds. Then a curious test was set, involving seeing how the men drank at a lake. Those who went on their knees were sent home; those who put their hands to their mouths were kept, perhaps because this showed that they were staying alert. The numbers were now only 1 percent of the original army – just three hundred men. Against them were ranged their enemies, lying “along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without numbers, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.” STRATEGY, A HISTORY
Gideon divided his three hundred men into three companies and put a trumpet in every man’s hand. They were then told to watch him and do as he did when they got to the outside of the enemy camp. ” When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and say ‘ The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.;” This they did. And the enemy “ran, and cried, and fled”. This reinforced the basic lesson in all these stories. The best – indeed the only – strategy was to obey God and then do as he told you. STRATEGY, A HISTORY
Seduction
- The gentle seducer is not heavy-handed
- Must never mistake a person’s appearance for reality
- Bring society’s doubts and anxieties to the surface – Leading and lured to follow
- Must place a mirror in front of victims in which they glimpse that inner emptiness
- Need first to reflect on victims and what they are missing
- Ground of Seduction – question people’s identity
- Depressed and anxious about the future
- A sense of boredom that gnaws at life
The immediate attraction of a song, a voice, or a scent. The attraction of the panther with his perfumed scent…According to the ancients, the panther is the only animal that emits a perfumed odour. It uses this scent to draw and capture its victims.. But what is it that seduces in a scent? What is it in the song of the Sirens that seduces us, or in the beauty of a face, in the depths of an abyss…? Seduction lies in the annulment of signs and their meaning, in pure appearance The eyes that seduce have no meaning, they end in the gaze, as the face with make upends in only pure appearance… The scent of the panther is also a meaningless message – and behind the message, the panther is invisible, as is the woman beneath her makeup The sirens too remain unseen. The enchant,emt lies in what is hidden. JEAN BAUDRILLARD, DE LA SEDUCTION.