[Day 9] There is no version of Empire that won’t eventually devour us. We have to let it go.

Liminal dispatch, 04.07.20

“This is the way the kind of king you’re talking about operates. He’ll take your sons and make soldiers of them … He’ll put some to forced labor on his farms … and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury … He’ll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He’ll tax your harvests and vineyards to support his extensive bureaucracy … [Y]ou’ll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves.” …

But the people wouldn’t listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:10–22, MSG)

Samuel was a known seer and prophet (among other things) in Israel during the 11th Century BCE. In this Old Testament section, as it is creatively told, the people want to be like everyone else and have a typical ruler. They want someone to save them, to fight for them, to vanquish their enemies. They believe the vague promises of prosperity and power. Even though Samuel warns them in vivid detail about what will happen, and tries to share God’s vision for the kind of life they could have if they let go of the…