Judith 12:13-20: a reflection

13Bagoas went from the presence of Holofernes, and came in to her, and said, “Let this fair lady not fear to come to my lord, and to be honored in his presence, and to drink wine and be merry with us, and to be made this day as one of the daughters of the children of Asshur who serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace.” 14Judith said to him, “Who am I, that I should contradict my lord? For whatever would be pleasing in his eyes, I will do speedily, and this will be my joy to the day of my death.” 15She arose, and decked herself with her apparel and all her woman’s attire; and her servant went and laid fleeces on the ground for her next to Holofernes, which she had received from Bagoas for her daily use, that she might sit and eat upon them. 16Judith came in and sat down, and Holofernes’ heart was ravished with her. His passion was aroused, and he exceedingly desired her company. He was watching for a time to deceive her from the day that he had seen her. 17Holofernes said to her, “Drink now, and be merry with us.” 18Judith said, “I will drink now, my lord, because my life is magnified in me this day more than all the days since I was born.” 19Then she took and ate and drank before him what her servant had prepared. 20Holofernes took great delight in her, and drank exceedingly much wine, more than he had drunk at any time in one day since he was born.

In the enemy camp, Holofernes, the fearsome general, is undone not by an army but by his own appetites. Captivated by Judith, he arranges a private banquet, eager to have her, and, the text says, he drank far more wine than he had ever drunk in a single day in his life. His lust and his drinking master him; watching for a chance to seize Judith, he instead drinks himself into a helpless stupor, setting up his own downfall. His unchecked appetites disarm him.

Notice how Holofernes' appetites become his undoing. He commands armies and is feared, but he is not in control of himself. His desire for Judith and his indulgence in wine override his judgment; the man who watched for a chance to deceive her drinks himself insensible instead. His downfall comes not from an enemy stronger than he, but from appetites within him that he never mastered. Unchecked desire made him vulnerable.

There is a sober caution here about the appetites we do not master. Holofernes was undone by his own cravings, by desires he indulged rather than governed, and they left him defenseless. The same principle holds for us: appetites we refuse to master, whether for pleasure, drink, lust, or anything else, can disarm our judgment and set up our downfall, no matter how strong we are in other ways. The threat is often not outside us but within, in the desires we indulge instead of govern. Do not let your appetites master you. What you fail to govern within can undo you, as Holofernes' appetites undid him.

Lord, Holofernes commanded armies and was feared, yet he was undone by his own appetites, his lust and drinking mastering him and setting up his downfall. Show me the appetites in my own life that I indulge rather than govern, the desires that could disarm my judgment. Keep me from being mastered by my cravings. Help me govern my appetites rather than letting them govern me, knowing that what I fail to master within can undo me. Give me self-control.