Judith 11:1-16: a reflection

1Holofernes said to her, “Woman, take courage. Don’t be afraid in your heart; for I never hurt anyone who has chosen to serve Nebuchadnezzar, the king of all the earth. 2And now, if your people who dwell in the hill country had not slighted me, I would not have lifted up my spear against them; but they have done these things to themselves. 3And now tell me why you fled from them and came to us; for you have come to save yourself. Take courage! You will live tonight, and hereafter; 4for there is no one that will wrong you, but all will treat you well, as is done to the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar my lord.” 5And Judith said to him, “Receive the words of your servant, and let your handmaid speak in your presence, and I won’t lie to my lord tonight. 6If you will follow the words of your handmaid, God will bring the thing to pass perfectly with you; and my lord will not fail to accomplish his purposes. 7As Nebuchadnezzar king of all the earth lives, and as his power lives, who has sent you for the preservation of every living thing, not only do men serve him by you, but also the beasts of the field, the cattle, and the birds of the sky will live through your strength, in the time of Nebuchadnezzar and of all his house. 8For we have heard of your wisdom and the subtle plans of your soul. It has been reported in all the earth that you only are brave in all the kingdom, mighty in knowledge, and wonderful in feats of war. 9And now as concerning the matter which Achior spoke in your council, we have heard his words; for the men of Bethulia saved him, and he declared to them all that he had spoken before you. 10Therefore, O lord and master, don’t neglect his word, but lay it up in your heart, for it is true; for our race will not be punished, neither will the sword prevail against them, unless they sin against their God. 11And now, that my lord may not be defeated and frustrated in his purpose, and that death may fall upon them, their sin has overtaken them, wherewith they will provoke their God to anger, whenever they do wickedness. 12Since their food failed them, and all their water was scant, they took counsel to kill their livestock, and determined to consume all those things which God charged them by his laws that they should not eat. 13They are resolved to spend the first fruits of the grain and the tithes of the wine and the oil, which they had sanctified and reserved for the priests who stand before the face of our God in Jerusalem, which it is not fitting for any of the people so much as to touch with their hands. 14They have sent some to Jerusalem, because they also that dwell there have done this thing, to bring them permission from the council of elders. 15When these instructions come to them and they do it, they will be given to you to be destroyed the same day. 16Therefore I your servant, knowing all this, fled away from their presence. God sent me to work things with you, at which all the earth will be astonished, even as many as hear it.

In her confrontation with Holofernes, Judith speaks words heavy with cunning, but embedded in her speech is a genuine truth about her people. Their enemies, she says, cannot prevail against them unless they sin against their God; their only real vulnerability is not the strength of the army arrayed against them, but their own faithfulness or faithlessness to God. As long as they do not sin, no sword will prevail; it is their own sin, not the enemy's strength, that would be their undoing.

Set aside the deception of the scene and notice that true principle. The security of God's people did not finally rest on the size of the enemy or the strength of their walls, but on their relationship with God. Their real danger was not external but internal: not the army outside, but the possibility of sin within. If they remained faithful, no enemy could overcome them; if they turned from God, no defense could save them. Their sin, not their enemies, was the true threat.

That principle holds for us as well. We are prone to fear external threats, the pressures and powers arrayed against us, as though these were our real danger. But for the people of God, the deeper danger has always been within: our own sin, our own turning from God. No external enemy can finally overcome those who remain faithful to God; but sin unaddressed can undo us where no enemy could. Fear your own sin more than your enemies. Guard your faithfulness to God above your defenses against the world. The real threat to your soul is not the force ranged against you, but the sin that would turn you from the God who keeps you.

Lord, embedded in Judith's words was a true principle: that your people could not be overcome unless they sinned against you, that their real danger was not the enemy's strength but their own faithfulness or faithlessness. Teach me to see my own dangers rightly. Keep me from fearing external threats and pressures as though they were my true peril, while ignoring the deeper danger within: my own sin, my own turning from you. No enemy can finally overcome me if I remain faithful to you; but sin unaddressed can undo me where no enemy could. Help me fear my own sin more than my enemies, and guard my faithfulness to you above all. Keep me close to you, my true security.