But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel.” – 1 Samuel 11:2

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 3, 2012): 1 Samuel 11

Alberta’s tough new drunk driving law is facing a constitutional challenge. The law basically states that if you are caught driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08, then you have to immediately surrender your driver’s license. The constitutional challenge is on the basis that the law assumes that the person is guilty without a trial. And because it can take up to eighteen months to be tried, the fear is that people will plead guilty to the crime because, if they do, they will get their license back quicker.

But the idea behind the law is a very old one. If you are going to drive drunk, the law sets out to take away your ability to that. In some cases, the law even includes the immediate impounding of the car that the offender was driving for a specified length of time. The effect of the law is to take away the drunk drivers ability to drive. As recently as a few centuries ago, a similar law would have claimed the hand of someone who was caught stealing. The thought being that without a hand, a man would lose the ability to steal. The penalty fit the crime.

The men of Jabesh Gilead were caught in a hard place. Located in the territory claimed by the half tribe of Manasseh, just on the east side of the Jordan River, they were a remote town that seems to have repeatedly suffered incursions from the Philistine military. The Philistine army had proved to be a challenge to Israel. The latter were still nothing more than a collection of towns and tribes all with their own agendas – and often hesitant to come to the aid of their brothers. Jabesh Gilead knew that they could not go up against the Philistines alone. So they offered to become vassals of Ammonites. The Ammonites had a long standing claim on the area around Jabesh Gilead. It seemed like the perfect deal. The Ammonites would gain governance and taxes from an area that they believed was their own in the first place, and the Israelite inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead received the protection from their enemies that they felt that they needed. It was a win – win.

Except that the Ammonites were not sure that the men of Jabesh Gilead would want to remain under Ammonite control once the threat of the Philistines had been dealt with. And there was also probably a question about whether Saul, the new king over all of Israel, would allow Jabesh Gilead to leave. And so they had a counter offer – they would accept Jabesh Gilead as a vassal territory as long as the men of the area would allow the Ammonites to scoop out their right eyes. Nahash indicates that such an act would inflict disgrace on the men of the area and that was the price of Ammonite protection. But there was a more practical reason.

Without their right eye (often their dominant eye) depth perception would be gone. What that meant was that the men of Jabesh Gilead would never be able to pick up arms against the Ammonites. Without depth perception, there was no way that they could accurately fire an arrow, or even swing a sword. The message was clear, if you want our protection, we are going to take away your ability to fight or rebel. You will become even weaker and more dependent than you are right now. The penalty was designed to fit the situation (or the crime.)

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 12