Today’s Scripture Reading (March 5,
2014): Jeremiah 47
Rapid Dominance
(maybe better known as Shock and Awe) is a military doctrine that was written
by Harlan Ullman and James Wade in 1996. The doctrine preaches spectacular
displays of force in order to paralyze the enemy and destroy their will to
fight. Rapid Dominance was the military strategy used by the United States
during the Iraq War, which might be appropriate because, while the doctrine
might have been written in 1996, it was not the first time that Shock and Awe
was used in Iraq.
The last
time the doctrine was used in Iraq, Iraq went by the name of Babylon, and
instead of being used against them, Shock and Awe was used by them. It is this
campaign that Jeremiah is speaking of in this passage. Jeremiah’s warning is to
the Philistine cities, and it concerns the Shock and Awe of Nebuchadnezzar and
the Babylonian war machine. Jeremiah says that the Philistines will not
actually need to see the Babylonian army coming. All that will be needed to
strike fear into the hearts of the Philistine people is the sound of the beat
of the horses hooves and the rattle of the wheels of the chariots that are carrying
the military officers.
And the fear
was going to be debilitating. In fact, it was going to be so bad that the
natural behaviors of people were going to be upset. Rabbinical writings on this
passage stress that the passage indicates that “the fathers shall not look back
to have mercy on their children.” In their fright, they will forget what is
natural, their fear will be so great that they will not be able to have pity
and compassion on them. The only thing that will matter is that their own
safety and deliverance.
The
Babylonian Empire did not last very long, but at their height they struck fear
into the known world. And the sound of their war machine was all it took to
paralyze the ones that they rode against.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 48
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