CONFRATERNITY OF TRIBES (B: 21st Sun in Ord Time)

First Reading: Josh 24:1-2; 15-18 (22 August 2021)

After taking hold of the Promised Land by driving out the inhabiting Canaanites (Josh 11:10-23), Joshua after some time “gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel” (24:1). He did so because he was already advanced in age and felt that his death was nearing (23:2). Fearing that his fellow Israelites would abandon their faith in God after he dies, he reminded them of the wonders the Lord had done. In turn, the people responded,

“Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods.... Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God” (24:16, 18).

Hearing this unanimous show of support, “Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made the statues and ordinances for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God” (Josh 24:25-26). This act marked the ratification of the so-called confederation of the tribes of Israel, binding them all to God and to one another. To commemorate this momentous event, Joshua erected a large stone and said, “This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us” (v. 27).

What is observable here is that the various tribes of Israel voluntarily bound themselves to a political confraternity. This union did not transform them into one kingdom but only assured all the Israelite tribes that they have a military ally that would fight with them in times of wars. Outside these battles, each tribe was governed by its respective leader, who would rule according to the Mosaic laws. Despite the looseness of this alliance, they affirmed their genealogical kinship with each other, forging a unique fraternity extending to their descendants. The reason why they did not establish a kingdom that would unify them perpetually was that

they believed that God alone was their sole king and that no human ruler could ever replace him.

Thus, unlike other peoples, theirs was a theocratic form of governance.

Over time, however, the Israelites became jealous of the affluence and greatness of their neighboring nations like the Egyptians and the Assyrians. As all of them had a powerful monarch who led them into victorious conquests, the Israelites clamored for an Israelite king as well (1 Sam 8:6), especially since the Philistine armies had just infiltrated their land and had even captured their ark of the covenant (4:1-11). At first, this proposal was opposed by the prophet Samuel (8:6). But due to their fervent insistence (v. 19), he was compelled to anoint Saul to be their first king (10:1). It did not take long for Saul to turn against the Lord (13:2-14; 15:1-31) and became greedy of staying in power, particularly in the face of the rise into popularity of the local hero, David (18:6-16). True enough, by embracing a monarchial order, the Israelites became powerful like the rest of the nations.

But such also led to their collective demise as most Israelite kings in history would turn out to be corrupt and sinful at one point.

Nowadays, we notice that subtly some developed nations try to lord over smaller nations, asserting their superiority by imposing control in human mobility, monopolizing the economic market, drafting international policies in their favor, spreading capitalistic ideologies, and even annexing the latter’s territories. Evident here is their growing interest, not in maintaining confraternity, but in inflicting colonialism and expansionism. While the latter can technically resist this political maneuver, they cannot, due to their dire need of receiving monetary assistance in their predicament and their fear of escalating a potential bloody confrontation with the former. Poor nations are, then, forced to bow down to the dictates of stronger nations.

The confraternity of the tribes of Israel, in contrast, denounced such kind of unilateral arrangement. Rather, each tribe was conjoined to the others with their common belief in the rule and laws of God. Thus, they forbade warring with each other nor taking advantage of weaker tribes.

We pray, hence, that the spirit of confraternity will always be at the back of the minds of our global leaders since we are all indeed brothers and sisters in the name of God.

- Rex Fortes, CM