Village Life

“Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah arose, arose a mother in Israel.” Judges 4:7

What did the “mother of Israel” care about the most? What was Deborah trying to achieve when she marched against the ferocious Canaanites? She merely wanted to have the “village life” in Israel restored. That was all.

O how peaceful it once was when the village people went out to work in their vineyard early in the morning, when the dew was yet to dry, and to rest in the shade of the olive trees when the sun rose above the distant hills. How pleasant it was when they rested from their labor and watched their children at play, weaving in and out of the olive groves, singing and laughing, not having the slightest care in the world. How comforting it was when they saw smoke rising from the chimneys of their homes at a distance and they hastened along when they smelled a warm meal at their kitchen table waiting for them.

That wasn’t all that much for a man to ask from life, was it? Just a little life with a little joy in a little village. Why was it even considered a luxury at all and why did insolent people constantly try to rob them of their little village life? they wondered.

“Village life in Israel ceased, ceased until I, Deborah arose, arose a mother in Israel.” Mediating on this verse brought tears in my eyes, for I was once a little boy who lived in a little village and enjoyed the little joy that she generously offered, but the dream of living large in a big city took me away from the simple joys of life, and my village life was forever lost.

“Weeds are about to take over your field; why don’t you return?” an ancient Chinese poet asked himself when he was about to resign from his government post and return home to reclaim his field and his old way of life. “I looked at the southern hills with ease while I was picking chrysanthemums underneath the eastern fence.” Doing simple thing such as this was what made Tao give up what most people considered the route to prosperity and fame and become a farmer.

Being a wife and a mother, Deborah had never asked to be a judge over her people or a prophetess with beatific visions and strange dreams, and going to war was the last thing she would choose to do in life. Yet the simple way of life in the village that she loved had been taken away and, against all odds, she was called by the Almighty to do something about it. Brave men of old fought wars out of selfish ambition and aspiration for fame, but common people fought to preserve their simple way of life. Surely such was a small desire that didn’t take much to fulfill or to preserve, but the lifestyle common folks came to love was often disrupted and disturbed by forces out of their control. People often had to fight great wars to preserve their little lives and little joys and, in most cases, lose their little lives to keep their dreams alive.

Even at the moment of peace, the rising tide of this world is drawing nearer and nearer to my village home and my glowing hearth and I am growing weary of trying to stem the rushing current to keep my little village life and myself from getting swamped. How long will I remain standing?