The First Human Shield

During the last conflagration between Hamas and Israel, much was made concerning the accusation on the part of Israel that Hamas was using the Palestinian people, particularly women and children as human shields.  It is not the intent of this essay to declare the guilt or innocence of Hamas in this matter.  I would leave that to the court of international law.  However, international law explicitly condemns such activity. 

The Geneva Convention IV Article 28 declares rather explicitly, 

“The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations”.

It is very questionable concerning the strength of the “teeth” the Geneva Convention has had.  Since its introduction into the lexicon of the rules of war, it has been violated countless times and very few guilty parties have actually been indicted for violating it.  

Human history has been plagued by the ravages of war since time immemorial, and in the course of such blights on the human condition, there is, no doubt, myriad times when human shields were used in warfare.  Fundamentally speaking, it’s human nature to protect self over other, hence, to use human shields in one way or another.  Training, love or some other element needs to be introduced into the human psyche for an individual to react otherwise.

Might I suggest that the very first war is a war dating back to the most ancient of times, is still being waged today and the very first human shield was used at the very inception of that war.

The war was between man and God and the very first human shield was the man’s wife.  

The war was over man’s desire to run his own life the way that he wanted to and therefore to reject the sovereignty of God or yield to that sovereignty knowing that by virtue of God having created him, God was worthy of the respect (and love) that demanded abiding by His rules.

At that time God had given the man but one rule.  Having planted the man and his wife in a garden filled with delights He said…

 “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”         Genesis 2:16-17

To make a long story short, the woman had been enticed to eat of the forbidden fruit of that tree. She gave the fruit to the man and he ate also.  As soon as he had eaten, the two of them realized their nakedness, felt ashamed, and made loin cloths for themselves out of fig leaves. (Genesis 3:6-7)

The man and woman tried to hide themselves from God and God, who knows all things, asked the man (more so that the man could appraise his circumstances)…

“Where are you?” 

The man said “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Genesis 3:9)

God replied “Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (Genesis 3:11)

Instead of giving a straight “yes” or “no” answer, the man deflected the responsibility, passing the buck. “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.”

(Genesis 3:12)

And so, the man had created the first human shield… his wife!

Almost too many repercussions to count resulted from this transaction between the man and God.  But for the sake of this discussion, just ponder, if you will, the affect that this had on the relationship between the man and the woman.  Could the woman ever really trust the man again?  How would she know when the next time would be when he would use her as a shield?

In a sense, God cursed their relationship. To the woman, God said:

“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he will rule over you.”

                                Genesis 3:16

Sexual intercourse resulting in childbirth would yield, in most cases, an excruciatingly painful childbirth.  Furthermore, there would be a struggle for authority over the household.  The woman, not trusting the man, as well as having an ego of her own, would want to usurp the authority of the man.  Yet man’s role is to be the one in authority because it is he who is responsible before God for the welfare and direction in which he takes his family.

Man’s natural tendency is to hide behind his wife… figuratively speaking, using her as a shield, blaming her for his failures or pursuing his wants and desires at the expense of her own.  Yet the presence of the Spirit of God in the life of a man should be manifest by the man shielding his wife from the onslaughts of the world and considering her needs above his own.  This doesn’t come naturally. And so the Shaliach (Apostle = One who is sent) Paul commanded

“Husbands love your wives as Messiah loved the ekklessia (the collection of people who are his) and gave Himself up for her”.          (Ephesians 5:25)

Elsewhere he writes:

“Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.”

(Colossians 3:19)

In essence, the Bible encourages a man to love his wife, cherish her above all other women remain married to her and to her alone and protect her from harm and blame.  It is he who is responsible for conducting himself in this manner.

This does not come naturally.  His natural tendency is to do what that first man did… hold his wife up as a shield by which he can defend himself.

The wife whose husband cherishes and protects her ought to be able to follow his lead and will be less inclined to attempt to usurp his authority.  Invariably her desire, above all things, is to feel safe.  Her husband’s role is to, in actuality, convey that perception to her.

In essence genuinely Biblical faith is manifested in qualities that run contrary to our natural self-centered tendencies. 

Some world views which have their own so-called “Holy Books” allow for polygamy and even encourage it.  One of these world views denies women rights and even allows men to beat their wives.

Any world view that would encourage the values, attitudes and behavior that came with that root beginning of man’s war against God and his subsequent use of women as shields is fundamentally erroneous. 

And for that reason, there is only one genuine “Holy Book”.