Deuteronomists

The response to the destruction of Northern Israel reminds me of much American reaction to the September 11 attacks.  I see the response as one toward homogenization in an attempt to weed out “dangerous elements.”  For Judah, this meant eliminating forms of worship that were not exclusively of YHVH.  I have to wonder what forms of Jewish identity were stamped out by these efforts of the Deuteronomists.  By creating more uniform worship, they believed they were helping their people.  Through their lenses, tragedy struck when the people and their rulers failed to live up to their covenant with YHVH.  Somewhat similarly, there seemed to be a heightened move by many toward America as a “Christian Nation” in the wake of 9/11.  The movement suggested that those who were not part of white, Christian America were not living up to what they “should” be doing and were damaging the country (with special vehemence against our Muslim brothers and sisters).  I think in both instances, fear of destruction led people to cling too tightly to what they felt were their identifiers.  While many would see this as a “return” to a former way of doing things that “worked” (That mythical time in which we all worshiped YHVH properly was so wonderful!“), it strikes me more as a move toward homogeneity (which may, indeed, reflect other similar movements in the past).  People feel safe when others are "like them” (because I’m not a bad person).  

Perhaps, like circumcision, food laws, and other cultural markers, movements toward “sameness” do in some ways strengthen a people when they are at risk.  If people come to strongly value their membership in a group and the things that make them part of it and like their neighbor, they will likely try to protect it.  However, I would imagine that many people whose “high places” were taken away were left unhappy and perhaps less likely to find value in a group that was depriving them of their religion.