Constitutional Law
Part 2: “What Were They Thinking?”
Digression: “A History of Government in 6 Revolutions: From the Paleolithic to Philadelphia”
111. Inventing God and Law: Israel Destroyed. Now What?
Title: Part E: Assyria Destroys Israel. Now What?
Panel 1: A map of the fertile crescent. The Neo-Assyrian Empire is colored bluish-green, with its provinces Israel and Yehudah colored pink and orange, respectively. The empire’s capital of Nineveh is marked with a red star. Jerusalem is marked with a small brown dot.
NARRATION (pointing towards Nineveh):
By this time, Yahweh’s part of the world was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Both Israel and Yehudah had sworn covenants of mutual alliance with the empire, as its vassal provinces.
NARRATION (pointing to Israel):
But then Israel allied itself with Egypt against Assyria.
Assyria felt betrayed…
NINEVEH VOICE:
You’re supposed to be my buffer against Egypt, not its buddy!
NARRATION:
…and responded as you might expect.
-=-
Panel 2: A pair of well-armed Assyrian charioteers patrol beside a long road along which clustered groups of people are walking. A road side points to the left saying “Samaria 162,” and to the right saying “Nineveh 836.”
NARRATION:
So in a series of sieges and deportations that continued through 722 B.C., Assyria wiped Israel off the map.
FOREVER.
CHARIOTEER:
It’s the civilized way!
-=-
Panel 3: A photograph of a pencil drawing of a map of Judah and Israel. Jerusalem is marked by a star. The entirety of Israel has been scrubbed off the paper by an eraser. An artist’s pencil and a white rubber eraser are also in the picture.
NARRATION:
The south was shocked.
JERUSALEM VOICE 1:
Holy shit.
JERUSALEM VOICE 2:
How?
-=-
Panel 4: Three Yehudan men react to the erasure of Israel. One is preachy, one is unnerved, one is dismayed.
NARRATION:
The answer was obvious.
PREACHY MAN:
The answer is obvious.
The Israelites clearly hadn’t done right by their gods.
So their gods stopped protecting them.
DISMAYED MAN:
But that would mean-
Holy shit!
UNNERVED MAN:
What?
DISMAYED MAN:
If the Israelites’ rites were wrong, what about ours?
What if we’re no longer doing right by our gods?
I don’t wanna get erased.