Judith was a widow who lived in the city of Bethulia. She had been married to Manasseh. Judith, a woman of God, “fasted all the days of her widowhood, except on the Sabbath and its eves, on the feasts of the new moon and its eves, on feasts and days of joy for the house of Israel” (Judith, 8:6).
It so happened that a great threat of destruction to the people of Israel, and especially to the city of Bethulia, made the people want to surrender to the enemy. Holofernes, general of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria, an overbearing and insolent enemy of God, surrounded the city of Bethulia with tens of thousands of men and prevented them from having access to water and food.
For this reason, after thirty-four days of siege, “the water containers of the inhabitants of Bethulia became empty; their cisterns began to run dry without water to drink their daily portion, since water was rationed” (Judith, 7:20-21).
In this situation, the people decided to surrender to the enemy: “It’s better for us to be your prey. We will be their slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we will not have to watch our children die before them in a great destruction” (Judith, 7:27). They decided to stay in the city for five more days and then surrender to General Holofernes and his army, who were thirsty for destruction and plunder.
COURAGE OF A PROPHETESS
After learning of the people’s decision, Judith, with the impetus and courage of a prophetess, called the elders to her house and tried to dissuade them from their decision: “In spite of everything, let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is testing us, just as he did our fathers” (Judith, 8:25). And, trusting in God, he had a plan: to leave the city with his slave girl, go to meet General Holofernes and succeed in killing him. And so, she did!
With her physical beauty, intelligence and ability to argue, she managed to convince the powerful general that the people would be punished by their God and that he wouldn’t lose any of his men in this battle, he would just have to wait.
During her time in the camp, Judith was fully in tune with God, praying. Her beautiful appearance did not go unnoticed and the general desired Judith. So one night, after the banquet, Judith stayed in the general’s tent, where he was very drunk. Taking advantage of the general’s weakness, Judith cut off his head and returned to the city. The people realized that God had not abandoned them and that, through a widowed woman, he was able to show his strength and greatness. Judith was brave and put her own life on the line to get her people free. She won the esteem of the community with her wisdom and courage and became the pride of Israel (cf. Judith, 15:9).
OUR WAYS ARE NOT GOD’S WAYS
The story of Judith shows us how our ways are not God’s ways. Time and time again the Lord has shown us that we look at appearances and social customs. Who would have thought, at that time (and this one, too), that the cunning of a widow would defeat a large army with a powerful general?
She can sing that God brings down the mighty and lifts the humble. God knows what He is doing and He knows who loves Him and follows Him with a sincere heart! That’s why Judith, faithful to God and full of his fear, understood how much God loves His people and does not abandon them!
This biblical book also helps us understand that, at various times in our lives, we don’t always trust God fully and don’t always follow His commandments of love, eternity, and peace.
Unfortunately, we continue to be plagued by wars in our world: Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and so many countries; we continue to be slaves to various powers, whether political, economic, or otherwise; we continue to live in a world in which God is not important. But we also have our internal and personal wars: our personality and all the challenges we are called upon to face daily; our family, our professional life, our social life… Where is God in every aspect of our lives?
In God’s plan, we are all important and have our vocation and mission to fulfill. In the words of St. John Paul II, Judith “is an exemplary figure also to express the vocation and mission of women, called to equality with men, according to their specific characteristics, to play a significant role in God’s plan” (General Audience, August 29, 2021).
