“The country lived in peace for forty years; then Othniel, son of Kenaz, died. The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord; the Lord sent Eglon, king of Moab, against them because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord” (Judges 3:11-12). 

This is the dominant pattern of the Old Testament, repeated successively throughout the generations: the people are saved by the Lord and enjoy a time of prosperity; “then another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord or the work that the Lord had done for Israel” (cf. Jdg 2:10) and the country becomes corrupt. This abandonment leads to a terrible period of tribulation, until, during misfortune, the people repent, and the Lord sends salvation once again. 

These ancient Hebrew cycles reveal a basic pattern of humanity and are returning today on a global scale. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Christian West abandoned its original faith and worshipped “the idols of Baal” (cf. Jdg 2:11), the Enlightenment, liberalism, positivism, and existentialism. When these doctrines took shape as political forces, incarnating Eglon, they generated the misfortunes of 1803 to 1815 and 1914 to 1918, and almost incinerated humanity in the greatest catastrophe in history, from 1939 to 1945. 

Then, at the bottom of the abyss of misfortune, the world repented and promised the Lord to respect openness, democracy, and the rights of all in the United Nations Charter, and the planet lived in peace for eighty years. Today it is evident that, once again, the people are becoming corrupt. 

Everywhere we see societies divided, split in half, unable to dialogue. The reasons for the struggle are varied, but much more basic and profound than 100 or 200 years ago. Today it is not about women's suffrage, free enterprise, or racial superiority. What divides us is abortion and the family, euthanasia and immigration, climate and technology. Such drastic divisions prevent consensus, sink the moderate center, and promote radical parties. In social debate, anger against the enemy is more important than common prosperity. As in past centuries, from 2022 onwards, fierce wars and arms races began to emerge, once again threatening the survival of humanity. The time of Eglon is approaching. 

The decisive point of this parallel between the Chosen People and the present day is the key to understanding that has escaped most of the commentators who stir up our networks. The essential message of the historical books of the Bible is that the problem is not Eglon, but Baal. 

The drama of our time does not come, first and foremost, from the follies and aggressions of Putin, Netanyahu, Xi, or Trump. The true root of evil does not result from the degradation of culture and democracy, nor even from the rise of xenophobic or totalitarian parties of the extreme right or extreme left. The source of iniquity, which pours out upon the world and already threatens to flood it, comes from within our hearts. After all, the root of the tragedy does not lie in Trump and Netanyahu, Le Pen and Ventura, Putin and Xi, but in their voters and supporters. Eglon would be a mere puppet without any danger if the people had not done evil in the eyes of the Lord. 

The origin, therefore, lies in the worship of the idols of Baal. Where are these idols? In our homes, on our phones, in our plans and desires. It is there, more than anywhere else, that we see the origin of contemporary misfortune. A people who live their daily lives immersed in a world of plastic fiction, stuffed with consumption, emotions, pleasures, fame, glitz, and vulgarity, will end up placing their trust in ignorant and perverse populist entertainers. They may even continue to go to Mass on Sundays, just as the ancient Israelites sacrificed to the Lord, but their hearts are with Baal. 

What can we do in these situations? What is the way out of the terrible times of Eglon, Napoleon, Hitler, and Trump? "Then the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent them a savior: Ehud, son of Gera, son of Benjamin, who was left-handed. (...) Then they defeated Moab, with its ten thousand men, all strong and valiant; not one escaped. On that day Moab was humbled at the hands of Israel, and the country lived in peace for eighty years" (Judges 3:15, 29-30).