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Kingdom Revolution

Kingdom Revolution refers to the transition from locally powerful tribal societies to regionally powerful feudal city-states with formal class structures, especially monarchy and a professional warrior class. In terms of Emergent Value Systems (EVS), this is the Transition Revolution between the Lineage-Agrarian Socioeconomic Complex of Tribe VS to the Hierarchical-Feudal complex of Hero VS.

Examples

Israel Asks for a King

The Book of Judges represents the struggle of the Tribes of Israel for peace from the raids of neighboring peoples, many of them already early-stage feudal city-states with kings and seasonal professional armies. God would raise up Judges — a temporarily appointed chieftain limited to a specific role — to meet the crisis whose root, according to the text was Idolatry.

When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned away after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah. They said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.”

Samuel prayed to Yahweh. Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as the king over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they also do to you. Now therefore, listen to their voice. However, you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the way of the king who will reign over them.” — 1 Samuel 8:1-9 WEB