“Wag The Dog” is a 1993 political satire asserting Operation Desert Storm was manufactured to get George H. W. Bush re-elected. In 1997 it was made into a movie to discredit the first President Bush. Ironically it was released one month before the news exploded about President Clinton’s affair in the White House with Monica Lewinsky and the subsequent bombing of a pharmaceutical factory in The Sudan. The movie was immediately connected to President Clinton since it was about a president running for re-election hiring a movie director to create a fake war to cover up his sex scandal. Fact and fiction blended into reality, and now it has become practically impossible to separate the two in American Politics.

Our next section of scripture here on Morning Minutes in the Bible is eerily similar to those events and makes me think Joab would have made a great political advisor in today’s world. Our first real introduction to Joab is as David’s army commander in Hebron before the kingdom was united (2 Samuel 2). We learned more about Joab’s character when he murdered his rival Abner after David had made a treaty with him (2 Samuel 3:27).

Years later Joab was still serving as David’s commander and carried out the order to get Uriah killed in battle to cover the adultery with Bathsheba. After the sordid affair became public with the announcement of God’s punishment on David and his house, Joab came up with a “Wag the Dog” event to distract the nation. (2 Samuel 12:26-31). Since they were already at war against Rabbah (where Uriah died) Joab called for David to come and lead as the city fell so the king would get credit for the victory. His message to David appeared innocent enough. “Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.” (v28). The king complied and they took the city. David got the glory and the nation was distracted from the turmoil swirling in David’s house.

The tail wagged the dog, but not for long. Soon after this moment of glory events at home were going to expose the rot of sin in David’s house. A rot that ran all the way back to his adultery, murder and cover up.

The events in David’s life, as well as the events in Washington D.C., show us sin has its own self-destructive force. Try and hide it behind other events as we may, eventually the truth comes out. But we don’t have to look to ancient history in Israel, or to today’s political events to know that. We just need to look in our own hearts and examine how our sin impacts us and those around it. Thank God Jesus came to provide forgiveness for those who will repent and confess and be washed in the pure waters of baptism. Will you come to Him seeking forgiveness on His terms? I hope you will.