The Forced Hand (Fawcett #3) (John 18 and 19; Luke 23:47-49)

Before they were mighty, the Romans got by
With levies of citizens armed on the fly;
While Hannibal’s army was armed to the teeth,
Had excellent horseman and troops far from weak.

The Romans had lost one full army before,
But two years enabled a doubling of force;
But politics wrecked up superior stats,
Two leaders shared power – one this day – one that.

Now one of their leaders had never led troops,
So he, wanting status and power to boot,
Forced troops to the open to force other’s hand,
By putting his army, exposed, on flat land.

The next day (his turn came) he lined up his guys,
To punch through the middle; the others were wise –
They altered formation, concealing that fact,
With lots of light horsemen who later pulled back.

The Romans pressed forward weak flanks on each side;
The Gauls in the middle bent back at the tide
Of soldiers who punched through with long slender line,
Then Hannibal hit them both sides at a time.

Surrounded on three sides most men packed in tight,
Few soldiers could get to the front, join the fight;
The Romans got picked off like ducks in a pond,
Superior numbers who could not respond.

From fifty to three thousand men at the end,
The worst mess in history, Cannae would lend
Its name to the record for stupidity –
From onset when horseman decided to flee.

Some say that with Judas he'd motives the same –
“Force Jesus to action, get on with the game”
Accounts for his actions (I doubt it myself
I think he had problems with master of Hell).

But even if Judas betrayed with a kiss,
To force Jesus hand, there was one point he missed –
For Christ was not stupid, but laid down his life,
His hand was not forced on the hillside that night.

Though he was surrounded and taken away,
And friends all deserted, turned up the next day,
His pattern of action in prophet of old,
Isaiah laid out and result he foretold.

Vicarious suffering, where one who is just,
Takes place of another, impacts, as it must,
Those people surrounding who view with dismay –
It should not have happened – they’re moved in this way.

Like soldier at foot of the cross on that morn –
That happened to him, and his soul was reborn;
For how does that story get passed on to us?
Except he told others – Christ’s friends in the fuss.

But not so with Romans that day on the plain –
We hear of that slaughter – each time think again
That they were so foolish, let victory go –
A warning to others to be in the know.

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