June 10, 2010
A Levite and his concubine are returning to their home. It is late. They choose not to stay in a city of strangers. They keep going to Gibeah, a town that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. They thought they would be safe among "family." An elderly man takes them into his home. He knows they wouldn't be safe in the town square. During the night a group of men come to the house. They want to have sex with the man. (Sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah.) The man's concubine is sent out instead. They rape and abuse her all night. She dies, lying on the door step with her hand on the threshold. The Levite cuts her into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each tribe so they would know what evil had taken place.
The Israelites gathered to find out what happened. They sent men to the tribe of Benjamin. "What is this evil thing some of your men have done?" Hand over the ones who have done this so they can be held accountable. "We must remove this evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites wouldn't listen. They instead gathered their men and prepared to fight. What arrogance! They were just one tribe, yet they would not listen to the eleven other tribes who tried to correct them. No. They were going to fight. 26,000 verses 400,000. They were wrong, but they were not going to give in. They were stubbornly going to rely on their skill and go against the insurmountable.
The people of Israel wanted the guilty people held accountable and the evil purged from the tribe. They weren't interested in fighting the whole tribe of Benjamin. But the people of Benjamin were stubborn and refused to hand over the guilty parties.
Now what would the Israelites do? They gathered together and asked God who should lead the way. God answered—Judah. On the first day of battle the Benjaminites killed 22,000 Israelites. The Israelites were doing what God had told them to do, yet 22,000 died the first day. It sure looked like evil was winning.
The Israelites gathered together again and went before the LORD to inquire of him, "Shall we go to fight our relatives, again?" God answered, "Go up and fight them." So they got together again, encouraged each other and went and took the same battle position as they had done before. This time the Benjaminites killed 18,000, even though the Israelites were doing what God said to do.
The Israelites retreated. They sat down and cried out to God, going without food all day. They again inquired of God, "Should we go fight our relatives again, or shall we stop fighting?" And God answered them again, "Go, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you."
So the Israelites went back out to their same positions. When the Benjaminites came out to fight Israel began to back up. The Benjaminites started to kill some of the men and they thought, "We are winning as before." What they didn't know was this; a trap was being set. They were tricked into thinking they were winning and they totally exposed themselves.
The Israelites were doing exactly what God told them to do, but 36,000+ of them were killed. They were doing what God said, but "the battle was very hard." (Judges 20:34) It wasn't an easy fight, even though they were doing what God said. The Benjaminites were so proud. They were boasting, "We are winning." They had no idea the predicament they were in. Not until they turned around and saw the smoke rising from the city, did they realize that they were surrounded. Judges 20:41 - "...(they) were terrified because they knew disaster was coming to them."
Judges 21:25 - "Everyone did what seemed right." What a dangerous way to live. We cannot depend on what "seems" right. We MUST depend on God's will.
Addendum: 12/12/13 ~ Judges 21:15 - "The people of Israel felt sorry for the Benjaminites because the LORD had separated the tribes of Israel." This wasn't some sort of retaliation on the Israelites part. They felt sorry for the Benjaminites. It was the LORD who separated them. Some of the Benjaminites chose to do evil. When confronted with the truth of what some of their tribe had done, the entire tribe decided to stick together and they chose NOT to hold those who chose to do evil accountable. Instead of choosing to do the right thing, they instead chose to dig in, ignore what was right, and they stubbornly refused to change their hearts and minds. It was the LORD who separated the Israelites from the Benjaminites. It was the LORD who demanded justice. It was the LORD who directed the Israelites. It was the LORD who ultimately held the Benjaminites accountable.
It was the LORD.
Next Entry: Ruth 1:1–22
A Levite and his concubine are returning to their home. It is late. They choose not to stay in a city of strangers. They keep going to Gibeah, a town that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. They thought they would be safe among "family." An elderly man takes them into his home. He knows they wouldn't be safe in the town square. During the night a group of men come to the house. They want to have sex with the man. (Sounds like Sodom and Gomorrah.) The man's concubine is sent out instead. They rape and abuse her all night. She dies, lying on the door step with her hand on the threshold. The Levite cuts her into twelve pieces and sends a piece to each tribe so they would know what evil had taken place.
The Israelites gathered to find out what happened. They sent men to the tribe of Benjamin. "What is this evil thing some of your men have done?" Hand over the ones who have done this so they can be held accountable. "We must remove this evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites wouldn't listen. They instead gathered their men and prepared to fight. What arrogance! They were just one tribe, yet they would not listen to the eleven other tribes who tried to correct them. No. They were going to fight. 26,000 verses 400,000. They were wrong, but they were not going to give in. They were stubbornly going to rely on their skill and go against the insurmountable.
The people of Israel wanted the guilty people held accountable and the evil purged from the tribe. They weren't interested in fighting the whole tribe of Benjamin. But the people of Benjamin were stubborn and refused to hand over the guilty parties.
Now what would the Israelites do? They gathered together and asked God who should lead the way. God answered—Judah. On the first day of battle the Benjaminites killed 22,000 Israelites. The Israelites were doing what God had told them to do, yet 22,000 died the first day. It sure looked like evil was winning.
The Israelites gathered together again and went before the LORD to inquire of him, "Shall we go to fight our relatives, again?" God answered, "Go up and fight them." So they got together again, encouraged each other and went and took the same battle position as they had done before. This time the Benjaminites killed 18,000, even though the Israelites were doing what God said to do.
The Israelites retreated. They sat down and cried out to God, going without food all day. They again inquired of God, "Should we go fight our relatives again, or shall we stop fighting?" And God answered them again, "Go, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you."
So the Israelites went back out to their same positions. When the Benjaminites came out to fight Israel began to back up. The Benjaminites started to kill some of the men and they thought, "We are winning as before." What they didn't know was this; a trap was being set. They were tricked into thinking they were winning and they totally exposed themselves.
The Israelites were doing exactly what God told them to do, but 36,000+ of them were killed. They were doing what God said, but "the battle was very hard." (Judges 20:34) It wasn't an easy fight, even though they were doing what God said. The Benjaminites were so proud. They were boasting, "We are winning." They had no idea the predicament they were in. Not until they turned around and saw the smoke rising from the city, did they realize that they were surrounded. Judges 20:41 - "...(they) were terrified because they knew disaster was coming to them."
Judges 21:25 - "Everyone did what seemed right." What a dangerous way to live. We cannot depend on what "seems" right. We MUST depend on God's will.
Addendum: 12/12/13 ~ Judges 21:15 - "The people of Israel felt sorry for the Benjaminites because the LORD had separated the tribes of Israel." This wasn't some sort of retaliation on the Israelites part. They felt sorry for the Benjaminites. It was the LORD who separated them. Some of the Benjaminites chose to do evil. When confronted with the truth of what some of their tribe had done, the entire tribe decided to stick together and they chose NOT to hold those who chose to do evil accountable. Instead of choosing to do the right thing, they instead chose to dig in, ignore what was right, and they stubbornly refused to change their hearts and minds. It was the LORD who separated the Israelites from the Benjaminites. It was the LORD who demanded justice. It was the LORD who directed the Israelites. It was the LORD who ultimately held the Benjaminites accountable.
It was the LORD.
Next Entry: Ruth 1:1–22
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