What I Noticed Today (Judges 20-21)
Judges 20
News of the murder of the Levite’s concubine united the tribes of Israel against the city of Gibeah (tribe of Benjamin) where the murder occurred.
In verses 1-11, all the people of Israel assembled and came before the Lord at Mizpah.
Note: The reference to “from Dan to Beersheba” refers to all the tribes from north to south. The reference to “the land of Gilead” refers to the eastern tribes across the Jordan. Mizpah is a few miles from Gibeah on the border between Benjamin and Ephraim.
- The Benjamites were not represented among the tribes who gather at Mizpah.
- The Israelites asked how this outrage occurred, and the Levite explained what had happened to him and his concubine at Gibeah.
- The people of Israel united and sent ten men out of every hundred to punish Gibeah for the outrage.
In verses 12-13, the people of Israel sent messengers to the city of Gibeah demanding they give up the men who murdered the concubine, but they refused.
In verses 14-18, the Benjamites assembled an army of 26,000 swordsmen plus 700 choice men from Gibeah. The Israelites came against them with an army of 400,000 men
- The Israelites did not ask God IF they should fight the Benjamites, but WHO should go first. God said the tribe of Judah should go first.
Note: When they inquired of God they used the term Elohim, the generic term for God, rather than the covenantal name for God, Yahweh.
In verses 19-28, the Israelites fought against their brothers the Benjamites:
- The army of the tribe of Judah came up against the tribe of Dan and lost the battle on the first day with 22,000 men of Israel killed.
- The people of Israel wept and inquired of God again. God sent them into battle, and they lost again on the second day with 18,000 men of Israel killed.
- Finally, the Israelites came together, wept, fasted all day, and gave peace and fellowship offerings. Then they inquired of the Lord (using the name Yahweh). This time, God said He would hand the Benjamites over to the army of Israel.
- The next day the Israelites defeated the Benjamites by killing 25,100 of them.
- Only 600 Benjamites survived by escaping into the rock of Rimmon where they stayed for four months.
- The Israelites turned back and destroyed all the towns of Benjamin by burning them to the ground and killing all the animals.
Judges 21
In verses 1-7, the Israelites realized the tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out:
- All the women and only 600 of the men of Benjamin survived the civil war.
- This caused another problem for the Israelites because they had sworn an oath not to give any of their daughters to the Benjamites in marriage, so now with no women, the tribe was in danger of extinction.
In verses 8-12, the Israelites developed a plan to avoid extinction for the tribe of Benjamin:
- The Israelites discovered that no one from the clan of Jabesh-Gilead had come to the assembly or joined the army against the Benjamites.
- The assembly sent 12,000 warriors to Jabesh-Gilead who killed every man and woman, sparing only the virgin women.
- They Israelites sent a message of peace and gave the 400 virgins from Jabesh-Gilead to the Benjamites.
- But this did not supply enough women, so they allowed the Benjamites to take women during a festival to the Lord at Shiloh. This, they reasoned, allowed them to not break their oath not to give wives to the Benjamites.
Note: A matter of semantics - they would not give their daughters, but the Benjamites were allowed to take them!
Some thoughts for further consideration:
- There were many opportunities for the disasters of the last few chapters to be avoided. If the city fathers of Gilead had gotten rid of the worthless men within the city as they should have, none of this would have happened. If the Levite and homeowner had stood up to the worthless men, this would not have happened. If the city of Gibeah had given up the worthless men, who murdered the concubine the civil war would not have occurred. If the army of Israel had fasted, wept, and restored their relationship to God before attempting to go up against the Benjamites, they would not have lost the first two battles. If the men of Israel had not made such a rash vow to prohibit giving their daughters to the men of Benjamin, the tribe would not have faced near extinction.
- So many failures of leadership are in this story of the Benjamites, the Levite, and the people of Israel! Men who do not have the courage to trust God and follow Him faithfully, are prone to developing their own solutions to problems, and man’s solution is never God’s best!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
