THE DESTRUCTION OF A NATION
PART 5 OF 5
JUDGES 21
1) Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
2) And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
3) And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
4) And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5) And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
6) And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7) How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
8) And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
9) For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
10) And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smith the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
11) And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
12) And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13) And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
14) And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
15) And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16) Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17) And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18) Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19) Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonan.
20) Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
21) And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22) And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
23) And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
24) And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
25) In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
King James Version (KJV) Public Domain
DEFINITION
burnt offering: signifies propitiation for sin and complete surrender, devotion, and commitment to God. Peace offering was a way to worship Him.
COMMENTARY
1-3) Here we learn about vows made in the heat of the moment, when emotions ran high regarding the sin committed that resulted in the entire country taking up arms. Remember that it was not until the second battle was finished and Israel again was defeated that the congregation humbled themselves before the LORD. When they made such a foolish oath, they were still very much in the flesh, doing what was right in their own eyes. Now, they realize that oath has dire consequences for their brother, Benjamin. The good news is that they were not greedy, realizing the property could be shared by the remaining eleven tribes; nor were power hungry, but they were sorrowful for the almost complete annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin.
"Justice not only brings punishment to evildoers, but it also guards against punishment that is too harsh." (enduringword.com)
4-9) The assembly once again prostrated themselves before the LORD. This would have been a great time to admit their sin of being a bit zealous regarding the matter, instead, they projected all guilt upon the tribe of Benjamin (and also on God, Himself). They did not mourn about their 40,000 men who lost their lives in the battles, but of losing an entire tribe of Israel, the much beloved son of Jacob. It is not recorded that they waited upon God's direction, but went out and destroyed another city and it's inhabitants. This was their fleshly solution of the sin they committed with their hot-headed oath. (Had they consulted God before any battle began, maybe they would have spared all but those who picked up weapons against them.) Furthermore, they did not consult God regarding the re-establishment of the tribe of Benjamin, but rather, came up with their own solution.
Aren't we even guilty of not consulting God when we are facing major decisions in our own lives? His solutions are always better than ours, since we still live in this world and are, more often than not, influenced by this world. Dear Friend, let us pause and seek His counsel.
10-22) The congregation got together and realized the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead had not joined against Benjamin, so they sent some of the army off to continue their slaughter of their brothers (this time in Jabeshgilead) as though they were Canaanites, without once again asking Phinehas to ask of God if they should continue on their course. The result was that only 400 virgins were left alive, but there were 600 Benjamites without wives. We often fall short when we try to do things on our own. We are to pray constantly, recognizing from where our strength comes.
Meanwhile, the elders decided on a course to re-establish the tribe of Benjamin. Still, they were not asking Phineas to inquire of God, but were adding more chaos to what had already transpired, by deciding on a course of action on their own. How quickly we resume our place on the throne of our lives which we gave to God. After all, we can do it ourselves. We only need God when we get in a bind, right?
The others went to Rimmon to speak peace with the remaining men of Benjamin. The Benjamites came back to camp with the Israelites and were given the 400 virgins from Jabeshgilead. For the remaining 200 men, they were instructed to come back to their brothers during a feast when the daughters of Israel danced and each without a wife were to steal one of the daughters to wife. They assured them that the tribe would not hold them accountable for this. Neither would the oath that they made in haste be broken.
23) The Benjamites did as they were directed to do, each obtaining a wife----only one wife. Then they returned to their territory (inheritance) and repaired the damage done during the war and lived there. The other tribes went back to their own inheritances.
24) They all went back to doing what was right in their own eyes, even before they departed for their own inheritances. Dear Friends, our strength comes from The LORD. When we consult Him first, we don't have to spend our time and energy in cleaning up our messes afterward. Furthermore, our elected officials would do well to seek God before making decisions for the entire nation. This is how it should be.
How is your relationship with our LORD? For information on where to begin an amazing relationship with Him, click here: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html
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