The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it? - Jeremiah 17:9
A Levite from the hill country of Ephraim went to Bethlehem in Judah to find and retrieve his runaway concubine. On their way home, they stopped in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin to spend the night. Some vile men surrounded the house where they were staying and demanded to have sexual relations with the Levite, but instead he handed his concubine over to them. These worthless men violently raped her all night long, so that she died. The next morning the Levite carried her body to his home, cut it into pieces, and sent her parts to the scattered tribes with a call to action. The tribes gathered together intent on punishing the men of Gibeah, but the other Benjaminites came to Gibeah’s defense. Both sides mustered up an army and prepared for civil war. It would be the tribe of Benjamin (approximately 27,000 soldiers) versus all of the other 11 tribes, referred to as the sons of Israel (approximately 400,000 soldiers)…
Before we delve into the text this morning, I want to make an observation. Not to minimize the sinful and criminal behavior of the men of Gibeah who definitely deserved to be punished, nor to overlook the concubine’s death which was brutal, shameful, and tragic, but did this atrocity justify civil war? As we will read this morning, literally thousands of people are going to die! By dividing and sending pieces of the concubine’s body to the tribes in such a macabre and sensational manner, the Levite actually incited and stirred up conflict. His actions were the primary catalyst for the combat that occurred. We as God’s children are called to live at peace with one another, not to agitate and/or provoke (Romans 12:18).
Turn with me in your Bibles to Judges chapter 20 and we will continue our discussion of the story we began last week with a message titled “Israel's Civil War (Part 2)”.
I. WAR BETWEEN THE TRIBES (Judges 20:18-48)
The sons of Israel had already determined to go up against Gibeah by lot, so they inquired of God at Bethel and the tribe of Judah was selected to go first. They arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. On the first day of battle, the outnumbered Benjaminites successfully defended Gibeah and killed 22,000 men of Israel. The Israelites wept over their losses, but God told them to try again. On the second day, the tribe of Benjamin drove Israel back again and killed another 18,000 of their men. The sons of Israel retreated to Bethel, where Phinehas the high priest ministered before the Ark of the Covenant, to ask God if they should continue fighting. The LORD told them to go up a third time.
Prior to advancing upon Gibeah the third day, the sons of Israel set up an ambush around the city. When a portion of Israel's army approached in the conventional manner, the men of Benjamin came out to fight as they had before. Feigning retreat, the Israelites drew the Benjaminites away from the city which allowed those lying in wait to ambush Gibeah while it was defenseless. When the men of Benjamin realized what was going on, they turned back but were surrounded by Israelites on all sides. Ultimately, the sons of Israel soundly defeated the tribe of Benjamin killing over 25,000 men. They first destroyed the city of Gibeah, and then went about burning all of the other cities in Benjamin and killing their inhabitants too (men, women, and children). In the end, only 600 men of Benjamin remained - soldiers who had escaped and fled to the rock of Rimmon in the wilderness. They were the only surviving Benjaminites.
II. MOURNING THE LOST TRIBE (Judges 21:1-7)
After the war was over, the sons of Israel returned to Bethel. They had allowed their anger to get the best of them and had egregiously overreacted. As a result, the tribe of Benjamin had been virtually annihilated. The Israelites mourned deeply over what they had done. In sorrow, they built an altar and offered sacrifices to the LORD. Whatsmore, they had sworn an oath not to give their daughters over to the Benjaminites in marriage. Thus, the 600 surviving men of Benjamin had no women to be their wives, and therefore no way to sustain their tribe from total extinction.
This is a great example of what happens when we act out hastily based on how we feel. Quite often we regret what we’ve done afterwards. Decisions and actions driven primarily by emotion can cause great damage and have lasting consequences. The Bible warns us against the dangers of emotional decision-making, and teaches us to act rationally and wisely in obedience to the LORD’s commands.
III. WIVES FOR THE BENJAMINITES (Judges 21:8-25)
The Israelites devised a plan to provide wives for the remaining Benjaminites. They realized that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to assist Israel in the civil war. Thus, Jabesh-gilead had not taken the vow to withhold their daughters from Benjamin. So the men of Israel sent an army of 12,000 men to Jabesh-gilead. They attacked it and killed all of its inhabitants except for 400 young virgins who had never been with a man. The sons of Israel made peace with the surviving soldiers of Benjamin, allowed them to return safely to their homes, and then gave these virgins to them. Unfortunately, there were not enough women for them all.
So the elders of Israel came up with another disturbing plan to address the shortage. Each year there was a feast held just east of Shiloh, where the tabernacle had been set up. Young virgins, among others, would come from Shiloh to take part in the dances that were being held there. The Israelites told the Benjaminites to lie in wait in the vineyards alongside the road and to abduct a sufficient number of the daughters of Shiloh to become wives for their remaining men. The sons of Israel promised not to exact any retribution against Benjamin for kidnapping these young women and taking them as wives. So this is what the Benjaminites did, and all of Israel departed and returned to their tribal territories.
Think about it for a minute… in order to prevent the tribe of Benjamin from disappearing (an issue which they themselves had created), the men of Israel needlessly annihilated an entire city and forcibly took their young women. When that was not enough, they sanctioned the abduction of even more young women, reasoning that if the Benjamintes “stole” these virgins then technically they had not violated their vow not to give their daughters away. What a disturbing and disgraceful way of acquiring wives! They purposefully created and exploited a “loophole” that allowed them to keep their vows and maintain an appearance of righteousness. But would you honestly describe their behavior as pleasing to God? Both the Israelites and the Benjaminites who went along with them were morally corrupt and far from the LORD.
CONCLUSION
The final verse of Judges states, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This same sentence is found in the story of Micah and the Danites which we studied a few weeks ago (Judges 17:6). Its wording suggests that these chapters were written by someone who lived during the era of the kings. Scholars believe that much of the book of Judges was written during the reign of King David to provide a historic record of events that took place during the time of the judges.
The writer was clearly suggesting that the people who lived during the early judges period used their freedom to make ill-advised and immoral choices. It is the natural tendency of fallen, corrupt men to think and act sinfully. There is no question that, following the conquest and the death of Joshua, the tribes of Israel became idolatrous, rebellious, and spiritually depraved. This is why it was necessary for God to raise up judges to deliver His people.
That said, this verse is sometimes mischaracterized and stretched to imply that a monarchy or strong centralized government is preferable and even necessary to make people act morally. Israel’s own history clearly demonstrates that this isn’t the case. Apart from King David and a few select others, most of Israel’s kings were “bad” and led the nation and its subsequent kingdoms astray. In fact, kings like Ahab in the north and Mannasseh in the south caused Israel and Judah to commit great evils against God to the extent that both were eventually conquered. From a spiritual standpoint, it is unfair to disparage the era of the judges and refer to it as “the dark ages of Israel” when the years of the monarchy were substantially the same. In fact, I would argue that the independence Israel’s tribes enjoyed under the judges was more desirable than that the united nation of Israel experienced under most of her kings.
Here is my point. Freedom is a good thing and the ability to make one’s own choices without domineering interference from higher authorities is a blessing. We should remember that God prescribed the less restrictive regional leadership of the judges, while the more powerful kings were man’s idea - an approach that God strongly sought to discourage (1 Samuel 8). The problem during the era of the judges wasn’t that men had the right to make their own choices, but rather that they didn’t make the right choices. The one didn’t cause the other.
A Levite from the hill country of Ephraim went to Bethlehem in Judah to find and retrieve his runaway concubine. On their way home, they stopped in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin to spend the night. Some vile men surrounded the house where they were staying and demanded to have sexual relations with the Levite, but instead he handed his concubine over to them. These worthless men violently raped her all night long, so that she died. The next morning the Levite carried her body to his home, cut it into pieces, and sent her parts to the scattered tribes with a call to action. The tribes gathered together intent on punishing the men of Gibeah, but the other Benjaminites came to Gibeah’s defense. Both sides mustered up an army and prepared for civil war. It would be the tribe of Benjamin (approximately 27,000 soldiers) versus all of the other 11 tribes, referred to as the sons of Israel (approximately 400,000 soldiers)…
Before we delve into the text this morning, I want to make an observation. Not to minimize the sinful and criminal behavior of the men of Gibeah who definitely deserved to be punished, nor to overlook the concubine’s death which was brutal, shameful, and tragic, but did this atrocity justify civil war? As we will read this morning, literally thousands of people are going to die! By dividing and sending pieces of the concubine’s body to the tribes in such a macabre and sensational manner, the Levite actually incited and stirred up conflict. His actions were the primary catalyst for the combat that occurred. We as God’s children are called to live at peace with one another, not to agitate and/or provoke (Romans 12:18).
Turn with me in your Bibles to Judges chapter 20 and we will continue our discussion of the story we began last week with a message titled “Israel's Civil War (Part 2)”.
I. WAR BETWEEN THE TRIBES (Judges 20:18-48)
The sons of Israel had already determined to go up against Gibeah by lot, so they inquired of God at Bethel and the tribe of Judah was selected to go first. They arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. On the first day of battle, the outnumbered Benjaminites successfully defended Gibeah and killed 22,000 men of Israel. The Israelites wept over their losses, but God told them to try again. On the second day, the tribe of Benjamin drove Israel back again and killed another 18,000 of their men. The sons of Israel retreated to Bethel, where Phinehas the high priest ministered before the Ark of the Covenant, to ask God if they should continue fighting. The LORD told them to go up a third time.
Prior to advancing upon Gibeah the third day, the sons of Israel set up an ambush around the city. When a portion of Israel's army approached in the conventional manner, the men of Benjamin came out to fight as they had before. Feigning retreat, the Israelites drew the Benjaminites away from the city which allowed those lying in wait to ambush Gibeah while it was defenseless. When the men of Benjamin realized what was going on, they turned back but were surrounded by Israelites on all sides. Ultimately, the sons of Israel soundly defeated the tribe of Benjamin killing over 25,000 men. They first destroyed the city of Gibeah, and then went about burning all of the other cities in Benjamin and killing their inhabitants too (men, women, and children). In the end, only 600 men of Benjamin remained - soldiers who had escaped and fled to the rock of Rimmon in the wilderness. They were the only surviving Benjaminites.
II. MOURNING THE LOST TRIBE (Judges 21:1-7)
After the war was over, the sons of Israel returned to Bethel. They had allowed their anger to get the best of them and had egregiously overreacted. As a result, the tribe of Benjamin had been virtually annihilated. The Israelites mourned deeply over what they had done. In sorrow, they built an altar and offered sacrifices to the LORD. Whatsmore, they had sworn an oath not to give their daughters over to the Benjaminites in marriage. Thus, the 600 surviving men of Benjamin had no women to be their wives, and therefore no way to sustain their tribe from total extinction.
This is a great example of what happens when we act out hastily based on how we feel. Quite often we regret what we’ve done afterwards. Decisions and actions driven primarily by emotion can cause great damage and have lasting consequences. The Bible warns us against the dangers of emotional decision-making, and teaches us to act rationally and wisely in obedience to the LORD’s commands.
III. WIVES FOR THE BENJAMINITES (Judges 21:8-25)
The Israelites devised a plan to provide wives for the remaining Benjaminites. They realized that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to assist Israel in the civil war. Thus, Jabesh-gilead had not taken the vow to withhold their daughters from Benjamin. So the men of Israel sent an army of 12,000 men to Jabesh-gilead. They attacked it and killed all of its inhabitants except for 400 young virgins who had never been with a man. The sons of Israel made peace with the surviving soldiers of Benjamin, allowed them to return safely to their homes, and then gave these virgins to them. Unfortunately, there were not enough women for them all.
So the elders of Israel came up with another disturbing plan to address the shortage. Each year there was a feast held just east of Shiloh, where the tabernacle had been set up. Young virgins, among others, would come from Shiloh to take part in the dances that were being held there. The Israelites told the Benjaminites to lie in wait in the vineyards alongside the road and to abduct a sufficient number of the daughters of Shiloh to become wives for their remaining men. The sons of Israel promised not to exact any retribution against Benjamin for kidnapping these young women and taking them as wives. So this is what the Benjaminites did, and all of Israel departed and returned to their tribal territories.
Think about it for a minute… in order to prevent the tribe of Benjamin from disappearing (an issue which they themselves had created), the men of Israel needlessly annihilated an entire city and forcibly took their young women. When that was not enough, they sanctioned the abduction of even more young women, reasoning that if the Benjamintes “stole” these virgins then technically they had not violated their vow not to give their daughters away. What a disturbing and disgraceful way of acquiring wives! They purposefully created and exploited a “loophole” that allowed them to keep their vows and maintain an appearance of righteousness. But would you honestly describe their behavior as pleasing to God? Both the Israelites and the Benjaminites who went along with them were morally corrupt and far from the LORD.
CONCLUSION
The final verse of Judges states, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This same sentence is found in the story of Micah and the Danites which we studied a few weeks ago (Judges 17:6). Its wording suggests that these chapters were written by someone who lived during the era of the kings. Scholars believe that much of the book of Judges was written during the reign of King David to provide a historic record of events that took place during the time of the judges.
The writer was clearly suggesting that the people who lived during the early judges period used their freedom to make ill-advised and immoral choices. It is the natural tendency of fallen, corrupt men to think and act sinfully. There is no question that, following the conquest and the death of Joshua, the tribes of Israel became idolatrous, rebellious, and spiritually depraved. This is why it was necessary for God to raise up judges to deliver His people.
That said, this verse is sometimes mischaracterized and stretched to imply that a monarchy or strong centralized government is preferable and even necessary to make people act morally. Israel’s own history clearly demonstrates that this isn’t the case. Apart from King David and a few select others, most of Israel’s kings were “bad” and led the nation and its subsequent kingdoms astray. In fact, kings like Ahab in the north and Mannasseh in the south caused Israel and Judah to commit great evils against God to the extent that both were eventually conquered. From a spiritual standpoint, it is unfair to disparage the era of the judges and refer to it as “the dark ages of Israel” when the years of the monarchy were substantially the same. In fact, I would argue that the independence Israel’s tribes enjoyed under the judges was more desirable than that the united nation of Israel experienced under most of her kings.
Here is my point. Freedom is a good thing and the ability to make one’s own choices without domineering interference from higher authorities is a blessing. We should remember that God prescribed the less restrictive regional leadership of the judges, while the more powerful kings were man’s idea - an approach that God strongly sought to discourage (1 Samuel 8). The problem during the era of the judges wasn’t that men had the right to make their own choices, but rather that they didn’t make the right choices. The one didn’t cause the other.