Judges 21:16-24 Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right!

 ”Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’ ” Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin. Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’ ” And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them. So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance.“ Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭16‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh: They answered the problem of wives for the remaining Benjaminites by creating a little drama where the Benjaminites were allowed to “kidnap” women (who were no doubt willing), so that the marriages could be arranged without “official” approval.

i. Rather than go through this charade, they should have simply confessed their sin of making a foolish oath and done the right thing instead of trying to make two wrongs equal a right.

b. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them: In this, the tribe of Benjamin was sufficiently restored to provide Israel with its first king (Saul). (Guzik)

Two Wrongs Don’t Make A Right!

We’ve learned through these last couple of chapters that we shouldn’t make rash foolish oaths and now we learn that to correct a foolish oath we shouldn’t use another wrong to correct our rash oath! But as a Christian how does this relate to when we’ve been wronged? If we take revenge, “two wrongs don’t make a right”!

“Getting even is a natural response to being wronged, but God calls us to live above our natural responses. He demonstrated holiness through His Son Jesus Christ, and He offers to empower us through His Holy Spirit so that we can live above our selfish instincts.” https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-retaliation.html

The other day we had a warm spell and I decided to wash my vehicle to remove the salt and sand from the winter road treatment. That’s when I noticed my tire valve stem caps missing. Did someone steal them? My human natural response would be to steal some back! But the Christian in me fights that natural response so when in a store the other day I went to their automotive department and asked if they had some used valve stem caps to replace the ones that were missing. They gave me four!

Have you ever tried, two wrongs to make a right? I’m guilty of that sin!

Blessings 

Note: I haven’t read this book but it’s title is right!

Judges 21:4-15 Foolish Oaths

 ”So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the Lord?” For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the Lord at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them our daughters as wives?” And they said, “What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the Lord?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly. For when the people were counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there. So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children. And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them. So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them. And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭4‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the LORD... He shall surely be put to death: Here again Israel did something that seemed right at the time, but was actually a horror. They decided to slaughter a whole city of Israel, a city that refused to join with Israel in the fight against Benjamin.

i. This was doing one bad thing to make up for another. Israel instead should have repented of their foolish oath made at Mizpah, and they should have agreed to give their daughters as wives to the men of the tribe of Benjamin, renouncing the foolish vow of Judges 21:1.

b. They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins: In the ungodly massacre at Jabesh Gilead, they killed all but 400 young virgins. Still, this was not enough: yet they had not found enough for them. (Guzik)

Foolish Oaths 

We have to study this carefully, read Guzik’s commentary: “They decided to slaughter a whole city of Israel, a city that refused to join with Israel in the fight against Benjamin.” Because of a foolish oath, they slaughtered a whole city of their own tribe because they refused to join them in the fight against the tribe of Benjamin! Then they gave the daughters of the city of Israel to the men survivors of Benjamin whom they made peace with.

We’ve all made foolish oaths in our lives. Let’s remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:37

Blessings 

Judges 21:1-3 Punishment that is too harsh!

  ”Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, and said, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭21‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin: Considering their anger against Benjamin, this probably seemed like the right thing to do. But this foolish oath had unforeseen consequences. Justice not only brings punishment to evildoers, but it also guards against punishment that is too harsh.”

Why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel: “They cried out to God, almost as if it was His responsibility that the tribe of Benjamin was on the edge of extinction. The question, “Why has this come to pass?” was easily answered: Because of the excessive vengeance of the tribes of Israel against the tribe of Benjamin.

b. One tribe missing: Down to almost only 400 men - and those men unable to marry because of the curse pronounced in Judges 21:1 - the tribe of Benjamin was almost extinct.” (Guzik)

Punishment that is too harsh!

We recently watched a legal program where a defendant was on trial and the prosecution recommended no jail sentence but the judge gave him 2-4 years and 8 years probation with so many restrictions it was impossible not to break. His case was appealed when it was found out the prosecuting attorney office had a list of untrustworthy officers not to have testify and the officer that helped convict the man was on that list. The case was appealed and they asked for a new judge. He won the appeal but not a new judge and she put him back in jail. The case was appealed again with different lawyers on different grounds requesting a different judge and the appeal was approved. The defendant was released with time served and no probation.

Can punishment be too harsh when we refuse to forgive someone?

We can still be tempted to hold grudges, stay angry, to forgive but not to forget.

Have you ever left the handle out?

Blessings 

Judges 20:29-48 Cause of Righteousness

 ”Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah. And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times. So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.” But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba. And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword. So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city, whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven. And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst. They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east. And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them. So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor. But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭29‬-‭48‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“a. Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways: The strategy used by the tribes of Israel against Gibeah was remarkably similar to the strategy used at Ai (Joshua 8). Perhaps they got this strategy by reading the writings of Joshua and Moses; this may reflect that they returned to God’s word in the course of their repentance.

b. The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel: “These words briefly recall the real meaning of the awful judgment that fell upon Benjamin. It was the stroke of God.” (Morgan)

c. Six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness: The two days of defeat made the tribes of Israel ruthless towards the tribe of Benjamin, and they killed thousands of men of Benjamin. As a result of the battle, there remained only a 600-man remnant from the tribe of Benjamin.

d. The men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword; from every city, men and beasts, all who were found: The tribe of Benjamin was undeniably guilty, but there was no need for the complete slaughter as described here. This too-severe judgment against the tribe of Benjamin would soon be regretted by Israel.

i. “Uninstructed zeal, even in the cause of righteousness, often goes beyond its proper limits.” (Morgan)” (Guzik)

Cause of Righteousness 

Brother against brother, reminds me of our country’s past civil war. Some say it was about federalism and state rights and others say it was about slavery but no matter the cause, Morgan’s comment hits home on what the North did to the South at the end of the war with the burning and looting of the cities. “Uninstructed zeal, even in the cause of righteousness, often goes beyond its proper limits.” (Morgan)

Have you ever displayed uninstructed zeal? I’m guilty!

Blessings 

Judges 20:26-28 The Sacrifice of the Cross!

 ”Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”So the children of Israel inquired of the Lord (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”“ Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening: God allowed the two days of defeat for the purpose of bringing Israel low. They needed to be humbled, and these days of defeat compelled them to humble themselves.

i. God used this to humble the whole nation. They had to understand that the horror of the crime at Gibeah was not merely the result of the sin of one group of men, or one city, or even one tribe. The whole nation had to be humbled because they first thought that the sin problem was only in Benjamin. Israel had to see that that nation as a whole had a sin problem.

ii. After the first failure, Israel was sorry and wept. But it was only after the second failure that they put their repentance into action by fasting and made a sacrifice for sins. Sorrow and weeping are not enough if they are not matched by real repentance and taking care of the sin problem through sacrifice - the sacrifice of the cross.

iii. Part of their demonstration of humility was in fasting. In 1827, Adam Clarke wrote about fasting: “At present it is but little used; a strong proof that self-denial is wearing out of fashion.” Clarke thought this was true of his day; he would probably think it all the truer of modern times.

iv. The mention of Phinehas as high priest means that this was fairly early in the days of the Judges (Numbers 25:7, 25:11). (Guzik)

Guzik’s comment really stands out to me!

“Sorrow and weeping are not enough if they are not matched by real repentance and taking care of the sin problem through sacrifice - the sacrifice of the cross.”

How do you convince someone the sacrifice of the cross is the only way to God the Father? 

You can’t! You can only give them the message and it’s up to the Holy Spirit to draw them to Jesus. When I’ve tried leading some people to Jesus I’ve had the message rejected with, “All I need is the Ten Commandments”, or “All I need is the Bible”, but the day before I was told, “The Bible is full of lies”. It’s a cult, you can get shot for talking to people about religion!

Recently while listening to Chuck Swindoll on the radio he said someone asked:

Where was God when six million Jews were exterminated? 

He was in the same place when His Son hung on the cross!

Do you really believe you can get to heaven without taking care of the sin problem through sacrifice - the sacrifice of the cross?

Blessings 

Judges 20:24-26 Difficult Struggle

 ”So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day.“ Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“This would not be an easy or a quick war. After a first day of heavy losses, they children of Israelwere willing to keep fighting.” (Guzik)

”And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“The loss on the second day of battle was also severe. This shows that even though the tribes of Israel sought the LORD and fought in a just cause, it was still a very difficult struggle. There was a great cost for them to pay in doing what was right.” (Guzik)

Difficult Struggle 

When we were led to adoption it wasn’t easy when we adopted our son, it was a difficult struggle and there was a great cost. But we were doing the Lord’s work.

When we study the Bible we learn every prophet, disciple and apostle had difficult struggles and there was a great cost!

Moses gave up the life of royalty as the pharaohs son.

Joseph was sold to Egyptian traders.

Peter was crucified upside down.

Paul was beheaded.

John was boiled in oil and when that failed to kill him he was sent to Patmos.

Following Jesus Christ isn’t easy, there will be struggles and a cost, but focus on your reward that you will receive when you go home to be with Jesus.

Paul said:

”For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.“

‭‭II Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Keep the faith,

Blessings 

Judges 20:22-23 Seeking the Lord!

 ”And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against him.”“ Judges‬ ‭20‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line: “This was a wonderful reaction in the midst of such a dark event. These soldiers did not lose hope; like David in 1 Samuel 30:6, they strengthened themselves in the LORD and moved forward.” (Guzik)

Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening: “To their credit, the children of Israel did not stop seeking the LORD after the first disaster in battle. They properly humbled themselves before God and sought Him regarding the next battle.” (Guzik)

Seeking the Lord!

In the battles of life let these verses encourage us to weep before the Lord and do not stop even if life circumstances don’t change, even if things go badly for us and even if we loose the battle! 

The devil will whisper in your ear that the Lord doesn’t care about you because you have gone too far and sinned too deeply, but remember he is a liar and the Bible says he is the father of lies!

Seek the Lord continually!

Blessings