Judges 21

We have come to the end of the Book of Judges today and as I said… this chapter marks the end of a trilogy of one unfortunate episode in the dark period of the history of the Israelites.

Read on for the climax of the story….

Bible Passage: Judges 21

Now tell me… what do you think? Are you utterly confused? Disgusted? Bewildered? Frustrated? Angry? … I must admit … a whole lot of mixed emotions rushed through me as I read today’s passage.

I mean… what on earth were those people thinking of?

Let me just give a brief synopsis so that you can perhaps be clear of what actually happened….

In the last 2 chapters, a group of Benjamites had cruelly sexually abused the concubine of a Levite and she died. In anger and sadness, the Levite cut up her body and sent it to all the tribes of Israel – seeking retribution and justice. Enraged by this cruel act, all the other tribes of Israel arose as one man to demand justice.

However, the whole tribe of Benjamin decided to stand as one… against their fellow brothers …. and almost the whole tribe was destroyed… save for 600 men that now remained.

When all the dust settled… suddenly they realised one thing… the tribe of Benjamin faced extinction because there were only men-folk left. And this led to much wailing and crying. Strange reaction but they were faced with the prospect of loosing one of the 12 tribes!

What are they to do? What follows is another series of unbelievable actions by the Israelites…

Now, in their eagerness to see justice done…. , they had made 2 big oaths in their self righteous quest to avenge on behalf of the Levites. The first was that none of the tribes will allow their daughters to be married to the tribe of Benjamin! So no chance of extending the lineage of Benjamin through that means.

Second… if any tribe did not respond to the call for justice by going out together with them in battle, they deserve to die.

Keeping this in mind… you will now understand why they did what they did.

Wives for the Benjamites

How were they going to get wives for the 600 remaining men of Benjamin since they cannot give their daughters in marriage to them?

What follows are some incredible decisions made by the leaders.

First, they went to seek out people who did not respond to the call to go out and battle Benjamin. This is because in their oath, they declared that if anyone did not come together in the great assembly, they shall surely be put to death! And lo and behold! There was a group from Jabesh Gilead that did nit come.

Without so much as to investigate further, they went ahead (12,000 most valiant men) to destroy everyone there except the virgin women. These women will then be given to the Benjamites. Only one problem…. there was only 400 women for 600 men…. And that still spells trouble.

So from this cruel plan, they went onto another. They then told the remaining Benjamites to lie in wait for the daughters of Shiloh and to snatch them. And in so doing, they ensured that no one broke the oath because the women were snatched away. They were not given to the men of Benjamin.

Can you see how the Israelites schemed and found loopholes in their oaths to solve the problem that they first created!

I am not sure what went through your mind when you read that…. But surely it will not be shouts of joy and acclamation for a thorny problem solved!

Two Wrongs Does Not Make A Right

What was most disturbing was that when the Israelites found that they had gone overboard, they tried to make amends by wrong methods once again.

This reminds me that at times, after I had committed something wrong, I try to cover it up with another wrong.  And before I know it… a whole multitude of wrongs had been committed.  Pretty much like telling lies.  You cannot just stop at one… cause you very often have to tell another one just to cover the first lie … and so and so forth.

The elders did, in principal, the same kind of sin the old man and the Levite had done in Gibeah. The abuction of the daughters of Shiloh sadly resembles the earlier treatment of the concubine, just as the campaign against Jabest Gilead was disturbingly similar to the war against Benjamin. Not only had justice not been served, but many injustices occured and no rights were truly championed. The final line of Judges captured the essence of the times: “In those days…. everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.

In a sense, Judges is the opposite of Joshua: In Joshua, the Israelites had attempted to overcome Canaan; in Judges they Cannanized themselves. There’s no “Hollywood” ending to the final chapter. When the book ends, we breathe a sigh – more because the uncomfortable story is finished than because we have experienced positive resolution.

The Israelites were influenced by Canaan, but the source of the problem lay in their own hearts, in their sinful rebellion, which the Caananite influences only amplified.

Now at then end of the book of Judges…. what is it that we have learnt?

It is very difficult living as a Christian after the heart of God today. The things around us… the people around us…. society and culture in general makes someone who wants to follow God whole-heartedly really look and feel like aliens.

But let’s not lay the blame totally on those things. But rather… it is our willingness to believe, to take God at His Word, and to obey.

Have I truly submitted myself to God’s transforming work in my life (Rom 12:1-2)? Or do I ultimately do whatever seems appropriate to me?

That is a question that I am asking myself today. Perhaps you should ask yourself too.

May we always remember who is the true King in our lives everyday.