Judges 20:1 – 17 “Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords. (Now the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen?” So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died. Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.”
Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house. Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will go against it as the lot dictates. We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.”
So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city. And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah. Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing. The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior.”
Leviticus 19:34 ”You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 22:25 “But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die. Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him. When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.”
A horrible crime has taken place! The men of Gibeah in the tribe of Benjamin, Israelites who should have sheltered strangers whether or not they were fellow Israelites and who should have protected all women, have raped and murdered a young woman after attempting to rape her husband when the couple and their servant sought a night’s lodging in their city. While alive, this young woman probably cried as loudly as she could for help, but those who should have helped her attacked her instead. According to the laws of Moses, every one of the rapists should have been stoned, but they were not punished at all.
The outraged husband has cut his wife into pieces and sent the pieces throughout Israel in a demand for justice. When all the other tribes of Israel meet, the Benjamites are fully aware of the meeting but make no attempt whatsoever to attend. While the Benjamites might feel that they are merely siding with their brothers, in fact, they are doing something far worse. By refusing to attend this meeting, the rest of the tribe of Benjamin are graphically demonstrating that they actually approve of these heinous crimes.
APPLICATION: Several years ago, we were associated with a project whose leader asked me to assess its performance. Unfortunately, the more closely I examined things, the more I realized that this facility was operating along non – scriptural lines. Once I completed my report, the Holy Spirit spoke quietly to my heart and said, “What will you do now? Remember, silence implies consent. If you do not protest the wrong practices, you are agreeing with them.” We wrote out a statement indicating the practices with which we could not agree and offering to help the project address these problems. The leader became infuriated and dismissed us; however, we had peace because we had followed the Lord in this matter.
“SILENCE IMPLIES CONSENT.” Today, many of us are being bullied into ignoring practices that are immoral and unconstitutional. Some of us may find ourselves facing the loss of our jobs for our refusal to compromise. In such situations, what do we do? Only God can give us the correct answers; however, remaining quiet has far – reaching consequences. Later on, when things become far worse, our initial silence may be used against us. Far better to speak up in the beginning than to regret at the end. May God help each of us to stand firm when our faith is challenged!
PRAYER: Father God, you know the struggles we are facing. You know that many of us are being forced into untenable positions. Lord, help us to remain firm in our faith and to speak up. Send your warring angels to protect all who are standing for righteousness. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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