Burunche’s Blog

SUMMARY OF JUDGES

The book of Judges has some of the saddest and goriest stories in the entire Bible. Part of the sadness comes from the repeated comment “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

These people whom God intended to be holy and righteous and to demonstrate His faithfulness and His goodness to the whole earth refused to teach successive generations about Him, preferring to worship idols instead. The results were predictable; in fact, God specifically warned the Israelites what would happen if they failed to teach their children about Him.

Deuteronomy 6:6 – 15 tells us “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.”

Many times when things go wrong, we choose to blame God, conveniently forgetting that we ourselves may be the source of our own problems. An old spiritual says, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, Oh Lord! Standing in the need of prayer! Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, Oh Lord! Standing in the need of prayer.”

Judges forces us to face tough questions. Who is going to teach our children about God? If we fail to do so, nobody else will. In the spiritual world, there are only two choices, only two paths. Either you are moving closer to God and away from Satan, or you are moving closer to Satan and away from God. And if we fail to teach our children about God, who will teach our grandchildren and what will they learn? May God help us to study His Word, being confident that if we ask Him for help and guidance, He will give it!

PRAYER: Father God, HELP! We are in danger of losing our children because we don’t know how to teach them about You. Please help us! Please guide us! And help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Judges 21:1 – 25 “Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite.” So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, lifting up their voices and weeping bitterly. “Why, O LORD God of Israel,” they cried out, “has this happened in Israel? Today in Israel one tribe is missing!” The next day the people got up early, built an altar there, and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings. The Israelites asked, “Who among all the tribes of Israel did not come to the assembly before the LORD?” For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah would surely be put to death.

And the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites, and said, “Today a tribe is cut off from Israel. What should we do about wives for the survivors, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them our daughters in marriage?” So they asked, “Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to come up before the LORD at Mizpah?” And in fact, no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when the people were counted, none of the residents of Jabesh-gilead were there. So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: “Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children. This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.” So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young women who had not had relations with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. Then the whole congregation sent a message of peace to the Benjamites who were at the rock of Rimmon. And at that time the Benjamites returned and were given the women who were spared from Jabesh-gilead. But there were not enough women for all of them.

The people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel. Then the elders of the congregation said, “What should we do about wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” They added, “There must be heirs for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. But we cannot give them our daughters as wives.”

For the Israelites had sworn, “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”

“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

So they commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favor by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.’” The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them. And at that time, each of the Israelites returned from there to his own tribe and clan, each to his own inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

What a mess! 600 Benjamites survived by escaping and hiding near the rock of Rimmon in the wilderness. Once the Israelites had vented their anger on Gibeah and the Benjamite cities, they return to Bethel, where they worship the Lord and slowly come to their senses. Rather than celebrating victories, the Israelites are now grieving for the near – loss of one tribe. Now the Israelites realize that 600 Benjamites have survived, but what is going to happen? In the heat of their anger, the Israelites have sworn not to give their daughters as wives to the Benjamites. The Israelites get tricky and ask which city in all of Israel has failed to send warriors to fight against Benjamin? Unfortunately, the city of Jabesh – Gilead east of the Jordan has failed to send any warriors to help the rest of the Israelites. This failure is a violation of the oath sworn by those settling that area when Moses gave them that land. The Israelites send warriors who wipe out all the inhabitants except for 400 virgins whom they bring back as brides for the Benjamites.

But this still leaves 200 Benjamites without brides. No problem! The Israelites cook up a scheme in which the 200 Benjamites kidnap girls from Shiloh as they are performing their annual dances. The kidnapping absolves the families of these girls of any blame, since they have not actually given the girls in marriage. (Of course, nobody is interested in the feelings of the poor virgins forced into these marriages!)

APPLICATION: As a female reading these verses, I have always felt terribly sorry for the poor girls forced into these marriages; however, these practices were fairly common in those times. But were these schemes God’s perfect will for this situation? My personal reaction is no! Elders from the eleven remaining tribes of Israel could have gone to Jabesh – Gilead and negotiated for those girls; there was no reason that the innocent inhabitants had to be massacred. (And the question is, how much loot did those 12000 soldiers collect when they were attacking Jabesh – Gilead?) At least with respect to the girls from Shiloh, their families and their city were left intact. But even there, had the Israelites actually sought the Lord on this matter, there would have been a better answer.

The saddest part of this entire story is the final verdict in verse 25: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Who is King of your life? From whom do you get your guidance? Are you allowing the Ruler of the Universe to counsel you, or are you doing what is right in your own eyes?

PRAYER:Father God, help us to look to YOU and only YOU for our help and our guidance. Be King of our lives! Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.