Where Did it All Go Wrong?

Judges 19, 20, 21 - Episode 143

After Joshua and his generation died, the people started doing what they thought was right instead of what God said was right. By the end of the book of Judges, one of the tribes committed such a grave sin that the rest of the nation went to war against them. After the war was over, they stopped to contemplate how their country had arrived at this place and how they might preserve the rest of the tribe that sinned.

When they all started going their own way, their nation began to suffer. God had given them laws, but they weren’t following them. It is the same with us. When we begin going our own way, our life begins to fall apart. So, we must realize this and begin doing things God’s way in order to get our lives back on track. When we do this, God will forgive, redeem, and restore.

Gibeah’s Worthless Men - Judges 19:1-30

During the time of one of the judges, when Israel still had no king, some men from the tribe of Benjamin committed such a great crime against one of the Levites that the rest of the tribes of Israel went up against them. The Levite lived in the land of Ephraim, but while traveling, took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. But she was unfaithful to him and went back to her father in Bethlehem. But after about four months, her husband went after her with the hopes of persuading her to come back home. His father-in-law was happy to see him and asked the Levite to stay with them for a few days. On the fourth morning, the man wanted to take his wife and go back home. But his father-in-law persuaded him to stay until that evening. Then, in the evening, he persuaded him to stay till the morning. The next morning, he persuaded him to stay until evening. But, on that fifth evening, when the father-in-law asked him to stay again, he took his wife and servant, and they started home.

Because it was already late in the day, they needed a place to sleep overnight. Bethlehem was in the northern part of Judah. But they needed to travel through the land of Benjamin to get back to his home in Ephraim. His servant wanted to stay in Jebus, but the Levite refused to stay in a foreign land. Later Jebus would become Jerusalem, but at the time, this is where the Jebusites lived. So, they traveled north about four more miles, to the town of Gibeah, which was in the land of Benjamin. They had planned to stay in the open square, but an old man invited them to stay with him. So, the Levite took his concubine and servant, along with their animals, back to the man’s house for the night. The old man fed his donkeys, washed their feet, and prepared a meal for them.

While they were sitting around enjoying the evening, some men came from the city, asking to sleep with the old man’s guest. These worthless men were called sons of Belial, which was another word for Satan. It was bad enough that these men wanted to defile his guests. But asking for a man was too much! So, to appease the mob, the old man offered his virgin daughter and the man’s concubine to them instead. The men were not happy about this. It does not say whether they took his daughter or not, but they took his guest’s concubine and raped her repeatedly until morning. When day broke, they left, and she crawled up to the door and died.

Though the Levite had been sweet to go after her and try to persuade instead of punishing or forcing her to come home, he had allowed these men to take her and abuse her all night while he slept. Then, in the morning, when he found her on the ground at the door, he callously told her to get up so they could leave. But when he realized she was dead, he threw her on his donkey and went on his way. But, when he got home, his anger over his wife’s death and the way they were treated as guests in another Israelite town, made him boil with rage. So, in a dramatic display, he cut his wife into 12 pieces and sent them throughout the land of Israel.

Civil War with Benjamin – Judges 20:1-48

This obviously got everyone talking, and all the tribes met together in Mizpah to discuss the matter. When they asked the Levite what happened, he explained that as he was traveling home from Bethlehem, the old man invited them to stay the night at his house instead of in the town square. But he was no safer in the man’s house than in the open, because the leaders of Gibeah surrounded the house and asked for him. He believed they intended to kill him, but instead, they raped his concubine. Sadly, their brutality resulted in her death.

This was obviously horrible for anyone, much less a fellow Israelite tribe. The degradation of their request for a man, the abuse of another man’s wife, the inhospitable nature towards a guest, and the disrespect for a fellow Israelite, caused the whole nation to rise up together as one. They vowed not to return home until the men of Gibeah were held accountable for their crimes. Such evil had to be purged from their nation.

So, they went united throughout the land of Benjamin asking for the men to be handed over so they could be put to death. But the tribe of Benjamin refused, and instead, formed an army against their fellow Israelites. They armed 26,700 men and 700 were from Gibeah itself. Then, out of all the soldiers, 700 were left-handed and considered excellent marksmen. So, 26,700 Benjamites stood against 400,000 of their fellow Israelites.

Then, the Israelites went to the place where the Ark of the Covenant sat, to ask God which tribe should go against Benjamin first. They probably used the Urim and Thummim to determine that Judah should attack first. These were tools the priests used to determine God’s will and were, most likely, a form of casting lots.  

So, the Israelites went against the tribe of Benjamin near Gibeah, and 22,000 Israelites died on the first day. This was upsetting to them, and they asked God if they should go against them again the following day. After receiving affirmation, they fought against the Benjamites the second day and lost 18,000 more men. At the end of that day, the people cried, fasted, and presented the Lord with offerings. Then, they asked again if they should continue to fight. This time, God told them to go against the tribe of Benjamin one more day and He would give them victory.

So, the Israelites set an ambush around Gibeah, while the rest of the soldiers lured the Benjamite army away from the city. As the battle began, they killed 30 Israelites, and it looked as if the third day would follow the same pattern as the previous two days. But as the Israelites drew them further away from the city, the 10,000 select soldiers who sat in ambush, emerged and attacked Gibeah. After they killed the people there, they set the city on fire. This was the signal to the rest of the soldiers to stop drawing the Benjamites away, and instead, to turn and fight them. When the soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin realized they were beaten, they ran towards the wilderness. But the Israelites who ambushed the city also came out to attack, and they killed 18,000 Benjamites, then another 5,000 along the highways, and the last 2,000 near Gidom. The Israelites killed 25,100 that day, and with the 1,000 who died the previous two days, only 600 made it to the wilderness of Rimmon. The rest of the people and animals in the land of Benjamin were killed and all their cities were burned.

The Battle After the War – Judges 21:1-25

After the war with Benjamin was over, the Israelites gathered to lament over the loss of life within their own country. They cried out to God asking why their nation was going through such a horrible ordeal and what would become of the Benjamites. It did not seem right that one, whole tribe should be wiped away, but they were not sure what to do about it. The 600 men in Rimmon were all that was left of the tribe, and they had all vowed before the war began, not to give any of their daughters to the Benjamites in marriage. After seeing how the men in Gibeah treated the Levite’s concubine and how the rest of the tribe protected them, they did not trust the Benjamites with their women. But, because of the war, there were no women left for the remaining Benjamites to marry. The tribe could not survive if these men had no wives or future children.

So, the next day, they built an altar and offered burnt and peace offerings to the Lord. Then, they discussed whether there were any men who had not joined in the attack with the Benjamites. When it was revealed that the men from Jabesh-gilead had not participated, they sent 12,000 of their bravest men to fight against the town. They were to kill everyone except for the virgins. These were to be given to the Benjamites to marry since no one from that town had promised to withhold their women from them. So, they killed all but 400 women who they kept alive for the tribe of Benjamin.

The men had been living in Rimmon for four months by this time, wondering what their fate would be. But after the Israelites retrieved these women, they sent word to the remaining Benjamites that they wanted to make peace with them. So, the 600 men met with the Israelites, who gave them 400 women as wives so they could preserve their tribe. But because they were still short 200 women, they still had to figure something out.

Finally, they agreed that if they didn’t give the women, but they were instead just taken by the Benjamites, they would not be breaking their oath, and all the men would have wives. So, the Israelites told them they could take from the women who came out to dance at the upcoming feast. This plan worked for all those who gathered there and the Benjamites did as they were instructed and took wives from the feast in Shiloh. Then, they went back to the land of Benjamin and rebuilt their homes, towns, and lives.

This was the state of Israel during the time of the judges, when everyone did whatever they wanted.