One could rightly say, \u201cWhat a mess, and what was a Levite priest doing with a concubine anyway?\u201d The answer is that this is exactly what happens when no one follows God and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. All the tribes of Israel came to the Benjamites in Gibeah and asked them to send out the men who had committed the crime against the Levite and his concubine. The law was clear in Deuteronomy 13:5 and 21:21 that these rebellious sons had to be brought to justice. If they were found guilty, capital punishment was to be imposed. Even though the people of Benjamin were greatly outnumbered, they wouldn’t yield to what was right. They hardened their hearts and refused to turn over the criminals, instead choosing civil war.<\/p>\n
Originally the anger of the tribes of Israel was directed only against the city of Gibeah, where the atrocity took place. But since the city of Gibeah belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, the leaders of that tribe became involved, and all of Benjamin came up against the tribes of Israel. The children of Israel went and wept before the LORD and God heard their prayer and delivered Benjamin into their hands. But there was no need for the complete slaughter described here. This overly severe judgment against the tribe of Benjamin would later be regretted by Israel, and they would make further questionable choices in an effort to salvage the tribe of Benjamin.\u00a0There was a hint of an effort that the people were trying to do what was right, but they were still, for the most part, operating on their own. Doing the right thing in the wrong way always brings regret and disappointment.<\/p>\n
“LORD, please help us to see clearly, doing the right thing for the right reasons; give us the grace to do so today.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judges 20 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0in Mizpeh.\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0And the chief of all the people,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell\u00a0us\u00a0<\/em>, how was this wickedness?\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that\u00a0belongeth\u00a0<\/em>to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.\u00a0\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.\u00a0\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0Behold, ye\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel. 8<\/sup>\u00a0And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any\u00a0of us\u00a0<\/em>go to his tent, neither will we any\u00a0of us\u00a0<\/em>turn into his house.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0But now this\u00a0shall be\u00a0<\/em>the thing which we will do to Gibeah;\u00a0we will go up\u00a0<\/em>by lot against it;\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.\u00a0 12<\/sup>\u00a0And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>this that is done among you?\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0Now therefore deliver\u00a0us\u00a0<\/em>the men, the children of Belial, which\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0Among all this people\u00a0there were\u00a0<\/em>seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair\u00a0breadth\u00a0<\/em>, and not miss.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>men of war. 18<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said, Judah\u00a0shall go up\u00a0<\/em>first.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.\u00a021<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.\u00a022<\/sup>\u00a0And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the\u00a0LORD\u00a0until even, and asked counsel of the\u00a0LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said, Go up against him.)\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.\u00a025<\/sup>\u00a0And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword. 26<\/sup> Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the\u00a0LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the\u00a0LORD.\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel enquired of the\u00a0LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>there in those days,\u00a028<\/sup>\u00a0And 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 Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.\u00a029<\/sup>\u00a0And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.\u00a031<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Benjamin went out against the people,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a032<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Benjamin said, They\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.\u00a033<\/sup>\u00a0And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>out of the meadows of Gibeah.\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>near them.\u00a035<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.\u00a036<\/sup>\u00a0So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.\u00a037<\/sup>\u00a0And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew\u00a0themselves\u00a0<\/em>along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.\u00a0\u00a038<\/sup>\u00a0Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a039<\/sup>\u00a0And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as\u00a0in\u00a0<\/em>the first battle.\u00a0\u00a040<\/sup>\u00a0But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.\u00a041<\/sup>\u00a0And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.\u00a0\u00a042<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore they turned\u00a0their backs\u00a0<\/em>before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which\u00a0came\u00a0<\/em>out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.\u00a043<\/sup>\u00a0Thus\u00a0<\/em>they inclosed the Benjamites round about,\u00a0and<\/em> chased them,\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a044<\/sup>\u00a0And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>men of valour.\u00a045<\/sup>\u00a0And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.\u00a046<\/sup>\u00a0So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>men of valour.\u00a047<\/sup>\u00a0But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.\u00a048<\/sup>\u00a0And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of\u00a0every\u00a0<\/em>city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One could rightly say, \u201cWhat a mess, and what was a Levite priest doing with a concubine anyway?\u201d The answer is that this is exactly what happens when no one follows God and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. 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