The Brokenness of a Nation (Judges 21:1-25)

This is the last post on the book of Judges, and next we will begin to look at the book of Ruth.

 

 

3/9/2010 8:07 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                    Focus:  The brokenness of a nation

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Judges 21:1-25

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, "None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin in marriage." 2  So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3  They said, "Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?" 4  It came about the next day that the people arose early and built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5  Then the sons of Israel said, "Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up in the assembly to the LORD?" For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah, saying, "He shall surely be put to death." 6  And the sons of Israel were sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, "One tribe is cut off from Israel today. 7  "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" 8  And they said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel who did not come up to the LORD at Mizpah?" And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 9  For when the people were numbered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 10  And the congregation sent 12,000 of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, "Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones. 11  "This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every man and every woman who has lain with a man." 12  And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan. 13  Then the whole congregation sent word and spoke to the sons of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them. 14  Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had kept alive from the women of Jabesh-gilead; yet they were not enough for them. 15  And the people were sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

            “16 ¶  Then the elders of the congregation said, "What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?" 17  They said, "There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe will not be blotted out from Israel. 18  "But we cannot give them wives of our daughters." For the sons of Israel had sworn, saying, "Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin." 19  So they said, "Behold, there is a feast of the LORD from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south side of Lebonah." 20  And they commanded the sons of Benjamin, saying, "Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, 21  and watch; and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to take part in the dances, then you shall come out of the vineyards and each of you shall catch his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22  "It shall come about, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we shall say to them, ’Give them to us voluntarily, because we did not take for each man of Benjamin a wife in battle, nor did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’" 23  The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they carried away. And they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24  The sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one of them went out from there to his inheritance. 25  In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

            This is the last chapter in the book of Judges and this chapter can be summed up by asking a question concerning the events of what happened here.  The question is how much of all that happened in this chapter and for that matter in these last several chapters, which Warren Wiersbe calls an appendix to the book of Judges, did the children of Israel seek the Lord in all that happened or did they use their own wisdom in doing what they did?  “13 ¶  Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15  This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18  And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

            To review this chapter the children of Israel minus Benjamin and Jabesh-gilead realized that they had a big problem, and that problem had to do with sin, but I don’t think that they realized it.  There were only 600 men left in the tribe of Benjamin and therefore if they did not find wives for these men then there would be one less tribe in Israel.  The plan that they followed meant that they would kill people in Jabesh-gilead because they did not come to fight against Benjamin and they had made two vows before the fighting broke out.  If any of the tribe did not come up then they would be killed, and that the tribe that did come up would not give wives to the men of Benjamin.  They found 400 virgins after the battle was over in Jabesh-gilead and so they were 200 women short so they decided to allow these 200 men to kidnap 200 virgins from a yearly party and thus they did not break any of their vows that they made.

            Being a Monday morning quarterback is easy in this section, for if the Levite would have done to his concubine what the Law prescribed none of this would have happened, and since he did not follow the Law, but kept her if he would have treated her as he should have and protected her then none of this would have happened either.

            Four times the author of the book of Judges tells his readers that there was no king in Israel, and two of those times he adds “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”           

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I have been repeating in this part of my SD for several days sin starts in the mind and if the mind is kept clean and pure then the body will be clean and pure and the family will be clean and pure and then the nation will be clean and pure.  They are all related, and it can be seen in the book of Judges that this did not happen and it can also be seen in the USA that it is not happening either.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Keep my thought pure.
2. “23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

 

3/9/2010 8:52 AM