Judges 21

"Wives and Mothers"

Last time we heard about how Benjamin had turned so far from the LORD,

that they became worse than Canaanites-

they became like Sodom and Gomorrah.

And so all Benjamin was destroyed by their brethren.

Israel, under the leadership of Judah,

wiped Benjamin out-

all except for 600 men who hid in the wilderness.

Now we hear "the rest of the story."

Introduction: The Two Oaths at Mizpah (21:1-5)

The men of Israel had sworn two oaths at Mizpah:

The first was

"No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin."

Given that Gibeah of Benjamin was worse than Sodom,

this oath was appropriate.

If Israel was not supposed to intermarry with Canaanites,

then intermarrying with Benjaminites would be equally problematic.

Incidentally, you can see in this whole episode a foreshadowing of what will happen in Christ:

if a city in Israel can become Sodom, then could not the Gentiles become Israel?

(The story of Ruth follows nicely on this theme)

But now, having slaughtered almost all of the men,

and having killed every woman and child in all of Benjamin,

Israel weeps.

The people of Israel came to Bethel-where the ark of the LORD was (cf. 20:27)--

and they wept, as they had after their first two battles against Gibeah had failed.

Israel began their successful campaign against Benjamin with fasting and weeping,

as they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings,

worshiping the LORD and calling upon his name.

Now Israel ends their holy war against Benjamin in the same manner.

They come with weeping, asking,

"O LORD, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel,

that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?"

This may seem somewhat odd.

Yesterday, they were the ones hacking and burning,

killing men, women, and children-

and yet now they are crying about it!?!

Yesterday, Israel was doing what the LORD commanded should be done to Canaanites.

Benjamin had become worse than Canaanite,

and so they had slaughtered the Benjamites

in order to prevent God's curse from coming upon the whole land.

But they took no delight in the death of the wicked.

And now they mourn the death of their brother, Benjamin.

And once again in sorrow at the slaughter of their brethren,

they come before the LORD in worship, bringing burnt offering and peace offerings.

They come for the forgiveness of sins and fellowship with God.

And they begin to search for a way to prevent the complete annihilation of Benjamin.

The first question we need to ask is whether Israel should be doing this at all?

If Benjamin is worse than the Canaanites, and is like Sodom,

then why should Benjamin be saved?

Why not find the last 600 men and slaughter them?

If this is truly "holy war,"

then how can they leave anyone alive?

This is the difference between Israel and the Canaanites.

God's purpose for the Canaanites is that they should be a picture of the final judgment-

total and utter destruction of the wicked.

But God's purpose for Israel is to show that there is grace in the end.

While Benjamin was acting like the Canaanites,

in the end, they are not Canaanites-they are brethren.

And so Israel mourns the cutting off of Benjamin and seeks for the grace that God will give.

The first thing they do is ask, "did anyone fail to come out to battle?"

(Read v5)

Again,

remember that all through the book of Judges never does any judge convince all Israel

to come out and fight against their enemies.

Now we find out why the response was so good!

Israel had taken a "great oath" saying that those who did not come would be put to death!

The idea is that all Israel was implicated in the sin of Benjamin

(Remember the sin of Achan)

Therefore any town in all Israel that does not fight against Benjamin

should be considered part of Benjamin.

1. The Wives of Jabesh-Gilead (21:6-14)

And what town do you suppose they discovered was guilty?

Jabesh-Gilead.

There are two other references to Jabesh-Gilead in the Bible.

One is in 1 Samuel 11,

where Nahash the Ammonite threatens to gouge out the right eyes

of the men of Jabesh-Gilead and make them his servants.

When Saul hears of this,

the Spirit of the LORD rushes upon him (like it did upon Samson),

and he cut a yoke of oxen into pieces and sent them throughout Israel

saying, "whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel,

so shall it be done to his oxen."

Then Saul mustered all the men of Israel and they rescued Jabesh-Gilead.

Then in 1 Samuel 31,

the men of Jabesh-Gilead rescued the body of Saul from the Philistines,

and buried it in Jabesh.

Think for a minute.

Last week we saw that this whole story is a tale of two cities:

Gibeah in Benjamin and Bethlehem in Judah.

Saul is from Gibeah; David is from Bethlehem.

Who is from Jabesh-Gilead?

Saul's mother (or great-grandmother, perhaps)

In other words,

Saul is from Gibeah-that town of rapists and murderers-

and his fore-mother is from Jabesh-Gilead-that town of cowards

(there is a way in which their rescue of Saul's body in 1 Sam 31

is the redemption of Jabesh-Gilead).

Both cities were devoted to destruction,

with men, women, and children slaughtered for their failure to obey God.

So is anyone surprised that Saul turned out so badly?

So the congregation of Israel, gathered for worship before the LORD,

sends out 12,000 men to destroy Jabesh-Gilead.

Do you think that this is too strong a punishment?

All through the book of Judges we have encountered this problem-

cities that would not go up to battle with their brothers.

If Israel is going to be the people of God,

then they need to be of one mind and heart.

Cowards who abandon their brethren when danger comes

do not belong in Israel.

But the 12,000 do their task,

and they bring back 400 virgins to Shiloh,

the place of worship, and offer them to the men of Benjamin,

proclaiming peace.

The messengers are sent in verse 13 to the rock of Rimmon to proclaim "Shalom"

to the 600 men in hiding.

Verse 15 makes it clear that this was not just Israel's doing-

"The LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel."

2. The Wives of Shiloh (21:15-24)

But 400 women was not enough!

There are still 200 Benjamites who lack wives.

Israel seeks to find a way of providing wives.

They have sworn "cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin,"

and they are not willing to come under that curse.

These Benjamites must either remain single, or marry Canaanites-

an option that does not seem to occur to Israel

(in spite of how common Canaanite wives were in Israel!)

But then someone comes up with a brilliant plan.

This is how Israel can keep their oath, and yet provide wives for Benjamin.

(Read 19-22)

The feast of the LORD in verse 19 is probably the Feast of Booths

(That is the one feast that often is called simply "the feast.")

And apparently the "daughters of Shiloh" gathered to dance at this feast.

But Benjamin is told to go lie in wait and kidnap the girls.

It is perhaps, not surprising that a story that began with a man

offering his own daughter to rapists

should end with all Israel

offering other men's daughters in marriage to the defenders of rapists

without their consent.

Israel can keep their oath-

no father willingly "gave" his daughter to Benjamin as a wife-

and yet Benjamin is supplied with sufficient women.

(Read 23-24)

Benjamin returns to his inheritance, and everything will return to how it was.

And that is the problem.

3. In Those Days... (21:25)

The reader in ancient Israel, as well as today,

would come away from Judges 21 with some horror.

The restoration of Benjamin was necessary,

but this is not a picture of a properly-operating Israel.

Judges concludes by explaining the fundamental problem that infects everything that Israel does

(Read 25)

In other words,

to connect with our study of Hebrews,

everyone is walking by sight-not by faith.

The message for Israel is clear:

you were walking by sight when you picked Saul as king.

He may have looked good by human standards,

but you did not see, by faith, what should have been clear from the beginning:

You need a king from Bethlehem in Judah,

Not from Gibeah in Benjamin-

and especially not with a mother from Jabesh-Gilead!

What have you learned from Judges?

Obviously, the first thing is that we need a king from Bethlehem in Judah!

We need Jesus.

But also we have seen that we need a king who will change the hearts of his people.

A king who will open the eyes of their hearts to enable them to see by faith.

The cycle of rebellion and apostasy must be broken.

Because Israel is doing what is right in their own eyes.

They do not see by faith.