Judges 21: Downward Spiral-2

Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, “No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.” 2 And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 And they said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?” 4 And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 And the people of Israel said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel 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 to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” 6 And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel this day. 7 What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?”
 
8 And they said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?” And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly. 9 For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there. 10 So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest men there and commanded them, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones. 11 This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction.” 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 to the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon and proclaimed peace to them. 14 And Benjamin returned at that time. And they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, but they were not enough for them. 15 And the people had compassion on 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 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. 18 Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people of Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.” 19 So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20 And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards 21 and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’ ” 23 And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them. 24 And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.
 
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
 
Meditation
“The heart is deceitful above all things- Desperately sick” proclaims the prophet (Jeremiah 17:9). When hearts go unchecked, we do what is right in our own eyes by worshipping what ruins us, sending society into a downward spiral. When we live without Jesus as king, we give our hearts to anything.
 
Israel’s social fabric was torn asunder by their sin and rebellion- casualties cascading from living as if they had no king and doing what was right in their own eyes (17:1-21:25). The rape of the Levite’s concubine, her death, dismemberment, and the dissemination throughout Israel led to civil war, the death of thousands of Israelites, and the near extermination of the tribe of Benjamin. With only six-hundred men remaining, the elders of Israel looked for a loophole to extend their inheritance. Deceived hearts had comprehensively corrupted Israelite culture.
 
The elder’s problem- As part of the punishment for Benjamin’s sins, they swore not to willingly give daughters to a Benjaminite. The loophole plan? Offer women who were unwilling, encouraging them to ambush virgins at a ceremony and abduct them. Tragedy never fixes tragedy. Casualties beget casualties in society when people reject the rule of the Lord.
 
God’s long-suffering love is astounding, working through the ruin to bring redemption. “When the judges ruled…” (Ruth 1:1-Ruth 4), God was writing redemptive history. Jesus comes through Ruth to redeem and restore the world through people who live with Him as King! The ruin we read in Judges will leads to rejoicing when the fullness of God’s redemptive plan is revealed.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Things are dark in the days of the judges. Why is it important the author includes such devastating details?
 
-Where do you see parallels in our world, places where people reject the Lord as king to do anything that is right in their own eyes?
 
-How does this amplify both God’s steadfast love AND the redeeming work He offers through King Jesus? Where do you need to rejoice in the rule of Jesus, doing what is right in His eyes in all your life?
 
Key Verse
21 and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
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