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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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CIVIL WAR AMONG
ISREAL - 1 Judges
20:1-28, 2/26/14 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. RESPONSE OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL (Jdg
20:1-7) A. The cutting of the body of the concubine
into twelve pieces and Gibeah’s grievous sin which
precipitated it was perceived “as the greatest act of moral corruption” in
Israel’s history (Jdg 19:30 cf. Hos 9:9; 10:9). The Levite’s action was would
bring a sad solidarity to Israel in contrast with a lack of solidarity under
divine admonition. B. [1] After the Levite sent pieces of his
concubine throughout the tribes of Israel, the sons of Israel responded from
“Dan to Beersheba.” This phrase became an idiom for the whole nation within
the Promised Land (Jdg 20:1; 1Sa 3:20; 2Sa 3:10; 17:11; 24:2, 15; 1Ki 4:25;
1Ch 21:2; 2Ch 30:5). Israel met as “one man” (Jdg 20:1, 8, 11), a metaphor
for uniting together and solidarity. They met at the Mizpah which was five
miles north of Gibeah. C. [2] The chiefs gathered and all the tribes
which showed that the Levite’s plan worked successfully so that there number
totaled 400,000. Some have posited that the word “thousand” (eleph) can also be translated “units” or
“family units.” However, there is no plausible reason to reject the
translation of number “thousand.” D. [3] The parentheses seem to suggest that
though the tribe of Benjamin received a piece of the concubine, they failed
to come to the gathering. At the gathering, the Levite was asked to give his
account of the tragedy. E. [4-5] The Levite explained that he had
spent the night in Gibeah, which was occupied by the Benjamites. The men of
Gibeah, he explained, surrounded the house and intended to kill him. It is
interesting that he stated that the men of Gibeah were going to kill him.
They possibly would have, but their intention was to rape him. The question
must be asked why then did he offer his concubine to the men of Gibeah,
knowing it was certain death. The Levite stated that they raped his concubine
to the point of death. This of course was true, but he left out an
self-incriminating piece of evidence, namely that he himself “seized” her and
gave her to the wicked men (Jdg 19:25). This in no way acquitted the evil
deeds of the men of Gibeah, but the Levite told his side of the story in the
best possible light. F. [6-7] It was because of the sin of the
Benjamites that the Levite cut his concubine’s corpse into pieces. The Levite
had propagandized the body of his concubine and stirred up the emotions of
Israel against the “lewd” (zimmah -
wicked and immoral abomination - Lev 18:17) and “disgraceful” (nebalah - shameful cf. Jdg 19:23) deeds of
the men of Gibeah. Now he was free to simply leave the results in their hands
and advice. II. DECISION OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL (Jdg
20:8-11) A. [8-10] Again Israel was united as “one
man” but this time it was in a unanimous course of action. They pledged not
to return to their homes until the men who were responsible for such
“disgraceful acts” were punished. They would decide by lot who would be a
part of the ten percent to gather supplies for the rest of the troops in case
of a lengthy campaign. B. [11] For the third time the author states
that they were united as “one man.” It was a marked contrast even to the days
of Deborah and Barak (Jdg 5:15-17). III. INTERROGATION OF BENJAMIN BY SONS OF ISRAEL
(Jdg 20:12-13) A. [12] Initially, the retribution was only
directed against the guilty parties of Gibeah, not the entire tribe of
Benjamin. Having stated that, the sons of Israel inquired throughout the entire
tribe of Benjamin for the “worthless” (belēyaal - worn out or worthless, fig. worthless moral
character, “sons of Belial”) men. B. [13] The intentions of the sons of Israel
were right and in accordance with the Law, which instructed that the guilty men
should be put to death and removed from Israel (Lev 18:29; Dt 22:13-30).
However, the Benjamites sinned again by not turning over the culprits. IV. INVENTORY OF THE ARMIES (Jdg 20:14-17) A. [14] As a result, the Benjamites gathered
together at Gibeah in order to fight the sons of Israel. B. [15-16] The army of Benjamin numbered 26,
000, including 700 choice skilled warriors. The 700 were highly skilled
left-handed stone slingers (“could
sling a stone at a hair and not miss”, cf. Jdg
10:10; Ro 3:23). No particular skill seems to be ascribed to being
left-handed (cf. 1Ch 8:40; 12:2). According to some sources, the stones used
were the size of a baseball wrapped in a piece of leather attached to two
pieces of cord. The estimated speed of such propellants would reach 90 miles
an hour or greater. C. [17] Still the Benjamites appeared to be
no match for the 400,000 soldiers of the sons of Israel. V. FIRST INQUIRY OF THE LORD AND BATTLE (Jdg
20:18-21) A. [18] The sons of Israel inquired of the
Lord in Bethel to find out which tribe should lead the assault. It was
probably decided through the Urim and Thummim. The Lord replied that it was
to be the tribe of Judah. Since they were acting in accordance with the Law,
it stands to reason that the Lord was actually directing this course of
action. B. [19-20] The sons of Israel rose early and
encamped at Gibeah. They arrayed themselves for battle. C. [21] However, the Benjamites came against
the sons of Israel and killed (“felled” - shachath
- cut down or destroy, cf. Ge 18:28; 1Sa 26:9) 20,000 before retreating
to the city. VI. SECOND INQUIRY OF THE LORD AND BATTLE (Jdg
20:22-25) A. [22] The sons of Israel were also
determined so they encouraged themselves and arrayed themselves for battle in
the place they did the first day. B. [23] Again they came before the Lord, but this time they came and wept
before the Lord until evening. They wanted to know if it was God’s will for
them to fight against their brother. The Lord replied that they should go up
against the Benjamites. C. [24-25] So the sons of Israel went against
the Benjamites a second time. Again the Benjamites got the best of the sons
of Israel and another 18,0000 were cut down. VII. THIRD INQUIRY OF THE LORD (Jdg 20:26-28) A. [26-27] Perhaps perplexed because of the
two previous losses, they came a third time to the Lord. This time they came
weeping and fasting in addition to making burnt offerings and peace offerings
to the Lord. This was at Bethel and we are told that was the location where
the ark of the covenant was kept. B. [28] Phinehas was the priest. He was the
son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron. He
inquired of the Lord whether the sons of Israel should go against the
Benjamites or cease their attacks. The Lord promised that He would give the
Benjamites into their hands the next day. The third time they would be
successful against the Benjamites (Jdg 20:29-48). VIII. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Was the Lord directing the sons of Israel?
The text suggests that the Lord was actually directing the sons of Israel to
punish the Benjamites. They were following the instruction of the Law (Lev
18:29; Dt 22:13-30). The Lord certainly could not condone the sins of the
Benjamites. In the end the sons of Israel did have victory over the
Benjamites. So the text suggests that the Lord was directing the sons of
Israel. B. Why did the Lord allow the sons of Israel
to lose so many soldiers? Even though there was often casualties to Israel in
battles directed by the Lord, the Lord would also allow Israel to be defeated
when they were not following the Lord. It could be said that the Lord was
also disciplining the sons of Israel for their sins against the Lord. 1. First, it was clear that Israel’s did
what was right in their own eyes during the time of Judges. 2. When the sons of Israel inquired of the
Lord, there was a lack of fervency in their hearts. When they first inquired
of the Lord, they inquired of Elohim (“God”) the general name for the Lord
(Jdg 20:18). The second time they did address the Lord as Yahweh (“LORD”)
(Jdg 20:23). However, they inquired of the Lord only after they arrayed
themselves for battle. The fact that they repeated their strategic blunder
may indicate that they were still following their own plan. On the third
inquiry, Phinehas the priest was specifically mentioned. He may not have been
included in the first two inquiries. In the third inquiry there was weeping
and fasting (a sign of repentance) as well as offerings to the Lord (a sign
they were depending on the Lord). So in this sense, the Benjamites were being
used by the Lord to discipline the sons of Israel who also were not fully
following the Lord. 3. On numerous occasions, even in the book
of Judges (Jdg 7:2-8), the Lord had taught Israel that their strength was not
dependent on the numbers of an army but upon the Lord. 4. We might also suggest that the Lord may
have been impressing the point that when there is sin among Israel, all of
Israel experiences the consequences. In addition, all of Israel was
experiencing the repercussions of fighting brother against brother. |
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