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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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CIVIL WAR AMONG
ISREAL - 2 Judges
20:29-48, 3/5/14 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. AFTER THE THIRD INQUIRY OF THE LORD (Jdg
20:14-28) A. Even though the 400,000 sons of Israel
outnumbered the 26,000 Benjamites, the sons of Israel lost 38,000 soldiers in
the first two battles. The sons of Israel superficially sought the Lord on
their first two inquiries of the Lord. B. But on the third inquiry, they came
weeping and fasting in addition to making burnt offerings and peace offerings
to the Lord. Therefore the Lord promised that He would deliver the Benjamites
into their hands II. THIRD BATTLE BEGINS (Jdg 20:29-30) A. [29] Though the Lord had promised victory,
Israel was not presumptuous of its own advantage. They changed their strategy
and decided to set up an ambush against Gibeah. B. This strategy of an ambush was similar to
the instructions the Lord gave to Joshua against Ai (Jos 8:1-29). C. [30] Their strategy began as though they
were going to attack Gibeah in the same manner as the first two attempts. III. SUMMARY OF BATTLE (Jdg 20:31-35) A. [31] In the same way as before, the tribe
of Benjamin came out against the sons of Israel. In the same way, the
Benjamites pursued the sons of Israel away from the city and onto the
highways. They were particularly drawn onto the highway that led to Bethel
and some thirty men of Israel were killed. B. [32] From the perspective of the
Benjamites, they believed that they were going to defeat the sons of Israel
as the first two battles. But the sons of Israel had fled on purpose in order
to draw away the Benjamites from the city. C. [33] What the Benjamites did not know was
that men had been positioned at Baal-tamar and Maareh-geba, just
north of the city. D. [34] Ten thousand choice men of Israel hidden
in those cities came against Gibeah. It was a “fierce” (kabad
- heavy or burdensome, Ge 18:20also refers to a weighty or honored person,
also glory, Ex 16:7) battle. However, the Benjamites, who had pursued the
sons of Israel on the highway to Bethel, did not know that a battle was going
on in the city. E. [35] In summary, the sons of Benjamin were
defeated because the Lord had struck Benjamin in the presence of Israel. The
total number of soldiers of Benjamin killed were 25,000. IV. DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE (Jdg
20:36-48) A. Plan of Ambush by Sons of Israel (Jdg
20:36-37) 1. Consistent with Hebrew literature, the
author first gave the summary of the battle and then went back to fill in the
details (cf. Gen 1 and Gen 2). 2. [36] In summary, the sons of Benjamin
were defeated in part to the men waiting to ambush Gibeah. 3. [37] When the men of Israel had rushed
Gibeah from Baal-tamar and Maareh-geba
they struck down the city with their swords. B. The Signal of Defeat (Jdg 20:38-41) 1. [38] The sons of Israel had agreed on a sign that when they
had ambushed and defeated the city, they would make a great cloud of smoke
from the city. 2. [39] Recounting the details, the sons of
Israel turned away from the battle on purpose. The tribe of Benjamin was able
to kill thirty men of Israel. They took this as a sign that they were once
again going to defeat the men of Israel. 3. [40] However, when the smoke began to
rise from the city, the Benjamites caught a glimpse of it. It appeared as if the
whole city was going up in smoke toward the heavens. Perhaps it was then they
realized the Lord was fighting for the men of Israel that day. 4. [41] When this occurred, the men of
Israel turned toward the battle and began to fight. “Terror” (bahal - sudden and unexpected emotion of fear)
filled the hearts of the Benjamin soldiers and they knew disaster and defeat
had come to them. “Disaster” is the Hebrew word raa
and was used in Jdg 20:12 for “wickedness.” The Benjamites had committed
wicked deeds and their wickedness had caught up with them. C. The Retreat of the Benjamites (Jdg
20:42-46) 1. [42] At this turn of events, the
Benjamites lost their will to fight and turned tail eastward toward the
wilderness. However they were overtaken by those who just ambushed the city. 2. [43] Having surrounded the Benjamites,
they were force to flee. But the sons of Israel relentlessly pursued them as
the Benjamites fled east of Gibeah. 3. [44] 18,000 Benjamites, who were all
valiant warriors, fell in that battle. 4. [45] The remainder of the men of Benjamin
fled northeasterly to the rock of Rimmon. However, 5,000 Benjamites were
killed on the highways and another 2,000 were killed at Gidom.
Gidom may have been north of Rimmon but has been
never been found. 5. [46] The total number of Benjamites that
fell that day were 25,000. All of them were valiant warriors. D. The 600 Survivors (Jdg 20:47) 1. [47] Nevertheless, about 600 Benjamites
were able to escape and made it to the rock of Rimmon. There they safely hid
for four months. E. The Destruction of Gibeah (Jdg 20:48) 1. [48] Then all of the sons of Israel
returned to Gibeah and killed everything in sight, including the livestock.
They also set fire to all the cities they found around that area. V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Israel’s Involvement in Victory - God did
promise the sons of Israel victory over the tribe of Benjamin. However, He
did not promise that He Himself would defeat them. Rather He promised that He
would give them the victory intending that Israel would have to fight. It is
very much the same when the Lord promises the believer victory over sin. The
Lord has provided everything the believer needs for victory. But the believer
himself must step out in faith and do battle. It is the Holy Spirit who
enables the believer and therefore the Lord gets all the credit.
Nevertheless, the believer cannot sit back but must be a willing participant.
This principle is repeated throughout the Bible. In the OT, the principle is
exemplified in Pr 21:31, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But
victory belongs to the LORD.” In the NT it states in Php 2:12-13, “So then,
my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but
now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who is at work in you,
both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” B. The Lord’s Justice will Prevail - Though
it may seem complex to us to figure out which parties were wrong and to what
degree. However, it is not difficult for the Lord who sees all sinful actions
as well as sinful intents of the heart. At the end of the day when all the
dust has settled, all men are humbled and God alone is glorified. The sons of
Israel received their discipline and the Benjamites received their just
desserts for their wickedness. God rules with righteousness and justice and
shows no partiality even to His own people. Though the believer has received
forgiveness of sins and eternal life through atoning work of Christ, God will
also deal righteously according to his sin. Even if there are extenuating
circumstances and numerous guilty parties, God is able to sort it all out
with His infinite wisdom and justice. C. The Lord’s Signals - All along the
Benjamites received signs and signals of their sinful behavior. Had Gibeah
originally turned the sinful culprits over to the sons of Israel, there is
every reason to believe that the tribe would have been spared. But since they
rejected God’s signals, they eventually received a smoke signal they could
not mistake. No believer is perfect. In addition, God does attempt to communicate with
the believer about His behavior. Such communication must be understood by the
principles in His Word. However, God can become very creative in attempting
to get the believer’s attention. Since the believer is God’s child, God will
get His message across one way or another. It is much better if the believer
has his spiritual eyes open for God’s slightest of signals. Otherwise, the
believer will receive an unmistakable signal which may not be what he would
have preferred. |
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