War with Benjamin

Judges Chapter 20

After the crime in Gibeah, the body parts of the man’s concubine had been sent to each tribe of Israel and all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba came together in one large assembly and stood before the Lord at Mizpah. All the tribes and 400,000 warriors were there. Word soon reached the land of Benjamin that the tribes had assembled and everyone asked how such a terrible crime had happened.

The Levite husband of the murdered woman told the assembly how his concubine came to be raped and murdered and he cut her body in pieces and sent them throughout the land of Israel so the entire community could decide what should be done. So the people at the assembly drew lots to see who would attack Gibeah to avenge the death. The Israelites sent word to the tribe of Benjamin and asked them to give up the evil men who committed the crime. But the people of Benjamin would not listen and instead came from their towns and gathered at Gibeah to fight the Israelites.

Before the battle, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which tribe should lead the attack?” And the Lord chose Judah. They advanced toward Gibeah, but Benjamin’s warriors killed the Israelites. Then the Israelites assembled again and asked the Lord if they should fight against their relatives from Benjamin again and the Lord told them to fight. But again the men of Benjamin killed the Israelites.

In Bethel, (where the Ark of the Covenant was kept in those days and Phinehas, son of Eleazar was priest) the Israelites wept and fasted and brought burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. And the Lord promised them victory the next day.

The third day, the Israelites set up an ambush and the fighting was heavy, but the men of Benjamin saw they were beaten. The Israelites retreated just enough to give their warriors in hiding a chance to maneuver and they rushed in from all sides and killed everyone in the town. Then they sent up a large cloud of black smoke which was a signal for all Israelites to turn and attack. The remaining men from Benjamin ran into the wilderness, but were chased and killed. Thousands of people died in this battle and every town was burned to the ground.

BIBLE NOTES SHOW: Why Benjamin did not hand over the guilty men is not known, but it could have been that they were too proud to admit some of their people had stooped so low or they were more loyal to their own tribe than to God’s law. The sad part is that the local community could have solved the problem by bringing the accused to justice, but instead they went to war over it. The tribe of Benjamin did recover from this battle and in the future Saul was from this tribe.

How does this Chapter relate to us today? We can prevent unresolved problems from turning into major conflicts by taking quick, wise action before a situation gets out of hand. We must not be too proud to admit to mistakes and even in our times, we must always be sensitive to God’s laws. Please pray for our leaders that they have God in their hearts and the Lord's help in their motives.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH: Gabe, Wanda, Janice Long’s parents, Arlene’s nephew David, Lori (who suffered a terrible accident)and her family. And Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke. Update on Stella: She is now 10 weeks old and has been taken to her own room. The doctors continue to experiment on different respirators to help her breath, but her parents see progress. They need your prayers so badly. Let’s all raise our voices to God to hear our prayers.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, those who need jobs, those who are about to lose or have lost their homes. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.