Judges 20:8-17
“And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.” (Judges 20:8-11)
Outraged by what had happened, Israel decided to kill the men of Gibeah who’d raped and killed the Levite’s wife, as the law specified. A tenth of them were to be designated to go get food while the rest commenced their attack immediately. No one would go home until the job was accomplished. There was unity in the decision to act.
“And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.
But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.” (Judges 20:12-17)
Even the tribe of Benjamin acknowledged something needed to be done. However Gibeah was full of their relatives. Family was more important to them than any moral standard. They would protect their family at any cost, and they had a pretty strong army to do it. Twenty six thousand Benjamites were willing to stand against four hundred thousand other Israelites to protect about seven hundred who had participated in or condoned the sin.
Unfortunately, the attitude is diametrically opposite of God’s command. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 commands, “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
In the New Testament, Matthew 10:37 declares, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” while Luke 14:26 warns, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Family must not take precedence over God’s command. One literally cannot believe in God and put their family ahead of him.
Benjamin’s decision to protect their family would ultimately cost the lives of twenty five thousand one hundred of their total twenty six thousand seven hundred, leaving only eight hundred survivors. It was a terrible price to pay for becoming an accessory after the fact, knowingly protecting a guilty person from punishment. We have an obligation to stand for what is right even when it is against family.
“And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house. But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it; And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.” (Judges 20:8-11)
Outraged by what had happened, Israel decided to kill the men of Gibeah who’d raped and killed the Levite’s wife, as the law specified. A tenth of them were to be designated to go get food while the rest commenced their attack immediately. No one would go home until the job was accomplished. There was unity in the decision to act.
“And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel.
But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel: But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.
And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.” (Judges 20:12-17)
Even the tribe of Benjamin acknowledged something needed to be done. However Gibeah was full of their relatives. Family was more important to them than any moral standard. They would protect their family at any cost, and they had a pretty strong army to do it. Twenty six thousand Benjamites were willing to stand against four hundred thousand other Israelites to protect about seven hundred who had participated in or condoned the sin.
Unfortunately, the attitude is diametrically opposite of God’s command. Deuteronomy 21:18-21 commands, “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”
In the New Testament, Matthew 10:37 declares, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” while Luke 14:26 warns, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Family must not take precedence over God’s command. One literally cannot believe in God and put their family ahead of him.
Benjamin’s decision to protect their family would ultimately cost the lives of twenty five thousand one hundred of their total twenty six thousand seven hundred, leaving only eight hundred survivors. It was a terrible price to pay for becoming an accessory after the fact, knowingly protecting a guilty person from punishment. We have an obligation to stand for what is right even when it is against family.
What impressed me was Benjamin's ability to withstand Israel for as long as they did. But they did choose to reject God's word and perished for perpetuating rebellion.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that Israel itself was not walking with God either. They were just reacting a sin that went beyond what they were willing to accept, without dealing with teir own sin. God couldn't bless them either.
ReplyDelete