Read Judges 20 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
20:1-2 {p} The children of Israel assembled at Mizpah before YHVH
20:3-11 {p} They heard the testimony of the Levite, and determined to go against Gibeah
20:12-16 {p} Israel demanded Benjamin deliver the men responsible, but Benjamin gathered for war
20:17-23 {p} Israel inquired of YHVH, but on the 1st day of battle lost 22,000 men to Benjamin
20:24-29 {p} Israel inquired of YHVH, but on the 2nd day of battle lost 18,000 men to Benjamin
20:30-34 {p} In the 3rd day of fierce battle, Israel was victorious over Benjamin
20:35-48 {p} Benjamin defeated before Israel, 25,000 men of valor slain, and their cities destroyed
Judges 19:1b-20:48 Chiastic Structure:
We saw in the last chapter that the incident with the men of Gibeah was a near Repeat of the incident with the two angels, Lot, and the men of Sodom in Genesis 19. For Sodom, the next thing that happened was that YHVH rained fire and brimstone down upon the city, and destroyed it. In other words, judgment. In this instance, no fire and brimstone, but YHVH tasks Israel with judgment upon the men of Gibeah.
Now, 25,000 men of valor from Benjamin perish in the ensuing conflict. But if Benjamin had just handed over the guilty men of Gibeah, as they were first requested to do, there would have been no civil war, and there would have been no astronomical death toll on both sides. Rebellion against right justice always creates victims, either from criminals who are not brought to justice as they ought, or in a case like this, of civil war, when one side of the conflict determines themselves to act unjustly, and war results from trying to root out the injustice.
When I was a child, I remember the national debate on whether to remove prayer and Bible reading in schools. When I first started school, that was a thing. But then the nation’s parents were told that it wouldn’t harm children if schools focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic instead, because children would still get prayer and Bible reading in church. This argument pacified the parents, and the nation agreed with the ACLU, and prayer and Bible reading were removed from schools. What disastrous fruit that has borne 60 years later, and pastors who did not Learn from the Narrative of Judges did not warn parents of the fate of once-righteous Benjamin.
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