Judges 20A. But if that s you, let me remind you that the story isn t over yet. I m not referring to Judges

Transcription

1 Judges 20A As we apprach the end f ur study and as we find the circumstances in Israel grwing increasingly dire, I assume yu are starting t questin whether t keep listening I dn t blame yu...after all we turn t scripture t be encuraged, inspired and reminded f Gd s lve and gdness And then we hear stries like the ne we read last week, and we wince a little and prefer t dwell n better things That s nly natural But if that s yu, let me remind yu that the stry isn t ver yet I m nt referring t Judges I m speaking f the stry f Gd s redemptive plan, His plan t deal with this endless dwnward spiral f sin amng His peple Because that s where this stry is taking us The human heart is desperately wicked and withut hpe in this wrld And when men and wmen live withut restraint, sin takes ver And few bks f scripture demnstrate that truth better than the stry f Judges But even as the stry has taken us t limits f ur patience, it s reminded us f why we needed a Savir Of why Christ had t die fr us And yet Gd lved His peple s much that He was willing t take that penalty in the mst cruel fashin And s as yu cnsider the ugliness f this time, let that truth remind yu f hw ugly yur wn sin is t Gd All sin grieves Gd s heart And yet ur Redeemer is pwerful enugh t cleanse us f it all 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Judges 20A 2 f 12 We ll hear that stry in the bk f Ruth, which Samuel gives us t finish the time f Judges S as the saying ges, it s always darkest befre the dawn S let s return t the darkness f Judges as we mve tward t dawn f Ruth We stpped last week at the end f chapter 19 after the wife f a Levite had been raped and left fr dead by the mb in the Benjamite twn The husband respnded by sending his wife s dismembered bdy t the twelve tribes as a disturbing message By that message he hped t trigger a respnse t exact revenge upn the Benjamites And at the end f chapter 19, we saw the peple respnd as expected Cllectively, the natin cried ut fr smething t be dne It s a significant mment in the time f Judges Fr at least this ne mment, the peple f Israel have cme tgether in a desire t cntend with the sin amng them But predictably, the peple respnd t ne sin by acting in even greater sin They start a war against their brthers, which takes us int chapter 20 Judg. 20:1 Then all the sns f Israel frm Dan t Beersheba, including the land f Gilead, came ut, and the cngregatin assembled as ne man t the Lrd at Mizpah. Judg. 20:2 The chiefs f all the peple, even f all the tribes f Israel, tk their stand in the assembly f the peple f Gd, 400,000 ft sldiers wh drew the swrd. Judg. 20:3 (Nw the sns f Benjamin heard that the sns f Israel had gne up t Mizpah.) And the sns f Israel said, Tell us, hw did this wickedness take place? Judg. 20:4 S the Levite, the husband f the wman wh was murdered, answered and said, I came with my cncubine t spend the night at Gibeah which belngs t Benjamin. Judg. 20:5 But the men f Gibeah rse up against me and surrunded the huse at night because f me. They intended t kill me; instead, they ravished my cncubine s that she died. Judg. 20:6 And I tk hld f my cncubine and cut her in pieces and sent her thrughut the land f Israel s inheritance; fr they have cmmitted a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Judges 20A 3 f 12 The natin s respnse t this atrcity is smewhat reminiscent f hw ur natin respnded t the disaster f September 11, 2001 The peple became f ne mind that smething must be dne In the prcess that fllws, we ll see glimpses f righteusness Men seeking fr justice and even inquiring f Gd fr directin at a mment But since this is the time f Judges, their actins remain untethered frm the Law f Gd r frm the heart f Gd Cnsequently, the results will nt be justice Samuel says that men frm Dan t Beersheba and Gilead jined tgether t frt an army sme 400,000 strng As yu remember frm a few chapters earlier, Dan had relcated t the nrth f Israel And Beersheba is the suthern mst twn in Judah While Gilead is the eastern brder f Israel Therefre, this phrase means the whle f the natin frm nrth t suth t the edges f the land in the east In fact, this phrase became a cmmn saying in Israel during the time f the mnarchy t describe a united Israel At this assembly, the chiefs f the tribes hld a cnvcatin in Mitzpah, which was in the territry f Benjamin just a few miles nrth f Gibeah This meeting is a trial t determine the facts and the respnse But ntice the trps have already been gathered S yu get a sense f where this is ging befre it starts In v.3 we re tld that the Benjamites are aware f the meeting The peple f Israel gave Benjamin ntice f this trial They expected the leaders f Benjamin t appear and give a defense against the accusatins But it appears that Benjamin ignred the summns 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Judges 20A 4 f 12 S the cnvcatin begins with a testimny frm the Levite wh cut up his wife The Levite is the star witness They ask him t explain what happened But in this case the Levite elects nt t tell the whle truth In the brad strkes, the Levite relates the facts crrectly, but he verlks sme key details intentinally t ensure the result ges his way Fr example, in v.5 he says that the men f Benjamin wished t kill him but killed his wife instead That s true, but he left ut the part where he threw his bride t the crwd Obviusly, the Levite s missin desn t lessen the sin f the men Gibeah But we have t wnder if the crwd wuld have been s ready t g t war had they knwn the whle truth Furthermre, the Levite testifies that he received his bride dead and s he cut her up t send her arund Israel Once again, he paints a picture that favrs himself Was she truly dead when he cut her up? Maybe But even still, his respnse was equally trubling Yet he piusly says he did what he did in respnse t a lewd and disgraceful act Wuld this natinal respnse have resulted had he merely brught his cncern t the judge f his day? His selective memry f the event illustrates hw everyne judged sin accrding t a preferred perspective He recgnized the sin f the mb in Gibeah plainly But he cnveniently verlked his wn cntributins t the situatin And he s nt fllwed the Law in seeking justice himself 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Judges 20A 5 f 12 He hasn t appealed t the representatives Gd assigned t judge Israel s sin Instead, he s acting as a vigilante seeking justice in his wn way As a result f his decisin t incite his brthers t bldshed, this man will trigger the death f 65,000 fellw Jews That is nt a just respnse S as he finishes his testimny, the Levite nce again calls fr actin Judg. 20:7 Behld, all yu sns f Israel, give yur advice and cunsel here. The Levite says, in s many wrds, dn t yu see what must be dne in the face f this ffense? He s clearly wrking t manipulate the minds and hearts f these peple He s acting ut f revenge, which is a sinful desire in itself Israel s wn law taught the peple t be patient and rely n the Lrd fr prtectin in the face f yur enemies Deut. 32:35 Vengeance is Mine, and retributin, In due time their ft will slip; Fr the day f their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upn them. Deut. 32:36 Fr the Lrd will vindicate His peple, And will have cmpassin n His servants, When He sees that their strength is gne, And there is nne remaining, bnd r free. And Prverbs teaches Israel nt t act in this way against ne anther Prv. 24:28 D nt be a witness against yur neighbr withut cause, And d nt deceive with yur lips. Prv. 24:29 D nt say, Thus I shall d t him as he has dne t me; I will render t the man accrding t his wrk. S while this man was wrnged, but his respnse is equally wrng, and s is the respnse f the leaders f the tribes 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Judges 20A 6 f 12 Judg. 20:8 Then all the peple arse as ne man, saying, Nt ne f us will g t his tent, nr will any f us return t his huse. Judg. 20:9 But nw this is the thing which we will d t Gibeah; we will g up against it by lt. Judg. 20:10 And we will take 10 men ut f 100 thrughut the tribes f Israel, and 100 ut f 1,000, and 1,000 ut f 10,000 t supply fd fr the peple, that when they cme t Gibeah f Benjamin, they may punish them fr all the disgraceful acts that they have cmmitted in Israel. Judg. 20:11 Thus all the men f Israel were gathered against the city, united as ne man. In v.8 the the leaders say n ne is ging hme until this matter is settled Their respnse sunds very brave and manly, but it s nt particularly gdly N ne said let s g hme and pray abut this They are rushing t act while in the heat f the mment Because n ne really cares what Gd thinks Everyne is ding what is right in their wn eyes And they want t d it while passins are enflamed N ne makes gd decisins when acting in the heat f the mment The Lrd cmmanded His peple in the Law, and likewise He directs the Church in the NT, t leave rm fr His wrath We are t respect Gd s purpses in everything that transpires in ur life Cncern yurself with fllwing Him, s that even when He permits unpleasant things t enter ur lives, we trust Him with the utcme Dn t step in by yur wn hand t satisfy yur wn sinful desires fr retributin r revenge Instead, leave rm fr Him t wrk, which means dn t add a sinful respnse n tp f the sin f thers This peple are nt wrking fr justice 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Judges 20A 7 f 12 Instead, the peple are assembling t feed their fleshly desire fr satisfactin in the face f his lss and humiliatin They are nt cncerned with Gd s will r their wn sin...they are nly cncerned with revenge S in preparatin fr the battle, they begin t cunt ut a prprtinal number f each tribe t supprt the army They are taking measures t wrk in a united fashin fr a lng battle Once again, they are assuming war is the necessary utcme N ne says let s g ask Samuel r whever was judging Israel fr advice And Israel is willing t devte it s entire effrt t the task They apprtin men t the battle and t the wrk f feeding the sldiers at a rate f 10% This is an allusin t the Law s requirement fr tithing In ther wrds, a peple wh were suppsed t give their whle heart, mind, sul and strength t serving Gd have instead turned their devtin and energy t the pursuit f revenge fr ne act f sin Take nte f hw ften we see the phrase as ne man It appears in v.1, 8 and 11 The phrase stands ut because it s s unusual t seeing Israel acting in unisn abut anything It was an anmaly in the age f men ding what was right in their wn eyes S as we mve ahead t the next scene, keep in mind that a peple wh are never united in anything Gd has cmmanded are finally united But their unisn leads t near catastrphe in the natin, leading t a tribe nearly being decimated Irnically, we re watching a peple finally unite but still living in sin, apart frm Gd 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Judges 20A 8 f 12 It s a lessn in hw the sin f men, unrestrained by submissin t Gd s will, will d mre harm than gd In ther wrds, unity amng sinners desn t prduce righteusness It merely magnifies sin Because the we cannt find righteusness nr justice in ur wn pwer After cnvcatin, the leaders f the tribes enter the territry f the Benjamites demanding t have the men f Gibeah wh killed the wman Judg. 20:12 Then the tribes f Israel sent men thrugh the entire tribe f Benjamin, saying, What is this wickedness that has taken place amng yu? Judg. 20:13 Nw then, deliver up the men, the wrthless fellws in Gibeah, that we may put them t death and remve this wickedness frm Israel. But the sns f Benjamin wuld nt listen t the vice f their brthers, the sns f Israel. Judg. 20:14 The sns f Benjamin gathered frm the cities t Gibeah, t g ut t battle against the sns f Israel. Judg. 20:15 Frm the cities n that day the sns f Benjamin were numbered, 26,000 men wh draw the swrd, besides the inhabitants f Gibeah wh were numbered, 700 chice men. Judg. 20:16 Out f all these peple 700 chice men were left-handed; each ne culd sling a stne at a hair and nt miss. Again, this curse wasn t wrng in itself The Law demanded that Israel respnd in this way t this kind f sin And Benjamin shuld have turned them ver t justice But the justice shuld have been cnducted by the judges accrding t the Law This is mb justice Instead, the men f Benjamin decide t reject the authrity f the ther tribes and prepare fr war instead We prbably can t find a better example f men ding what is right in their wn eyes 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Judges 20A 9 f 12 What basis culd the Benjamites have fr refusing justice in this matter? It appears they merely wanted t prtect their pride and independence Ntice, the authr emphasizes in v.13 that the Benjamites wuldn t listen t the vice f their brthers They chse t see their fellw tribes as adversaries rather than brthers in a united cause f justice And s they acted defensively The extent t which a peple will stand up t defend evil is a measure f the mral decay within their cmmunity And Paul says that the sciety f the last days ur days is a sciety that hates gd And celebrates evil And we can certainly see the same tendency f ur culture t side with and prtect the evil der Which tells us that the same evil infecting the Benjamites is still with us tday Sp Benjamin assembled a sizable army t fight the ther tribes Yu might assume that they wuldn t have a chance, but the tribe f Benjamin was knwn fr its warrirs In fact, Jacb s prphetic blessing n this tribe describes their military prwess Gen. 49:27 Benjamin is a ravenus wlf; In the mrning he devurs the prey, And in the evening he divides the spil. S the battle isn t as ne-sided as yu might expect In fact, the twn f Gibeah supplies 700 men wh were the Special Frces f their day These men were especially skilled in use f the sling 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Judges 20A 10 f 12 A sling in this day was nt the children s ty we are familiar with tday This was a puch f leather with lng crds tied t the ends A skilled thrwer culd place a stne as large as 1 pund in the puch and spin it verhead at speeds that apprached 90- miles/hur By releasing ne set f crds, the thrwer culd place this prjectile n target with remarkable accuracy It was a deadly weapn These men are skilled in this technique, but curiusly they are all lefthanded fighters Yu may remember ur secnd judge, Ehud, was als a lefthanded Benjamite In fact, this stry might have been set in the same general perid f histry as Ehud We learned then that Ehud may have fught left-handed because he lacked the use f his right hand His left-handedness was seen as a deficit In Ehud s case, it reflected Gd s willingness t d great things with weakness But in this case, it s telling a different stry Here we have 700 skilled and pwerful men, nt weaklings And they are all left-handed by design, hand-picked t be in this unit This is a special unit that the Benjamites assembled and trained t create an advantage Like a baseball team that fields a left-handed pitcher n the mund t create an advantage against certain batters By perating in unisn against the usual cnventin, this unit culd gain a tactical advantage in cmbat But symblically, their distinctin is a cmmentary n the spiritual heart f this tribe 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Judges 20A 11 f 12 The name Benjamin means sn f my right hand Remember, Benjamin was Jacb s favrite sn And s the name reflects being clse t father s authrity and hnr And yet the tribe f Benjamin culdn t be farther frm Gd s heart in this matter S we see the evil f their hearts symblized by this band f warrirs The tribe f sns f the right-hand is placing its trust in lefthanded men All is ready fr battle, and nw finally the peple appeal t the Lrd fr directin Judg. 20:17 Then the men f Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men wh draw the swrd; all these were men f war. Judg. 20:18 Nw the sns f Israel arse, went up t Bethel, and inquired f Gd and said, Wh shall g up first fr us t battle against the sns f Benjamin? Then the Lrd said, Judah shall g up first. The tabernacle f the Lrd was in Bethel in these days, s the men f Israel decide t apprach the Lrd fr directin and blessing This certainly sunds like an encuraging develpment Finally we see Israel taking steps t seek the Lrd s cunsel, r s it seems But as we lk a little deeper, we ll see that their actins are nt necessarily as they seem The first thing we ntice is that that name fr Gd in v.18 is nt the persnal name fr the Lrd Ntice in ur English Bibles it says the men inquired f Gd The Hebrew wrd fr Gd is elhim, which is the generic wrd fr Gd It is nt the persnal name f Gd, Yahweh 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Judges 20A 12 f 12 S the text says that the peple when t inquire f Gd, but they aren t appraching Him n the basis f a persnal knwledge f Him The peple f Israel are far frm Gd, such that they dn t even address Him persnally He is like a pagan gd t them And nw that they are appraching Him, they d s merely fr advice n the rder f battle They want t knw which tribe shuld lead them int battle The Lrd directs that Judah shuld g up first It s n cincidence that the bk f Judges began with Judah leading the peple int battle In chapter 1 the Lrd directed that Judah shuld enter int battle first against the Canaanites Only back in chapter 1:1 the peple apprached Yahweh In this case they apprach Elhim And in bth cases, the Lrd said the peple shall be led by Judah The cnnectin between the beginning and end f the bk is intended t catch ur attentin s we can see hw the natin has slid int apstasy They used t apprach the Lrd by name seeking t d His will Nw they apprach Him withut knwing Him and s that they can get His blessing t d their wn will They used t fight the enemies f Israel Nw they fight ne anther But in bth cases, Judah is the key The mentin f Judah leading Israel is lking frward t the cming mnarchy One day Judah will lead the peple int righteusness One day Jesus will cme 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.