Day 76: Judges 19-21

(The previous post covered the conclusion to Samson's term as Judge. It also covered the apostasy of Israel through a story concerning the Danites setting up a graven image and being led in worship by a hired Levite.)

(Judges 17-21 recorded events that give a picture of the condition of the Israelites more than it does the Judges.)

Judges 19
¹ And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.
² And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there the space of four months.

(Another situation that happened in Ephraim. A Levites' concubine played the harlot (to commit fornication, play the whore) against him. This meant she "laid" with another man outside of their agreed upon "concubinage.")

³ And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly unto her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

(She was his concubine, so they were not married. However, he was called her husband. He was the "husband" of her concubinage. The word "husband" came from the Hebrew word 'iysh which meant "man, male, husband" and ultimately meant "worker of land." In this context, it was used as an adjective, not a noun.)

⁴ And his father-in-law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
⁵ And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son-in-law, Strengthen thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward ye shall go your way.

(The concubine’s father gave the Levite food to strengthen him.)

⁶ So they sat down, and did eat and drink, both of them together: and the damsel's father said unto the man, Be pleased, I pray thee, to tarry all night, and let thy heart be merry.
⁷ And the man rose up to depart; but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.
⁸ And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Strengthen thy heart, I pray thee, and tarry ye until the day declineth; and they did eat, both of them.

(The father kept him longer. The Levite's father-in-law was being very hospitable to the Levite. Perhaps he felt bad for the man because of what his concubine did?)

⁹ And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thy heart may be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
¹⁰ But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus (the same is Jerusalem): and there were with him a couple of asses saddled; his concubine also was with him.

(The father asked him to stay but the Levite refused. The concubine was back with the Levite.)

¹¹ When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.
¹² And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside into the city of a foreigner, that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.

(Jebus (Jerusalem) was still a foreign city. It did not belong to the Israelites at this time.)

¹³ And he said unto his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.
¹⁴ So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them near to Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.
¹⁵ And they turned aside thither, to go in to lodge in Gibeah: and he went in, and sat him down in the street of the city; for there was no man that took them into his house to lodge.
¹⁶ And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even: now the man was of the hill-country of Ephraim, and he sojourned in Gibeah; but the men of the place were Benjamites.

(The old man was an Ephraimite who was sojourning in the land of the Benjamites.)

¹⁷ And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city; and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?
¹⁸ And he said unto him, We are passing from Beth-lehem-judah unto the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim; from thence am I, and I went to Beth-lehem-judah: and I am now going to the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that taketh me into his house.
¹⁹ Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man that is with thy servants: there is no want of anything.
²⁰ And the old man said, Peace be unto thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.
²¹ So he brought him into his house, and gave the asses fodder; and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

(The Levite and his concubine lodged in Gibeah, a place where the men of Benjamin were. A fellow Ephraimite extended them some hospitality.)

²² As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him.

(These men were referred to as "base fellows," which was another way of saying "worthless men." These men demanded that the Levite was sent out so they could "know" him.)

²³ And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly.
²⁴ Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not any such folly.

(This situation was similar to what happened in Genesis 19 when the two angels visited Lot in Sodom.)

²⁵ But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

(In Genesis 19, Lot offered his daughters, but did not send them out when the men refused. These men offered the concubine and the daughter and sent the concubine out after the men refused. The Benjamites abused the concubine all night until morning.)

²⁶ Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.
²⁷ And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.
²⁸ And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

(She died from the massive amount of abuse. This was the sixth woman in the Book of Judges that beared pain for men.)

²⁹ And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.

(The Levite, concubine’s "husband," divided her into twelve pieces and sent them to all the coasts of Israel. This was an extreme way to send a message. What was this man doing while the abuse was happening to his concubine?)

³⁰ And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.

(Sending the woman's body to the twelve tribes got their attention.)




Judges 20
¹ Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was assembled as one man, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, with the land of Gilead, unto Jehovah at Mizpah.
² And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.
³ (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpah.) And the children of Israel said, Tell us, how was this wickedness brought to pass?

(Israel gathered together to find out what happened. There were 400,000 footmen (infantry) assembled.)

⁴ And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was murdered, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.
⁵ And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about me by night; me they thought to have slain, and my concubine they forced, and she is dead.
⁶ And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
⁷ Behold, ye children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.

(The man explained what happened to his concubine and asked for their advice and counsel.)

⁸ 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 unto his house.
⁹ But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot;
¹⁰ and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victuals 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.
¹¹ So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.

(The men of Israel gathered for war.)

¹² And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is come to pass among you?
¹³ Now therefore deliver up the men, the base fellows, that are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel.

(The men of Israel went to the tribe of Benjamin to equal out Justice on the men that did this crime. The Benjamites did not listen.)

¹⁴ And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.
¹⁵ And the children of Benjamin were numbered on that day out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered seven hundred chosen men.

(The Benjamites, and with them the men of Gibeah, gathered for war against Israel.)

¹⁶ Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at a hair-breadth, and not miss.
¹⁷ And the men of Israel, besides Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.
¹⁸ And the children of Israel arose, and went up to Beth-el, and asked counsel of God; and they said, Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin? And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up first.

(The Israelites went to God and ask what tribe should fight Benjamin first. God said Judah.)

¹⁹ And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.
²⁰ And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
²¹ And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites on that day twenty and two thousand men.

(The Israelites lost this battle.)

²² And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, and set the battle again in array in the place where they set themselves in array the first day.
²³ And the children of Israel went up and wept before Jehovah until even; and they asked of Jehovah, saying, Shall I again draw nigh to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And Jehovah said, Go up against him.

(The Israelites asked God if they should fight Benjamin again. God said yes.)

²⁴ And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.
²⁵ And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.

(The Israelites lost again. The Benjamites did the same action as the men of Sodom in Genesis 19, except they killed a woman. Was God with the Israelites during the battles? Was God using Benjamin as a way to execute Justice against Israel?)

²⁶ Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto Beth-el, and wept, and sat there before Jehovah, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Jehovah.
²⁷ And the children of Israel asked of Jehovah (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
²⁸ and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And Jehovah said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver him into thy hand.

(The Israelites asked God if they should fight Benjamin a third time. God said yes because He would deliver the Benjamites into their hands. Why did God wait until the third time to deliver Benjamin to the Israelites?)

²⁹ And Israel set liers-in-wait against Gibeah round about.
³⁰ And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.
³¹ And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill of the people, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to Beth-el, and the other to Gibeah, in the field, about thirty men of Israel.
³² And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them away from the city unto the highways.

(It looked like God allowing the Benjamites to win the first two battles made the Benjamites overconfident. Notice, God wasn't delivering the Benjamites against their will. God was doing it through Israel in a way that allowed the Benjamites to retain their free will during the entire confrontation.)

³³ And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar: and the liers-in-wait of Israel brake forth out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba.
³⁴ And there came over against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore; but they knew not that evil was close upon them.
³⁵ And Jehovah smote Benjamin before Israel; and the children of Israel destroyed of Benjamin that day twenty and five thousand and a hundred men: all these drew the sword.

(God smote Benjamin through Israel.)

³⁶ So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten; for the men of Israel gave place to Benjamin, because they trusted unto the liers-in-wait whom they had set against Gibeah.
³⁷ And the liers-in-wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.
³⁸ Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait was, that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.

(The Israelites and the "liers-in-wait" had a signal. The signal was a cloud of smoke, like God’s Glory cloud. This strategy would not have worked if the Benjamites were not overconfident in pursuing Israel.)

³⁹ And the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons; for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.
⁴⁰ But when the cloud began to arise up out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them; and, behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven.
⁴¹ And the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed; for they saw that evil was come upon them.

(The Benjamites lost their confidence.)

⁴² Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle followed hard after them; and they that came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst thereof.
⁴³ They inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trod them down at their resting-place, as far as over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.
⁴⁴ And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor.
⁴⁵ And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men, and followed hard after them unto Gidom, and smote of them two thousand men.
⁴⁶ So that all who fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

(25,000 Benjamites died that day.)

⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock of Rimmon four months.

(There were only 600 men of Benjamin left! Surely there would have been more men of Benjamin left if they had lost on the first day.)

⁴⁸ And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city, and the cattle, and all that they found: moreover all the cities which they found they set on fire.




Judges 21
¹ Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.

(The Israelites made a vow not to give their daughters to Benjamin. This should not have been a problem because Benjamin ought to have had many more women than men.)

² And the people came to Beth-el, and sat there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
³ And they said, O Jehovah, the God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel?
⁴ And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings.
⁵ And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up in the assembly unto Jehovah? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
⁶ And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

(It seemed that all that was left of the entire tribe of Benjamin was 600 men.)

⁷ How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by Jehovah that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

(They were wondering how the Benjamites would have wives. Were there any Benjamite women left? Had the Benjamites mistreated them just as they mistreated the daughter and the concubine?)

⁸ And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up unto Jehovah to Mizpah? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
⁹ For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
¹⁰ And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

(This tribe of Israel that did not go up to attack Benjamin was treated the same as Benjamin.)

¹¹ And this is the thing that ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
¹² And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
¹³ And the whole congregation sent and spake to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace unto them.

(The Israelites proclaimed peace to Benjamin.)

¹⁴ And Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
¹⁵ And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that Jehovah had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
¹⁶ Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?

(The elders were considering how to get wives for the remaining Benjamites. There must not have been any women after Israel attacked Benjamin.)

¹⁷ And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not blotted out from Israel.
¹⁸ Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.

(They had sworn not to give wives, so they had to find another way.)

¹⁹ And they said, Behold, there is a feast of Jehovah from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
²⁰ And they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,
²¹ and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

(They could not give wives to the men of Benjamin, so the solution was for the men of Benjamin to take wives.)

²² And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come to complain unto us, that we will say unto them, Grant them graciously unto us, because we took not for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did ye give them unto them, else would ye now be guilty.
²³ And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they carried off: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and built the cities, and dwelt in them.

(The Benjamites took women from Shiloh and returned to their inheritance. This was the seventh time in the Book of Judges that women beared pain for men.)

²⁴ And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
²⁵ In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

(Again, it was stated that Israel had no king. Did God want them to have a king?)

(The Book of Judges was the second book of the historical section of the Old Testament and was believed to have been written by Samuel. The Book of Judges documented the history of Israel being led by Judges from Joshua's death until the Benjamites were decimated by Israel. This book documented the time in Israel's history immediately before Israel had a king, before Israel looked to a man for leadership. The period covered by the Book of Judges documented seven incidents when women bore the pain of men. Before we see the circumstances that led to Israel getting a king, there was a historical story focused on women...)

Day 77