Judges

Judges Chapter 21

Judges 21:1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
3 And said, O LORD 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 with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.

My dad always instructed us never to make hasty vows or promises. They were right to be angry for what happened to the poor woman and they were right to want to punish those that were guilty of harming her until she had no strength and died. Like those that riot today when they get upset at one or more persons who do evil, they blame everyone for what one person does. This type of thing is what led to World War 1 when a Duke was assassinated in Austria. Blame was placed on Serbia without finding out for sure who did the murder. It has gone on and on throughtout history. When a multitude is stirred up in anger many times so many people die or have their property destroyed by those that act in anger when they had nothing to do with the evil deed the people are angry about.

In this case Benjamin were to blame in that they didn't bring justice themselves but defended the evil ones and even went to war against the tribes that were trying to avenge the evil done to the woman. Now it seems that the other tribes regret destroying so many Benjamins and do not want the tribe to disappear because of having no wives. So now they have to do even more evil to people that didn't want to go to war with fellow Benjamites.

Judges 21:6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.

God didn't command this. They did it on their own to make up for their own rash vows and not wanting a whole tribe to disappear. So many died because of a stupid vow. This happened when so many times in scripture. In the book of judges, the vow of Jephthah by promising to offer up a burnt offering with the first thing that came out to meet him after he returned from battle. God never required that. King Saul made a stupid vow when he was king that almost resulted in the life of his own son. We have to be careful about rash promises or vows said in anger. Apparently they were more afraid of breaking a vow than murdering people to make up for their rash decisions. Looks like they could have just sought God's forgiveness for making the vow in the first place. Now more people die.

Judges 21:11 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 Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

I repeat, this they did on their own. God did not command it or condone it. They were trying to make up for utterly destroying the whole tribe of Benjamin. They blamed everyone for what a few men did in one city. It is true that the whole tribe did nothing to bring justice for those that did evil, so that may be why the Lord allowed this to happen but Jabeshgilead did nothing evil that I know of. They probably didn't agree with wiping out a whole tribe so they stayed home.

Judges 21:13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

I wonder what the poor women thought of having to marry those they didn't know or choose. Things were sure different in those days. Thank God for Jesus. After His coming things were better for women among nations that received Him into their lives. In saying that, I mean the nations that received Him for real not just in name only and going on to live how they wanted. Just saying we are Christian doesn't always mean we adopt all the ways that Jesus taught. Jesus respected and was very kind to women.

Judges 21:16 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?
17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20 Therefore 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 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.
22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
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.

Verse 25 describes what is happening here. They did what was right in their own eyes, not in the eyes of the Lord. Imagine just grabbing women and forcing them into marriage to continue the tribe of Benjamin which the other tribes almost wiped out. They were trying to make up for their hasty actions. DC

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