Read verse 1: If you remember, the men of Israel were in Mizpah to discuss what happened to the Levite's concubine. Apparently while they were there they also made a pact that they would not give their daughters to the Benjaminites in marriage.
Read verses 2-3: Israel is upset and asking the Lord why this happened. Apparently they forgot that they did it!!
Read verse 4: The next day they offer sacrifices. Interestingly, they are honoring and serving God and don't seemed to be hindered by their disobedience.
Read verse 5: The people wonder who hadn't come to Mizpah, because they swore they'd put them to death.
Read verses 6-7: The Israelites have compassion on Benjamin, they realize that with only 600 men left in the tribe of Benjamin, it will go extinct. They brainstorm what they could possibly do to help them get wives.
Read verses 8-9: The Israelites determine that Jabesh-gilead hadn't come to the assembly.
Read verses 10-11: As sworn, they send 12,000 men to kill the men, women and children of Jabesh-gilead.
Read verse 12: However, there were 400 virgins in the town that they capture and bring to Shiloh.
Read verses 13-14: The Israelites make a peace treaty with the Benjaminites and then give the virgins from Jabesh-gilead to the Benjaminites as wives.
This was creative planning, they kill two birds with one stone? punish Jabesh-gilead and show compassion on the Benjaminites...
Read verse 15: This verse is a little odd. The Israelites are still upset at the Lord and feel like it's His fault that the Benjaminites are in their current situation.
Read verses 19-22: So they make a plan to have the men of Benjamin steal daughters from a festival being held at Shiloh. This way, they men won't be cursed because their daughters were stolen, not given.
Read verse 25: A final reminder that all of this went down because there's no king and people are doing what they want.
Read verses 23-24: The Benjaminites carry out the plan. They all now have wives so they head back to their land of inheritance and rebuild it so they can live there again.
Read verse 25: A final reminder that all of this went down because there's no king and people are doing what they want.
Application:
**All Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Version.
- Confess sins. Otherwise they compound and get worse.
- Seek the Lord for solutions, not human wisdom. Throughout the last two chapters, each decision has led to further issue! They continually make decisions without seeking the Lord and things just head downhill.
- When you feel compassion, do something about it! Compassion is a feeling of sympathy accompanied by a desire to help. It was good that Israel had compassion towards Benjamin and then acted upon that. However, they didn't choose wisely on how to do so.
- Recognize God is our king and live in submission to Him. The concluding verse to this chapter as well as the book lets us know that when we live and do whatever we want, bad things happen. We need to live in submission to the Lord!
**All Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Version.
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I'm currently teaching on the book of Judges for the youth group Sunday school class. We normally spend half our time playing a game and the other half studying the Bible. These are my lessons and some funny tidbits that happen during the course of the morning.
I'm currently teaching on the book of Judges for the youth group Sunday school class. We normally spend half our time playing a game and the other half studying the Bible. These are my lessons and some funny tidbits that happen during the course of the morning.
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