Read verses 1-2: All sorts of leaders of Israel gather at Mizpah (which is a Benjaminite city). We're told Israelite leaders come from Dan to Beersheba, which is like saying from the north to the south.
Read verse 3a: The Benjaminites hear about this meeting (which isn't surprising since it's happening in their land.
Read verses 3b-6: The Levite is questioned about what happened. He explains what happens, but with some omissions and alterations to make himself look completely innocent and the Benjaminites look worse.
Read verse 7: The Levite then asks Israel for their advice and counsel.
Read verses 8-10: The decision is made that Israel will take 90% of their men to punish the Benjaminites and the other 10% go to get provisions.
Read verse 11: A unified Israel gathers, ready to fight the Benjaminites.
Read verses 12-13: The men go through Benjamin questioning them , asking them to turn over the worthless fellows who committed the crime, but they refuse. They stand together as a tribe against the rest of Israel.
Read verses 14-17: The men of Benjamin prepare for war. They have 26,000 men, 700 of those are "chosen" (left-handed and awesome with a sling). Israel gathers 400,000 men with swords. Even if you're not as good as me at math, it is still clear that the odds are clearly in Israel's favor!
Read verse 18: Israel inquires of the Lord as to which tribe should lead the charge against Benjamin. The Lord responds "Judah."
Read verses 19-23: The fighting starts. On day 1, it's quite deadly for the Israelites. As a result, they question God to see if they should continue and He says yes.
Read verses 24-25: Day 2 of fighting goes much the same way that day 1 had gone, clearly in the Benjaminites favor.
An interesting thing to note, these two days are the only time in the Old Testament that we see an instance that men obey God and lose. This may be an expression of His displeasure with them over this civil war of sorts.
Read verses 26-28: There's also some information given about sacrificing and the ark of the covenant. Maybe this is showing us there was some sort of repentance on their part?
Also, when Israel asks the Lord about continuing to fight, He says tomorrow they will defeat Benjamin.
Read verses 38-40: The Israelite men then set fire to the city, which is a signal to their men who are fighting the battle.
Read verses 41-43: The Benjaminite men turn and flee into the wilderness seeing that they've lost and now have no other place to go.
Read verses 44-46: Many men are killed from the tribe of Benjamin that day.
Read verse 47: It's just 600 Benjaminite men who survive the fight and flee. They stay in the wilderness for four months.
Read verse 48: Israel continues to ravage and destroy Benjaminite towns and set them on fire.
This chapter seems like a great success because the Benjaminites are punished for what they've done. However, as we will see next week in chapter 21, that may not really be the case.
Read verse 3a: The Benjaminites hear about this meeting (which isn't surprising since it's happening in their land.
Read verses 3b-6: The Levite is questioned about what happened. He explains what happens, but with some omissions and alterations to make himself look completely innocent and the Benjaminites look worse.
Read verse 7: The Levite then asks Israel for their advice and counsel.
Read verses 8-10: The decision is made that Israel will take 90% of their men to punish the Benjaminites and the other 10% go to get provisions.
Read verse 11: A unified Israel gathers, ready to fight the Benjaminites.
Read verses 12-13: The men go through Benjamin questioning them , asking them to turn over the worthless fellows who committed the crime, but they refuse. They stand together as a tribe against the rest of Israel.
Read verses 14-17: The men of Benjamin prepare for war. They have 26,000 men, 700 of those are "chosen" (left-handed and awesome with a sling). Israel gathers 400,000 men with swords. Even if you're not as good as me at math, it is still clear that the odds are clearly in Israel's favor!
Read verse 18: Israel inquires of the Lord as to which tribe should lead the charge against Benjamin. The Lord responds "Judah."
Read verses 19-23: The fighting starts. On day 1, it's quite deadly for the Israelites. As a result, they question God to see if they should continue and He says yes.
Read verses 24-25: Day 2 of fighting goes much the same way that day 1 had gone, clearly in the Benjaminites favor.
An interesting thing to note, these two days are the only time in the Old Testament that we see an instance that men obey God and lose. This may be an expression of His displeasure with them over this civil war of sorts.
Read verses 26-28: There's also some information given about sacrificing and the ark of the covenant. Maybe this is showing us there was some sort of repentance on their part?
Also, when Israel asks the Lord about continuing to fight, He says tomorrow they will defeat Benjamin.
Read verse 29: The men of Israel set an ambush.
Read verses 30-34: Day 3 of fighting starts off like it had the previous two days. The men of Israel draw the Benjaminites out past the ambush and there's a fierce battle.
Read verses 36b-37: The men, waiting in ambush around the city, attack soon as the Benjaminites have been drawn out.
Read verses 30-34: Day 3 of fighting starts off like it had the previous two days. The men of Israel draw the Benjaminites out past the ambush and there's a fierce battle.
Read verses 35-36a: The Lord defeats Benjamin, and Benjamin recognizes they've been beaten.
Read verses 36b-37: The men, waiting in ambush around the city, attack soon as the Benjaminites have been drawn out.
Read verses 38-40: The Israelite men then set fire to the city, which is a signal to their men who are fighting the battle.
Read verses 41-43: The Benjaminite men turn and flee into the wilderness seeing that they've lost and now have no other place to go.
Read verses 44-46: Many men are killed from the tribe of Benjamin that day.
Read verse 47: It's just 600 Benjaminite men who survive the fight and flee. They stay in the wilderness for four months.
Read verse 48: Israel continues to ravage and destroy Benjaminite towns and set them on fire.
Application:
**All Scripture is quoted from the English Standard Version.
- Sin grow and gets worse. When you don't confess sin and deal with consequences, it inevitably leads to further sin. Honesty really is the best policy.
- Again, don't make plans and try to stamp God's approval on them. Seek God first and then do what He wants! The Israelites came up with a plan for retribution without trying to see what God wanted, but then ask Him for input on a minor detail (who goes first).
**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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