Judges 21

After reading these three chapters, if you were to scan your daily newspaper or weekly news magazine, you’d have to admit that times haven’t changed too much. For in these closing pages of Judges you find reports of wife abuse, blatant homosexuality, gang rape leading to murder, injustice, brother killing brother, and even kidnapping. It’s the kind of narrative that almost makes you agree with British essayist Samuel Johnson, who said back in 1783, “I have lived to see things all as bad as they can be.” What would he say today?

Of course, events like these are the daily food of people who enjoy TV violence, and researchers tell us that what happens on the screens is often duplicated on the streets. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, there are five violent acts per hour in prime-time TV programs, and on Saturday mornings when the children watch cartoons, violent acts per hour multiply five times (USA Today August 2, 1993). When a nation is entertained by violence, is there much hope for that nation?

When evil isn’t dealt with properly, it has a tendency to grow. Sin in the city of Gibeah eventually infected the tribe of Benjamin and led to war in the land of Israel.

Once their anger cooled off, the eleven tribes realized that they had just about eliminated a tribe from the nation of Israel, and this made them weep (vv. 2, 15). They offered sacrifices to the Lord, but there’s no record that the people humbled themselves, confessed their sin, and sought the help of the Lord. Previously, the Lord had revealed His will to them (20:18, 23, 28), but there’s no evidence that they received His word after the battle was over.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that the Lord wasn’t pleased with the people of Benjamin because they still hadn’t confessed their sin and admitted they were wrong. The 600 soldiers who were stranded on the rock of Rimmon still weren’t seeking God’s face. They were simply fleeing from the victorious army. Had somebody suggested that they all meet the Lord at Shiloh and get the matter settled with the Lord, it might have made a difference.

Instead of getting directions from the Lord, the eleven tribes depended on their own wisdom to solve the problem (James 3:13–18). The 600 men who were left from Benjamin would need wives if they were going to reestablish their tribe, but the eleven tribes had sworn not to give them wives. Where would these wives come from?

The Israelites solved the problem by killing more of their own people! Nobody had come to the war from Jabesh-gilead, which meant two things: They hadn’t participated in the oath, and the city deserved to be punished. It’s possible that when the twelve parts of the concubine’s body were sent throughout Israel, a warning was issued that any tribe or city that didn’t respond and help fight Benjamin would be treated the same way. That’s the kind of warning King Saul gave when he used a similar approach (1 Sam. 11:7).

If that’s the case, then the men of Jabesh-gilead knew what was at stake when they remained at home, and the ensuing slaughter of their city was their own fault. The executioners found 400 virgins in the city, women who could become wives to two thirds of the soldiers on the rock. These men had been on the rock for four months (Judg. 20:47), but now they could take their brides and go home. What a price was paid for these wives! But such are “the wages of sin.” (See Num. 31: and Deut. 20:13–14 for precedents.)

The elders held another meeting to discuss how they could provide wives for the remaining 200 men. Somebody remembered that many of the virgins from the tribes participated in an annual feast at Shiloh. If the remaining 200 men of Benjamin hid near the place, they could each kidnap a girl and take her home as a wife. The tribes wouldn’t be violating their oath because they wouldn’t be giving the girls as brides. The girls were being taken. It was a matter of semantics, but they agreed to follow the plan.

Thus, the 600 men got their brides, the eleven tribes kept their vow, the citizens of Gibeah were punished, the tribe of Benjamin was taught a lesson, and the twelve tribes of Israel were saved. The 600 men of Benjamin, with their brides, returned to their inheritance, cleaned up the debris, repaired the cities, and started life all over again.

But all of this carnage and destruction happened because one Levite didn’t have the courage to stand up for what was right and treat his concubine honorably. Once again, as with Jonathan, Micah, and the Danites (Judg. 17–18), the problem started in the home. As goes the home, so goes the nation.

For the fourth time (17:6; 18:1; 19:1), the writer tells us that “there was no king in Israel,” and for the second time (17:6), he adds that “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Today, there is no king in Israel because the nation chose Barabbas instead of Jesus (Luke 23:13–25). They said, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). Because there’s no king in Israel, people are rebelling against God and doing whatever pleases them; and it will be that way until the King returns and takes His throne on earth.

But God’s people today don’t live in the book of Judges; they live in the book of Ruth! It’s difficult to believe that the story narrated in the book of Ruth takes place in the time of the judges (Ruth 1:1). The story of Ruth is a love story about a man seeking a bride. It’s a redemption story, about a wealthy man willingly paying the price to purchase his beloved bride and make her his very own. It’s a harvest story about the Lord of the harvest bringing in the sheaves.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, all of God’s people today share in His love. We belong wholly to Him because He redeemed us by His blood when He died for us on the cross. We are laborers together in the harvest. What a wonderful life we have in a world torn apart by sin and selfishness! And what a wonderful privilege we have to share the good news with others!

In which book are you living—the book of Judges or the book of Ruth?