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Judges 20:18–25
“Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites” (Judg. 20:21).
In a striking parallel to the opening verses of Judges, the united tribes of Israel now approach God for instructions before the coming battle. But despite the similarity, much is different here. In chapter 1, the tribes were preparing to rain God’s judgment down on the pagan Canaanites. Now 11 of the 12 tribes are set to carry out justice against one of their own. And yet, that tribe stands guilty of having made itself like the Canaanites in the depth of its depravity.
Because of the perspicuity of their cause, the Israelites do not ask God whether they should go to war—as they see it (perhaps on the basis of Deut. 13:12–18), the city of Gibeah must be punished for its sin. So the Israelites ask only who should lead the attack, and just as in chapter 1 God puts Judah in charge. But here is another difference: Whereas Judah (along with Simeon) enjoyed considerable military success in Judges 1, there is nothing to cheer about here. The Benjamites pull the upset and kill twenty-two thousand Israelites. Defeated and discouraged, the massive army of Israel straggles back to Mizpah and assembles before the Lord until evening, weeping and asking His counsel in light of this unexpected providence. Now their question is different—they want to know whether the defeat means they should desist. But God instructs them to fight on. And so, me 11 tribes once more prepare for battle as the next day dawns. But the result is another catastrophe—eighteen thousand more Israelites fall.
Why does this happen? Matthew Henry puts the question well: “What shall we say to these things, that so just and honorable a cause should thus be put to the worst once and again? Were they not fighting God’s battles against sin? Had they not His commission? What, and yet miscarry thus!” To answer the question, he reminds us that the ways of God are often mysterious, and that “we may be sure of the righteousness, when we cannot see the reasons, of God’s proceedings.” But he also speculates that God allows these defeats to teach the Israelites to rely on His strength, not their own (they apparently have not learned the lesson God taught Gideon in Judg. 7:1–7: If thirty-two thousand were too many for God, what of four hundred thousand?), and to correct Israel’s own sins. In any case, the would-be chasteners are themselves severely chastened on the first two days of the battle.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
“God would hereby teach us not to think it strange if a good cause should suffer defeat for a while, nor to judge of the merits of it by the success of it,” Henry writes. In an age when ministry is often evaluated by the bottom line, this is good advice. Let the Word of God direct all your ministry endeavors, not your success or failure rate.
For Further Study
- Psalm 27:14
- Psalm 37:7
- Isaiah 8:17
- Isaiah 40:31
- Luke 2:25
- Hebrews 11:13