Living Room Study

Judges 19-21

In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted. Judges 21: 25

The last three chapters in Judges have been giving the titles, “Outrage In Benjamin”, War In Benjamin”, and “Brides For Benjamin”. There are profound lessons about the decline, judgment, and restoration of a people. It is important to view the end of Judges through the lens of Romans 11.

In chapter 19, there are two scenes that resemble tragic & shameful events in scripture.

First, there is the image of the Levite and his entourage, searching out a place to stay the night. It is a picture of Joseph and Mary looking for shelter the night Jesus was born. Then, there is the Sodom & Gomorrah image of the perverted men of Gibeah wanting to sleep with the Levite man. The story is almost an exact re-telling, down the old man offering his virgin daughter. God was sending a message that the moral condition of Israel was far less than stalwart.

Judges 20 is an example of “righteous indignation”. That is, once the Lord ordered Benjamin be destroyed, the rest of Israel put family relations aside in pursuit of God’s will. This begs the question: Have you avoided holding a family member or someone close to you accountable, because you don’t want to damage the relationship? Well,
the truth is that the relationship is already damaged. Avoiding the “elephant in the room” will only prolong someone’s dysfunction. You should never value a relationship more than the wellbeing of the other person in the relationship. At that point, you’re only in the relationship for how it makes you feel. That’s not a relationship.
That’s co-dependence.

Judges 21 is an example of God’s grace & mercy. Benjamin’s actions warranted their being destroyed. But God mercifully let a remnant survive to preserve Israel’s unity, and because of His faithful love. Moreover, He was gracious to allow them the ability to be restored in a manner that would give them hope in becoming a thriving, vital tribe again.

Our most valuable take-away from Judges is: There was no authority in Israel…not even God, so Israel did whatever seemed right to them. Often times, God-less men can seem to live in harmony. But upon closer evaluation, it is revealed that their culture is barely held together under the strain and weight of God-less ways & means. For champions, it’s not enough to simply begin a race, or even to run it
well. They are only in it, to win it! And we will never achieve victorious living by departing from God’s Word, or adding to it.

“But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Messiah Jesus.” Philippians 3: 13b-14

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins