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They said, “Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?”
Judges 21:3 NASB
The irony surrounding this prayer is both disappointing and offensive. The implication is that this whole thing falls under God’s responsibility when clearly the decisions made by the other tribes of Israel is what led to the near-extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. Notice – the Lord doesn’t answer them. Why has it happened? Well, because man was doing what was right in his own eyes. That’s the truth.
What happens when God allows us (without His Spirit) to make important decisions? We only need to read on through this chapter to find the answer to that question.
If it seems to you like they are contradicting themselves, you are following correctly. All of a sudden, they have second thoughts about their attack on Benjamin, and they are worried that the 600 Benjamin men in hiding will not be able to have any wives for the future. So, they start thinking and decide that since no one had come to join them from Jabesh-Gilead during their war, that town should be punished.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25 NASB
Even though they have second thoughts about what they did to Benjamin, they go kill more of their own people at Jabesh-Gilead. But not all the people. This decision carries the added convenience of sparing 400 virgins from that city they could pair with the Benjamin boys. Uhh… what?
But wait, there’s more. Simple math tells us that 400 women to 600 men won’t work. So, they devise another plan to take an additional 200 women from the daughters of Shiloh. This would be done by force. During a festival.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25 NASB
The moral decline is sickening. The innocent people of Jabesh-Gilead suffered at the hands of their own people because their own people were trying to solve a problem that they created in the first place. Did you catch that? The bottom line: you can’t correct a sin problem with more sinning.
This is man’s way of solving the sin problem. Violence. War. Deception. You could call it the anti-Gospel. What is God’s response to all this hatred and rebellion? Well, I think we all know what we think God *should* have done. These people should have been eliminated. The problem is, that means we should be eliminated as well because even though our sins may not be as obscene or graphic, we still stand guilty before the Father.
And I don’t know about you, but I still tend to make terrible decisions based on what I think is “right.” Especially when I am triggered.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 21:25 NASB
God’s response is to send His own Son as a sacrifice for these people. For them and for us. For you and for me. When we are left to judge what is right in our own eyes, we become the anti-Gospel. But thanks be to Jesus who overcomes our sin by giving Himself!