Judges 20:26-35
Israel Weeps and Waits
26Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,
28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
29So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah.
30On the third day the Israelites went up against the Benjamites and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as they had done before.
31The Benjamites came out against them and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about thirty men of Israel in the fields and on the roads, one of which led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.
32“We are defeating them as before,” said the Benjamites. But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city onto the roads.”
33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah.
34Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.
35The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.
Berean Standard Bible
All Israel goes up to Bethel, weeps before the LORD, fasts, and sits there until evening while Benjamin remains against them.
The ark of the covenant is present, and Phinehas ministers before it. Israel asks again whether it should fight, and the LORD answers that Benjamin will be given into its hand.
Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.
The third approach begins with grief before it begins with tactics. Israel sits before the LORD, asks again, and receives the answer that Benjamin will be given into its hand. The ambush succeeds, but the scene is not uncomplicated celebration. The people are moving toward the destruction of a tribe, and a true answer does not make the human cost disappear.
The third battle is described with an ambush and a signal smoke. The victory is not portrayed as clean joy; the people are about to strike down nearly the whole tribe of Benjamin.
The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.
Talk about the difference between receiving an answer and receiving permission to stop thinking. Ask how a family can remain grieved and morally alert even when it believes a judgment is necessary.
Questions
1 What is happening in this reading?
AnswerAll Israel goes up to Bethel, weeps before the LORD, fasts, and sits there until evening while Benjamin remains against them. The ark of the covenant is present, and Phinehas ministers before it.
2 Where do we see responsibility or failure?
AnswerThe third battle is described with an ambush and a signal smoke. The victory is not portrayed as clean joy; the people are about to strike down nearly the whole tribe of Benjamin.
3 What does this passage make clear?
AnswerThe third approach begins with grief before it begins with tactics. Israel sits before the LORD, asks again, and receives the answer that Benjamin will be given into its hand. The ambush succeeds, but the scene is not uncomplicated celebration. The people are moving toward the destruction of a tribe, and a true answer does not make the human cost disappear.
4 What should our household remember?
AnswerTalk about the difference between receiving an answer and receiving permission to stop thinking. Ask how a family can remain grieved and morally alert even when it believes a judgment is necessary.
What This Means for Us
The LORD's answer does not remove the grief or the consequences of the coming battle. Talk about the difference between receiving direction for one step and receiving permission to stop thinking about the people who will bear the cost.
Direction for the next step does not cancel responsibility for its consequences. Keep asking who will be affected, what protection is needed, and whether grief is being heard rather than hidden beneath certainty.
Prayer
Lord, help us talk about the difference between receiving an answer and receiving permission to stop thinking. Make us truthful about our failures and ready to turn back. Amen.