Benjamin Tribe's Wives Judges 21

Judges 21:1 "Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife."

A couple of things have come up since the civil war between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel. Benjamin has been defeated and virtually destroyed. There are no women for the remaining 600 to marry and continue the bloodline. Also, there was one area that did not send support for the fight. It was Jabesh-gilead. The decision was made to destroy Jabesh-gilead and take the virgins for wives of the remaining 600 Benjamites. They found only 400 virgins so the number was not sufficient. There was a feast where the damsels danced. The Benjamites were told to go there and capture a wife and take her away.

v17 "And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel."

v23 "And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number of them that danced, whom they caught and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them."

The people had gone to God to ask what to do but received no reply. They had no acknowledgement of their transgressions nor showed any humility. So there was no guidance. They did what they thought best.

v25 "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

With this gruesome tale, we end the book of Judges. There is much more to be gleaned from its pages. We have covered only the highlights.

It is a worrisome time for Israel. I cannot explain why they acted so unappreciative toward the LORD except to say what Paul said in Romans 3:11 "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. v12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

In this turmoil, Israel will soon send up the cry 'give us a king to rule over us'. Perhaps, these events have been allowed to bring about the longing for a leader and the conditions in the heart of Israel to follow that king. About 305 years have past since Joshua's death. How long does it take a people to forget God? Our nation is closing on that mark of time. Will we forget?

If you remember, in previous chapters, the ark and the Levites were the center of activity. Here it has been the judges that were pointed out. In the following studies, it will be the prophets and the kings.

Remember my statement in several previous studies that I thought Israel was like a pregnant lady carrying the promise of Abraham that in his seed all nations would be blessed. It is the promise of Messiah coming and a sacrifice for sin. Travail is definitely going on.

Psalms 44:1 "We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old."

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