We have at last come to the end of the book of Judges. There are actually 2 more Judges of Israel yet to come, but those stories come later this week. We have made it through some very dark chapters. Tomorrow the sun will rise upon the lovely, redemptive story of Ruth. 🥰
Today’s chapters follow on the heels of the sordid tale of the Levite and the Concubine.
I’m guessing that not only did the psycho Levite 🔪 send his maiden’s body parts to all the tribes of Israel (except Benjamin), he must’ve included a message 📝 of some kind because the whole congregation of Israel (except Benjamin) gathers together at a rallying-point called Mizpah which means “watch tower.” There was likely a tower there. Like this:
The Levite stands before the crowd and tells what took place on his recent trip to Gibeah. His version of the story paints himself as an innocent victim. 😇
“The Lords of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night. They intended to kill me, and they raped my concubine, and she died.”
Judges 20:5 LEB
He conveniently leaves out the detail that he and the old man freely offered the girl and handed her over to the depraved mob. 🙄😡
Well, this story rouses the 400,000-man army to do something about these sexual predators in Gibeah.
For context, here’s a map showing the location of this rally and its proximity to a few other important locations in the story.
It’s a little hard to see the distance scale at the bottom of the image, but take a moment to really look at this. Mizpah, the army’s muster point is about 5 miles from Gibeah – the city they want to attack. That’s pretty close. It’s also about that same distance to Bethel, where, the text tells us, the Ark of God was at the time (and presumably the rest of the Tabernacle).
Gibeah is the location of events of Judges 19. Do not confuse it with Gibeon. That’s the place where those people dressed up in old clothes and had the dry bread and old wine skins and tricked Joshua and the leaders into making a covenant of peace. Then there’s Geba which is another location altogether.
In Hebrew, the root word gibaw means little hill. Look at the topographical map again. You can see why the word for “little hill” would make it into multiple place names. To further complicate matters, ALL of these towns are very close to each other and ALL within the territory of Benjamin, including Mizpah where the army is mustered. The army is literally on Benjamin’s front step.
Ok, now that we’ve got that straight…
First, the 400k army send messengers asking the tribe of Benjamin to hand over the rape gang. But instead, the Benjamites close ranks around their own (predators or not) and decide to go to war with the rest of Israel – using slingshots and swords. And apparently, they were amazing marksmen. Because they actually held their own for 2 days and made a noticeable dent in the army of Israel.
The tribe of Judah is chosen by God to lead the army into battle. Judah led Israel when they travelled in the wilderness. Judah led the army into Canaan. You think maybe God is establishing a precedent here? Judah was named by Jacob as the son through which Israel’s ruler would come. And that remains consistent all the way through to the end of Revelation.
SIDE NOTE…
After the first day of battle, Israel fell back to Bethel where they “wept before the Lord” and asked for Yahweh’s counsel, most likely through the urim and thummim in the pocket of the breastplate attached to the High Priest’s ephod. (good ol’ Phinehas)
They did the same after the second day of defeat and added fasting and offerings.
The next day’s battle is like an instant replay of what happened at Ai. Remember how Israel lured the inhabitants of Ai out of the city and ambushed them while a second group burned the city to the ground? That’s exactly what happens to Gibeah. And I find it interesting that a city of Israel suffers the same fate as a city of the Canaanites.
Play Canaanite games, win Canaanite prizes.
🤨
The 400,000 man army of Israel, lost 40,000.
The census of Benjamin a few years prior had them numbered at 45,600 (Num. 26:41). I know it’s been a minute since we read that, but, again, this battle happens during the life of Phinehas who was THERE when the census took place. This isn’t generations later. It’s likely that the total population of the tribe of Benjamin was not much larger by now, probably 45-46 thousand people. With that in mind, let’s look at the casualties from Benjamin on the 3rd day. And WHO is defeating them.
“And Yahweh defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and the Israelites destroyed on that day twenty-five thousand one hundred men of Benjamin, all of them sword-wielding.”
Judges 20:35 LEB
18,000 were killed in the initial battle.
Another 7,000 were killed in retreat.
This is probably nearly every male in the tribe of Benjamin.
600 guys managed to escape. And the rest of Israel makes a pact to NOT give their daughters in marriage to what they perceive as a tribe of predators or at least those who defend predators. And bully for them!
Sort of…
Sigh.
People are complicated.
On one hand, Israel is sad that one of the tribes is basically going to have a population collapse and disappear because nearly all their males have been killed and if the remaining few can’t marry Jewish girls, they’ll intermarry with the pagan tribes and quickly lose their tribal identity.
On the other hand, they’re like, “If you even LOOK at MY daughter I WILL cut you. But let’s go find some other Jewish guy’s daughters, kill him, and kidnap his girls and force them into marriages with the Benjamites.
Yeah. Makes perfect sense. 🙄😡
They genocide a WHOLE TOWN of their own people and steal 400 girls. What. On. Earth!?
(I’m telling you… Proof that I’m not divine… because I probably would’ve said, “That’s it! I’m done. You’re done. We’re all done here,” and just snapped my fingers and eliminated the entire planet. And I would’ve stomped off to spend eternity making nebulae and sparkly stars.) ✨
But I digress…
Do the math. 600 men survived. 400 girls captured to be their wives.
So the leaders of Israel, in an effort to smooth things over with Benjamin…
🤨 Psst. Psst. Hey Buddy…
🧔🏻 You talkin’ to me?
🤨 Yeah. Is yous one’a da guys dat needs a chick?
🧔🏻 Yes.
🤨 Listen up. Here’s what cha gonna do. Ya gonna go to Shiloh, see? Ya gonna watch for da chicks to come out in da parade, see? And you pick one and snatch ‘er up, see?
🧔🏻 Wow. Ok. Thanks Mr… uh….
🤨 Shh. No names. You’ve nevuh met me before and I told you nothing.
🧔🏻 oh. Ok. Shiloh. Chick. Got it.
Did you ever see the old movie musical, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?
I imagine it was something like that. Only not as nice. And no song and dance numbers.
The book of Judges ends (fittingly) with one more chorus of…
“In those days there was no king in Israel; each one did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25 LEB
It was the wild, Wild West. And I thank God with every fiber of my being that I did not live back then.
One of those 600 men of Benjamin married a kidnapped wife. And they had children. Who had children. One of his descendants will become the first king of Israel.
Saul was a Banjamite.
But before we get to him there’s another side story that happened during the time of the judges. And this one is blessedly not violent.
See you tomorrow.
To The Reader 