Judges 21:1-7

Mourning for Benjamin Judges 21:1-7

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
3 And said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?
4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the Lord to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death,
6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?

1.

Why had Israel made the oath? Judges 21:1

The other men of Israel did not want to associate with the wicked men in Benjamin. This verse gives additional information about the oath which the children of Israel took as they gathered in Mizpeh. This conference is described in chapter twenty, verses one and nine, of the book of Judges. While they were there asking the Levite how the crime was committed, they made a decision to go up to fight against Gibeah. At the same time they took this oath which is recorded in chapter twenty-one, verse one. Specifically, they had decided not to give any of their daughters to any of the men of Gibeah as their wives. They did not want to see their children brought into a society which was as corrupt as the community in this city of Benjamin.

2.

Why did the people assemble at Bethel? Judges 21:2 (ASV)

Bethel was a holy place not too far from the scene of the battle. Bethel was just east of the road which ran from Gibeah to Shechem. It was much closer than Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was. At Bethel, Jacob had received the revelation from the Lord telling him that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. Here he took the stone which he had used for his pillow and made it to be a pillar on which he poured oil. Here he took a vow saying that he would serve God (Genesis 28:12-20). Jacob and his family returned to Bethel when they came from Haran, Laban's home, to settle again in Canaan. Again Jacob worshiped at Bethel (Genesis 37:9-15). As the most readily accessible holy place, Bethel was chosen as a place for the assembly of the children of Israel. Bethel is house of God in the King James Version.

3.

Why had they made such a rash oath? Judges 21:5

They had vowed that they would kill anyone who did not go up to Mizpeh. The tide turned and another danger arose. A crowd roused to anger is hard to control The tribes were right in deciding to punish the criminals at Gibeah, but they went too far when they made such strong vows. On numerous occasions different tribes had not rallied to support the judge who was trying to deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors. Although these judges chided those who were faint hearted, they did not always take such drastic actions against those who did not cooperate with them. Similar action was necessary in the days of Gideon and Jephthah, but even in these instances the emotions of the people were not out of control to a large extent. Such was surely the case with the children of Israel in this instance.

4.

Why was there a question about wives? Judges 21:7

They did not intend to wipe out the tribe. Having once tasted of vengeance, the children of Israel did not cease in their slaughter until Benjamin was almost exterminated, The slaughter extended not only to the fighting men, but to women and children. The six hundred who fled to the rock fort of Rimmon appear to be the only survivors of the tribe, Justice overshot its mark and while eradicating one evil created another. Even those who had most fiercely used their swords looked at the result with horror and amazement for almost an entire tribe was lacking in Israel. If wives were not found for the six hundred men who were left, the tribe would eventually be lost completely.