College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Judges 21 - Introduction
A DIGEST OF CHAPTER 21
Wives for Benjamin taken from Jabesh-gilead. The Israelites had vowed that they would not give their daughters to the men of Benjamin to be their wives. As a result, the remaining six hundred men were likely to be the last of the entire tribe. The tribe was in danger of being extinguished. When the Israelites found a city, Jabesh-gilead, whose inhabitants had not helped to punish the crime, they sent 12,000 men to destroy the city and slay all but 400 young women who were spared and given as wives for the men of Benjamin.
Wives taken for Benjamin in Shiloh. The Levitical families living in Shiloh were not expected to send warriors into the battle. They had not been numbered with the rest of the Israelites in Numbers 1 and 26. It was therefore decided to permit the men of Benjamin to take wives from the daughters of Shiloh as they came to dance their yearly dances in connection with the Tabernacle services. They urged the fathers of the Levitical families to be lenient with the men of Benjamin in order to establish again this tribe in their midst.
LESSONS FOR LEARNING
1.
God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. After the children of Israel had slain all but six hundred of the men of Benjamin, their hearts were filled with sorrow. Even when society exacts punishment on evil doers, there is no pleasure in the sentencing. Christians most of all weep for the fate of the wicked.
2.
Blessed are the peacemakers. Forty thousand men of Israel had died in battle, and only six hundred of the men of Benjamin were left in rock Rimmon. If Israel had been of a hard heart, they would have completely destroyed the men of Benjamin. Instead they went and called peaceably to them. Immediately they made preparations for establishing the tribe again in the midst of the Israelites.
3.
Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). Although civil war had drenched the land in blood, people were still going up yearly to the house of the Lord for the feasts. The apostle Paul urges Christians not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, and worship is especially needful in times of national distress. God's people should be regular in their worship whether they are in a period of war or peace.
TEN QUESTIONS ON CHAPTER 21
1.
Where had Israel gathered to sacrifice after the war?
2.
What town had not sent any soldiers to fight with Israel?
3.
How many men of Israel went to fight against these people?
4.
How many wives were found there for the men of Benjamin?
5.
Where was the camp to which these women were brought?
6.
Where were the remaining men of Benjamin?
7.
Where was the feast to the Lord?
8.
Where did the highway run which went past Shiloh?
9.
How many wives were taken from the women who danced at Shiloh?
10.
Was there a king in Israel in those days?