Can anyone explain the logic behind Judges chapt 19-21

[Davy]

The account in Judges chapters 19-21 tells us:

A Levite from Ephraim was returning home with his concubine, lodges overnight with an old man in Gibeah of Benjamin. Then good for nothing men of that city surround the house, demanding to have intercourse with the Levite. However, they accept his concubine instead and abuse her all night. She is found dead on the threshold in the morning. The Levite takes her body home, carves it into 12 pieces, and sends these into all Israel. Shocked at what has happened, people start to demand that something is done regarding these wicked men who rapped to death this poor woman.

Judges 20:18-21, says God sent the rest of Israel who gathered together to destroy these evil men. But when they confronted them in battle, 22,000 men of Israel died. Then in Judges 20:23-25, at a second attempt, God sent them back to kill these evil men, and 18,000 men of Israel died. Then only after 40,000 men had died needlessly in a bloodbath, God said in Judges 20:28, he would be with them and they successfully defeated them.

Why did God send them out twice to be slaughtered by these wicked men, then after 40,000 men had died, God stepped in to help them? If Israel had 400.000 men there, why did they not just surround the city of Gibeah and starve them into surrendering these guilty men, so that they could be put to death, then only the guilty would have died? What was God's end game here, why all the needless death and slaughter? Was it a test to see who would stand against these evil men, but they had to pass that test by paying with their lives? Just take some time to carefully read those 3 chapters and let me know what you think.

 

[Eric E Stahl]

All I can say is that God is sovereign and some times we must die for His glory. Look what Job lived through to give God glory. Revelation 4:11 says that we were made for His pleasure.

We praise you God and give you glory.

 

[clark thompson]

It shows how much like the world they had become.

 

[Brad Huber]

How is it that you are wise enough to judge those guilty and those not guilty? Perhaps when humanity ate of the tree, we thought we could judge others correctly, but we only learned that we can judge, but we didn't learn how to judge wisely, only to judge.

 

[Davy]

The account in Judges chapters 19-21 tells us:

A Levite from Ephraim was returning home with his concubine, lodges overnight with an old man in Gibeah of Benjamin. Then good for nothing men of that city surround the house, demanding to have intercourse with the Levite. However, they accept his concubine instead and abuse her all night. She is found dead on the threshold in the morning. The Levite takes her body home, carves it into 12 pieces, and sends these into all Israel. Shocked at what has happened, people start to demand that something is done regarding these wicked men who rapped to death this poor woman.

Judges 20:18-21, says God sent the rest of Israel who gathered together to destroy these evil men. But when they confronted them in battle, 22,000 men of Israel died. Then in Judges 20:23-25, at a second attempt, God sent them back to kill these evil men, and 18,000 men of Israel died. Then only after 40,000 men had died needlessly in a bloodbath, God said in Judges 20:28, he would be with them and they successfully defeated them.

Why did God send them out twice to be slaughtered by these wicked men, then after 40,000 men had died, God stepped in to help them? If Israel had 400.000 men there, why did they not just surround the city of Gibeah and starve them into surrendering these guilty men, so that they could be put to death, then only the guilty would have died? What was God's end game here, why all the needless death and slaughter? Was it a test to see who would stand against these evil men, but they had to pass that test by paying with their lives? Just take some time to carefully read those 3 chapters and let me know what you think.

Recently I came across this scripture in 2 Chronicles 28:1-7. This account tells how wicked King Ahaz came to power in Judah and ruled from Jerusalem. He encouraged idol worship and sacrificed his own son's by throwing them in to fire as a sacrifice to these false gods, which kind of shows the moral state of Judah at that time. As punishment, God delivered them into the hands of the invading armies of Syria and the Northern kingdom of Israel. Verse 6 says: "Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers."

This made me think, when God oversaw the slaughter of 40,000 men in Gibeah, these to, according to Judges 20:17, were valiant mighty men of war. But there is no real indication that these were actually righteous men. In fact, valiant mighty men often acted like bullies and hired guns, they were used by rich people as body guards and to intimidate weaker vulnerable people who could not fight back. Perhaps, when God let 40,000 of these men die, even though they were fighting against the wicked men of the tribe of Benjamin. He was in fact helping Israel to get ride of such men. Then the weaker less war like would then have a greater influence in their society, promoting a more godly society. So on the surface it looks like God is being mean, sending 40,000 to their death, but God could have easily arranged for those men to have been the most violent of Israel, and so got rid of them. A kind of doing a little weeding among his people!

 

[NoHype]

I see it as a partial penalty God made the other tribes of Israel pay for allowing abominations to exist among the land of Israel, especially among the tribe of Benjamin at that time.

A very important matter that was supposed to be well understood in the beginning chapters of the Book of Judges is how the children of Israel had failed to carry out God's command to get rid of the Canaanites among their lands that were the cause of much of Israel's falling away to worship Baalism.


Judg 2:2-4
2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed My voice: why have ye done this?
3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
(KJV)

Judg 2:10-14
10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.
11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, Which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
(KJV)

Judg 2:20-23
20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, Because that this people hath transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice;
21 I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
23 Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered He them into the hand of Joshua.
(KJV)

This is also very applicable to God's people today in the new lands He has given them. We are seeing many of the old pagan practices of Baal spring up in the traditional Christian nations.