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JUDGES

CHAPTER 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. 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 to day 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?

According to these verses, the men who gathered for war against Benjamin had promised not to give their daughters as wives to any of the tribe of Benjamin.
But now they are concerned about how the tribe shall continue (verses 2-3). Verse 6 tells us they "repented..for Benjamin their brother." They repented of the fact that he would BE no more unless they found proper wives for those remaining. They DID NOT repent for the justice that had been done.
For the Bible teaches us that "..godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of.." (2Cor. 7:10).
In verse 5 they sought out any in the other tribes that had not participated in this purging. Their desire was to rid Israel of this evil.
Do we not participate with evil when we do not FIGHT it?
Israel had allowed the Canaanite idolatry to infiltrate their people. And the tendency to lean toward sensualism had led to prostitution, homosexuality, and even murder. And now almost a whole tribe had been wiped out.
When morality is NEGLECTED evil becomes infectious! And it is COSTLY!

8 And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly. 9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. 10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children. 11 And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man. 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

There was a type of "census" taken of all the people who had come to war. No one was found that came from Jabeshgilead. How awful that some of God's people would not answer a call to fight against immorality!
The Israelites killed men, women and children in the town - but saved 400 young virgins to give to the tribe of Benjamin as wives.

13 And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them. 14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not. 15 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel. 16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? 17 And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. 18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. 19 Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. 20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; 21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. 23 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.

There were still 200 men of Benjamin that needed wives. And the Israelites had vowed they would not GIVE them their daughters. But nothing had been said of their daughters being KIDNAPPED! What if the 200 men came at a feast day, hid in the vineyards and just TOOK wives? (Verses 19-21)
Well, of course, some fathers and mothers would be terribly upset. And they would come to these elders and warriors and ask for their help. THEN, these elders and warriors would explain, and ask to let the matter alone (verse 22).
So THAT'S how the tribe of Benjamin was preserved.

24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. 25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The end of this chapter brings a "picture" to mind. Verse 24 intimates that Israel was unified under God, and blessed with protection from enemies. They were able to farm their lands without being fearful.
However, another note is made here in verse 25. There was no "king" - no government. Judges 17:6 made the same statement.
The absence of a "king," ruler, authrority allowed the dabbling into sin which began with Micah and the wayward Levite in Judges 17. This sin led to the sensuality, which led to the murder, which led to the mass destruction of a tribe.
The ABSENCE of authority allows men to do "that which is right in his own eyes."
There is a truth presented in Proverbs which deals with the physical children AND the spiritual children.

"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."(Proverbs 29:15)