Judges 20:18-32 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 20:18-32. Let’s go!
Judges 20:18-28 (NIV)
18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, “Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?” The LORD replied, “Judah shall go first.”
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah.
20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.
21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.
22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.
23 The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, “Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?” The LORD answered, “Go up against them.”
24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day.
25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.
27 And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,
28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, “Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?” The LORD responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”
On verses 18-28: There are only a few times in the book of Judges where we see people inquiring of God. In chapter 1 the Israelites inquire of the LORD after the death of Joshua (1:1). In chapter 6 Gideon inquires of God with his famous fleece. In chapter 13, Manoah the father of Samson inquires of the LORD regarding how to honour Him (13:17). Whenever people in Judges inquired of the LORD, it seemed to be a God-pleasing thing, a move that would be followed immediately by a wise decision or an immediate victory. Whenever you’re not sure what to do, the best thing you can do is inquire of the LORD. He will lead the way for you.
But here in Judges 20, even though the Israelites inquire of the LORD repeatedly, notice that the first couple times that they follow the LORD’s directions, they lose, and lose badly. After the first time that the Israelites inquire of the LORD (v18), God tells the tribe of Judah that they will be the first to go up against the Benjamites, and yet that day 22,000 of them are cut down (v21). Then when the Israelites inquire of the LORD again and God tells them to go up against the Benjamites a second time, 18,000 more Israelites are cut down (v23-25). Only during the third time that the Israelites inquire of the LORD would the LORD say, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands” (v28).
In other words, God had always planned that the Israelites would ultimately be victorious in their struggle against the tribe of Benjamin, but before they could experience that victory, they would need to taste defeat first. Why is that? Perhaps this was God’s way of disciplining the Israelites for the way they had handled the conflict with the Benjamites earlier (see yesterday’s GAME sharing). Or maybe this was God training His people to be resilient and to keep trusting in Him no matter what the circumstances. Or maybe it’s because God wanted the Israelites to see that despite outnumbering the Benjamites heavily (v15-17), the Israelites could not do anything without the LORD. In any event, it’s true that sometimes before you can experience victory, you need to taste defeat. Just because you are defeated once or twice, don’t assume that victory will never be yours. Instead, keep going back to God on what you should do, believing that His ultimate plan is for you to be victorious, perhaps not in the way you originally foresaw, but in His greater way (see 2 Corinthians 2:14).
Judges 20:29-32 (NIV)
29 Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah.
30 They went up against the Benjamites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before.
31 The Benjamites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads–the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.
32 While the Benjamites were saying, “We are defeating them as before,” the Israelites were saying, “Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.”
On verses 29-32: We’ll take up these verses tomorrow when we look at the final part of chapter 20.
Thank You Father that I have You to inquire of whenever I’m not sure what to do. Thank You that You always lead us in triumphal procession in Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14). That doesn’t mean we’ll never taste defeat, but that Your end goal is always for Your people to stand victorious with You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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