Judg 20:21 | KingComments | STEP | The positions have been made clear on both sides. There is no longer any doubt, there is no hope of restoration. Numerically, the sons of Benjamin are far in the minority, but their capacities compensate for that to a large extent. There is talk of “700 choice men” who “were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss” ( ) They can be exquisite men, known for their accuracy, their precision, but if they commit themselves to an evil cause, they use their abilities wrongly. We can compare them to people we also encounter in professing Christianity. People who are very precise in everything, but sometimes call evil good. Because of their precise approach to the matter it seems that they still have the right on their side as well. Benjamin wins the victory again and again, but we see in a moment why. Not everything is as it should be with the tribes that go out to battle. Certainly, they ask God for advice, but they do so only after they have decided how they will act. The only thing they want to know is which tribe has to go out first. They have already asked this question once before, in Judges 1 ( ). But what a difference between Judges 1 and here. There they ask their question with a view to fighting the enemy, while here they want to fight a brother and already have arranged everything. Thus there may be situations in which we too say that it is unnecessary to consult God. We see that there is sin and we are ready to act immediately, without it coming to us to go to God with that sin and first to identify ourselves with it. In our view, this is not necessary. There are still some details, such as who has to speak with the brother or sister who has fallen into sin. To do so, we first ask God, but that’s it. It takes more to be used by God to deal appropriately with evil than just a quick willingness to act as His instrument. Their revenge is too direct, too inappropriate, too ruthless. There is too little awareness that they must carry out God’s judgment. They do not bring a sin offering, which, if they had brought it, would have been proof that they identified themselves with evil. Instead, they count on their supremacy. The result is defeat. Through this defeat, God wants to teach them that numbers do not count for Him and that their confidence to win the victory because of itis wrong. The fact that the Israelites are defeated may be due to the fact that they themselves are not free from the influences of the pernicious practices of the Canaanites either. Then there can be no power to act. What they need is the same cleansing as Benjamin.

‏ Judges 20:21

First Encounter

The positions have been made clear on both sides. There is no longer any doubt, there is no hope of restoration. Numerically, the sons of Benjamin are far in the minority, but their capacities compensate for that to a large extent. There is talk of “700 choice men” who “were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss” (Jdg 20:16)

They can be exquisite men, known for their accuracy, their precision, but if they commit themselves to an evil cause, they use their abilities wrongly. We can compare them to people we also encounter in professing Christianity. People who are very precise in everything, but sometimes call evil good. Because of their precise approach to the matter it seems that they still have the right on their side as well.

Benjamin wins the victory again and again, but we see in a moment why. Not everything is as it should be with the tribes that go out to battle. Certainly, they ask God for advice, but they do so only after they have decided how they will act. The only thing they want to know is which tribe has to go out first. They have already asked this question once before, in Judges 1 (Jdg 1:1). But what a difference between Judges 1 and here. There they ask their question with a view to fighting the enemy, while here they want to fight a brother and already have arranged everything.

Thus there may be situations in which we too say that it is unnecessary to consult God. We see that there is sin and we are ready to act immediately, without it coming to us to go to God with that sin and first to identify ourselves with it. In our view, this is not necessary. There are still some details, such as who has to speak with the brother or sister who has fallen into sin. To do so, we first ask God, but that’s it.

It takes more to be used by God to deal appropriately with evil than just a quick willingness to act as His instrument. Their revenge is too direct, too inappropriate, too ruthless. There is too little awareness that they must carry out God’s judgment. They do not bring a sin offering, which, if they had brought it, would have been proof that they identified themselves with evil. Instead, they count on their supremacy.

The result is defeat. Through this defeat, God wants to teach them that numbers do not count for Him and that their confidence to win the victory because of itis wrong. The fact that the Israelites are defeated may be due to the fact that they themselves are not free from the influences of the pernicious practices of the Canaanites either. Then there can be no power to act. What they need is the same cleansing as Benjamin.