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Polygamy was a problem very early for Israel. Jacob, the father of the nation, married a pair of sisters, also siring children by both their handmaids. If his household had been a shining example to his descendants, we would probably have seen much more of this, but a careful reading of the Genesis text shows how many problems, great and small, were a product of the perpetual bickering and factional jealousies within Jacob’s family, including one near-murder.

Despite the lasting impression of sexual excess that David and Solomon left behind, polygamy in Israel was relatively rare. It could be that Jacob’s cautionary tale left a lasting impression.

No King in Israel (51)

Hebrew language and law distinguish between that which a man dedicated to God and that which he devoted. Both involved setting something apart, but the latter was set apart irrevocably. If a man devoted some object to the Lord, it became “most holy” or “consecrated”, set apart such that he could not buy it back for his ordinary (profane, common) use. The word for that is ḥāram, from ḥērem, meaning “cursed”. In the context of war or when under the sentence of capital punishment, the same term is variously translated “completely destroy”, “utterly destroy” or, my personal favorite, “devote to destruction”.

That word appears here in verse 11 in association with the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead, who refused to come to Mizpah and fight on behalf of Israel against Benjamin.

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At dinner with Christian friends a few days ago, we discussed the subject of how we should best apply New Testament principles to a situation outside regular local church meetings. Nowhere in the NT do we have either precept or example concerning how to conduct a series of Bible teaching meetings of women gathering from multiple local churches. Whose authority are they under? Which normal church practices should they observe in such a context and which are they free to ignore? Inquiring minds wanted to know, including the men.

Unsurprisingly, despite most of us being relatively mature in the faith, we quickly found we disagreed.

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In a recent post I noted similarities in the Lord’s reaction to Israel’s prayers prior to going into battle against Benjamin and his response to Joshua’s prayer after Achan’s sin led to Israel’s defeat at the first battle of Ai. In Judges 20, it’s quite possible the leaders of Israel’s army lifted the ambush strategy they employed to defeat Benjamin from Joshua’s strategy at the second battle at Ai not many decades prior. That strategy did not originate with Joshua. It came from the Lord. On top of that, the account in Joshua shows the former city of Ai was not far from Bethel, where Israel gathered to pray earlier in this chapter.

Like the sins of Sodom and Gibeah, the two battle accounts in Joshua 8 and Judges 20 have several features in common.

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As we expect from historical narrative, Judges 20 is descriptive rather than prescriptive. The chapter is not loaded with heavy-handed editorializing. At the same time, the New Testament teaches us that at least some of the things Israel experienced are lessons for us today. The apostle Paul writes, “They were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

So, provided what we observe in the story proves consistent with the instructive parts of scripture, let’s see what we can take away for ourselves today. The most obvious lesson I can see here concerns effective corporate prayer.

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Can you think of any current law so unjust that you would be willing to give your life to prevent its enforcement?

ICE agents killed two Minneapolis protesters attempting to prevent the deportation of foreign illegals in separate incidents recently, resulting in a level of public controversy almost impossible to miss. I suppose it’s conceivable one or both of the deceased was committed to his or her cause to the point of martyrdom, but my uneducated guess is that the protestors simply did not believe that, even when personally endangered, enforcement agents were prepared to open fire on American citizens in the charged atmosphere of post-George Floyd Minneapolis. Now they know.

No King in Israel (46)

Three interesting verses early in Exodus: Moses had reluctantly accepted the Lord’s commission to lead Israel out of Egyptian slavery into the land God had promised them. He, his Midianite wife Zipporah and their young son Gershom then began the trek to Egypt to present God’s agenda to Pharaoh. On the way, “the Lord met him and sought to put him to death”. Zipporah wisely intervened, emergency-circumcised her son and touched her husband’s feet with the bloody foreskin, averting the crisis.

Readers get totally confused, and rightly so. We do not have all the necessary information in the immediate context.

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There’s no getting around it, I hate this part of the story. When I’m preparing a chapter-by-chapter book study like this one, my morning Bible reading consists of a chapter of the Old Testament twice through, a chapter of the New twice through, plus the chapter of the book I’m working on for the study twice through, usually in that order.

This story is so distasteful that I had to switch my reading order around for the past few weeks or go into my prayer time feeling slightly defiled. I needed a Psalm and a chapter of Matthew to wash the taste of Judges 19 out of my mouth.

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English translations of the Bible call the tribe made up of the children of Benjamin either Benjamites or Benjaminites. Literally, the Hebrew is “of Benjamin”. The numerous English versions extant split about 60/40 in usage, with the older versions like the KJV mostly leaning toward the truncated form of the name. At this point, neither is really right or wrong.

I’ll go with the shorter version here because it’s … shorter. Having read Judges 19 as many as thirty times in the process of preparing this series, I’m inclined to dwell on the evil men of Gibeah as fleetingly as possible.

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Years ago, my aunt appeared at her mother’s door only a few days into her honeymoon, wailing about her “impossible” new husband. My grandmother was a worthy old gal with a very traditional, even biblical view of the importance of keeping one’s word once given. She briskly turned her daughter around in the yard and pointed her right back where she had come from with the trenchant observation, “You married him.”

Hrm. I loved my aunt. She was quite a woman. But I’ve always enjoyed that story.

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One of the more interesting features of this final, very unsavory episode in Judges is that while it gives us both the spiritual nadir and narrative climax for the book, it is chronologically out of sequence. Rather than coming at the end of the period when the judges governed Israel, I believe the culling of the Benjamites actually occurred some 300 years prior; before Samson, Jephthah, Gideon and many others lived, fought and ruled.

How do we know this? By the major logistical difficulties placing it anywhere else creates.

No King in Israel (41)

The tribe of Ephraim was contrary, rebellious and idolatrous. The half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead refused to obey the judges God raised up to defend Israel, provoking a brief civil war. The histories in Judges reveal the persistent moral failings of Joseph’s children during this period.

However, Ephraim and Manasseh were hardly the only Israelite tribes whose cultures bottomed out during the rule of the judges.

No King in Israel (40)

Others have noted Judges does not recount certain events in chronological order. The story in chapters 17 and 18 appears to have taken place after the death of Samson during a period in which Israel had no named judge, maintaining a more-or-less linear march through time to this point in the book. However, it’s evident the final three chapters (19-21) actually took place quite a bit earlier and probably find their place at the end of the book for theological, dramatic and/or thematic reasons.

Historically speaking, chapter 18 concludes Judges.

No King in Israel (39)

Judges were not kings. We have seen that they performed some functions we expect of royalty: leading the army, delivering the nation from oppression, and rendering decisions in disagreements between Israelites. Some functions, but not all.

When God appointed Saul Israel’s first king, he had something more in mind for him than waving a sword, calling out the troops or sitting under a tree passing judgment. “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you,” God said. “He it is who shall restrain my people.”

Restrain. Hmm.

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Abraham gave Isaac to God and ended up the father of eight sons by three different women. He received Isaac back as well. Hannah dedicated Samuel to God, afterwards conceiving three more sons as well as two daughters. Rebekah was barren until her husband prayed for her, after which she conceived not one son but two, both of whom became fathers of nations. Mary said, “Let it be to me according to your word”, and conceived not only the Lord Jesus but also four other sons and unnumbered sisters.

Short version, you cannot out-give the Lord. We will see that again shortly.

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Truth is objective and its importance paramount. Technical precision is one aspect of truth and its importance situational. On several occasions the Lord Jesus was technically precise in quoting the Old Testament. On many others it would not be outrageous to say that he wildly paraphrased.

The standard for quoting a conversation as evidence in a court proceeding is not the same as the standard for reporting dialogue that took place during historical events for which the author could not possibly have been personally present. The former ought to be as close to word-to-word as possible. The latter permits or even necessitates some stylistic license, and everyone but a pedant makes allowance for it. Expecting an author to recount a conversation that took place a hundred years ago with the technical precision of a legal transcript is manifestly unreasonable; a paraphrase or summary in his own words is frequently more than adequate.

Well-constructed prose often makes for a better story anyway.

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In 2017-18, archeologist and historical geographer Dr. Chris McKinny published articles arguing that modern Bible scholars ought to rethink the purported location of Lehi, an ancient Israelite town prominent in today’s reading from Judges.

For fifty years prior, many considered the ruined Arab village of Khirbet Beit Lei the probable location for Lehi on the basis of a specious similarity in names advanced by Israeli anthropologist Joseph Ginat in a Brigham Young University academic symposium. Absent any better suggestions, many accepted Ginat’s conclusions about the town’s location.

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Othniel led an army to drive out Israel’s oppressors in his generation. Ehud used a successful solo mission to raise an army to do the same. Deborah’s general Barak, Gideon and Jephthah were all leadership figures behind which the nation (or parts of it) rallied and successfully defeated invaders.

In every case to date, a judge’s appearance on the scene meant Israel entered a period of rest and relief from its enemies.

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Bible students online differ concerning the extent to which Samson was truly heroic or any kind of role model for believers. The four chapters that chronicle his life and death portray him as impulsive, turbulent and temperamental, driven by his whims and easily pushed off course by events around him. Rarely do we see evidence of serious devotion to the Lord, or the fruit of such a relationship in his life, though there’s absolutely no question the Lord used him, and used him in a major way. Like Jehu centuries later, Samson was a wrecking ball when Israel needed one.

The New Testament portrays Samson as a man who in at least one instance exercised remarkable faith. Even then, in typical Samson style, his faith basically amounted to the conviction that God would make an exception to his own rules by special request …

No King in Israel (33)

The story of Samson is full of miraculous events. The narrative has a big, mythical quality to it: the robust young hero smiting his enemies in impossible numbers. A child reading it may find himself caught up in the action and missing the subtext. I certainly did. Nevertheless, like so many other Old Testament characters, this “hero” has feet of clay; he cannot seem to get out of his own way. His failures and temptations are all too human.

Never mind. God can use that too. We can take some encouragement from that fact at least.