42:1ffIsrael had just won a great battle, but instead of joy, there was pettiness and quarreling. The tribe of Ephraim was angry and jealous that they were not invited to join in the fighting (although Jephthah said he had invited them). The insults of the Ephraimites enraged Jephthah, who called out his troops and killed 42,000 men from Ephraim. Jephthah usually spoke before he acted, but this time his revenge was swift. It cost Israel dearly, and it might have been avoided. Insulting others and being jealous are not right responses when we feel left out. But seeking revenge for an insult is just as wrong and very costly.
Life Application Study BibleJudgesChapter 21
Judges 21
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 394, 395
A few verse numbers on this page were hard to read in the scan and are marked with a dotted underline — compare with the original page image if in doubt.
21Judges 21
Israel Provides Wives for Benjamin
12 The Israelites had vowed at Mizpah, “We will never give our daughters in marriage to.aman from the tribe of Benjamin.” 2Now the people went to Bethel and sat in the presence of God until evening, weeping loudly and bitterly. 3“O LORD, God of Israel,” they cried out, “why has this happened in Israel? Now one of our tribes is missing from Israel!” 4£arly the next morning the people built an altar and presented their burnt offerings and peace offerings on it. 5Then they said, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we held our assembly in the presence of the LORD?” At that time they had taken a solernn oath in the LORD’s presence, vowing that anyone who refused to come would be put to death. 6The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin and said, “Today one of the tribes of Israel has been cut off. 7How can we find wives for the few who remain, since we have sworn by the Lor not to give them our daughters in marriage?” 8So they asked, “Who among the tribes of Israel did not join us at Mizpah when we assembled in the presence of the LORD?” And they discovered that no one from Jabesh-gilead had attended the assembly. 9For after they counted all the people, no one from Jabesh-gilead was present. 10So the assembly sent 12,000 of their best warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. 1This is what you are to do,” they said. 11Completely destroy* all the males and every woman who is nota virgin.” Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found 400 young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. 13The Israelite assembly sent a peace delegation to the remaining people of Benjamin who were living at the rock of Rimmon. 4Then the men of Benjamin returned to their homes, and the 400 women of Jabesh-gilead who had been spared were given to them as wives. But there were not enough women for all of them. The people feit sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made this gap among the tribes of Israel. 16So the elders of the assembly asked, “How can we find wives for the few who remain, since the women of the tribe of Benjamin are dead? 17There must be heirs for the survivors so that an entire tribe of Israel is not wiped out. '8But we cannot give them our own daughters in marriage because we have sworn with a solemn oath that anyone who does this will fall under God’s curse.” I 18Then they thought of the annual festival of the LORD held in Shiloh, south of Lebonah and north of Bethel, along the east side of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem. 20They told the men of Benjamin who still needed wives, “Go and hide in the vineyards. 21When you see the young women of Shiloh come out for their dances, rush out from the vineyards, and each of you can take one of them home to the land of Benjamin to be your wife! 22And when their fathers and brothers come to us in protest, we will tell them, ‘Please be sympathetic. Let them have your daughters, for we didn’t find wives for all of them when we destroyed Jabesh-gilead. And you are not guilty of breaking the vow since you did not actually give your daughters to them in marriage.’” 23So0 the men of Benjamin did as they were told. Each man caught one of the women as she danced in the celebration and carried her off to be his wife. They returned to their own land, and they rebuilt their towns and lived in ther. 24Then the people of Israel departed by tribes and families, and they returned to their own homes. 25In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
Textual footnotes
- Hebrew is uncertain.
- 21:11 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
Life Application Notes 4 notes
21:8-12The Israelites moved from one mess to another. Because of a rash vow made in the heat of emotion (21:5), here they destroyed another town. The Israelites probably justified their action with the following arguments: (1) An oath could not be broken, and they had vowed that anyone who did not help them fight the tribe of Benjamin would be killed. (2) Because all the women from Benjamin had been killed, the few remaining men needed wives to prevent the tribe from disappearing. To spare the unmarried women from Jabesh-gilead seemed the right solution. We do not know all the circumstances behind the brutal massacre at Jabesh-gilead, but it seems that the rest of Israel followed Benjamin’s pattern. They put tribal loyalties above God's commands, and they justified wrong actions to correct past mistakes.
21:25During the time of the judges, the people of Israel experienced trouble because everyone became his own authority and acted on his own opinions of right and wrong. This produced horrendous results. Our world is similar. Individuals, groups, and societies have made themselves the fina! authorities without reference to God. When people selfishly satisfy their personal desires at all costs, everyone pays the price. \t is the ultimate heroic act to submit all our plans, desires, and motives to God. Men like Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson are known for their heroism in battle. But their personal tives were far from heroic. To be truly heroic, we must go into battle each day in our home, job, church, and society to make God’s Kingdom a reality. Our weapons are the standards, morals, truths, and convictions we receive from God's Word. We will lose the battle if we gather the spoils of earthly treasures rather than seeking the treasures of heaven.
41:30,31In God’s law, a vow was a promise to God that should not be broken (Numbers 30:1, 2; Deuteronomy 23:21-23). It carried as much force as a written contract. Many people made vows in bibiical times. Some, like Jephthah’s, were very foolish.