1 Samuel 1:1-18 - The Barren are Answered!

1 Samuel 1:1-18

The Family of Elkanah

1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 This man went up from his city yearly to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. Also the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there. 4 And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the LORD had closed her womb. 6 And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the LORD had closed her womb. 7 So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat.

Hannah’s Vow

8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why do you not eat? And why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD. 10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish. 11 Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

12 And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!”

15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrowful spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor intoxicating drink, but have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16 Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.”

18 And she said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

As with Elizabeth in Luke 1:7, 36 in bringing John the Baptist into the world as the prophetic Elijah, the barren can be made fruitful by the hand of the LORD according to His plan as was the case here with Hannah and her son Samuel the prophet.  She yearned for a child and vowed to give him in complete dedication to serve the LORD if she was only made fruitful.  Her desperate desire led her to pray in the temple with (Romans 8:26) groanings and inward sighs of her spirit echoing God’s in desiring this thing.  Every year she went up to the house of the LORD with her husband, and every time she was provoked by taunting of the other wife of her barren state.  Hannah wept in her bitterness and grief to the point where she could not even eat.  In some ways we can imagine that barren Elizabeth felt similarly until she was blessed with John, for she also lived righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord as blameless in going yearly to the house of the Holy in worship until she was answered for her years of barrenness and accompanying ridicule from others to have no heirs.  God shows us here how the barren can be answered when it is for His glory and their good in His sovereign purpose.  Hannah paired out her heart before God and was overheard by Eli the priest as she made her solemn vow in her plea to God for a child, but Eli did not understand this was God’s work and rashly accused her of wicked drunkenness.  When she explained her sorrowful state, he blessed her with God’s peace and promise to grant her petition to Him.  She left that place in hope and happiness that had been given through the servant of the LORD to her for that grace, that favor granted to her by promise, just as the priest (Luke 1:11, 13) Zacharias was given the message of joyous hope of a child to Elizabeth by God’s promise of sovereign grace.  How grace shows favor to the barren for a higher purpose as we read in Galatians 4:27, 28-29 of how the new covenant of grace makes we who were once barren in spirit become ever fruitful in the Lord by the everlasting promise of the gospel of grace.  We who once yearned for peace with God and fruitful lives now have this living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4) by the sovereign purpose and loving grace of our Lord whom we yearn to please.  The barren have been answered!

Ruth 4:1-22 - I Will Redeem

Ruth 4:1-22

Boaz Redeems Ruth

1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’”

And he said, “I will redeem it.”

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”

6 And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.

8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”

11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman.”

Descendants of Boaz and Ruth (Matthew 1:2–6)

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

The message of this historical account was a critical link in the lineage of king David on the way to its conclusion in Jesus the Christ, the promised Branch (Isaiah 11:1-2, Jeremiah 23:5, 6, 33:15, 16, John 1:41, 45) who is the anticipated Messiah of all God’s chosen people, out of both of Israel and all the nations (Genesis 17:4, Romans 4:17, 18, 22-23) as promised.  It began with the coinciding events bringing Ruth and Boaz together and a redeemer of the closest relative willing to pay the price took her as wife to make this happen in the series of events leading to the Son of God, the Anointed One, coming to us through their descendants to us.  What a glorious plan of good news for our deliverance, our salvation, from sin’s penalty of God’s wrath due to us all since Adam!  The closest physical relation to Ruth could not pay the price, so Boaz who was willing did so eagerly.  This account led to telling us of their son Obed who was the grandfather of king David who was the branch of God’s channel of salvation to us as we read later in Matthew 1:2-6 with great joy.  Jesus Christ is our closest relative as the descendant in the flesh of Adam who was willing to pay the price on the cross for our salvation!  He said to the Father and to us, “I will redeem (Hosea 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55, Galatians 3:13, 4:5, Ephesians 1:7, Luke 1:68).”  

Ruth 3:1-18 - The Closest Relative Redeems

Ruth 3:1-18

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”

5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, “Who are you?”

So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.”

10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. 12 Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.”

14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.

16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ”Is that you, my daughter?”

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”

18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”

The closest relative redeems us as was foreshadowed in the customs of old.  Our closest relative is the One who took on our flesh and was able to redeem His own as Adam’s descendant.  For Ruth is was Boaz next in line after the relative closer than him to her who would redeem her and take her as his bride to care for.  She had declared her love and commitment to him by warming his feet as the custom allowed then, and did as he said just like her mother-in-law had advised her.  He saw Ruth as virtuous and faithful to choose him instead of running after the younger men and honored her desire to redeem her with duty and desire after first following the custom to see of the closer relative would honor and redeem her.  The LORD had set the stage of events that coincided with His plan of redemption for all mankind through her and Boaz’s lineage from Adam to the Messiah-Christ (Matthew 1:5-6, 16) to come!  This could on;y have been orchestrated by divine hands bringing these together through exile as sojourners in a foreign land, death of spouses, return in faithfulness to follow God, and to glean grain in this particular field to catch this exact pair of eyes and be accepted for,redemption.  How unsearchable (Job 5:9, Romans 11:33, 36) are His ways revealed to us through His word!  Ruth patiently waited to see how this matter would pan out the following day as her mother-in-law trusted Boaz would pursue it to the expected conclusion by faith.  We therefore also look forward by faith to the coming day of our final redemption of body and soul at the return of Jesus to take us as His bride forever as our closest relative through Adam that (Romans 5:14, 15, 17, 18-19, 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45, 49) makes it all possible!  The closest relative will redeem us.

Ruth 2:1-23 - Faithfulness Coincides with God’s Will

Ruth 2:1-23

Ruth Meets Boaz

1 There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.”

And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!”

And they answered him, “The LORD bless you!”

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”

10 So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.”

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”

21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”

22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Here Naomi found a wealthy relative of her deceased husband named Boaz and her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess asked permission to go to glean heads of grain in the fields (Leviticus 19:9, 23:22) to find favor of someone there to continue doing so as she gathered food for them.  Ruth went out to glean in the field after the reapers and ended up in the part belonging to Boaz by ‘coincidence.’  This coincided with God’s plan for her to gain his attention.  When Boaz heard this, he told her to work that field only and not venture into any other one to glean the leftover grain.  He looked out for her after catching his eye and promised that the men would not make advances to her because she would be under his protection as an owner of the fields and that she was free to drink from his water supplies drawn for her whenever she thirsted.  He was serving her and she asked him why he should notice and show favor to a foreigner from Moab of all places as she bowed before him in honor and thankfulness.  He told her that he knew her story and that of her mother-in-law, how they lost everything and everyone and how Ruth honored her and the LORD to be committed to follow and serve as a stranger (Exodus 2:22) in a strange land as we were before Christ redeemed us (1 Peter 1:1, Ephesians 2:19) and how we should treat (3 John 1:5) others.  Boaz blessed her faithless with a pronouncement of God’s grace on her as reward for her for coming under His wings for refuge (“your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”  After profusely and humbly thanking Boaz, he told his men to leave more for her by dropping bundles of grain for her to glean and discreetly provide for her and Naomi.  We find parallels as a picture of the Lord’s love and provision of grace for we who once were aliens from Him (Ephesians 2:19) and His protection as those of the world brought near and fed with and by Christ Himself.  Naomi was startled at the amount Ruth brought home and found out it was a close relative who had found favor with her daughter-in-law.  She blessed the LORD for such a co-incidence of His grace in the situation and advised Ruth to stay in his field and not to glean elsewhere.  God was at work to arrange all these things to bring about a greater plan that would lead to the Savior of us all (Ruth 4:17, Matthew 1:5-6, 16) through her.  We see a shadow of the bigger picture of history here where obedient faith coincides with God’s will and plan to redeem us (John 1:12, Galatians 4:4-5, 1 Peter 1:18) through the Anointed One, the Messiah-Christ provided for us.

Ruth 1:1-22 - Your People and God are Mine!

Ruth 1:1-22

Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab

1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. 5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.

Naomi Returns with Ruth

6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each to her mother’s house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.”

So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, “Surely we will return with you to your people.”

11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters, go—for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!”

14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

15 And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”

16 But Ruth said:

“Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.

17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me.”

18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, ”Is this Naomi?”

20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Famine drives the beginning of the story of Ruth during the time of the judges in Israel.  Elimelech and his wife Naomi left the town of Bethlehem in Judah with their sons Mahlon and Chilion during the famine to avoid starvation.  They went to Moab of all places, longtime enemies of their people and idol worshippers as well.  Nonetheless, they went where there was food to survive there; unfortunately, the sons both married but both died after their father Elimelech had already passed.  Naomi was left alone to care for her two daughters-in-law, three widows in a pagan land that was foreign to Naomi the Ephrathite.  When the famine eased in Judah, she started back home at last to her own people of her own God but told her daughters-in-law to go back to their own families there in Moab when she left.  She wished God’s blessings on each of them and thanked them for their loving care for her and her sons they had married and been widow from.  They wanted to at least take her back to her people in Bethlehem, but Naomi thought of their welfare and how they would be not well received as Moabites in Israel, and she begged them to remain in their own land among their own people as she reminded them that she was too old to remarry and produce more sons to replace their husbands.  The one named Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and left, but the other named Ruth clung to her in devotion and gave her moving speech to say, “wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.  The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”  She was committed to her mother-in-law in life to always dwell with her until death as if one of the people grafted into Naomi’s people.  This is an example for we who have been grafted into (Romans 9:6-7, 8, 11:17, Ephesians 2:11, 12, 13, Romans 2:28-29) the chosen people of the Lord in Christ to be under God’s grace, provision, and protection until we die, committed to Him and the body of Christ no matter the circumstances or treatment by others.  We serve the same God as the true Israel of God, the chosen people of His calling to the same inheritance in the Lord Jesus Christ, and find the same relief from spiritual starvation in eating of His body (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 12:12, 13) together.  Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth as a bitter woman after her extreme misfortune in Moab, but we look to the one born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago to see the bittersweet birth of the one who came to live and die for us as a sacrifice to fill our hunger in this spiritually dry and barren land (Psalm 63:1, Matthew 5:6, John 6:33, 35, 51) and rescue us from the futility of sin and its due punishment.  We are like Naomi and Ruth coming into the land of God at the harvest season (John 4:35), fruit of the gospel of deliverance from death as we were starving and facing a certain death apart from partaking of the true Bread from heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Son of God given for us from Bethlehem to lead us into the New Jerusalem that will come down from heaven for Him to live with us in hope.  He has led us out of the darkness of famine for Him and His word by the gospel into this everlasting and ever-satisfying hope.  Our Father God is His (John 20:17, Ephesians 1:17) and we are (Leviticus 26:12, Hebrews 8:10, 1 Peter 2:9) His people.  Oh, to know your people and God are mine and mine are yours!  How blessed we are, no matter the adversity of circumstances, dwelling with and in Him together!

Judges 21:1-25 - Do What is Right in God’s Eyes

Judges 21:1-25

Wives Provided for the Benjamites

1 Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, saying, “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” 2 Then the people came to the house of God, and remained there before God till evening. They lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, 3 and said, “O LORD God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?”

4 So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. 5 The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who did not come up with the assembly to the LORD?” For they had made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the LORD at Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” 6 And the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “One tribe is cut off from Israel today. 7 What shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them our daughters as wives?”

8 And they said, “What one is there from the tribes of Israel who did not come up to Mizpah to the LORD?” And, in fact, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly. 9 For when the people were counted, indeed, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead was there. 10 So the congregation sent out there twelve thousand of their most valiant men, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children. 11 And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” 12 So they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins who had not known a man intimately; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

13 Then the whole congregation sent word to the children of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and announced peace to them. 14 So Benjamin came back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead; and yet they had not found enough for them.

15 And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.

16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who remain, since the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?” 17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe may not be destroyed from Israel. 18 However, we cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the children of Israel have sworn an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who gives a wife to Benjamin.’” 19 Then they said, “In fact, there is a yearly feast of the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.”

20 Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, 21 and watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of Benjamin.  22 Then it shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to us to complain, that we will say to them, ‘Be kind to them for our sakes, because we did not take a wife for any of them in the war; for it is not as though you have given the women to them at this time, making yourselves guilty of your oath.’”

23 And the children of Benjamin did so; they took enough wives for their number from those who danced, whom they caught. Then they went and returned to their inheritance, and they rebuilt the cities and dwelt in them. 24 So the children of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family; they went out from there, every man to his inheritance.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

EEveryone acted on what was right in their own sight, not according to what God told them was right and wrong, just as it began from the fall of man in Eden’s Garden.  Taking the fruit of pride in knowing only the facts of knowing right from wrong, since Eve and Adam, we all make the same mistakes.  We assume our reasoning of right and wrong, though skewed, is the right thing to do and we ignore or twist God’s clear commands to the contrary to do what is right in our own eyes, our own estimation of what we want to be right, to fulfill our passing (Hebrews 11:24) pleasures of sin.  They forgot the warning and promised inheritance in Deuteronomy 12:8-9, and without a Leader to rightly Judge and guide (Judges 17:6) them, and they defaulted back to their fallen nature to please their senses and supposed sensibilities.  We have the warning and promise now as 1 John 2:15-16, 17 reminds us so that we can choose to please God according to the scriptures instead of our own desires which are contrary to His word and our good.  We have at last the perfect Judge, Jesus Christ, in whom all leadership and judgment lies, for our eternal judgment and mercy (Psalm 85:10) have embraced each other and all of us who listen and heed the word for obedience to believe the gospel of our soul’s deliverance.  Instead of doing what is right in our own eyes of moral justification we have all been judged to be sinners (Romans 3:23, Galatians 3:22) and justified only by the grace of the Lord Judge Himself, and in Him we are given His presence within us to be able (Romans 8:9, Ephesians 1:13, 14, Romans 8:13-14) to choose the fruit of what is right in His eyes instead of in our own flawed estimation.  This is the liberty in Christ that sets us free (John 8:36, 6:18, Galatians 5:1) indeed!  The people of Israel had a hard choice to eradicate heinous sin by destroying those responsible for committing it and who had defended those who did the actual sin.  By doing this cleansing of the people, they lost a large number of their brethren and regretted the necessary task afterwards.  They then found wives for the few survivors of the tribe of Benjamin from outside the people to keep their lineage among Israel as a way forward.  Nonetheless, the book of Judges ends on this sad note that because there was no king to lead the nation, everyone just did what was right in their own eyes.  They had no standard without following the LORD as led by a godly leader which the earthly judges never could attain to in a perfect or effective matter in the full and necessary authority that only the true Judge (John 8:16, Romans 2:16, 2 Timothy 4:8, John 5:22-23) can ever do to lead us in what is right in God’s eyes and not in our own flawed vision.  We are to hear and heed that word of judgment and hope by following in repentance and faith to eternal life (John 5:24) in our great Judge and immortal King who is eternal (1 Timothy 1:17) and the only one with all wisdom of good and evil to teach us right from wrong (Hebrews 5:14) and to lead us into Paradise (Luke 23:43, Revelation 2:7) with Him as our (Romans 8:16-17) inheritance.  This is doing what is right in God’s eyes, hearing the word of deliverance and following the word of our Judge and Deliverer according to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Amen. 

Judges 20:29-48 - Unseen Disaster on Our Pride

Judges 20:29-48

29 Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times. 31 So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. 32 And the children of Benjamin said, “They are defeated before us, as at first.”

But the children of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” 33 So all the men of Israel rose from their place and put themselves in battle array at Baal Tamar. Then Israel’s men in ambush burst forth from their position in the plain of Geba. 34 And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. 35 The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword.

36 So the children of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel had given ground to the Benjamites, because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah. 37 And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah; the men in ambush spread out and struck the whole city with the edge of the sword. 38 Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise up from the city, 39 whereupon the men of Israel would turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty of the men of Israel. For they said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” 40 But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and there was the whole city going up in smoke to heaven. 41 And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. 42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east. 44 And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell; all these were men of valor. 45 Then they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon; and they cut down five thousand of them on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly up to Gidom, and killed two thousand of them. 46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor.

47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they stayed at the rock of Rimmon for four months. 48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to.

They did not know that disaster was upon them due to their pride of being unable to be defeated in their blindness to the LORD’s word and power to hold them accountable for the heinous sin of Gibeah.  It will be likewise true for all who reject Jesus Christ and the gospel of His merciful grace (2 Thessalonians 1:8); they will be defeated utterly and eternally as they are drawn out from their places of feigned security that are protected by a false trust in their own abilities (Romans 1:22) and belief opposed to God’s word.  The tribe of the Benjamites chose to protect their own of Gibeah, even though what those intended to do to the Levite and did to his concubine was clearly known but defended against God to pro their own in the face of such heinous abomination.  The LORD promised Israel that He would honor His name by using them to defeat these who defended such sin (Romans 1:26, 27, 32) by drawing them out in their misplaced confidence backing their sin and cutting them off by the sword.  The sword of God’s word is even sharper than (Hebrews 4:12, 13) our planning and plotting, and will separate the unrighteous from the sheep who hear His voice (Matthew 25:32, 46, John 10:3-4) and follow into holiness in the righteousness of Christ because they hear and obey His voice in the gospel to turn from sin to Him and not reject it for their temporary passing pleasures of sin.  We see here how the righteous were used to defeat the unrighteous despite their own mortal strength because they opposed the righteousness of God.  In the end at the final judgment, then lord Himself will defeat the disbelievers who refuse to heed His word with the sword of His word (Revelation 19:15) of decisive judgment.  How much better then to hear and heed the gospel of reconciling grace to forgive our most heinous sins and bring victory (Romans 8:37, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 1 John 5:4-5, Revelation 21:7, 8) to us in Him?  Jesus Christ is the ultimate Judge and only Deliverer as none in the time of the book of Judges ever could attaint to as they pointed to our need for Him.  The message is clear: remembering the unseen disaster on our pride, instead of resisting the gospel call to righteousness, repent from such heinous and even seemingly mundane sins to enter into eternity under His wings of grace and forgiveness. 

Judges 20:1-28 - Dividing and Uniting to Conquer Sin

Judges 20:1-28

Israel’s War with the Benjamites

1 So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. 2 And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword. 3 (Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.)

Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?”

4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “My concubine and I went into Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, to spend the night. 5 And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me, but instead they ravished my concubine so that she died. 6 So I took hold of my concubine, cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of the inheritance of Israel, because they committed lewdness and outrage in Israel. 7 Look! All of you are children of Israel; give your advice and counsel here and now!”

8 So all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, nor will any turn back to his house; 9 but now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: We will go up against it by lot. 10 We will take ten men out of every hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to make provisions for the people, that when they come to Gibeah in Benjamin, they may repay all the vileness that they have done in Israel.” 11 So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man.

12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? 13 Now therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel!” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel. 14 Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel. 15 And from their cities at that time the children of Benjamin numbered twenty-six thousand men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered seven hundred select men. 16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. 17 Now besides Benjamin, the men of Israel numbered four hundred thousand men who drew the sword; all of these were men of war.

18 Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?”

The LORD said, “Judah first!”

19 So the children of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel put themselves in battle array to fight against them at Gibeah. 21 Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. 22 And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. 23 Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?”

And the LORD said, “Go up against him.”

24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day. 25 And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.

26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 27 So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28 and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?”

And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

Here we see the divided tribes of Israel uniting after an attempted homosexual attack in Gibeah of the tribe of Benjamin led to the ravaging of the target’s concubine.  They sexually Molested her until she died and left her on the doorstep of the old man protecting the priest’s wife.  Then he divided her in pieces and sent her throughout all of Israel to demand an answer to the lewdness and spark outrage in Israel against such worthless perverted ones who dared do such a thing contrary to God’s law as idolatrous followers of the evil one, Belial.  The people arose as one united in mind and purpose to raise an army to wipe out that evil.  First they asked the Benjamites to hand over the perpetrators, but they refused and set up their own army to defend the evildoers, setting the stage for a battle among God’s people to defend the righteous and stop the ungodly and vile abominable acts of these perverted men.  At first, the army of Israel suffered heave losses against their Benjamite brethren.  The LORD urged them into battle when they consulted Him but lost many men.  The second time they lost more.  The third time, they inquired of the LORD if they should stop after they went to the house of God and wept, fasted, and even offered burnt and peace offerings to the LORD.  The message came loud and clear, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”  They prepared for battle once more to rid the land of the perverse idolatrous and immoral perpetrators, pitting the holiness of the LORD and His will for the nation above the loss of their beloved brothers they found themselves pitted against.  The righteousness of God and His people was about to be avenged and upheld at such a cost!  We also must deal with sin and not let it go without church discipline, but with the goal of repentance and restoration from sin (Galatians 6:1, 2 Corinthians 2:5, 6-7, James 5:19-20), not annihilation of the sinners, that the body of Christ may be kept pure and holy to be well-pleasing to God.  We must therefore rightly divide the sin from the sinner to unite together in bringing repentance and restoration to the sinners among us to conquer their sin and keep the unrepentant workers of ungodly vileness from eating the body from within like (1 Timothy 1:20, 2 Timothy 2:16-17, 1 Corinthians 5:8, 11,12) cancerous gangrene of the spirit and dividing us from Him and the holiness we are called to in conformity to Christ.