Judges 21: The powerful of the society did what was right in their own eyes to oppress the weak

Without the absolute standard of God and without the fear of God, the powerful of the Israelite society wielded its force to justify its irrational decision based on hypocritical oaths to exploit the weak.

There is no righteous person, not even one (Romans 3:10). This chapter gives more reason for me to place my hope in Christ.

Summary of Judges 21

After almost annihilating the Benjamin tribe down to only 600 men, the Israelites started to feel sorry for them, becoming afraid of missing one entire tribe of Israel. Because they had sworn to the LORD not to give their daughters to Benjamin, they needed to find a solution for the remaining Benjamin.

First, they decided to punish the men of Jabesh-gilead (probably part of either the Gad tribe or the Manasseh tribe), who did not participate in this war, by killing their men and giving their women, 400 in total, to the remaining Benjamin men as their wives. Because they still needed at least 200 more women, the Israelites came up with another “brilliant” solution. Second, the Israelites schemed to use the annual feast of the LORD at Shiloh where many young women would participate. The Israelites covertly told the remaining Benjamintes to hide in wait in the vineyards to catch them (in fact, abduct them) as their wives. In this way, the Israelites do not violate their oath not to give their daughters to Benjamin, but still fulfill their solution to prolong the Benjamin tribe.

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

Incorrect Self-Reflection

After unleashing their anger by indiscriminately killing almost all the Benjamites, the Israelites came to feel sorry for themselves. Then, they began to blame God, by saying “Why, O Lord, God of Israel, has this come about in Israel, so that one tribe should be missing today in Israel?” (Judges 21:3).

This response by the Israelite reflects their utter inability to correctly self-reflect. The indiscriminate killing of the Benjamin tribe was done by the united Israelite force. The LORD never commanded them to do this. The Israelites were proving themselves to be a fool by raging against the LORD over the result that they caused (Proverbs 19:3 The foolishness of a person ruins his way, And his heart rages against the Lord). They could have stopped after convincingly defeating the armed soldiers of Benjamin of 26,000. They certainly did not have to kill almost all the inhabitants, including unarmed elders, women, children and other people.

Then, they arose early the next day and built an altar to give burnt and peace offerings (Judges 21:4). They displayed an action of “piety,” but with a distorted heart condition. We call this hypocrisy.

Extremely Legalistic about Oaths

To the Israelites, keeping oath was extraordinarily important. It must never be broken – even if it seemed to contradict the laws and character of God. Let’s call this the “idolization” of oaths.

They had sworn not to give their daughters to Benjamin (Judges 21:1). They also desired to restore the Benjamin tribe (whom they destroyed almost completely). The Israelites needed to find at least 600 wives without violating their oath. In order to fulfill these two desires, they came up with two “brilliant” solutions, which were evil and absurd.

The First Scapegoat: People of Jabesh-gilead

The Isrealites took an oath to punish the people who did not come up to participate in the war. The first scapegoat was the people of Jabesh-gilead. The Israelites sent 12,000 men to kill all the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead except for women eligible for marriage.

This decision is very difficult to understand. The Israelites felt sorry for the annihilating Benjamin tribe, then they sent 12,000 men to kill additional Israelites. They were able to acquire 400 young women. Imagine the traumatic scar that will remain forever with these 400 young women, who suddenly lost their loved ones and would be given to men whom they have never met before!

The Israelites proclaimed peace to Benajmin (Judges 21:13). This verse caused me to chuckle cynically because they proclaimed “peace” after killing 99% of the entire Benjamin people. They then handed over 400 captured women to 600 remaining men of Benjamin.

They still needed to find 200 more.

The Second Scapegoat: Women of Shiloh Festival

The Israelites came up with the second evil, brilliant idea. They told the remaining Benjamites that there would be an annual feast in Shiloh where young women would come out to dance. The Israelites told the Benjamintes to use that opportunity to take them as their wives. In fact, the Israelites were telling the Benjamites to abduct (in a benign term) them. I don’t see how this differs from human trafficking.

The men of Benjamin did as suggested by the Israelites. And this action did not violate their oath – technically. Those Israelite families whose daughters were abducted by the Benjamites did not “give” their daughters to them. They were only abducted. This was their rationale.

Where was the fear of God in Israel?

Victims were… the Weak

Jabesh-gilead was a small town. They became the first scapegoat of the Israelites’ plan to restore Benjamin. They were a small, weak town.

Women at the Shiloh festival were abducted by the Benjamites against their will. What do you think their family backgrounds were? The influential and powerful families would have known about this secret scheme agreed between the Israelites and Benjamin to abduct young women. Therefore, those young women from powerful families would not have participated in the Shiloh that year. However, those families that did not belong to the “powerful” group of society would probably just have sent their daughters to the annual festivals. It was very likely that their daughters were captured by Benjamin. Again, the victim of this whole scheme was the weak families.

Absence of Spiritual Leadership

This happened during the time when Phinehas stood before the LORD (Judges 20:28). What was he doing when all these absurd actions and decisions were made by the Israelites?

Note that Phinehas was a zealous person who did not take any sin lightly. He took a spear in his hand and pierced Zimri, the leader of Simeon tribe, and the Midianite woman through their body to kill them because of their indecent act in the presence of the assembly (Numbers 25). It is hard to imagine a person with this much zeal stood by when the Israelites were killing each other and made up a plan to abduct young women against their will.

Perhaps, he was too old to do anything. Or, at the very worst scenario, he allowed himself to succumb to be complacent with a rising tide of the idol worship. He no longer was a person once he had been in the earlier days of Joshua.

Conclusion

The book of Judges depicts the Israelites who became worse than the surrounding nations of Canaan. They showed no fear of God. They oppressed the weak. They took their oaths seriously while neglecting all the things that reflect the heart and the character of the LORD their God.

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25)” is indeed a fitting conclusion statement.

Let me add a few phrases on this verse based on what I saw in the final chapter.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone (the powerful of the society) did what was right in his own eyes (at the expense of the weak, marginalized of the society).

Judges 19-20 Part 2: Vanity of Vanities!

Unity is often considered good. But, what about the unity demonstrated by the sons of Israelites against the Benjamites in Judges 20? It was a distorted unity, driven by emotion that was not necessarily aligned with the value of God, which eventually morphed into a devastating civil war with a colossal amount of human casualties. I call this vanity of vanities.

Summary of Judges 20

In response to the gruesome death of the Levite’s concubine, the whole Israel arose in anger to punish the men of Gibeah, which belonged to the Benjamin tribe. Israel told the Benjamin tribe to hand over the worthless fellows in Gibeah, but the Benjamin tribe refused and two sides were ready to go to war. On the side of Israel were 400,000 men and Benjamin had 26,000 men.

Despite having 400,000 men, Israel were soundly defeated in the first two days of the battle, losing 22,000 and 18,000 for the first and the second day, respectively. The Israelites wept before the LORD and gave peace and burnt offerings. With the LORD’s promise to deliver them on the third day, Israel was able to defeat the Benjamites in the highways, almost annihilating them. Only 600 men survived and fled to the rock of Rimmon.

United Israel

Unity is rare these days and is often considered good. But, would you classify the unity that the sons of Israel demonstrated as one man righteous in the eyes of the LORD (Judges 20:1, 8)? Let’s find out as we examine the subsequent actions by the Israel congregation.

The Real Cause of the Anger

What was the true source of anger that the Israelites displayed? At the surface level, the trigger of the anger was the gruesomely dismembered concubine. Let’s dig deeper.

Was it the evil action by the men of Gibeah, which contradicted the word and character of the LORD God, that angered the Israelites? That would have been ideal, which would render their anger just before the LORD God.

Unfortunately, this hypothesis does not seem to hold very strong. Overall, the Israelites were inert to other sins as grievous as the death of the concubine. Deuteronomy 13 stated that anyone worshiping the idol and enticing others to worship other gods must be put to death. However, the Israelites did not respond at all to an idol worship set up by Micha’s family, which influenced a large area of their neighbors (Judges 17-18). In contrast, the Israelites arose in unity against the death of a concubine. They seemed to be very selective in the kinds of sin they reacted.

Then, what was the main factor that prompted the Israelites’ strong reaction? I believe it was a stark visual image of the gruesome death, not the violation of the word of God, that brought the Israelites together. In other words, it was mainly their emotion, which was stirred. The Israelites seemed to be very shaken by the image and the visibility of sin. Those invisible sins (i.e. idol worship) were as grievous as all other sins according to the word of the LORD. However, Israelites’ response to sin was very selective and emotionally-driven in accordance to their eye, not necessarily to the standard of the LORD God.

Benjamin Scoffs

With only 26,000 men, Benjamin was facing an incredible uphill battle against 400,000 Israelites. They had a chance to avoid the war by handing over their worthless fellows, those men of Gibeah, to the Israelites (Judges 20:13). By refusing the term, they decided to venture into this dangerous territory of fighting against the army fifteen times larger than them. Why?

First, they probably scoffed at the “righteous” act feigned by the rest of the Israelites, who demanded their worthless fellows for punishment. The entire Israelites had been influenced by idols, and the “lewd and disgraceful” acts were not just limited to the events that took place in Gibeah. The rest of the Israelites were little better morally than Benjamin, and Benjamin refused to cooperate.

Second, it was possible that Benjamin believed that they would be able to repel 400,000 Israelites with strategic battle engagements. They had 700 expert slingers and seemed to be confident if they would use their city to their maximum advantage (their confidence was not groundless as they caused 40,000 casualties to the Israelites in the first two days – more detailed explanations later).

Third, the worthless fellows could have been the leadership or at least had strong ties to the leadership of the Benjamites. Their action was tolerated and it showed how far, not only the men of Gibeah but also the entire Benjamites had fallen to the nadir to the idol-centric society. These immoralities were deeply entrenched into the fabric of their mind, heart, and soul.

Battle in the First Two Days: Similar to 300 Spartans vs. 10,000 Persians

In the first two days, the Israelite forces were soundly defeated. Although they inquired of the LORD, they were defeated on the first day, losing 22,000 men (Judges 20:21). They wept. On the second day, they were defeated again, losing 18,000 men. After the defeat, they went up to Bethel and wept bitterly. They offered both burnt and peace offerings.

Why were the Israelites defeated so soundly, losing 10% of its 400,000 forces within just two days? I think the key was Benjamin’s use of a key geographical advantage by fighting the Israelites in the city (Judges 20:31). We can draw some insights from the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. between 300 Spartans vs. 10,000 Persians in a narrow path where the size advantage of the Persians was rendered useless. Because of the narrow passage, the fight was a series of 300 vs. 300 rather than 300 vs. 10,000.

Similar to the Battle of Thermopylae, Benjamin fully took advantage of the city and its narrow paths, where the size of the army became significantly less relevant. In that setting, the accuracy of attack, such as that by 700 expert slingers, was able to make the most damage. The large army of the Israelites became their target practices in the city. This was the main reason for Benjamin’s resounding victories in the first two days.

Battle in The Third Day

Benjamin seemed to have become very confident as a result of convincing victories in the first two days. On the third day, when the Israelites attacked and started to run away, the Benjamites left the city and started to chase them to the highway (Judges 20:31). Chasing the Israelites to the highway was Benjamin’s crucial mistake. But it was an opportunity for the Israelites to implement very similar tactics (ambush and lure) that Joshua used against Ai (Joshua 8).

The moment they left the city to chase the Isrealites to a spacious highway, Benjamin lost their battle advantage. In an open highway, the advantage of the army size becomes very relevant. As Benjamin started to chase, the ambushed Israelites sneaked and set the city on fire. The Benjamites were surprised, stopped chasing and headed back to the city. The Israelites, who were running away, turned around to chase the Benjamites heading back to their city. The ambushed Israelites who set the city on fire came out to face the Benjamites. As a result, the Benjamites were completely surrounded by a significantly large army of the Israelites. The accuracy of slingshots become irrelevant in this open highway. The Israelites were able to overwhelm Benjamin, almost annihilating them (Judges 20:35).

Benjamin’s mistake was leaving the city to chase the Israeltes to the highway as a result of being carried away from the victories of the first two days.

Emotionally-Driven Indiscriminate Killing

After seizing victory against the armed men of Benjamin, the Israelites seemed to have unleashed all of their anger by indiscriminately killing almost all the inhabitants of the Benjamin tribe, including the old, the young, women, children, cattle and all the properties (Judges 20:48). Did they really have to go this far?

Remember the way in which the Israelites processed the gruesome death of the concubine. They reacted harshly with emotion against the unwholesome image of the concubine’s death. Similarly, they were driven by emotion to kill unarmed civilians of the Benjamin tribe – their fellow Israelites. The command to kill all was to be applied to the inhabitants of the Canaanites who had no fear of God. However, instead, we see the Israelites indiscriminately killing their fellow tribe people of Benjamin.

Recap of the Outcome: Was the War Worth it?

The gruesome death of the concubine and the Levite’s disturbing action exploded into a civil war. Although the death of the concubine was sad, let’s assess the total casualties objectively: 40,000 Israelites, 26,000 Benjamin men of war, and almost all the elder, young, women of the Benjamin tribe (let’s say conservatively 50,000).

In total, the death of the concubine led to a series of actions, which resulted in 120,000 deaths. An extremely high cost to pay. Then, what were the benefits from this war? I am not so sure.

The sad news would be that the collateral damage of the civil war continued to expand to more people in the next, the final chapter of Judges.

Conclusion

Meaningless! Meaningless! The Israelites mobilized their army to punish the Benjamites. They lost more than 40,000 soldiers. Benjamin, by refusing to hand over their worthless fellows, almost got wiped out. And what was the benefit? Almost nothing. This was a meaningless civil war.

Again, this event signifies how the world operates without the goodness of God.

Judges 19-20 Part 1: The Levite the Loser

In Judges 17-18, the event revolved around the Levite who became a priest for the household-level idol worship service then was “promoted” to a priest for the tribe-level idol worship service. The story shifts to the second Levite, filled with shocking events.

The event in Judges 19 is not something you will hear in Sunday school. Nevertheless, it is an important story that depicts a pitiful fall of the people of God, especially the Levite. Let this be a warning to us.

Summary of Judges 19:1-20:7

A certain Levite from the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine. But the concubine was unfaithful and ran away. The Levite searched for her and took her back from her father’s house with kind words. On their way back to home, they decided to spend the night in Gibeah, a city that belongs to the Benjamin tribe

While no one showed hospitality to the Levite and the concubine, an old man showed up later in the evening and invited them to his house. However, certain worthless men of Gibeah surrounded the house to harm them. The Levite brought the concubine out to them. They abused her all night, and she died. The Levite cut her body in twelve pieces and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.

In response to the gruesome death of the concubine, the whole Israel arose in anger to punish the men of Gibeah, which belonged to the Benjamin tribe. The Levite provided his testimony of what the men of Gibeah did to him and his concubine.

Levite Took a Concubine

A Levite from the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine for himself (Judges 19:1). Notice this: For himself, he took a concubine. We are not sure the exact reason that he took a concubine – to have children because of his barren wife, or for purely physical pleasure. Regardless, the action was for himself.

What was the role of the Levites? In micro-perspective, they need to be demonstrating holiness in their individual life, including decisions related to marriage (Levite 21:7). Taking a concubine certainly did not fit well into a “holiness” category. In macro-perspective, they were to remind the Israelites of the LORD God. They were to serve as a sign that points to God. When Joshua allotted land to the twelve tribes, the Levites resided in 48 cities throughout the twelve tribes of Israel (Joshua 21). Their role was to remind the rest of the Israelites that the land was given by God and God would be the center of their lives.

Taking a concubine was probably an acceptable norm at that time in society. However, the Levites were to represent God and the word of God above the social norm. For this Levite, a societal norm was more important than the word of God.

Levite Searches for the Concubine

The concubine went away from the Levite to her father’s house. Despite her unfaithfulness, the Levite rose to search for her with tender words and brought a pair of donkeys as a gift (Judges 19:3). He stayed with his father-in-law and her for several days.

Up to this point, the Levite seem to be a genuine person who cared about the concubine. Well, let’s continue to read the story to see if that was the case.

Israelite Society: Ominous and Disturbing Signs

On his way back home, the Levite decided to pass by Jebus, a foreign land, so that he could spend the night in Gibeah, a city in Benjamin, one of the twelve Israelite tribes. However, this decision turned out to be a disaster.

Hospitality to strangers was one of the backbone characteristics of the Israelite society based on the word of God. Abraham, as well as Lot, showed hospitality to travelers (Genesis 18-19). However, no one in Gibeah took them into their houses for the night (Judges 19:15). It was not until evening when an old man came out of the field to take them into his house. The old man warned them not to spend the night in the open square (Judges 19:20). This was the first ominous sign.

Then, the men of Gibeah came to the old man’s house, pounding the door, demanding to have relations with the man (Judges 19:25). The almost exact scene incident took place in Sodom and Gomorrah where all the men, both young and old, surrounded Lot’s house to have relations with the guests (Genesis 19:4). This showed that the Israel society, or at least the Benjamin tribe, had fallen to the level similar to people in Sodom and Gomorrah, which were eventually destroyed because of their wickedness by the judgement of the LORD God (Genesis 19:24-28). This was the second ominous, disturbing sign.

Levite to the Concubine: You Die, so I can Live!

When the men of Gibeah started to threaten, in order to mitigate the tension, the Levite seized his concubine and brought her out to them (19:25). The Levite, whom we thought could have been a “nice” guy who spoke tenderly to bring the concubine back to him even after her unfaithfulness, threw the concubine to the men of Gibeah, so that he could live.

Levite: the Mentally Ill?

The concubine died after being abused all night. The Levite did not even bother checking her status at all until morning. He took her body on the donkey and went back to his home as if nothing had happened. Then, he cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel (Judges 19:29).

Why did he cut his concubine? I think it is an understatement to say that this Levite was mentally ill. The Levite was called to cut sacrificed animals, not human bodies, in serving the LORD God.

Levite Testimony

In response to the gruesome death of the concubine, the whole Israel arose in anger to punish the men of Gibeah, part of the Benjamin tribe.

To the assembled Israelites, the Levite testified what happened to the concubine and him by the men of Gibeah (Judges 20:4-7). Although the overall story of the testimony generally depicted the correct result, a further examination of his testimony could reveal a few important aspects about the Levite and the Israelite society.

First, there was an important missing piece of information. He stated that men of Gibeah rose up against him to kill him, and ravished his concubine (Judges 20:5). However, a missing key info was that he, in fact, brought and gave his concubine to the men of Gibeah in order to save his life (Judges 19:25).

Second, the Levite said that he came with his concubine at Gibeah. The Levite was to represent God. The Levite was not to acquire a concubine as others did. Although this may have been acceptable in society’s norm, Levite acquiring concubine, who was not faithful, was not the way to represent God (Leviticus 21:7-9).

Third, his action of cutting the body into twelve pieces seemed to indicate the unhealthy mental status of the Levite. One of the main roles of the Levite was to cut the sacrificed animals, not a human body, into pieces for offerings before the LORD.

The second and third factor should have raised a red flag for the Israelites to examine the integrity of the Levite’s testimony. The Israelites could have sought to cross-examine Levite’s testimony (Proverbs 18:17: the first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him). The old man who sheltered the Levite could have been summoned to be a witness. In addition, they could have formally invited the Benjamin tribe to participate in this judicial process in a hope to convict their sin in a fair, transparent way, instead of condemning them early.

The testimony of the Levite actually reflected the wickedness of his character as much as the wickedness of the men of Gibeah of the Benjamin tribe.

The Overall Assessment of the Levite

Why did the Levite take the concubine in the first place? I believe it was for his physical pleasure. We can see that from how the Levite treated the concubine when he was in a crisis by throwing her into a dangerous situation under the men of Gibeah. He used her as a shield.

Why did the Levite cut her body in twelve pieces? Other than something off with his mental status, I think he became angry that his property was gone. Instead of seeing her in the image of God, he saw her as his property – nothing more. For that reason, he had no qualm in cutting her body in twelve pieces.

The Levite was called to represent God, showing mercy and love to neighbors and especially the weak. The Levite displayed nothing like that.

This behavior of the Levite was as sinful as that of the men of Gibeah.

Judges 18: Danites! Weak to the Strong, Merciless to the Weak

If you want to see the true measure of a person, watch how that person treats the weak, inferiors, or someone who can do absolutely no good. Well, let’s see what happens to one of the Israel tribes in times of Judges.

Summary of Judges 18

The Danites (one of the twelve tribes of Israel) were seeking an inheritance because they were not able to drive out the Canaanites in the land allotted to them by Joshua. As a result, they were wandering within and around the center area of the Canaan region. They sent five men to scout out land that would be easy for them to conquer. During their scout, they ran into Micah’s house and met the Levite that Micah hired and consecrated (Judges 17). The five Danite spies asked Micah to inquire of the LORD, and Micah “confirmed” that their quest would succeed.

Those five spies travelled all the way up to the north and spotted a peaceful land and peaceful people residing in Laish. The five spies came back to lead the entire tribe to attack Laish. On their way, they stopped by Micah’s house to rob him of the idols, ephod and the Levite, the priest. The Levite was elated to be a priest for the tribe. The Danites attacked and killed all the inhabitants of Laish and settled there.

Weak to the Strong

When Joshua, under the guidance of the LORD, allotted the Canaan land to the twelve tribes, a sizable portion was given to the Dan tribe. The Dan tribe was second only to the Judah tribe in population size. However, they were very unsuccessful in inheriting the allotted land as they were pushed back and humiliated by the Amorites (Judges 1:34). As a result, they were still seeking an inheritance for them to settle (Judges 18:1). Despite their size, they were not able to wield their power proportionally.

Spotted Easy Land

Instead of seeking the land the LORD God allotted, the Dan tribe decided to go for the land in accordance to their standards. The five spies spotte land in Laish, good in their eyes, spacious and abundant (Judges 18:9-10). These criteria in themselves are not necessarily bad. However, when God gave a clear message through Joshua about the land inheritance, it was not a good example to deviate to seek the land according to their standard.

Strong to the Weak

After spotting the land, Laish, to conquer, the Danites mobilized 600 men. On their way to Laish, located in the very north of the Canaan region, they stopped by Micah’s house to steal the graven, molten image, ephods, and other household idols. Also, the Levite was recruited, and they together walked away as if nothing had happened.

Micah’s household and the neighbors near Micah’s house assembled to pursue the Danites. However, after being threatened by the Danites, who had a stronger army, Micah’s group had to turn and go back.

A few things to pinpoint from the event in which the Danites stole a set of idols from Micah’s household. .

First, this would be the first incident when the Danites wielded their power and succeeded. A great news that they were exercising their power… but to the weaker group in order to steal. Not a great example!

Second, note the widespread influence of idol worship. It was not just Micah’s household that came to pursue the Danites when they lost their idols, but also the men who were near Micah’s house (Judges 18:22). This indicated that the worship practice around the graven, molten image had indeed has a significant influence across the Israelite society.

Third, the formation of evil versus evil. Back when Joshua was leading the Israelites, it was clear that Joshua’s army was on the side of the LORD God. Here in Judges 18, neither the Danites, nor the Micah’s households were on the side of the LORD, despite their nominal status as the people of God. In fact, their conflict was between two evils – I am not even sure which one would be considered more evil.

Fourth, vanity over vanity. They were fighting over a set of worthless idols. Without God, they, both the Micah household and the Danites, pursued and risked their lives for something utterly worthless. A great lesson for us as well. Absent God, we will be like them chasing and fighting over worthless idols.

Then… Merciless to the Weak

After the Danites stole the idols and the priest from the Micah’s household, they totally destroyed the people of Laish and rebuilt the city to live in it (Judges 18:27-28). Then, they set up for themselves the graven image.

We see an escalation of Dan’s sinful activities in two fronts.

On the one front, the Danites’ exercise of their power became harsher. Against Micah’s household, the Danites, as a strong party, exercised their power to steal properties from MIchah’s household. Against the people of Laish, they, as a strong party, were merciless to the weak, peaceful inhabitants of Laish. What a contrast to the situation where they could not do anything against the Amorites (Judges 1:34)!

On the other front, the Danites “upgraded” their idol worship system by setting up for themselves the graven image (Judges 18:30-31).

Conclusion

When God was absent in the heart of the Israelites, we see them exercising their might however they want to oppress the weak. Without God, without the absolute standard, people seek worthless idols, falling astray. Let us learn from their mistakes and guard our hearts.

Judges 18 was a disturbing story. Sad news is that the level of shock becomes even greater in the next three chapters of Judges.

Judges 17: Ignorance + Sincerity =?

What happens if we focus exclusively on the gifts over the giver? I don’t expect that relationship with that person to last long.

Likewise, If we focus on the blessings over God Himself, then that would eventually lead us to form a distorted worship practice centered around the blessings, which would eventually serve ourselves.

This chapter shows a danger of this kind of practice.

From chapter 1 to 16, the story of the book of Judges centered around Judges. Starting from chapter 17, the story shifted to (some shocking) events associated with a few Levites.

Summary of Judges 17

A man named Micah stole his mother’s 1,100 pieces of silver. Mother uttered a curse, and Micah returned all the stolen silver pieces to his mother. Mother blessed Micah and used 200 silver pieces to make a graven, molten image in her dedication to the LORD God. Micah consecrated one of his sons to be his priest.

Micah recruited a young Levite who was seeking a stable employment. Michah agreed to pay him and took him to be his priest. With a great certainty, he believed that he would prosper because he obtained a Levite as his priest.

Family Obsessed with Blessings/Curses

The scene took place in Micah’s family. Micah stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother and returned it to her when he heard the cursing of her mother. Because silver coins were returned, his mother blessed him. Then she used 200 pieces of silver to build a molten, graven image to honor the LORD God. It is very difficult to make logical sense of this family dynamic.

What I see in Micah’s family was a family value obsessed with the blessings/curses of God – but not the LORD God Himself. If Micah had any respect for the LORD God, he would not have dishonored his mother (a violation of the fifth commandment in Exodus 20:12) by stealing 1,100 silver pieces (a violation of the eight commandment in Exodus 20:15) to begin with. However, as soon as he heard the cursing of his mother, he returned the silver. His fear was based on the blessings/curses, not the LORD God Himself.

His mother’s value seemed to be the same as that of Micah. If she had the fear of the LORD, she would have rebuked her son in order to teach him the right way (Proverbs 26:12, 29:15). However, instead, because she was obsessed with blessings/curses, she instead decided to bless her son.

Exclusive Focus on the Gifts over the Giver

Micha’s family’s great obsession with blessings/curses of God can be written out in a different way – an exclusive focus on the gifts over the giver. Because his family’s exclusive focus on the gifts, but not the giver, a series of strange actions took place.

Ignorance + Sincerity = ?

This focus on the gift led to a strange subsequent action. As Micah returned her silver, Micah’s mother decided to use 200 silver coins to make a molten, grave image dedicated to the LORD. What does honoring the LORD have to with the graven, molten image? There is no connection between the two whatsoever. Neither Micah nor his mother knew anything about the LORD God. We call this ignorance.

However, there was plenty of sincerity within the Micah’s family. She dedicated close to 20% of her entire wealth (please note that 20% of wealth, not income), 200 out of 1,100 pieces of silver to make a molten, graven image. Have you ever dedicated 20% of your entire wealth to do something? Without an incredible sacrifice, or sincerity, this would be a hard act to follow. Therefore, I believe that the Micah’s family had plenty of sincerity.

Let’s see how the summation of ignorance and sincerity played out.

Digression: Unexpected Boost in Idol Manufacturing Industry

Collateral damage refers to unintended damage caused to civilians as a result of military operations. In this chapter, we see a “collateral benefit” to a silversmith who gained extra income due to manufacturing of a molten, graven image, as a result of a sincerely ignorant Micah’s family.

Well, good for the idol industry, but not so good for the society. From an economist’s perspective, 200 pieces of silver could have been invested in a more productive way.

My Priest vs. God’s Priest

Outcome from a sincerely ignorant Micah’s family continued to “bloom.” Micah consecrated one of his sons to be his priest (17:5). Micah recruited a young Levite, who was seeking a stable living, and he consecrated the young Levite as his priest (17:12).

Priests belong to God and Levites were to be a sign that points to God. Priests should not be appointed by Micah for his own interest – a truly puzzling outcome.

Comical Scene

Although the daily life of Micah and his household after having a young Levite as a priest is not described in the Bible, let’s try to imagine this worship service, a scene that would be truly comical.

At the center of the worship service of the Micah household, in which they assert themselves to be serving the LORD the true God, would be the molten, graven image that cost 200 pieces of silver. The shape of the image would be up to your imagination. The young Levite would be leading the worship service, with the help of a son of Michah. Because both of them were consecrated and employed by Micah, they would dare to say anything that would displease Micah. Because of their obsession with the blessings, the worship service would almost always begin and end with blessings to seek more blessings from the LORD God – putting in a different way, an extreme version of the Prosperity Gospel.

The worship was conducted in whatever way Micah wanted. Indeed, “in those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit (Judges 17:6).” Here, king means the LORD God.

Lessons

Many applicable lessons are embedded in this chapter. What is our main focus of worshipping God the LORD? To receive the gifts, or to know the giver? In what ways are we similar to Micah’s family, who had sincerity, but very ignorant in the true knowledge of and fellowship with the LORD God?

Let us examine our hearts and pray that God will try and test our hearts.

Judges 15-16: Samson the Lonely Warrior

Samson was a lonely warrior. He instilled fear into the heart of his enemy, the Philistines, but was not welcomed by his people Israel. However imperfect and flawed he was, God still used him as an instrument to fight for Israel’s identity by breaking them apart from the Philistines. Perhaps, for that reason, Samson was still considered a man of faith in the book of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:32)

Summary of Judges 15-16

Some time later, Samson came to get his wife in Timnah, only to find out she was given to another man. In his anger, he caught 300 foxes and sent them out with torches to cause immense property damage to the Philistines in Timnah. In response, the Philistines burned the wife and the father. Samson became more angry and struck down people in that town. After that, he went to dwell in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

The Philistines mobilized their men to capture Samson. To appease the tension, 3,000 men of Judah found Samson and handed over to the Philistines to mitigate their anger. The spirit of the LORD came to Samson, and using a fresh jawbone, Samson killed 1,000 Philistines. The LORD also provided water for Samson so that he would not die of thirst.

Samson went down to Gaza, one of the major cities of the Philistines. There, he went into a harlot and later pulled out a city gate of Gaza and walked many miles uphill to place it on top of the mountain across Hebron. Then, Samson fell in love with Delilah. Delilah enticed him to reveal the secret of his power. His head was shaved and the LORD departed him. Having lost his power, Samson was captured by the Philistines back to Gaza.

His hair began to grow, and Samson, in his last prayer, used all of his might to push the pillars to destroy the temple of Dagon. Along with many Philistines, he died.

Fallen Judah

Noticeable in these chapters was the precipitous fall of the Judah tribe. The Judah tribe was blessed abundantly by Jacob (Genesis 49). Judah had been the forefront leader for all Israel. When the Israelites still faced remaining territories in the land of Canaan under Joshua’s time, Caleb, the leader of Judah, declared that he would conquer the most difficult area (Joshua 14). Following Caleb, Othniel from Judah was the first judge who delivered Israel from Cushan king of Mesopotamia (Judges 2). But, notice how far the tribe of Judah had fallen from a leadership position! Judah became subservient to a foreign nation, acknowledging the Philistines as their ruler (Judges 15:16). Judah mustered 3,000 men to hand over Samson, their fellow Israelites from the Dan tribe, to the Philistines, a foreign enemy.

Signs of the Pulled Gaza Gate

Why did Samson pull out the gate of Gaza and walk many miles uphill (distance from Gaza to Hebron is about 35 miles) to place it on top of the mountain across Hebron? Although the exact reason was unknown, it may imply one message with two distinct audiences – one for the Philistines, and the other for the Judah tribe.

First, a message to the Philistines, who were serving false gods, was that there is a true God the LORD, who is mightier than all of their gods. I don’t think Samson pulled out the gate of Gaza with this godly intention, yet, God used this incident to send a message to the Philistine rulers and residents in Gaza. The missing gate could have been the news of that year, and the young, the old, men and women, and all would have wondered why their gate was missing. And behold! They were seeing their city gate many miles away placed on top of the mountain in Israel! This event was likely to have instilled some dose of awe and fear of God into the Gaza residents.

Second, on the flip side, this was a warning message to the tribe of Judah as the Gaza gate was placed on top of the mountain in land Judah inherited, most likely in reference to the failure of the Judah tribe as a leader and the men of Judah handing over Samson over to the Philistines (Judges 15:11). Embedded in the warning message to Judah was very similar to that given to the Philistines: There is a true God whose name is the LORD and who is mightier than all of the false gods. Perhaps, God was calling Judah to wake up to their senses and recover their lion-side warrior spirit (Gen 49:8-10) and fight for their and Israel’s identity as the people of God.

Samson: No Place to Dwell

After this gate event, Samson loved a woman called Delilah in the valley of Sorek. This was one of the main questions during the Bible study: Why did Samson continue to stay with Delilah despite her overt attempts to harm Samson? Other than the obvious answer that Samson fell in love with Delilah, or blinded by love (or lust), I wanted to pinpoint two potential reasons (national and personal level) that Samson stayed with her.

At the national level, Samson had no place to go. The LORD used him to drive a wedge between the Israelites and the Philistines. Samson became a stench to the Philistines. However, that did not mean that Samson was welcome by his fellow Israelites. He had no place to put his head and rest as his own people also rejected Samsom because they wanted to continue to maintain this cozy peace with the Philistines, seemingly satisfied being subject to their rule. At least it seemed that Delilah provided some kind of resting place for Samson.

At the personal level, even knowing Delilah’s intention to harm him, Samson stayed with Delilah because he had confidence in his fleshly strength. He knew that his strength was supernatural, as he carried the gate of Gaza, which would have weighed more than a ton, many miles, and as he was able to defeat superiorly armed 1,000 Philistines with an inferior weapon of fresh jawbone. As he became too confident, he failed to recognize that the source of his strength was from the LORD His God. As he became too prideful, he believed that he could still wield his supernatural strength even without the presence of God.

Unfortunately, for these two reasons, he stayed with Delilah to eventually reveal the secret of his strength. When God left him (Judges 16:20) as his head was shaved, his strength departed as well. After that, he was captured and blinded, and the Philistines brought him back to Gaza.

Two Ironical Results

Because Samson lost his strength, he came to Gaza in the weakest state of his life. This was a dramatic turn around. Before, he was in Gaza with his mighty strength, which enabled him to pull out the city gate. With God’s departure, he came back to Gaza chained, without his strength and vision – and above all, without the presence of his God.

Samson’s defeat gave a major reason for the Philistines to give praise to their god, Dagon, a god of half man and half fish (in other words, an ugly mermaid). This also was ironic. The Israelites with Samson should have been victorious against the Philistines to give honor and praise the LORD the true God. Instead, praise and honor were given to a half man, half fish (Judges 16:24-25)

God’s Mercy

Samson’s hair began to grow again. Samson made his last, perhaps the first, sincere prayer to God to restore his strength. Although Samson’s prayer was still based on his personal revenge for his eyes more than his desire to honor God (Judges 16:28), God still granted Samson’s request. By pushing the two pillars of the Dagon temple, Samson killed more than those whom he killed during his lifetime.

Although it was sad to see that Samson’s last prayer was still based on his personal vengeance, we see a merciful God who listened and restored Samson’s strength.

Conclusion

In some aspects, this was a sad chapter. Samson, full of God’s blessings and gifts, miserably failed to live up to his full potential. However, I hope that we are more encouraged than discouraged by focusing on God’s mercy and grace to Samson’s last prayer over Samson’s failures.

Our LORD God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindenss (Psalm 103:8)

Judges 13-14: We Must Fight For Our Identities

How important is your identity? Most people would say that having an identity that sets them apart from others is very important. Likewise, the identity of the Israelites was very important – to the point in which God had to seek an occasion against the Philistines to set the Israelites apart.

Summary of Judges 13-14

Because the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD again, the LORD gave the Israelites into the hands of the Philistines. The angel of God visited Samson’s parents for a promise of a son, who was to grow up as a Nazarite for his entire life and would deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Samson was born and was blessed by God. As he grew up, the spirit of the LORD began to stir him.

Samson went down to Timnah, one of the cities of Philistines and selected a bride who looked good in his eye. On his way down to Timnah, he tore a young lion and scooped some honey out of its carcass. Based on this event, he made a riddle with the thirty men of the feast. However, they figured out the answer by threatening the girl who was to be Samson’s wife. In his anger, Samson went down to Ashkelon to kill thirty men and took their spoils and gave them to the thirty men of the feast at Timnah.

False Peace

There are some key differences between the period when Samson lived and all the previous periods of Judges. Similarities included the repeated evil doings of the sons of Israel in the sight of the LORD (Judges 13:1). More notable were the differences although they were subtle.

First, the absence of the oppression and outright invasions from an external enemy, Philistines in this case, was one of the main differences from the previous periods of Judges. During Samson’s time, Philistines did not seem to be oppressing as other nations did to Israel in the past. For example, the Midianites oppressed them brutally (Judges 6:6). Eglon King of Moab did (Judges 3:14-15), as well as external invasions of Cushan king of Mesopotamia (Judges 3:8-9), and many others. Perhaps, because of the lack of severe oppression, we do not see any reference that indicated that the Israelites cried out to the LORD.

Second, related to the first difference, Israel seemed to be in a “peaceful” state with the external enemy. Although ruled by the Philistines, Israel seemed to be “content” with the situation.

National Identity Crisis

When the mother of Samson received a message from the angel of the LORD, she conveyed all the message to her husband, Manoah, except that their son would deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines (Judges 13:6-7). I believe Samson’s mother deliberately omitted this portion of the message because she did not want her son to cause an occasion against the Philistines. In addition, when 3,000 men of Judah came to capture Samson to hand him over to the Philistines, they acknowledged that the Philistines were their ruler (Judges 15:11). Instead of fighting against the Philistines, men of Judah were willing to hand over one of their fellow Israelites, Samson, to the Philistines, to maintain the status-quo of a rule-subordinate condition.

The cost of this diplomatic peace with Philistines had a slow, but colossal devastating effect on Israel – that was losing its distinct identity as the people of God. In other words, this trend indicated losing holiness and the entire purpose of its existence to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Note that when Joshua was leading the Israelites into the land of Canaan (Joshua 1-5), he had the Israelites undergo multiple identity confirmations through consecration, circumcision, and Passover, again and again in the LORD before engaging in war against external enemies.

This was the background where the collective state of the condition of the heart of Israel was slowly disintegrating during the time of Samson. Left alone, the nation of Israel was likely to be absorbed into Philistines with no distinction of the people of God.

For this reason, God intervened to bring Samson. The LORD blessed Samson. As he grew up, the LORD began to stir him (Judges 13:25) and sought an occasion against the Philistines to break the Israelite apart from them.

Special Birth of Samson

The birth of Samson was very special. The angel of God appeared to Samson’s mother twice to foretell his birth and special calling as a Nazarite. This event was very extraordinary – to the point that only a few people in the Bible had the comparable detailed records of birth. Only Jesus, John the Baptist, and Moses had comparable levels of details of birth described in the Bible.

Samson to Represent What Israel was Supposed to Be

Samson’s special birth was to set him apart. Incredible gift and calling were given for Samson to deliver Israel, and he was to live out a life of holiness that sets him apart from the Philistines. He was called to be a Nazarite for his entire life (most of the Nazarite vow was to last for a limited period). He was given a special physical strength to be the leader of Israel against eternal enemies and to defend the nation and set Israel apart from other nations. The LORD began to stir Samson. It was good until chapter 13.

Likewise, Israel was called by God and a special gift was given to the nation – the Word of the LORD that gives life and the covenant with the LORD. Israel had unlimited potential to be the nation that could be the light and salt among the nations. Under Joshua’s leadership, they successfully conquered most of the Canaan region. Then, each tribe was to follow the LORD with all their heart and complete the conquest of the rest of the Canaan region. Yet, Israel squandered this opportunity, starting from the periods of Judges.

Samson Representing Israel as was

Despite his special birth and calling, Samson did what was right in his eyes. He picked the Philistine girl because she was right for him. He went near the vineyard, possibly to drink, and ran into a young lion, which he tore in half. Then, he swooped up honey from the carcass of the lion (which he was forbidden to touch as a Nazarite). He had his anger problem and went out to kill 30 people in Ashkelon. Samson violated many things that were forbidden for a Nazarite. His life could not be farther from that of a holy man of God.

Just like Samson, so was Israel especially after the death of Joshua. They began to follow other gods. They did what was right in their eyes and practically did not consider the LORD as their king. They played harlot with the false gods of the surrounding nations, and continued to depart from God.

Samson was like Israel, and Israel was like Samson.

Holiness

For this reason, the story of Samson reminded me of the meaning and the importance of identity – and as followers of Christ, our identity is rooted in the holiness of God. These chapters provided me with a new opportunity to examine my heart and values. In what way, have I set myself in a comfortable position to maintain “peace” with this world’s values? What can I do to make the most of my gifts and talents that God have given?

Judges 10-12: What good is it to save the nation, but to lose a daughter?

Would you be willing to sacrifice your daughter to save the nation? Great news for the nation turned into a sorrowful, catastrophic event for Jephthah because of his failure to understand the essential character of God.

Summary

Jephthah was a valiant warrior. In the severe leadership vacuum in Israel, Jepthah, although the son of a harlot and was previously expelled, was asked by the elders of Gilead to become a political and military head to lead the charge against the Ammonites (Judges 11:6-11).

Jephthah’s first attempt to repel the Ammorites was through a diplomacy. He sent a letter to the king of the Ammonites to lay out Israel’s legitimate claim on the land of Gilead based on a very accurate recounting of history pertaining to the Israelites, the Ammonites and other nations that took place about 300 years ago. However, the king of the Ammonites dismissed Jephtah’s diplomatic maneuver and mobilized his army to invade the Gilead.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He made a vow to the LORD that if he could achieve victory against the Ammonites, he would offer whatever would come out of his door to greet him for a burnt offering. Jephthah was victorious against the Ammonites, but it was his daughter who came out to greet him first. Since then, it has become a custom in Israel to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah for four days in a year.

Ballooning List of False Gods and Leadership Vacuum

As time went on, the number of gods that the Israetlites served increased exponentially – Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines (Judges 10:6). Just a few chapters prior, when Gideon led the Israelites against the Midianites, God mentioned only two false gods, Baal and Ashtaroth. The increasing number of false gods among the Israelites indicated a serious, precipitous fall of the condition of the heart of Israel as a nation – rendering them practically no different from other surrounding nations that do not fear God.

In addition to their turning away from the LORD their God, Israel suffered from a leadership vacuum. Israel had no one to lead the fight against the upcoming invasion from the Ammonites (Judges 10:18).

Their nationhood was in a state of a total failure. God tested the Israelites in two ways, internally and externally in the beginning of its nationhood after Joshua passed away (Judges 3). Internally, however, the Israelites forsook the LORD and served numerous foreign gods. Externally, the leadership vacuum rendered them unable to properly defend themselves from foreign invasion.

Battle for Legitmacy

Against this background, Jephthah was recruited to lead Israel to fight against the Ammonites. We quickly notice that Jephthah was a valiant warrior, not only for his battle ability, but also for his acute awareness of the history of Israel.

He first sought to deter the king of the Ammonites through a diplomacy based on legitimacy of the land by the Israelites. His understanding of the history matched very closely with the words by Moses in Deuteronomy (1-3) and events in Numbers (21-23). He clearly laid out in the letter that the land was given to Israel by God and urged the king to be content with their land that their god Chemos gave. This letter logically stated that making war against Israel was wrong (Judges 11:27).

Although the letter was dismissed by the king of Ammon, the diplomatic letter still served two very important purposes. First, it was to teach and instill a strong sense of legitimacy for the Israelite army to defend their land. Having this kind of a firm purpose – such as defending its land – is crucial in establishing a strong morale for the army. Second, the letter was also to influence the psychic of the Ammonites. What Jephthah laid out was very clear and correct – the Ammonites had no legitimate reason to invade the Israelites. An army devoid of a clear purpose is very unlikely to exert its full potential in the actual battles. If this letter had any influence on the Ammonite armies, it could have diminished their morale.

Hasty Vow

Following the letter, the Spirit of the LORD came upon him (Judges 11:29), and it was all good until this point. Then, for an unknown reason, Jephthah made a hasty vow – to offer anything that would come out of his house to greet him as a burnt offering (Judges 11:30-31).

Why did Jephthah make such a hasty, extreme vow?

As the entire nation had been under a continual detrimental influence of false gods, so was the case for Jephthah. Note the ballooning list of false gods in Judges 10. With serving these gods came unwholesome worship practices, including human sacrifices, which the LORD detested. Jephthah, though a valiant warrior, was not immune from this strong, bad influence from the ubiquitous presence of foreign gods. Unfortunately, under this pressing situation right before a big battle, he made a hasty vow that reflected the values of false gods (which require sacrifices, often detestable ones) instead of the LORD true God (who delights in obedience and relation over sacrifices). In other words, Jephthah’s image of the LORD God had been molded into the image of false gods of his time.

Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit

Some may wonder how Jephthah made such an ungodly vow even when the Spirit of the LORD came upon him. Apparently, we can still grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) and quench the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19). The Holy Spirit treats the recipients of it personally, respecting their free will. The Spirit did not “force” Jephthah to obey God perfectly in an impeccable way. Sadly, Jephthah, although empowered by the Spirit of the LORD, still grieved and quenched the Spirit by making a hasty vow.

What good is it to save the nation, but to lose a daughter?

With the help of the Spirit of the LORD, Jephthah was able to achieve a swift, decisive victory over the Ammonites (Judges 11:32-33). Tragically, however, it was his daughter who came out to greet him first, and this made Jepthah extremely troubled (Judges 11:34-35). Although there are still some debates over whether Jephthah really sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering or not, I believe he did based on his sorrowful reaction and his daughter’s mourning of two months.

If Jephthah had known the word of God more thoroughly, he could still have averted this disaster even after the vow. Leviticus 5:4-6 states people may confess and bring guilt and sin offering to atone for their sins of making oath thoughtlessly. According to the book of Leviticus, Jephthah could have confessed his sin of making a presumptuous vow and rectify his mistake.

This was a sorrowful incident. If the Israelite society and Jephthah had a better understanding of the word of God and more importantly His gracious character, this tragic vow would have been avoided.

Thus, I named this chapter, “What good is it to save the nation, but to lose a daughter?”

Judges 9: A Man Killed by a Millstone by a Woman

“Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:15‬ ‭NASB‬‬

The verse above would be very suitable for this strange chapter. The chapter had no judge and no external enemy. The name of the LORD God was mentioned only once to state the wickedness was properly paid (Judges 9:56). Abimelech, who was Gideon’s lustful legacy, created a series of chaotic events, which included many city-level strife within Israel that began and ended in vanity.

Content Summary

Gideon passed away, and Abimelech was one of his sons from a concubine. Abimelech came back to Ophrah with reckless and worthless fellows to murder almost all seventy sons of Gideon.

While Abimelech was ruling over Israel for three years, a civil war broke out between the men of Shechem, who became discontent with Abimelech’s rule, and Abimelech. Abimelech defeated the insurgents in Shechem, destroyed the tower of Shechem, and captured Thebez. When he walked near to the tower in the center of Thebez, however, he was hit by a millstone thrown by a certain woman and died. Thus, God paid the wickedness of Abimelech.

Escalation of Sin

Gideon took a concubine from Shechem (Judges 8:31), an action that opposed the command of God on kings (Deuteronomy 17:17). Lust was conceived in Gideon’s heart, and the result was Abmelech. Not being content with his current status as an outsider despite being one of Gideon’s sons, Abimelech came back to Ophrah with many worthless and reckless fellows, financed by an idol temple of Baal-berith (Judges 9:4), to slaughter all the rest Gideon’s seventy sons. The word of God through James, “when lust has conceived… when sin is accomplished, it brings death (James 1:15)” literally took place in the household of Gideon with the Abimelech’s killing of the seventy sons.

Incompetence of Seventy Sons

In some perspectives, Abimelech’s killing of seventy sons of Gideon was extraordinary. On one hand, Abimelech must have hired very competent worthless and reckless fellows to implement a quick, efficient murdering of the seventy sons (Judges 9:5). On the other hand, this event also portrayed a collective incompetence of the seventy sons of Gideon who remained in Ophrah. How can all the seventy sons be killed by one son of concubine?

Perhaps, those seventy sons were pampered under Gideon’s “care,” growing up feeble and willy-nilly, not knowing how to defend themselves. Back in Judges 3, God left other nations in order for the new generation of Israelites to learn how to engage in warfares (Judges 3:2). Being able to fight both physically and spiritually was quintessential. Because they were unprepared, when a single man, Abimelech came with a murderous intent, they all paid the ultimate price with their lives.

Meaningless, Meaningless, and Meaningless.

With seventy sons of Gideon dead, Abimelech was the ruler. During Abimelech’s three-year reign, however, the men of Shechem started to deal treacherously with him. Abimelech mobilized, ambushed, attacked and overpowered the insurgents led by Gaal in Shechem, and destroyed the tower of Shechem. Afterward, he camped against Thebez and captured the city. Abimelech’s force was unstoppable.

Then, when Abimelech approached the entrance of the tower in Thebez to fire it, an upper millstone thrown by an unnamed woman hit him to crush his skull (Judges 9:53). Because he did not want to be known to be the man killed by a woman, he hurriedly ordered his armor bearer to skill him – and the young man did. Ironically, because of this episode, we will forever remember Abimelech as the man slewed by a woman who threw a millstone.

The three-year reign came to an end with a millstone thrown by a certain woman.

The death of Abimelech was comical in some sense – and utterly meaningless.

Conclusion

The chapter vividly depicts the literal effect of lust in the long-term that spanned across two generations. Gideon took a concubine, and their son, Abimelech created much mess in Israel. Nothing in this chapter shows holiness that Israel was supposed to display as a nation called by God.

Lesson? Let’s guard our heart.

Judges 8: Absolute Power Corrupts

This chapter made me sad. Empowered by the Spirit of the LORD, Gideon indeed rose as a valiant warrior in Judges 7, pulling out a miraculous victory over the Midian army. In Judges 8, however, Gideon showed many alarming behaviors, such as taking personal revenge against small cities and building a ruling system which was no different from that under pagan kings.

This chapter somewhat reminded me of the Federalist Papers No. 50, which I had a chance to read when I was a graduate student. The country’s founding fathers, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, emphatically stated the danger of power concentration, therefore, arguing for establishing checks and balances system in the Constitution. Absolute power absolutely corrupts. Sadly, Gideon underwent this experience.

Summary

Gideon with 300 men continued to pursue fleeing Midianites. In his pursuit, he asked for food at Succoth and Penuel, two cities in the Gad tribe, but were rejected. Nonetheless, Gideon continued to pursue and captured Zebah and Zalmunna, two remaining leaders of the Midiantes, and routed the rest of the Midianites army. On his way back, Gideon revisited the two cities, Succoth and Penuel, to punish them severely by killing the men of the town and destroying their major tower. After Gideon killed Zebah and Zalmunna, two remaining heads of the Midianites, he was asked by the men of Israel to rule over them. During his reign, although Israel had 40 years of peace, he had many wives and nearly seventy sons, and the people of Israel played harlot with an ephod that Gideon made.

Gideon Servile to the Strong…

The men of Ephraim (one of the largest Israel tribes) came to Gideon in anger because he did not call them during the early stage of war against the Midianites. In response, Gideon mitigated their anger tactically by giving the tribe of Ephraim a key credit to the overall war (Judges 8:2-3). Therefore, the men of Ephraim subsided their anger.

Gideon’s tactical response can be viewed either positively or negatively. In a positive perspective, he genuinely gave a full credit to the Ephraim tribe for achieving key victory against the Midianites – indeed, Ephraim, although participated late in the war, played a key role in capturing the two first kings of the Midianites (Judges 7:24-25). In a negative perspective, he was subservient to the strongest tribe of Israel, just to avoid the escalation of altercation.

Gideon, but Harsh to the Weak…

Let’s see how Gideon responded to a weaker tribe of Israel. On his way in pursuing the remaining Midianite leaders, Zebah and Zalmunna, he stopped by two cities, Succoth and Penuel in the Gad tribe, asking for food for his weary men. The two cities rejected Gideon’s request, and Gideon responded harshly by promising for vengeance (Judges 8:7-9). When Gideon returned, after capturing the two Midian kings, he came back to the two cities to punish and kill them (Judges 8:16-17).

I would like to note two observations.

First, Gideon’s harsh response and actions to the two cities in the Gad tribes point to two contradictions within the condition of his heart. On one hand, he showed a full trust in God what God would achieve in his statement, “when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna” into his hand (Judges 8:7). On the other hand, however, he fully vented his anger by killing the men of Succoth and Penuel. This is ironic.

Second, we see little unity among the Israel tribes – even when facing a common external enemy. Succoth and Penuel choose not to offer any help to Gideon and 300 men when they were pursuing the Midianites, the common external enemy. The division and mistrust still seemed to linger between the Israel tribes on the west and east side of the Jordan River (Joshua 22 depicts this condition as well). Even though Israel was called to represent the Kingdom of God, the book of Judges showed a fragile national unity.

Gideon, the Ruler like a Pagan King

After defeating the Midianites, Gideon was asked by the men of Israel to rule over them (Judges 8:22). Notice that the men of Israel failed to perceive that the true source of victory was God the LORD. All they could see was a human, Gideon, who delivered them out of the enemies.

Gideon responded correctly, but failed to live up to his response. Gideon said to them that “the Lord shall rule over you (Judges 8:23),” but he collected a large sum of money (Judges 8:26) and made an ephod, which was supposed to belong to only the Levitical priests. The ephod eventually became a troubling source of Israel’s idol worship. In addition, just like a pagan king, Gideon had many wives and nearly seventy sons (Judges 8:30-31).

He failed to live up to his statement, “the Lord shall rule over you.”

Gideon, Still Man of Faith?

Let’s jump to the New Testament, specifically the book of Hebrews. Gideon was one of those men of faith (Hebrews 11:32), and this designation still puzzles me.

However, it reminded me that God’s perspective and our perspectives can differ significantly. God still saw the good that Gideon had done to Israel despite his flaws and mistakes (Judges 8:35).

This chapter was a sad one because we saw a man who had fallen from his peak. However, still God designated him as one of the men of faith.

Something more for us to ponder the meaning of faith.