Judges 20: The Defeat of the Righteous

“The people of Israel. . . inquired of God, ‘Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?’ And the Lord said, ‘Judah shall go up first’. . . And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin. . . The people of Benjamin. . . destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. But. . . the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line. . . And the people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. And they inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall we again. . . fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?’ And the Lord said, ‘Go up against them’. So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin the second day.^.And Benjamin went against them. . . and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel”Judges 20: 18-25.

This narrative occurred during an earlier time in Israel’s history when judges ruled the land. The Israelite’s went to war against Benjamin, one of the other tribes of Israel.

They were seeking justice for a man and his concubine who was brutally gang raped and murdered by some of their number. But when they insisted that the Benjamite’s give up the guilty party so justice could be served, they refused.

They were harboring and protecting these fugitives from justice. This made them complicit in the crime. It’s strange that they weren’t willing to give up these criminals who were guilty of such a heinous crime.

Therefore, this war was sanctioned by God. And it was fought by the camp of the righteous. To read the chapter for context, click here.

Judges 20 and The Defeat of the Righteous

And yet, they were soundly defeated not once, but twice. (They were eventually victorious, the third time.)

How can this be? These were God’s people. And they had a righteous cause (avenging the victims). Not only that, but God specifically told them to go the battle.

But if you are at all familiar with the ways of God, you know this is often the way it goes.

Proverbs 24: 16 tells us “for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity”.

Jesus told the parable of the two foundations. The storm comes upon the house built on the sand by the foolish. But it also assails the house built on the rock by the wise. The difference is not in what befalls the foolish versus the wise, but in the outcome (Mathew 7: 24-27).

And King David tells us as much. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” Psalm 34: 19. This is in contrast to “Many are the sorrows of the wicked. . . ” Psalm 32: 10. Because they have no deliverer.

Judgment Begins with the House of God

And 1 Peter 4: 17-19 tells us “for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And ‘If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good”.

Back to our narrative, it appears that judgment did begin with the camp of the righteous. They lost a tithe (10 percent) of their men. (They started with 400,000).

But if you read the rest of the account, you will see that the camp of the wicked was all but completely annihilated (Judges 20: 36-48).

Judges 20: A Measure or Beyond Measure

The righteous experienced a measure of judgment, but the wicked were judged beyond measure. Both camps encountered the ravages of war. They both suffered casualties.

But one recovered and the other didn’t. One was decimated (10%) and the other destroyed.

The wicked may win a few battles, but will lose the war. The righteous may not win all their battles, but we will win the war in the end.

If we believe the righteous don’t suffer, we will inevitably be disillusioned. In fact, the Bible promises us we will suffer. Because of persecution, temptation and just the fact that we are earthen vessels in a world marred by sin.

And our righteousness makes us a target of the wicked- human and otherwise.

And the Lord Defeated Benjamin. . .

But we are also promised deliverance and victory in the end. “And the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day” Judges 20: 35.

To read a post related to Judges 20: The Defeat of the Righteous, see How to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven.