Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today we wrap up the book of Judges
with reading chapters 20 and 21. Chapter 20 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. And the leaders
of all the people All the tribes of Israel presented
themselves in the assembly of the people of God,
400 ,000 foot soldiers who drew the sword. 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? 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. 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 ravaged my concubine
so that she died. 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.
Look, all of you are children of Israel. Give
your advice and counsel, here and now. 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. But now this is the thing which
we will do to Gibeah. We will go up against it
by lot. 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. So all the men of Israel were
gathered against the city, united together as
one man. Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout
all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What is this
wickedness that has occurred among you? 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. Instead,
the children of Benjamin gathered together from
their cities to Gibeah to go to battle against
the children of Israel. And from their cities
at that time the children of Benjamin numbered
26 ,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants
of Gibeah, who numbered 700 select men. Among
all these people were 700 select men who were
left -handed. Everyone could sling a stone at
a hair's breadth and not miss. Now besides Benjamin,
the men of Israel numbered 400 ,000 men who drew
the sword. All of these were men of war. 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.
So the children of Israel rose in the morning
and encamped against Gibeah. 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. Then the children
of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day
cut down to the ground 22 ,000 men of the Israelites.
And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged
themselves and again formed a battle line at
the place where they had put themselves in array
on the first day. 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 them. So the children of Israel approached
the children of Benjamin on the second day. And
Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on
the second day and cut down to the ground 18
,000 more of the children of Israel. All these
drew the sword. 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. So the children of Israel inquired
of the Lord. The ark of the covenant of God was
there in those days. 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. Then Israel set men in ambush all
around Gibeah. 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. 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. 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. 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. And ten thousand select men from all
Israel came against Geba, and the battle was
fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that
disaster was upon them. The Lord defeated Benjamin
before Israel, and the children of Israel destroyed
that day 25 ,100 Benjamites. All these drew the
sword. 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.
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. 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, 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.
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. And when the men of Israel turned
back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they
saw that disaster had come upon them. 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. They surrounded
the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled
them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward
the east. And eighteen thousand men of Benjamin
fell. All these were men of valor. Then they
turned and fled toward the wilderness to the
rock of Ramon. And they cut down five thousand
men on the highways. Then they pursued them relentlessly
up to Gedom, and killed two thousand of them.
So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty
-five thousand men who drew the sword. All these
were men of valor. But six hundred men turned
and fled toward the wilderness, to the rock of
Ramon, and they stayed at the rock of Ramon for
four months. 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 were found. They also set
fire to all the cities they came to. Chapter
21 Now the men of Israel had sworn an oath at
Mizpah, saying, None of us shall give his daughter
to Benjamin as a wife. Then the people came to
the house of God and remained there before God
till evening. They lifted up their voices and
wept bitterly, 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?
So it was on the next morning that the people
rose early and built an altar there, and offered
burnt offerings and peace offerings. 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. And
the children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their
brother and said, One tribe is cut off from Israel
today. 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?
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 up to the
camp from Jabesh -Gilead to the assembly. For
when the people were counted, indeed, not one
of the inhabitants of Jabesh -Gilead was there.
So the congregation sent out 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. And this is the thing
that you shall do. You shall utterly destroy
every male and every woman who has known a man
intimately. 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. Then the whole congregation
sent word to the children of Benjamin who were
at the rock of Ramon and announced peace to them.
So Benjamin came back at that time and gave them
the women whom they had saved alive of the women
of Jabesh Gilead, and yet they had not found
enough for them. And the people grieved for Benjamin
because the Lord had made a void in the tribes
of Israel. 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 and they said there must be an inheritance
for the survivors of benjamin that a tribe may
not be destroyed from israel 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 then they
said in fact There is a yearly feast of the Lord
at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel on the east
side of the highway that goes up from Bethel
to Shechem and south of Libona. Therefore they
instructed the children of Benjamin, saying,
Go lie in wait in the vineyards 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. 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. 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. 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. In those days,
there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what
was right in his own eyes. I hope you enjoyed
today's reading as much as I did. And I look
forward to seeing you again tomorrow to continue
on our journey. God bless you and have a great
day.