The incident that took place in Judges chapters 19 and 20 is quite instructive. I have ruminated over it many times and learnt so much from it that today I want to share just one lesson with you. I titled the lesson, When God says, “Go again.”
Prologue – The Sons of Belial
The men of Gibeah, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, had committed a horrible act. An act that anyone in their right mind wouldn’t conceive, let alone execute. An act that earned them the label – the children or sons of Belial.
These sons of Belial had raped to death the wife of a Levite. The Levite, after a long day’s journey from Bethlehemjudah, decided to rest for the night at Gibeah. He had refused his servant’s suggestion to pass the night in Jebus because he wanted an Israeli land where he would not be considered a foreigner. So, Gibeah or Ramah were perfect fits.
While he sat at the city square with none of the people of Gibeah willing to offer him shelter, an immigrant from the Ephraim highlands, an old man, met him, his wife and servant and offered to shelter them in his house for the night. This immigrant, albeit an Israelite himself, understood what it means to be lonely among the people who speak your language, yet consider you an outsider.
As they were having dinner with the house owner, these men of Gibeah surrounded the house and pounded on the door, shouting, “Send out the man who came to your house, so we can have sex with him!” This, they said, referring to this Levite, a stranger who made no trouble with anyone. A repeat of Sodom’s unbridled carnal lust was about to be displayed again, but this time, by the offspring of Abraham.
All the pleas of the house owner fell on deaf ears, until the Levite had to give up his secondary wife to them, a woman whom he loved and had spent a lot to travel from Bethlehemjudah to take back. These amoral men took turns to sexually abuse her until she returned, collapsed on the doorstep. An abomination had taken place.
The act of the Levite
If you were the Levite, if you were a brother or friend to him, if you were God, what would you do? Unprovoked discharge of condensed depravity unleashed on a man and his wife, whose only crime was to pass a night in Gibeah.
Arising early from his restless nightmare, the Levite took his already dead wife home and, in rage, chopped her body into twelve parts and sent them to all the tribes of Israel. The message such a gesture carried was clear, and the reaction of the elders of Israel was expectedly granite. They wouldn’t tolerate such foul behaviour in Israel.
With a united voice, Israel demanded that the tribe of Benjamin deliver to them everyone who partook in this iniquitous act. For an unholy thing has been done in the land, one that has never been heard of since their departure from Egypt. It must be purged lest the little oil that the pinkie touched spread to the rest of the fingers, as in the days of Achan, the thief of Babylonish garments.
The act of the Benjaminites
Sound reasoning and human empathy would have moved Benjamin to do the obvious, but when depravity has eaten up an entire tribe, and men think that protecting evil is solidarity, add a pinch of pride for possessing warlike skills, the result is everything alien to sound judgment. Little Benjamin has been devoured by the worm of Sodom and stunk like the skunk of Gomorrah.
The entire tribe shielded the sons of Belial by refusing to deliver the culprits to judgment. They instead set themselves in battle array to fight with their brothers, the other tribes of Israel – a decision that even the most prideful of men would have opined against. One would wonder if there was no elder in the land to tell Benjamin that his choice was antiwisdom and spelt only doom.
First Battle – Lessons
The children of Israel, knowing that they were on the right side with God, also got ready for battle. But before engaging in such a battle, they visited the house of God in Shiloh and sought direction from the God who led His people out of Egypt.
God answered them and gave them a go-ahead. God had never wanted brothers to fight, but an ignoble act has been committed and even if Phinehas has to kill Zimri with the Midianite woman, Cozbi, to appease God, so be it.
But here’s the shocking thing: the children of Israel were sorely defeated in the battle, losing 22,000 soldiers at once. What a …! (insert your surprise phrase and it would be appropriate)
In a battle against evildoers and their sympathisers, in a battle where the children of Israel were on the right side of truth, in a battle where God’s direction was sought and obtained, how could they lose and lose so massively? That’s unfathomable.
The children of Israel cried and wept till evening, as that was the only emotion one could express at such a helpless and hopeless occurrence. But they did weep before God and Him alone.
And this is a deep lesson I’m learning this year – turn to God and bare your heart till evening. Is it hopeless, and you are helpless? Turn to God and weep all evening. Unexpected disappointments and failures? Turn to Him and cry your heart out.
Second battle – lessons
After the weeping before God, they asked God again, “Should we go to fight against our relatives, the Benjaminites?” And God responded, “Match out against them.” I don’t know if God gave them some words of comfort before asking them to march out to war again. I don’t know if there were some supernatural manifestations this time to prove that He is actually with them. Or was it just a simple order, “Match out against the Benjaminites”
For me, that would not have been enough because I was sure you spoke the first time, “So, did you lie or did you make a mistake then?” But these children of Israel are better than I – Another lesson I should learn this year. Knowing God and trusting him, even if it didn’t work the first time. Understanding God’s antecedents that if it failed, it couldn’t have been because He was distracted. Behind the seeming loss and failure is a divine plan that I hope to understand later as I trust in and follow Him. Wow! This lesson just hit me hard.
The children of Israel regrouped, set themselves in a battle formation and lined up in the same place as the first day. If there was a mistake the first time, whether from God or from the military officers, certainly those have been sorted. There was assurance of victory this time, and the left-handed Benjaminites better be ready to face the music.
But lo and behold, at the end of the second day of battle, 18,000 well-equipped Israeli soldiers were lying lifelessly on the ground. What a devastating defeat! What a gory sight to behold! What a heart-wrenching, dumbfounding escapade this has been! What a [sic] God we trusted!
I could hear the thoughts of the soldiers, “Is God really God? Was He the one speaking? Does He even exist? Is the High Priest really doing the right thing? Is divine retribution true or just a coinage of Moses? Is evil good and good evil? Why would a people who have committed such a sinful act decisively defeat those who are more righteous than them?”
I don’t know if God was giving the Benjaminites a chance to repent, but the strategy seemed quite costly at this point – 40,000 well-trained soldiers sacrificed for these degenerates, who are also the least tribe in Israel. God was doing this at the expense of the lives of good men who were fighting his cause – men who possibly had families.
Why not make Benjamin lose, or at least let no side claim victory at all? Wouldn’t this second victory embolden the Benjaminites in their sins? Well, He is God, and I am a man. How would I possibly know his strategy, and even if I knew, how do I ascertain that it has not worked? He knows the end from the beginning, but I can hardly see what is placed on my dorsum nasi without the help of a mirror.
The families of the fallen soldiers would have been altogether without words. The tears would have turned to bewilderment. This was supposed to be an easy victory, but it has turned into a nightmare no prophet could have predicted.
These men of Gibeah committed sin, and the Benjaminites were defiant in exposing those involved. By default, God is angry with the wicked every day. So, what is this unexplainable defeat and loss?!
Third battle – lessons
Many Israelites would have been understandably discouraged and unwilling to fight again. They would return home, hang their boots and swords, and return to their normal daily life. Some would even turn atheists or pivot their faith to other gods.
But the above never happened. They rather returned to the presence of God to weep … again. And this is quite a hard lesson for me. Returning to the one you trusted, who supposedly failed you. Returning to him who gave you his word that He would be with you in the battle, but failed to show up when the fight began. No, that’s too much faith to ask from a feeble man like me.
It is like when Jesus asked his disciples, “Will you also go away?” And they responded, “To whom shall we go. You have the words of eternal life.” These are truly people who know God.
You heard God clearly directing you to do a thing. You stepped out and did it, and you failed. Then, you returned to Him and cried, asking for his help. He answers again, implying that he is with you and you’ll be victorious this second time. Then, you step out in faith to give your best, but you fail woefully yet again. Be truthful, would you go back to God? Would you still trust him? If he asks you to go the third time, would you agree? Won’t you curse him and go to search for alternatives?
God, please, may I know you and cling to you in the most devastating defeats and failures of my life. May my trust in you never wane, and may I always turn to you even when my mind thinks you failed me.
These children of Israel returned and wept before God. They even added fasting to it, desiring that God would hear their cries and do the right thing this time. Once more, they asked God if they should go to battle or give up. And God told them to go to battle for the third time.
In faith, they moved out. This time, with a better strategy, but more importantly, with God’s backing. Guess what? They dealt a resounding defeat to the Benjaminites, killing 25,000 of them, burning their cities and animals. The defeat was so much that Benjamin had no male again. You can read the rest of the chapters.
Epilogue – If God asks you to go again, will you?
But here’s my point: if the Lord asks you to go again, would you go? Remember how the first time went. Don’t forget that the second time ended in a sore defeat. Would you still trust him to launch out this third time? Won’t you look like a fool having faith in the words of Him whose words seemingly failed other times? Such a lesson that I want to live by again this year – to trust God blindly and foolishly.
As long as He has said it, I believe him. He certainly knows more than I can ever know. If I give up now, I wouldn’t know or experience the end He has promised. So, though I’m weak and ashamed from the scorching defeats, I will go again, and again, and again, and again, and yet again until my victory comes.
Like one of my Pastors recently said, “When you know that someone is in the house, you’ll keep knocking until he opens the door.” God is at home; I will keep knocking. And soon He will open and attend to me.
This year, God is asking you to go again. Push again. Build again. Study again. Dance again. Dig again. Love again. Travel again. Apply again. Ask again. For in your faith in Him lies the victory (1 John 5:4).
God bless you and have a joyful year.
