WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.359 As we come to the final narrative of the book of Judges, we need not only understand the story 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:16.960 itself, but also its significance as the conclusion of the book. Remember, this is not just these 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:22.859 randomly selected stories that are just kind of thrown together. This has been carefully curated 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:29.640 in order to tell a message, send a message from God to the people of Israel, and therefore us as 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:34.420 well. So there's a reason he concludes with this particular story. We need to understand that. 00:00:34.420 --> 00:00:42.320 And it's only when we begin to grasp that, that we'll begin to grasp the book's place in the overall 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:47.260 message of the Bible. Now, I have this quote for you on the screen if you want to follow along. This 00:00:47.260 --> 00:00:54.859 is from Jim Hamilton. He says this, in broadest terms, the Bible can be summarized in four words, 00:00:54.859 --> 00:01:06.079 creation, fall, redemption, restoration. This sequence functions as an umbrella story 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:13.480 encompassing the whole canonical narrative or the whole story of the Bible. But it's also repeated 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:20.980 countless times on both individual and corporate levels. Okay, so do you see what he's saying? He's 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:27.740 saying, really, there's one big story to the Bible. It involves a sequence, creation, fall, redemption, 00:01:28.140 --> 00:01:34.060 restoration. But it's not just the big story. It's also repeated many times in these smaller, 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:40.480 more detailed storylines. So we would say that the overarching story of the Bible is telling us how 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:48.240 God is bringing his people back to the garden. It starts with a garden. It ends with a garden. 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:55.199 And in between is God's work of salvation, where he is bringing his people back to fellowship with him 00:01:55.199 --> 00:02:03.419 in the new heavens and the new earth. And the sequence of that redemptive action involves first 00:02:03.419 --> 00:02:13.479 God's creation of man for his glory, Genesis 1 and 2. Then man's fall from glory through sin, 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:21.159 Genesis 3. Then Christ's redemption of sinners through his death and resurrection. That's in the 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:27.539 gospels. And then the restoration of God's people in the new heaven and the new earth. That's Revelation 00:02:27.539 --> 00:02:34.719 21. That's the big story. That's the biblical message at a macro level, right? That's the 30,000 foot 00:02:34.719 --> 00:02:44.020 view. But it's also seen on a micro level as the same sequence often shapes many of the biblical 00:02:44.020 --> 00:02:51.539 storylines. Now, why does God do this? This is so helpful. This is a God thing. Why does he give us 00:02:51.539 --> 00:03:02.300 his word like this? He reveals his saving plan to us by repeating that basic structure again and again 00:03:02.300 --> 00:03:10.920 and again so that when Christ comes, we know. Do you see? When we get to Christ, we begin to see, oh, 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:17.500 this makes sense. This is the gospel because this is how God acts. This is how we've seen him act all 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:22.400 through the Old Testament. And now we begin to piece it all together. God shows us his salvation by 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:28.360 repeating this structure over and over. So helpful, isn't it? And then again, on a micro level, the book of 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:36.240 Judges fits so helpfully in this sequence. I want you to think about God's call of the nation of Israel, 00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:43.060 okay? Just from the big picture here. We have creation when God calls Abraham out of Ur of the 00:03:43.060 --> 00:03:49.920 Chaldees and he makes a covenant with him. He chooses him. Why does he choose Abraham? Because he chose 00:03:49.920 --> 00:03:56.160 Abraham. That's it. We don't know any other reason why. But he chooses him. He calls him out of Ur and then 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:02.939 he makes a covenant with him. Creation. Then there's the fall. If you've read very much of Genesis, you know 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:10.560 that Abraham and his descendants were a hot mess. They were an absolute mess. And their sin is symbolized 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:17.379 ultimately in Egyptian bondage. They go to Egypt and they're in captivity there for 400 years. 00:04:17.379 --> 00:04:28.300 Then there's redemption. Where do we see that? God in his mercy and in his grace raises up Moses, a savior. 00:04:29.219 --> 00:04:35.379 And the savior, the deliverer comes to God's chosen people and delivers them from bondage in Egypt. 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:43.980 And then there's restoration. Where does it go next? Mount Sinai. What does God do there? God takes his 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:49.300 chosen people and he comes to them and he makes a covenant with them like he made a covenant with 00:04:49.300 --> 00:04:56.960 Abraham. And he does that by giving them his law and then promising his presence. He will dwell among them 00:04:56.960 --> 00:05:07.180 in this covenant. And then this sequence with Israel, it anticipates Israel's new life, not in the 00:05:07.180 --> 00:05:20.120 wilderness, not in Egypt, in Canaan, the land of promise. A new kind of Eden, we could say. Where God 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:26.160 will dwell with his people. Where they will enjoy blessing and security and fellowship with their 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:33.019 creator. And then we get to Joshua's book and Joshua shows us how God perfectly kept his end of the 00:05:33.019 --> 00:05:42.799 covenant. And then we get to Judges. And he tells us how Israel did not keep their end of the covenant. 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:53.139 Instead of picturing a new Eden, Judges, especially this final story, shows that Israel has now devolved 00:05:53.139 --> 00:06:02.939 into a new Sodom instead. Of course, you know Sodom, a city in the Old Testament. Genesis 19, we read 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:08.420 of it. It's a city that was so wicked that God devoted it and all of its inhabitants to total 00:06:08.420 --> 00:06:17.379 destruction. That's what Israel has now become. And the author of Judges makes the connection plain to 00:06:17.379 --> 00:06:24.519 us. He uses the exact language of Genesis 19 to actually tell this story in Judges 19. 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:38.680 And even worse, 100% of the people involved are supposed to be God's people. What is it? It's a new fall. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:48.680 The sequence happens all over again. Which leads us to ask, how did it go so wrong? And is there actually any hope 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:54.160 if this is the sequence that every time God shows mercy and grace that people just continually fall 00:06:54.160 --> 00:07:02.819 into sin? If that's the sequence, does it ever end? Is there a solution? These final chapters, they contain 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:08.660 actually very little interpretation of the story. The author doesn't give us very much as far as what he 00:07:08.660 --> 00:07:16.519 thinks. He just basically tells the story. Except in the final verse, he gives us the theological lens 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:23.959 through which we are to interpret the story and the book itself. Look at the very last verse of chapter 21. 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:32.919 In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:40.719 The problem, how did it get so bad? The problem is that Israel did not have a righteous king. 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:46.159 And because they did not have a righteous king, everyone was just doing whatever they wanted to do. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:52.080 They wanted to do whatever was right in their own eyes. They forgot God. They abandoned the covenant. 00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:58.820 They abandoned the scriptures and simply did whatever they wanted. Which means that the only 00:07:58.820 --> 00:08:07.000 solution then to that problem is that God will graciously provide some kind of savior king to 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:12.240 deliver his people, not just from an enemy on the outside, but to deliver his people from their own 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:18.600 sinfulness and sinfulness and to then lead them in perfect righteousness. That's the theological lens 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:22.300 through which we're to really to view the whole Bible, but especially this particular book. And the 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:29.780 author makes that clear to us. Now, it's not very hard to see how this connects to our time now. It's not 00:08:29.780 --> 00:08:36.399 really actually very different. Everyone really just does whatever's right in their own eyes, don't they? 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:39.679 Isn't that kind of the mood of our culture? 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:45.059 Hasn't that kind of crept into the church? 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.779 So that many, even within the Christian community, seem to have forgotten God. 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.439 No, they don't have divine amnesia. It's not that. 00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:00.819 It's that they've just kind of ignored that he's there. They've ignored his scriptures. They have 00:09:00.820 --> 00:09:04.460 kind of abandoned the covenant. They're just doing whatever feels good to them. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:09.440 And of course, our sin doesn't often look exactly like ancient Israel's. Of course, 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:16.580 we could draw some parallels probably. But here's the thing. It's all rooted in the same fundamental 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:23.600 issue of doing what's right in your own eyes rather than what's right in God's eyes. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:31.180 It all goes back to the fundamental issue of doing what you want rather than doing what is right. 00:09:33.320 --> 00:09:43.899 Live your truth. Love is love. It's my body. God just wants me to be happy. All of those 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:51.220 are just modern ways of saying that we intend to do what's right in our own eyes instead of God's eyes. 00:09:51.220 --> 00:09:59.080 God's eyes. That's the connection. The text here, it warns us of God's judgment against those who live 00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:08.840 for themselves. But then it also points us to a real hope of escaping his divine wrath 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:14.220 through a savior king. And that's what I want to show you this morning as we work through this 00:10:14.220 --> 00:10:19.620 narrative, okay? We're just going to look at each chapter as a unit, okay? First chapter, chapter 19. 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:28.620 I want you to see it as Gibeah's depravity. Gibeah's depravity. Now, the story of Gibeah's great sin here 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:35.960 that we just read, it's initiated and colored by the tale of a Levite whose concubine had left him 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:42.580 and returned to her father's house in Bethlehem. The text, the English translation, it's actually 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:47.580 translated that she was unfaithful, but there's no explanation given as to the nature of her 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:53.320 unfaithfulness. It's unlikely that it was adultery when we understand the context of what happens 00:10:53.320 --> 00:10:59.780 after the fact. It seems that the text wants to indicate that her unfaithfulness has to do with her 00:10:59.780 --> 00:11:05.460 abandonment, which may tell us a little bit about her husband or at least her master, however we would 00:11:05.460 --> 00:11:11.340 want to categorize him here. In either case, whether it was adultery or abandonment, she's been unfaithful 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:17.360 according to the text. She's left him and she's gone back home to her dad's house in Bethlehem. 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:23.759 Whatever it is, the author wasn't really actually that concerned about describing the woman as much 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:31.700 as he was showing us the character of the Levite. Now, our impression of him here at first is good, 00:11:31.800 --> 00:11:37.600 isn't it? It leans positive. We think she has wronged him and now he's going to chase after her. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:43.040 How romantic. But as we begin to read the story and understand actually what's happening here, 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.779 we realize very quickly that's not the case at all. When we consider the story as a whole, we're 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:59.820 clearly meant to view him as a cold and callous, manipulative, vengeful, selfish man. 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:08.200 In fact, I believe his concern for retrieving his concubine here really, it had less to do with 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:16.740 pursuing his wife and more to do with his vengeance against her for leaving him. He doesn't care about 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:24.240 her, only his ego. And that comes through in the story. As it unfolds, we see actually how little he 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:32.820 did care for her. He offers her willingly to Gibeah's mob of rapists in order that he may save himself. 00:12:34.500 --> 00:12:41.100 Isn't that the opposite of what Jesus does? When you go to the Gospel of John, I believe it is, 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:49.379 Jesus and his disciples are in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas and the leaders of the Jews, 00:12:49.379 --> 00:12:56.620 they come with the soldiers to arrest Jesus. What does Jesus do? He stands in front of his disciples 00:12:56.620 --> 00:13:04.320 and what does he say? If this is about me, leave them alone. Isn't that the opposite of what this 00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:11.139 Levite does here? Here come these men, these vile men, these wicked men. Surely he's destined to die 00:13:11.139 --> 00:13:17.519 on this night. But instead of protecting his wife or his concubine, showing care and concern for her, 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:25.240 he tosses her to the mob in order that he might save himself. Then he was so callous to her suffering 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:32.340 after the fact that not only did he seem to get a good night's rest, knowing what was happening to her 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:36.919 on the outside of the house, but he opens up the door and he finds her that he doesn't even take a 00:13:36.919 --> 00:13:45.959 time to check on her. Notice what he says. Get up. Time to go. And when she doesn't respond, 00:13:46.419 --> 00:13:54.399 finally, probably angrily, he goes to check and realizes she's actually dead. She's dead. She's been killed. 00:13:54.399 --> 00:14:06.019 He utterly disrespects her body, dismembering her post-mortem. That's a physically violent act. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:09.500 That's not an easy thing to do. 00:14:13.299 --> 00:14:23.639 Why does he do it? To incite war. That's his goal. Those actions weren't about justice for the concubine. 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:36.980 Those actions were about vengeance for him. And to make matters even more terrible, he was a Levite. 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:43.480 He shouldn't have had a concubine to begin with. He's supposed to be a shepherd of Israel, 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:49.899 and he's the one that's doing this. Everyone's just doing what's right in their own eyes. 00:14:49.899 --> 00:14:56.459 Now, the point in highlighting this man's wicked character is to connect the nation's moral decline 00:14:56.459 --> 00:15:04.439 to its lack of spiritual leadership. Their immorality was unrestrained due in large part 00:15:04.439 --> 00:15:11.659 to the corruption of those who were supposed to lead them in love and obedience and worship of God. 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:18.419 This was always a problem with Israel. Isaiah talks about it later in his book. He says in Isaiah 56 11, 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:26.939 but they are shepherds who have no understanding. They have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:35.759 one and all. The narrative isn't ultimately about the Levite. It's about the actions of Gibeah. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:44.299 As he traveled back to Ephraim, the Levite assumed staying the night in Gibeah would be safer than in 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:52.559 Jebus. As it turns out, it wasn't. And using the exact language of Genesis 19, the author tells the 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:58.100 story of the devastating events. Let me just give you the comparison here. Here's what Genesis 19 4 says. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:04.939 The men of the city of Sodom surrounded the house. That is where Lot was. Now look at verse 22 of Judges 19. 00:16:04.940 --> 00:16:12.980 The men of the city surrounded the house. Genesis 19 5, they called to Lot, where are the men who 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:20.600 came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them. Judges 19 verse 22, they said to the 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:26.220 old man, the master of the house, bring out the man who came into your house that we may know him. 00:16:27.400 --> 00:16:33.400 Genesis 19 6 through 8, Lot went out to the men and said, I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:39.980 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you and do to them as 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:46.939 you please. Judges 19 24, the master of the house went out to them and said, do not act so wickedly. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:53.000 Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Violate them. Do with them what seems good to you. 00:16:53.199 --> 00:16:57.960 Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to do, do it to them. That's what everyone's doing, 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:05.140 whatever they want. Genesis 19 verse 9, then they pressed hard against the man Lot and drew near to 00:17:05.140 --> 00:17:10.579 break down the door. Judges 19 25, but the men would not listen to him. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:20.240 Unlike in Sodom though, there were no angels in the house to strike the men with blindness 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:26.779 so that they couldn't get in to where Lot and his family was. They're not there in Gibeah. 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:35.420 Instead, the Levite tosses his wife to the men. They abuse her all night and she dies desperately 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:43.240 seeking safety at the door of the house. Her hands are on the door. She's that close and she dies. 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:54.980 Things were so bad in Israel that one of their cities mirrored a people that God had devoted to total destruction. 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:57.680 That's how bad things are now. 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:05.640 Our depravity may not show itself in the extreme behavior as Gibeah, but you can be sure of this. 00:18:05.640 --> 00:18:14.220 The same thing driving the sin of the men in this story is the same exact thing that drives your sin. 00:18:15.520 --> 00:18:25.840 A desire to do what you want to do rather than what God commands for us to do. It's the same thing. 00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:34.940 That's the very definition of sin, isn't it? Going all the way back to the beginning with Adam and Eve, 00:18:34.940 --> 00:18:43.039 what is it that produces this sinful behavior in the garden? Their desire to do what they wanted 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:48.620 rather than obeying God. You say, well, there's no way I'd be like these men of Gibeah. No, you are 00:18:48.620 --> 00:18:54.320 exactly like these men of Gibeah. Your sin may not be the exact same as their sin, but it's doing the 00:18:54.320 --> 00:19:00.400 same exact thing. When we sin, it's because we want to do what we want to do rather than what God 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:11.600 demands that we do. And it always carries devastating consequences. Sin kills. It always brings death. 00:19:12.540 --> 00:19:20.880 That's what James 1 tells us. Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 00:19:20.880 --> 00:19:28.000 Desire. Sounds a lot like doing what's right in your own eyes, doesn't it? Then desire, when it conceives, 00:19:28.140 --> 00:19:39.880 brings sin. Sin, when it's fully grown, brings what? Death. Sin always kills, and it's usually killing 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:49.620 more than you. That's Gibeah's depravity. Secondly, I want you to see in chapter 20, Benjamin's ban. 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:57.359 Benjamin's ban. Benjamin's ban. Now, we read at the end of chapter 19 that there's outrage in Israel. 00:19:58.659 --> 00:20:05.279 But notice that the outrage is not yet about what happened to the concubine. They don't know that 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:13.659 story yet. The outrage is over the dismemberment of her body that has now been mailed out to everybody 00:20:13.660 --> 00:20:21.720 in Israel. That's the shock of what they're experiencing in verse 30 of chapter 19, which is 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:28.759 exactly why the Levite did it. He wanted to do something so shocking that it would incite war 00:20:28.759 --> 00:20:36.040 against Gibeah. And why does he want war against Gibeah? To satisfy his own vengeance. This isn't about 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:42.960 justice. It's about him retaliating. He just couldn't let go the fact that somebody disrespected him. 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:49.159 That's why he chased after her in Bethlehem. That's why he incites war against Gibeah. And his plan works. 00:20:49.879 --> 00:20:56.339 400,000 Israelites prepare for war. They gather at Mizpah to hear the man's charges against Gibeah. 00:20:56.339 --> 00:21:04.699 And being the manipulator that he was, he tells the story only from his angle. He says nothing 00:21:04.699 --> 00:21:12.819 about the fact of what he had done. He says nothing about him giving this concubine over to these men. 00:21:12.939 --> 00:21:18.500 No, he doesn't incriminate himself. He only says enough so that they'll be angry with the men of Gibeah. 00:21:18.980 --> 00:21:25.359 Look at verse 8 of chapter 20. And all the people arose as one man saying, none of us will go to his 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:31.679 tent. None of us will return to his house. But now this is what we will do to Gibeah. We will go up 00:21:31.679 --> 00:21:37.659 against it by lot. We will take 10 men of 100 throughout all the tribes of Israel and 100 of 00:21:37.659 --> 00:21:43.740 1,000 and 1,000 of 10,000 to bring provisions for the people. And when they come, they may repay 00:21:43.740 --> 00:21:49.500 Gibeah of Benjamin for the outrage that they have committed in Israel. So all the men of Israel gathered 00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:54.240 against the city united as one man. This is methodical. This is planned out. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:22:01.640 This 10% of the people, it's not 10% of the people that are fighting. It's 10% of the people 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:07.859 that are collecting and carrying provisions for the 400,000 soldiers who will be doing the fighting. 00:22:08.099 --> 00:22:17.000 This is a massive military campaign. Verse 12. The tribes of Israel sent men throughout all the tribe 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:23.099 of Benjamin saying, what evil is this that has taken place among you? Now, therefore, give up the men, 00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:28.679 the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel. 00:22:29.939 --> 00:22:36.159 But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. 00:22:37.439 --> 00:22:42.879 Then the people of Benjamin, they came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle 00:22:42.879 --> 00:22:48.000 against the people of Israel. And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities. On that day, 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:55.799 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. 00:22:56.180 --> 00:23:02.200 These are good fighters. Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed. Now, that sounds 00:23:02.200 --> 00:23:08.700 familiar, doesn't it? Do you remember Ehud, our second judge in the book, who was from Benjamin, 00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:15.319 who was a man left-handed? Do you remember what that meant? It didn't mean that he was dominant in his 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:21.980 left-handed. It meant he was ambidextrous. He was a skilled fighter. And it shows, well, here's Benjamin. 00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:29.119 They've got a whole bunch of men like Ehud. Everyone could sling a stone at a hare and not miss it. 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:38.099 And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword. All these were men of 00:23:38.099 --> 00:23:45.179 war. Israel's united here for the first time since the beginning of the book. 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:52.500 This time, however, it isn't against the Canaanites. It's against their own people. 00:23:53.579 --> 00:23:59.719 That's how bad it is now. And to make matters worse, the leaders of Benjamin, they choose to defend 00:23:59.719 --> 00:24:06.759 Gibeah. They should have just turned over the wicked men who had done this. But they don't do it. Why? 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:12.879 They want to defend their sin. They want to defend those in their lives and in their family and their 00:24:12.879 --> 00:24:16.740 friendships who are committed to sin. They don't want to confront the sin in these people. They want 00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:23.099 to defend it. He who has an ear, let him hear. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:34.160 Gibeah's judgment now belongs to the entire tribe. And Israel seems to put the tribe of Benjamin 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:40.220 under the Canaanite ban, which means total destruction. 00:24:41.900 --> 00:24:47.160 Now, the text doesn't say that God told them to put Benjamin under the ban. 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:52.720 It seems like it might actually be a rash decision on their part. 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:59.759 Another example of Benjamin doing what's right in their own eyes before consulting the Lord. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:08.740 But the text does tell us that God did sanction and to some extent instructed the judgment that was 00:25:08.740 --> 00:25:14.119 carried out. Three different occasions in chapter 20. They go to God and God answers them. 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:22.059 Verse 18. God told Judah to lead the people in battle. Benjamin gets the best of them. 00:25:22.059 --> 00:25:30.559 22,000 Israelites die on day one. Look at the verse. Verse 18. The people of Israel arose, went up to Bethel to inquire of God. 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:32.740 We haven't seen that since the beginning of the book. 00:25:33.299 --> 00:25:36.299 Who shall go up for us to fight against the people of Benjamin? 00:25:36.679 --> 00:25:37.679 And the Lord answers them. 00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:40.480 He doesn't say he's going to deliver them. 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:42.299 He answers their question. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:43.859 Who should go up? 00:25:44.299 --> 00:25:46.119 Judah should go up first, God says. 00:25:46.339 --> 00:25:48.019 Oh, we remember that now too, don't we? 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:52.279 At the very beginning when they came in and they were acting righteously and they go to God and they say, 00:25:52.639 --> 00:25:54.500 Who should go up against the Canaanites first? 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:56.299 Judah, God says. 00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:56.980 Why? 00:25:57.319 --> 00:25:59.879 Leadership was supposed to originate in Judah. 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:02.619 More connections we can make to Christ, right? 00:26:03.420 --> 00:26:04.400 That's the first time. 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:07.200 But 22,000 Israelites die that day. 00:26:07.839 --> 00:26:09.660 Then we go to day two in verse 23. 00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:15.660 God tells them to continue the fight, but then another 18,000 Israelites die. 00:26:16.059 --> 00:26:16.900 Look at verse 23. 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:20.680 The people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. 00:26:21.080 --> 00:26:22.500 They inquired of the Lord. 00:26:23.200 --> 00:26:26.740 Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin? 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:30.480 And the Lord said, go up against them. 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:30.940 Go. 00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:31.759 Do it. 00:26:32.580 --> 00:26:34.820 And yet 18,000 more die. 00:26:35.080 --> 00:26:36.040 Then there's the third time. 00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:37.900 This is 27 and 28. 00:26:38.620 --> 00:26:41.820 God not only tells them to fight, but now he promises victory. 00:26:42.540 --> 00:26:43.259 Verse 27. 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:50.319 The people of Israel inquired of the Lord for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days. 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:56.879 Phineas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days, saying, 00:26:57.379 --> 00:27:02.980 Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we stop? 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:06.200 And the Lord said, go up. 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:10.240 Tomorrow I will give them into your hand. 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:12.599 What's this all about? 00:27:14.579 --> 00:27:16.180 Israel may have been fighting. 00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:19.160 The battle belongs to the Lord. 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:27.560 Israel may have had overwhelming numerical advantage. 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:31.580 400,000 against 26,000. 00:27:31.820 --> 00:27:33.000 But that doesn't matter. 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:34.180 Why? 00:27:34.980 --> 00:27:38.519 Victory only comes by the hand of God. 00:27:38.519 --> 00:27:46.900 The course of this fight was just another lesson that God's people must wholly rely on him. 00:27:47.819 --> 00:27:48.799 Nothing else. 00:27:49.220 --> 00:27:50.139 Not on themselves. 00:27:50.700 --> 00:27:52.180 Not on their own desires. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:54.059 Not on man's wisdom. 00:27:54.619 --> 00:27:55.859 Not on man's strength. 00:27:56.200 --> 00:27:57.639 But on God alone. 00:27:59.500 --> 00:28:00.740 Look at verse 43 now. 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:03.019 Here's how God delivers the victory. 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:12.119 Surrounding the Benjamites, they pursued them and trod them down from Noha, as far as opposite Gibeah on the east. 00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:17.059 18,000 men of Benjamin fell, all of them men of valor. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.799 They turned and fled toward the wilderness to the Rock of Rimen. 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:24.079 5,000 men of them were cut down in the highways. 00:28:24.660 --> 00:28:26.299 And they pursued hard to get them. 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:29.160 2,000 men of them were struck down. 00:28:29.160 --> 00:28:36.920 So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor. 00:28:37.600 --> 00:28:46.259 But 600 men turned, fled toward the wilderness to the Rock of Rimen, and remained at the Rock of Rimen for months. 00:28:47.340 --> 00:28:52.740 And the men of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword. 00:28:52.740 --> 00:28:58.420 The city, the men, and beast, and all that they found. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:04.359 And all the towns that they found, they set on fire. 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:10.039 Israel kills all but 600 Benjaminite soldiers. 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:22.859 Then they decided to turn against every other Benjaminite town, killing every man, woman, child, animal, and burning the towns to the ground. 00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:30.379 They did to Benjamin what they were supposed to have done to the Canaanites. 00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:35.460 A sign of how Canaanized the people had become. 00:29:36.399 --> 00:29:37.480 It's sad, isn't it? 00:29:37.480 --> 00:29:44.059 Now again, we aren't told that they were supposed to treat Benjamin with such severity. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:46.279 Only that they did. 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:50.400 The author doesn't intend for us to make that judgment. 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:52.279 It's an open-ended question in this text. 00:29:52.539 --> 00:29:53.620 It's not answered for us. 00:29:54.880 --> 00:30:01.500 What he intends for us to see is how bad it is when everyone does what's right in their own eyes. 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:03.740 That's what he wants us to see. 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:10.480 You want to know what it looks like when a culture and a people and a family and a person decides just to do what they want to do? 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:14.500 To follow their own heart and to live their truth. 00:30:14.740 --> 00:30:17.519 This is what it looks like, the author says. 00:30:18.220 --> 00:30:20.339 But then he doesn't leave God out of it, does he? 00:30:20.519 --> 00:30:23.900 He at least wants us to know that God was not absent from the ordeal. 00:30:23.900 --> 00:30:30.740 Whether they were supposed to go that far or not, God was using Israel as his instrument of judgment. 00:30:32.120 --> 00:30:33.360 What's this telling us? 00:30:34.060 --> 00:30:36.780 This is what it looks like when you do what you want to do. 00:30:37.080 --> 00:30:38.880 And this is how God responds. 00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:40.700 Judgment. 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:49.019 Righteous indignation against sin and against sinners. 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:52.480 And you say, that's severe. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:31:00.559 If you think that's severe, you should read how he'll judge unbelieving sinners at Christ's return. 00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:03.759 This foreshadows it. 00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:06.000 It will be far worse. 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:08.720 Revelation 20. 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:11.359 I saw a great white throne. 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:13.500 Him who was seated on it. 00:31:13.500 --> 00:31:17.079 From his presence, earth and sky fled away. 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:19.380 And no place was found for them. 00:31:20.420 --> 00:31:23.200 And I saw the dead, great and small. 00:31:23.599 --> 00:31:26.279 That means old and young. 00:31:29.099 --> 00:31:32.519 Standing before the throne, we will all stand before God in the end. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.799 Every one of us. 00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:35.920 And books were opened. 00:31:37.740 --> 00:31:39.640 And a book was opened, which is the book of life. 00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:43.440 And the dead were judged by what was written in the books. 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:45.900 According to what they had done. 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:47.140 Now what's God judging? 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:49.559 Did you do what was right in your eyes? 00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:53.079 Or did you love, obey, and worship him? 00:31:53.500 --> 00:31:54.779 That's what's written in the books. 00:31:56.740 --> 00:31:58.640 The sea gave up the dead who were in it. 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:02.059 Death and hell gave up the dead who were in them. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:03.980 And they were judged. 00:32:04.779 --> 00:32:06.980 Each one of them according to what they had done. 00:32:08.420 --> 00:32:11.240 Then death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:13.519 This is the second death. 00:32:14.359 --> 00:32:15.480 The lake of fire. 00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:20.220 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:23.839 he was thrown into the lake of fire. 00:32:23.839 --> 00:32:29.039 This is what it looks like when you live for yourself. 00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:31.459 And this is what it results in. 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:34.679 God's eternal judgment. 00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:38.420 So we see Gibeah's sin, their depravity. 00:32:39.500 --> 00:32:40.779 Then Benjamin's ban. 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:45.180 Finally, we see Israel's folly. 00:32:46.259 --> 00:32:47.019 Israel's folly. 00:32:47.140 --> 00:32:47.960 This is chapter 21. 00:32:48.840 --> 00:32:51.920 Now what's to be done with Benjamin's 600 men who survived? 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:55.860 That's what Israel's left to sort out in this final chapter. 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:57.640 What are they going to do here? 00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:04.759 Complicating this situation as we read here at the beginning is that in the heat of the moment, 00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:09.500 when they had all gathered at Mizpah, before they went to war, 00:33:09.880 --> 00:33:14.340 they made this vow with one another, a solemn vow to God, before God, 00:33:14.339 --> 00:33:19.399 that none of them would ever give their daughters to surviving Benjamites, 00:33:19.959 --> 00:33:21.159 Benjamites for marriage. 00:33:22.179 --> 00:33:24.799 They didn't think it was going to be that much of a problem then, 00:33:24.859 --> 00:33:28.259 because at that point, they were just trying to get the men of Gibeah who did this wicked thing. 00:33:28.679 --> 00:33:30.099 But then things get out of hand, don't they? 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:33.279 They almost wipe out an entire tribe. 00:33:34.159 --> 00:33:36.740 And now they've got to figure out what they're going to do with these 600 men. 00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:41.259 And they've made this vow before God that none of them are going to give their daughters to them to marry. 00:33:41.699 --> 00:33:43.399 So the tribe's going to die out anyways. 00:33:44.339 --> 00:33:46.859 Verse 1 of chapter 21, 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:49.039 Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, 00:33:49.399 --> 00:33:51.699 none of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin. 00:33:52.639 --> 00:33:56.379 And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, 00:33:56.439 --> 00:33:58.959 and they lifted up their voices, and they wept bitterly, and they said, 00:33:59.259 --> 00:34:02.359 O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel? 00:34:03.179 --> 00:34:06.199 That today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel. 00:34:07.419 --> 00:34:09.099 Why, they say. 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:10.299 It's interesting, isn't it? 00:34:10.460 --> 00:34:12.259 They regretted what they did to Benjamin, 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:14.840 but then they kind of suddenly try to blame God for it. 00:34:15.200 --> 00:34:16.680 God, why did you do this? 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:20.380 Why'd you do it, God? 00:34:20.780 --> 00:34:21.900 Why did this happen? 00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:23.820 Of course, the answer's clear, isn't it? 00:34:24.620 --> 00:34:27.480 Because everybody was just doing what was right in their own eyes. 00:34:27.540 --> 00:34:28.860 Nobody's listening to God. 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:31.559 And this was the consequences. 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:38.760 It all happened because everyone was doing right in their own eyes, 00:34:38.820 --> 00:34:40.620 but they still had to decide what to do next. 00:34:41.240 --> 00:34:43.500 And really, there's only three options available to them. 00:34:44.360 --> 00:34:45.480 We need to think about it. 00:34:46.260 --> 00:34:47.539 What can they do now? 00:34:49.620 --> 00:34:50.599 Option number one, 00:34:50.599 --> 00:34:55.259 they could just execute the full Canaanite band. 00:34:56.460 --> 00:34:57.420 And to do that, 00:34:57.480 --> 00:34:59.420 they would have to kill the remaining survivors, 00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:01.360 the 600 soldiers at the Rock of Rimon. 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:05.000 In that sense, 00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:06.440 they would have had to reflect on it, 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:07.579 say, no, this was right, 00:35:07.699 --> 00:35:09.500 that they had to be put under the band. 00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:11.279 Therefore, to obey that, 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:13.099 we must just completely take them out. 00:35:13.159 --> 00:35:14.839 We can't let the 600 men survive. 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:16.279 That's option number one. 00:35:16.619 --> 00:35:17.440 There's a sense, 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:18.179 if you think about it, 00:35:18.220 --> 00:35:19.280 there's a sense in which 00:35:19.280 --> 00:35:23.099 to do less than this 00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:26.619 renders all of those other needless deaths 00:35:26.619 --> 00:35:28.860 as meaningless, right? 00:35:31.539 --> 00:35:36.420 Why kill these supposedly innocent women and children, 00:35:36.700 --> 00:35:38.340 or at least bystanders, 00:35:38.619 --> 00:35:40.940 and spare 600 guilty men 00:35:40.940 --> 00:35:42.880 who were actually fighting against them? 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:43.800 Why do that? 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:46.860 In view of the band, 00:35:46.860 --> 00:35:47.980 all was guilty anyway. 00:35:48.099 --> 00:35:49.579 So that's option number one. 00:35:49.740 --> 00:35:51.480 They could actually go and just finish the job. 00:35:52.519 --> 00:35:53.460 Option number two, 00:35:54.900 --> 00:35:57.640 they could acknowledge that the vow was foolish, 00:35:58.420 --> 00:36:00.200 that it was illegitimate, 00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:02.800 and they would do that 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:04.700 by confessing their sin to God, 00:36:05.340 --> 00:36:07.660 following God's instructions for cleansing 00:36:07.660 --> 00:36:09.620 to free themselves of the vow. 00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:12.599 This reminds us of Jephthah, doesn't it? 00:36:13.420 --> 00:36:15.120 He makes this ridiculous vow. 00:36:15.940 --> 00:36:16.880 He carries it out, 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:17.579 but he didn't have to. 00:36:17.880 --> 00:36:19.659 God made provisions in the law, 00:36:19.819 --> 00:36:21.819 but nobody's paying attention to the law. 00:36:21.900 --> 00:36:22.719 That's the problem. 00:36:23.799 --> 00:36:24.799 That was option number two. 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:26.119 They could just go and confess. 00:36:26.500 --> 00:36:27.639 They could go through the cleansing. 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:29.039 They could admit to God, 00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:30.039 no, this was foolish, God. 00:36:30.059 --> 00:36:31.219 We shouldn't have made this vow. 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:32.699 And then at that point, 00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:35.519 they could have demonstrated mercy 00:36:35.519 --> 00:36:38.900 and love to the Benjaminites 00:36:38.900 --> 00:36:41.000 by allowing them to marry their daughters. 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:43.619 Now, for them to take option two 00:36:43.619 --> 00:36:46.280 would mean that they were relying on God's mercy, 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:49.519 but perhaps that was too scary for them. 00:36:50.500 --> 00:36:53.440 Maybe they didn't trust God enough to forgive them. 00:36:54.099 --> 00:36:54.820 Option number three, 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:57.420 they could devise a plan 00:36:57.420 --> 00:37:00.460 through which they could avoid 00:37:00.460 --> 00:37:03.500 violating the technicalities of the vow 00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:07.119 while still giving truly Israelite women 00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:08.340 to the men to marry. 00:37:09.219 --> 00:37:11.920 Now, this would inevitably lead to other kinds of sins. 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:13.119 There's no way to get around that, 00:37:13.320 --> 00:37:14.960 but at least they would be able to say, 00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:16.539 we didn't break our vow. 00:37:17.639 --> 00:37:18.400 That's option three. 00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:21.079 Now, the first two options 00:37:21.079 --> 00:37:23.719 are completely justifiable 00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:25.280 according to the scripture. 00:37:25.280 --> 00:37:28.220 If God intended for them 00:37:28.220 --> 00:37:29.700 to put Benjamin under the ban, 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:30.680 it would have been right 00:37:30.680 --> 00:37:32.100 for them to finish the job, okay? 00:37:32.720 --> 00:37:34.120 We could justify that with the scriptures. 00:37:34.680 --> 00:37:35.340 Option number two, 00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:36.940 of course we can justify that 00:37:36.940 --> 00:37:37.980 with the scriptures, can't we? 00:37:39.620 --> 00:37:41.800 It's true that God is always pleased 00:37:41.800 --> 00:37:44.060 to forgive those who confess their sins, 00:37:44.160 --> 00:37:45.320 who come and acknowledge 00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:46.960 His steadfast love and His mercy. 00:37:47.140 --> 00:37:48.700 That's the testimony of judges 00:37:48.700 --> 00:37:51.180 over and over and over and over. 00:37:51.560 --> 00:37:52.980 God gives them mercy. 00:37:52.980 --> 00:37:55.800 He's saying, is there any mercy in this book? 00:37:56.480 --> 00:37:57.980 You know what the mercy is in this book? 00:37:58.639 --> 00:37:59.820 That they're still in Israel. 00:38:01.340 --> 00:38:02.579 That they still exist. 00:38:03.659 --> 00:38:04.460 That's mercy. 00:38:05.460 --> 00:38:06.820 And if they just paid attention, 00:38:06.920 --> 00:38:07.980 if they just read their Bibles, 00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:10.559 if their Levites hadn't been so slimy, 00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:11.699 if they'd actually done 00:38:11.699 --> 00:38:12.840 what they were supposed to do, 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:14.139 the people would have recognized, 00:38:14.260 --> 00:38:14.960 yeah, we're sinners, 00:38:15.099 --> 00:38:16.260 but He's a good God. 00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:18.019 And if we will just come and confess, 00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:19.460 if we will cling to His mercy, 00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:20.240 He'll forgive us. 00:38:20.240 --> 00:38:21.780 He will make this right. 00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:24.000 But they don't do that. 00:38:24.659 --> 00:38:26.260 They go for option three. 00:38:32.340 --> 00:38:33.760 Totally unjustifiable, 00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:34.599 according to the Scriptures. 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:36.179 Nothing in the Scriptures 00:38:36.179 --> 00:38:38.840 says that anything that they did was okay. 00:38:39.099 --> 00:38:39.900 What were they doing? 00:38:41.400 --> 00:38:42.780 What was right in their own eyes? 00:38:44.179 --> 00:38:45.699 So how did they solve the problem? 00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:47.139 You can read about it later. 00:38:47.139 --> 00:38:50.079 Let me summarize it. 00:38:50.879 --> 00:38:53.099 They found a city called Jabesh Gilead. 00:38:53.199 --> 00:38:54.159 It was the only city 00:38:54.159 --> 00:38:56.019 who didn't send soldiers to the fight. 00:38:56.460 --> 00:38:58.000 Now, admittedly, that was a problem. 00:38:58.299 --> 00:38:59.719 That was going to need to be dealt with. 00:38:59.980 --> 00:39:00.940 But they dealt with it 00:39:00.940 --> 00:39:03.460 with much too strong severity. 00:39:04.259 --> 00:39:05.199 They go to the city 00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:06.219 and they kill everyone. 00:39:07.139 --> 00:39:09.719 Everyone except the young virgins. 00:39:10.440 --> 00:39:11.739 There were 400 of them. 00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:14.459 So they kidnap the 400 virgins 00:39:14.459 --> 00:39:15.979 and they take them to the 600 men 00:39:15.979 --> 00:39:16.799 at the Rock of Rimmon. 00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:17.799 And they say, here you go. 00:39:18.099 --> 00:39:19.659 Here's 400 women for you to marry. 00:39:21.319 --> 00:39:22.519 So they've justified that 00:39:22.519 --> 00:39:23.179 because they say, well, 00:39:23.219 --> 00:39:24.059 they didn't go to the war, 00:39:24.199 --> 00:39:25.319 so they all deserve to die. 00:39:25.399 --> 00:39:27.019 We'll just take their daughters. 00:39:29.299 --> 00:39:30.439 But there's 200 left. 00:39:31.139 --> 00:39:32.179 What are they going to do now? 00:39:33.179 --> 00:39:34.419 Well, they concoct this plan 00:39:34.419 --> 00:39:36.819 for the men to kidnap 00:39:36.819 --> 00:39:38.199 the virgins of Shiloh. 00:39:39.139 --> 00:39:40.480 There was a feast to the Lord 00:39:40.480 --> 00:39:41.940 every year in Shiloh 00:39:41.940 --> 00:39:43.480 where the tabernacle was located 00:39:43.480 --> 00:39:44.139 at the time 00:39:44.139 --> 00:39:45.679 during the book of Judges. 00:39:46.539 --> 00:39:47.440 And when the people 00:39:47.440 --> 00:39:48.899 would worship the Lord, 00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:51.639 the young girls in the town, 00:39:51.719 --> 00:39:52.759 they would run out of the town. 00:39:52.839 --> 00:39:53.839 They would dance before the Lord. 00:39:53.919 --> 00:39:55.159 It was a part of their worship ritual 00:39:55.159 --> 00:39:56.000 as a feast to the Lord. 00:39:56.039 --> 00:39:56.359 And they said, 00:39:56.500 --> 00:39:57.539 here's what we want you to do. 00:39:57.859 --> 00:39:59.539 They told the 200 men who were left 00:39:59.539 --> 00:40:00.419 who didn't have a wife. 00:40:00.420 --> 00:40:02.340 They said, we want you just to hide 00:40:02.340 --> 00:40:03.180 on the side of the road. 00:40:03.320 --> 00:40:04.360 And when these young girls, 00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:05.340 when they come out of the city 00:40:05.340 --> 00:40:06.320 to worship God, 00:40:06.960 --> 00:40:08.139 just pick one and take her. 00:40:09.139 --> 00:40:10.220 And then when their dads 00:40:10.220 --> 00:40:11.079 and their brothers come 00:40:11.079 --> 00:40:13.059 and they try to pick a fight about it, 00:40:13.240 --> 00:40:14.480 we'll take care of it for you. 00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:15.820 We'll deal with them. 00:40:16.220 --> 00:40:17.180 You just do this 00:40:17.180 --> 00:40:17.880 and we'll take care of it. 00:40:17.900 --> 00:40:18.860 That's how they solve the problem. 00:40:20.519 --> 00:40:21.780 That's how the story ends. 00:40:23.780 --> 00:40:24.099 Kidnapping. 00:40:27.300 --> 00:40:27.659 Lies. 00:40:29.700 --> 00:40:30.059 Stealing. 00:40:31.380 --> 00:40:32.099 It's terrible. 00:40:33.820 --> 00:40:34.659 Why in the world 00:40:34.659 --> 00:40:35.539 would they do it this way? 00:40:36.139 --> 00:40:37.519 It was so unnecessary. 00:40:38.659 --> 00:40:40.200 Why would they do it like this? 00:40:41.720 --> 00:40:42.639 Well, he tells us 00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:43.480 in the very last verse, 00:40:43.559 --> 00:40:43.860 doesn't he? 00:40:45.200 --> 00:40:46.119 In those days, 00:40:46.200 --> 00:40:47.240 there was no king in Israel. 00:40:48.579 --> 00:40:49.720 Everyone did what was right 00:40:49.720 --> 00:40:50.360 in his own eyes. 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:53.420 This is what happens 00:40:53.420 --> 00:40:55.900 when everyone lives their own truth 00:40:55.900 --> 00:40:57.900 and follows their own heart. 00:40:57.900 --> 00:40:59.940 And like Sinatra, 00:41:00.039 --> 00:41:00.960 if you like it that way, 00:41:01.400 --> 00:41:03.000 does it their way. 00:41:04.200 --> 00:41:05.079 Deadly sin, 00:41:06.519 --> 00:41:07.300 foolish living, 00:41:08.180 --> 00:41:09.280 foolish decision making, 00:41:10.480 --> 00:41:11.119 divine judgment. 00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:13.639 And in this story, 00:41:14.019 --> 00:41:15.440 every person does what's right 00:41:15.440 --> 00:41:16.059 in his own eyes. 00:41:16.460 --> 00:41:17.019 The Levite, 00:41:17.579 --> 00:41:18.440 the Gibeahites, 00:41:19.460 --> 00:41:20.299 Benjamin's leaders, 00:41:20.859 --> 00:41:21.500 all of Israel, 00:41:21.639 --> 00:41:22.099 all of them. 00:41:22.099 --> 00:41:25.179 everyone followed their own heart 00:41:25.179 --> 00:41:26.139 rather than God's. 00:41:27.079 --> 00:41:28.000 Israel's corruption 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:29.779 was total. 00:41:31.019 --> 00:41:32.099 Sometimes we call this 00:41:32.099 --> 00:41:34.039 total depravity. 00:41:34.039 --> 00:41:36.920 no one was exempt from it. 00:41:38.199 --> 00:41:39.300 Paul would say it this way, 00:41:39.619 --> 00:41:41.179 all of them sinned 00:41:41.179 --> 00:41:42.759 and fell short 00:41:42.759 --> 00:41:43.639 of the glory of God. 00:41:45.500 --> 00:41:46.500 Which brings into 00:41:46.500 --> 00:41:47.519 fresh perspective 00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:49.539 Israel's need 00:41:49.539 --> 00:41:50.719 for a king 00:41:50.719 --> 00:41:53.320 with God's heart, 00:41:53.400 --> 00:41:53.800 doesn't it? 00:41:56.199 --> 00:41:57.900 Which is precisely the point 00:41:57.900 --> 00:41:58.920 that the author is making 00:41:58.920 --> 00:41:59.659 in this book. 00:42:01.159 --> 00:42:02.199 This is what happens 00:42:02.199 --> 00:42:03.439 when Israel doesn't have a king. 00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:04.960 They need a king 00:42:04.960 --> 00:42:05.719 who will not follow 00:42:05.719 --> 00:42:06.259 their own heart. 00:42:06.480 --> 00:42:07.039 They need a king 00:42:07.039 --> 00:42:08.079 that we might could say 00:42:08.079 --> 00:42:10.139 is a man after God's own heart. 00:42:10.639 --> 00:42:10.799 Right? 00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:12.699 Isn't that what 00:42:12.699 --> 00:42:13.519 he's preparing us for? 00:42:14.619 --> 00:42:15.299 The author, 00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:16.939 I think there's strong evidence 00:42:16.939 --> 00:42:18.359 to say this might be Samuel 00:42:18.359 --> 00:42:19.839 who's writing most of this book. 00:42:21.339 --> 00:42:23.000 He's clearly a monarchist. 00:42:24.279 --> 00:42:26.219 But he knows that kingship itself 00:42:26.219 --> 00:42:27.919 isn't the answer. 00:42:29.699 --> 00:42:31.139 They need the right kind of king. 00:42:31.139 --> 00:42:33.679 Think of all the subtle connections 00:42:33.679 --> 00:42:36.019 that the author makes 00:42:36.019 --> 00:42:37.259 to the next phase 00:42:37.259 --> 00:42:38.139 of Israel's history 00:42:38.139 --> 00:42:38.679 in the Bible. 00:42:39.940 --> 00:42:41.960 When they do finally get a king, 00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:44.619 their king, 00:42:44.739 --> 00:42:45.679 not God's king, remember. 00:42:45.759 --> 00:42:46.980 Their first one wasn't God's man. 00:42:47.699 --> 00:42:48.779 He was the man of the people. 00:42:49.659 --> 00:42:50.239 Who is it? 00:42:51.440 --> 00:42:51.879 Saul. 00:42:52.879 --> 00:42:54.319 Do you know where Saul was from? 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:56.480 Gibeah. 00:42:57.859 --> 00:42:58.719 Interesting, isn't it? 00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:02.279 When they finally get God's king, 00:43:03.059 --> 00:43:04.339 it's David. 00:43:05.339 --> 00:43:06.719 Where's David from? 00:43:08.000 --> 00:43:08.439 Bethlehem. 00:43:09.619 --> 00:43:11.480 Which tribe does Bethlehem belong to? 00:43:13.059 --> 00:43:13.500 Judah. 00:43:14.419 --> 00:43:15.419 Wow, that's interesting, isn't it? 00:43:17.019 --> 00:43:18.259 The tribe that was supposed 00:43:18.259 --> 00:43:19.299 to be leading the nation 00:43:19.299 --> 00:43:20.119 from the very beginning. 00:43:20.919 --> 00:43:22.119 God's king comes from them. 00:43:23.819 --> 00:43:24.879 But the sad thing is, 00:43:24.939 --> 00:43:25.699 if you've read your Bible 00:43:25.699 --> 00:43:26.739 and you know what comes next, 00:43:26.739 --> 00:43:27.919 you know how this turns out. 00:43:28.859 --> 00:43:30.019 They do get David. 00:43:30.959 --> 00:43:32.219 But then David proves 00:43:32.219 --> 00:43:33.139 that he's incapable 00:43:33.139 --> 00:43:34.579 of actually doing 00:43:34.579 --> 00:43:35.379 what Israel needed. 00:43:36.619 --> 00:43:37.899 He was a great king. 00:43:38.099 --> 00:43:39.039 He was God's king. 00:43:39.399 --> 00:43:40.239 But he wasn't the king. 00:43:41.519 --> 00:43:42.679 He wasn't enough. 00:43:43.939 --> 00:43:45.459 He was a wicked sinner too. 00:43:45.659 --> 00:43:47.159 For their ultimate salvation, 00:43:47.799 --> 00:43:49.439 Israel needed a greater king. 00:43:49.799 --> 00:43:50.859 They needed Jesus, 00:43:51.239 --> 00:43:52.659 the true and better David. 00:43:52.659 --> 00:43:54.480 That's what they needed. 00:43:55.799 --> 00:43:57.039 It's what we needed. 00:43:59.500 --> 00:44:01.039 Sam Ahmadi said this 00:44:01.039 --> 00:44:02.420 about the book of Judges. 00:44:03.420 --> 00:44:05.239 When we read the book of Judges, 00:44:05.420 --> 00:44:06.659 we're looking in a mirror. 00:44:08.379 --> 00:44:10.259 This is who we are without a king. 00:44:11.639 --> 00:44:13.539 This is the state of our hearts. 00:44:14.359 --> 00:44:16.199 This is who we are individually. 00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:19.019 This is who we are corporately. 00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:21.679 What the human heart needs 00:44:21.679 --> 00:44:23.579 is a righteous king 00:44:23.579 --> 00:44:25.019 reigning over it. 00:44:26.659 --> 00:44:27.779 Which brings us 00:44:27.779 --> 00:44:29.839 to the gospel connection in Judges. 00:44:31.059 --> 00:44:32.079 Here's the truth. 00:44:32.980 --> 00:44:34.500 We've all done what is right 00:44:34.500 --> 00:44:35.399 in our own eyes. 00:44:36.099 --> 00:44:37.739 We've all fallen short 00:44:37.739 --> 00:44:39.239 of loving and obeying God. 00:44:40.139 --> 00:44:41.859 And what each one of us deserves 00:44:41.859 --> 00:44:43.980 is to be put under the ban. 00:44:43.980 --> 00:44:46.219 That's what we deserve. 00:44:48.400 --> 00:44:50.000 But there's one person 00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:51.960 who never did sin. 00:44:54.159 --> 00:44:55.940 Jesus did only that 00:44:55.940 --> 00:44:57.079 which pleased the Father. 00:44:58.420 --> 00:44:59.420 And then Jesus, 00:44:59.579 --> 00:45:00.420 the sinless one, 00:45:01.119 --> 00:45:02.699 that great Savior King, 00:45:03.740 --> 00:45:04.840 took the ban 00:45:04.840 --> 00:45:06.539 in our place. 00:45:09.400 --> 00:45:11.099 His death was a payment 00:45:11.099 --> 00:45:12.240 for our sins, 00:45:12.239 --> 00:45:13.979 for the sins of His people. 00:45:14.739 --> 00:45:16.259 His resurrection proves 00:45:16.259 --> 00:45:18.179 that He has delivered 00:45:18.179 --> 00:45:19.579 His people from death. 00:45:20.500 --> 00:45:22.000 He is the Savior King 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:23.779 that Israel so desperately needed. 00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:25.319 He's the Savior King 00:45:25.319 --> 00:45:26.739 that we so desperately need. 00:45:27.179 --> 00:45:28.319 Galatians chapter 3, 00:45:28.739 --> 00:45:31.059 all who rely on works of the law 00:45:31.059 --> 00:45:32.019 are under a curse. 00:45:32.239 --> 00:45:32.559 In other words, 00:45:32.899 --> 00:45:33.639 Paul's saying that 00:45:33.639 --> 00:45:34.539 we're going to be tempted 00:45:34.539 --> 00:45:35.379 that when we realize 00:45:35.379 --> 00:45:36.859 this is how bad things are, 00:45:37.079 --> 00:45:38.399 when we do things our own way, 00:45:38.519 --> 00:45:39.279 we'll be tempted 00:45:39.280 --> 00:45:40.920 to just try to do this 00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:42.840 moral about face 00:45:42.840 --> 00:45:43.920 where if we just clean up 00:45:43.920 --> 00:45:44.420 our lives 00:45:44.420 --> 00:45:45.600 and we follow a few laws 00:45:45.600 --> 00:45:46.440 and we do the things 00:45:46.440 --> 00:45:47.300 that God's Word says, 00:45:47.380 --> 00:45:48.500 then God will look on us 00:45:48.500 --> 00:45:48.780 and He'll say, 00:45:48.860 --> 00:45:49.880 okay, you're good enough now. 00:45:50.640 --> 00:45:51.340 Paul says that's what 00:45:51.340 --> 00:45:52.400 we'll be tempted to do. 00:45:52.560 --> 00:45:53.120 But then he says 00:45:53.120 --> 00:45:53.740 in Galatians 3, 00:45:53.880 --> 00:45:55.140 all who rely on those works 00:45:55.140 --> 00:45:55.980 are under a curse 00:45:55.980 --> 00:45:56.860 for it's written, 00:45:57.220 --> 00:45:58.060 cursed be everyone 00:45:58.060 --> 00:45:59.260 who does not abide 00:45:59.260 --> 00:46:01.019 by all things written 00:46:01.019 --> 00:46:02.440 in the book of the law 00:46:02.440 --> 00:46:03.019 and do them. 00:46:03.360 --> 00:46:04.160 Have you ever broken 00:46:04.160 --> 00:46:05.280 any part of the law? 00:46:05.860 --> 00:46:07.000 Yes, of course you have. 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:08.039 All of us have. 00:46:08.679 --> 00:46:09.699 You're under the ban. 00:46:10.760 --> 00:46:11.820 You're under the curse, 00:46:11.940 --> 00:46:12.579 Paul says. 00:46:13.699 --> 00:46:14.780 But then what does he say? 00:46:15.559 --> 00:46:17.199 But Christ redeemed us 00:46:17.199 --> 00:46:18.719 from the curse of the law. 00:46:19.579 --> 00:46:20.139 How? 00:46:20.860 --> 00:46:24.340 By becoming a curse for us. 00:46:25.360 --> 00:46:26.300 For it's written, 00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:27.699 cursed is everyone 00:46:27.699 --> 00:46:28.960 who's hanged on a tree. 00:46:29.420 --> 00:46:31.099 So that in Christ Jesus, 00:46:31.659 --> 00:46:33.119 the blessing of Abraham 00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:35.219 might come to the Gentiles. 00:46:35.219 --> 00:46:35.980 We read about that 00:46:35.980 --> 00:46:36.739 in Psalm 98. 00:46:37.000 --> 00:46:38.980 So that we might receive 00:46:38.980 --> 00:46:40.400 the promised spirit 00:46:40.400 --> 00:46:42.679 through faith. 00:46:43.539 --> 00:46:44.920 Ah, there it is. 00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:47.119 He's the Savior King. 00:46:47.599 --> 00:46:49.199 But how can we receive 00:46:49.199 --> 00:46:50.360 his mercy and grace? 00:46:51.219 --> 00:46:52.500 Through faith. 00:46:53.320 --> 00:46:54.300 Faith alone. 00:46:55.659 --> 00:46:57.739 Jesus is the truly righteous king. 00:46:58.119 --> 00:46:59.739 He rules over his people. 00:47:00.699 --> 00:47:01.840 He delivers them 00:47:01.840 --> 00:47:03.059 from the enemy. 00:47:03.059 --> 00:47:05.900 He writes God's law 00:47:05.900 --> 00:47:07.279 on their hearts. 00:47:07.279 --> 00:47:09.320 He instructs their worship 00:47:09.320 --> 00:47:10.539 and obedience. 00:47:10.599 --> 00:47:12.480 He disciplines them 00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:13.460 in love. 00:47:13.659 --> 00:47:15.440 He is preparing 00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:16.799 to take them 00:47:16.799 --> 00:47:18.360 to his eternal kingdom 00:47:18.360 --> 00:47:19.380 in the new heavens 00:47:19.380 --> 00:47:20.019 and new earth. 00:47:20.139 --> 00:47:21.360 That's who he is. 00:47:21.539 --> 00:47:22.599 He's done what 00:47:22.599 --> 00:47:24.079 none of Israel's deliverers 00:47:24.079 --> 00:47:25.019 in the book of Judges 00:47:25.019 --> 00:47:26.480 and what none of their kings, 00:47:26.619 --> 00:47:27.299 including David, 00:47:27.380 --> 00:47:28.059 could ever do. 00:47:28.059 --> 00:47:28.820 In fact, 00:47:28.980 --> 00:47:29.860 their failures 00:47:29.860 --> 00:47:31.059 are there 00:47:31.059 --> 00:47:31.900 to point us 00:47:31.900 --> 00:47:33.579 to his sufficiency. 00:47:34.340 --> 00:47:35.880 And he invites us 00:47:35.880 --> 00:47:37.779 to enter his kingdom 00:47:37.779 --> 00:47:38.599 through faith 00:47:38.599 --> 00:47:40.259 in that sufficiency. 00:47:40.260 --> 00:47:43.900 You'll never come up 00:47:43.900 --> 00:47:44.780 with a better plan. 00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:46.440 And if you try, 00:47:47.040 --> 00:47:48.360 what waits for you 00:47:48.360 --> 00:47:50.060 is eternal judgment. 00:47:50.660 --> 00:47:52.080 Why would you do that? 00:47:52.280 --> 00:47:54.060 That's like taking option three 00:47:54.060 --> 00:47:55.580 in Judges 21. 00:47:55.820 --> 00:47:57.200 Why would you even try that? 00:47:57.480 --> 00:47:59.460 He has done it for you. 00:48:00.340 --> 00:48:01.680 This life, 00:48:01.800 --> 00:48:02.560 this salvation, 00:48:02.700 --> 00:48:04.020 it's not about what you do. 00:48:04.280 --> 00:48:06.280 It's about what he's already done. 00:48:08.020 --> 00:48:09.020 And Paul tells us 00:48:09.020 --> 00:48:09.800 in Romans 10, 00:48:10.260 --> 00:48:11.980 that the scripture says 00:48:11.980 --> 00:48:13.700 everyone who believes in him 00:48:13.700 --> 00:48:16.500 will not be put to shame 00:48:16.500 --> 00:48:18.380 for everyone 00:48:18.380 --> 00:48:21.860 who calls on the name of the Lord 00:48:21.860 --> 00:48:25.100 will be saved.