"At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle." (Judges 20:15-17) The Benjamites are vastly outnumbered but, as we'll see in a moment, this won't keep them from winning the first two skirmishes of Israel's civil war.
"The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, 'Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjamites?' The Lord replied, 'Judah shall go first.' The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day." (Judges 20:18-22) The Israelites have right on their side and they inquired of the Lord before going into battle. So why were they defeated? Most of the commentaries I consulted make the supposition that they were trusting in their large numbers rather than in the Lord. But I am not certain that's the case. Being in the will of the Lord doesn't guarantee freedom from hardship; on the contrary, we sometimes face the fiercest opposition when we're trying to do exactly what the Lord told us to do.
Most wars aren't won with only one battle. Most wars aren't won without any casualties in the army of those who are in the right. (For example, the United States and our allies were victorious in both world wars but we still suffered major casualties, with well over half a million soldiers and civilians dying as a result of these conflicts. But we stayed the course because we believed we had right on our side. We didn't give up and quit.) The Israelites are distressed by the losses they suffer in the first battle but they don't give up and go home. "The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they inquired of the Lord. They said, 'Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites?' The Lord answered, 'Go up against them.' Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. This time, when the Benjamites came out of Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords." (Judges 20:23-25) After suffering heavy losses in the first battle, the Israelites wanted to double check that they heard the Lord correctly the first time. He affirmed that fighting against the Benjamites is the right thing to do. In spite of being obedient to the Lord, they suffer heavy losses in the second battle.
I'm reminded of the most difficult stage in life that I've ever been through so far. I was seeking and following the Lord's will in that situation but I was still being assaulted by troubles on every side. I lost a number of battles before the war was won. My days often felt like I was taking one step forward only to be knocked two or three steps backward. But I knew what the Lord had said to me. I knew what He wanted me to do and that's the only thing that kept me putting one foot in front of the other. The Israelites in Judges 20 are in that same type of situation. They know what the Lord said to them. They know they're doing exactly what He said to do. They don't understand why they're losing these initial battles but they keep forging ahead because they know it's the will of God.
The Lord never promised us life would be easy. It's not hard for us to understand difficulties coming our way when we've been living in disobedience. As King Solomon said, "The way of transgressors is hard." (Proverbs 13:15) But we have trouble understanding why life is difficult when we're living in obedience to the Lord. We make the mistake of thinking everything will be smooth sailing if we do what's right. But let's think about the men and women of the Bible who were committed to doing what was right. Were their lives always easy? No, because they were living in a fallen world among unbelievers and also among believers who, being frail and weak mortals like we all are, made mistakes from time to time. The Lord has never said life on earth will be easy. Instead the word of God tells us that those who want to live godly lives will face persecution (2 Timothy 3:12) and that as long as we live in this world we will have troubles (John 16:33).
When we are committed to doing what's right we are going to have humans who oppose us. We are also going to have Satan himself opposing us. That means we may get knocked down in some of our battles but that doesn't mean we are going to lose the war. The enemy of our souls wants to make doing the right thing as hard as possible in an attempt to get us to give up. He wants to make us doubt whether the Lord really told us what we think He told us. He wants us to give in to discouragement and fear. He wants us to wonder whether the Lord really loves us and is for us.
Satan would have loved it if the Israelites had given up after losing the first battle to the Benjamites in Chapter 20. But they regrouped and came back. He knocked them down again, hoping they'd give up after the second attempt. He wants as much corruption as possible to enter the congregation of Israel and he's been fairly successful in introducing corruption to the city of Gibeah. If he can prevent the sin of Gibeah from being dealt with, this sin (and many more) will abound, spreading out and infecting other cities and villages of Israel. The devil wants to turn the Israelites completely away from the Lord so judgment will fall upon the entire nation. He wants them to fall so utterly and hopelessly into apostasy that the Lord will destroy them as a people. If the Lord destroys the nation of Israel, the Promised One whom the Lord said would crush Satan's head (Genesis 3:15) will never come into the world.
Satan would have loved it if the Israelites had given up after losing the first battle to the Benjamites in Chapter 20. But they regrouped and came back. He knocked them down again, hoping they'd give up after the second attempt. He wants as much corruption as possible to enter the congregation of Israel and he's been fairly successful in introducing corruption to the city of Gibeah. If he can prevent the sin of Gibeah from being dealt with, this sin (and many more) will abound, spreading out and infecting other cities and villages of Israel. The devil wants to turn the Israelites completely away from the Lord so judgment will fall upon the entire nation. He wants them to fall so utterly and hopelessly into apostasy that the Lord will destroy them as a people. If the Lord destroys the nation of Israel, the Promised One whom the Lord said would crush Satan's head (Genesis 3:15) will never come into the world.
But the Israelites are not going to give up. And God is not going to give up on Israel.
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