You'll recall the Benjamites lost 25,100 of their fighting men in the civil war of Chapter 20. This number probably represented at least half of their able-bodied men aged twenty to sixty, for at the end of the book of Numbers we found the tribe of Benjamin having 45,600 of that age group who were able to serve in the army. In addition, in Chapter 20 we learned that the army of Israel slaughtered every Benjamite man, woman, and child of the city of Gibeah and of several of the surrounding towns and villages. Benjamin was always the smallest of the twelve tribes and now, at this point in the Bible, their numbers are smaller than ever before. If they aren't allowed to marry outside of their tribe they will soon be without anyone to marry who isn't too closely related to them. Earlier in the Bible we studied the list of forbidden marital alliances and talked about the genetic reasons for these restrictions. The offspring of people who are too closely related will have a much higher chance of birth defects and mental disabilities. The rate of such genetic mutations increases greatly with each generation if a small population keeps intermarrying with itself.
What the men who took the oath at Mizpah intended to do was wipe out the tribe of Benjamin entirely. What they did not (or could not) accomplish militarily they intend to accomplish socially and spiritually. They are going to behave as if the Benjamites do not exist in the hopes that they will die out completely within several generations or that they will be forced to intermarry with the heathen tribes of Canaan. Intermarrying with the pagan peoples of the region will also serve to excommunicate them from the nation of Israel and bring the Lord's wrath upon them, for the Lord forbade the Israelites to mix with the heathens of Canaan. He said this would cause them to forsake Him in favor of idolatry and that He would be forced to turn the same wrath on them that He turned on the idolaters of the land.
Upon hearing of the oath made by the leaders of the nation, many of the citizens of Israel are grieved. They don't desire the extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. They are heartbroken at the thought of it. They go up in a group to cry out to the Lord on behalf of Benjamin. "The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. 'Lord, God of Israel,' they cried, 'why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?' Early the next day the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings." (Judges 21:2-4)
These people should be commended for their tender hearts toward the tribe of Benjamin! At the thought of anyone being lost from the family of God, we should all feel like weeping and crying out to the Lord. These citizens of Israel spend the entire day in an attitude of prayer and supplication. First thing the next morning, they begin appealing to the Lord again on behalf of Benjamin, this time accompanied by offerings. They know an oath taken in the name of the Lord is unbreakable; the leaders of Israel who made the oath cannot go back on it. But at the same time they know nothing is impossible for the Lord. The God who made a way for Israel to cross the Red Sea on dry ground can make a way for the men of Benjamin to be able to marry Israelite wives and continue existing as a tribe in the eyes of God without mingling with heathens and being lost as a tribe of Israel.
James, the brother of Jesus, assured us: "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16b) We see that James was right as we witness the prayers of the Israelites being powerful and effective here in Judges 20. The Lord is pleased with their tender heart for Benjamin (He has the same heart for Benjamin too) and He provides them with a solution to the problem. He puts it in their minds to check and see whether any clan of Israel was not represented when the leaders of Israel made their vow not to provide wives for the Benjamites. "Then the Israelites asked, 'Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord?'" (Judges 21:5a) In the midst of their fasting, praying, weeping, and giving of offerings, the Lord sends them a "lightbulb moment". It suddenly occurs to them that some of the Israelites may be exempt from the oath because they had no representatives at Mizpah. They say, "Wait a minute! Did everyone who was summoned to Mizpah go up to Mizpah and take part in the oath? Or did some not get the message or refuse to go because they weren't in agreement with the oath? All may not be lost! Things may not be as bleak as they appear! Those who took the oath are bound by the oath but if we can find any clans of Israel whose representatives did not take the oath, single women from those clans are not forbidden from marrying Benjamites. We must call the roll immediately and find out who went up to Mizpah and who didn't."
In our own system of government a record is kept of which representatives voted yes or no on any particular bill. A record is kept regarding which representatives declined to cast a vote on a particular bill. The Israelites at the time of the judges apparently ran their government in a similar manner. There is a record of who did or did not go up to Mizpah to cast their vote against the tribe of Benjamin. As a result, the tribe will be saved from extinction. Join us tomorrow as we learn of the clever plan put in place to provide four hundred brides to the eligible bachelors of Benjamin.
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