Judges 20:12-19

Attempt at a peaceful settlement 20:12-19

The 11 tribes wisely tried to settle this problem with the Benjamites peacefully (Judges 20:12; cf. Joshua 22:13-20). Unfortunately the Benjamites decided to support the residents of Gibeah who were their kinsmen. They should have sided with "their brothers" (Judges 20:13; Judges 20:23; Judges 20:28) who were the other Israelites. The Benjamites decided to support their kinsmen because they were their relatives, rather than standing with God for what was right. The other tribes gathered to "remove this wickedness from Israel" (Judges 20:13), but ironically their gathering resulted in removing their fellow Israelites from wickedness by killing them.

"Though the sin of the guilty impairs the whole community, here of Benjamin, the assembly would have been content with the capital punishment of only the guilty individuals. It was only after identifying themselves with the guilty persons by their refusal to give them up that Benjamin came collectively under the ban. This is a case of corporate responsibility rather than ’corporate personality’." [Note: J. Gray, p. 355.]

"The extent to which people will stand up to defend evil and evildoers is a measure of how deeply rooted is the Canaanizing rot in a culture." [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 568.]

The Benjamites were outstanding warriors in Israel. Ehud and Saul, as well as other champions, came from the tribe of Benjamin (cf. Genesis 49:27; 1 Chronicles 8:40; 1 Chronicles 12:2). The 700 left-handed soldiers (Judges 20:16) were evidently an elite force, all of whom were expert in the use of the sling.

"Alone a left-handed person was considered handicapped [e.g., Ehud] and in a contingent of right-handed troops an actual liability, but if enough left-handed men could be assembled to make up an entire contingent, a disadvantage could be transformed into a distinct advantage, physically and psychologically." [Note: Ibid., p. 557.]

"The sling, which was employed with a left-handed motion, must not be confused with the modern schoolboy’s catapult [slingshot]; it was a formidable weapon of war used in the Assyrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian armies as well as in Israel. David’s encounter with the Philistine, Goliath, is a telling example of the power and accuracy of this weapon (1 Samuel 17:49). It has been estimated that stones weighing up to one pound could be projected with uncanny accuracy at speeds up to 90 m.p.h.!" [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 201.]

The Israelites went to Bethel to inquire for God’s strategy in their battle (Judges 20:18). In Judges 1:1 they inquired of Yahweh, but here they inquired of Elohim, the generic name for God. In Judges 1:1 the Lord directed Judah to go up against the Canaanites, but here He told Judah to go up against the Benjamites. These details are still more evidence of Israel’s departure from the Lord.

Bethel was only about four miles north of Mizpah. The ark of the covenant was at Bethel then (Judges 20:27). This is the only mention of the ark in Judges. The people were not seeking the Lord much at this time. Contrast the more numerous references to it in Joshua where the Israelites were more victorious. They apparently had moved the ark and the tabernacle from Shiloh (cf. Joshua 21:2; Joshua 22:9; Joshua 22:12; Judges 18:31; Judges 21:12; Judges 21:19; Judges 21:21; 1 Samuel 1:3). Another possibility is that only the ark was at Bethel and the tabernacle was still at Shiloh. The Israelites viewed the ark as a good luck charm (cf. 1 Samuel 4:3-4). They had a low view of God’s holiness, which explains their disregard for Him as their commander-in-chief in this chapter.