Why did the Israelites grieve for Benjamin in Judges 21:6 despite their previous actions? Historical Setting of Judges 21:6 After the heinous crime at Gibeah (Judges 19), “the congregation assembled as one man” (Judges 20:1) to demand justice from Benjamin. When the Benjaminites refused to surrender the guilty, Israel waged war, nearly exterminating the tribe—leaving only six hundred men hiding at Rimmon (Judges 20:47). The civil conflict ended with Israel having taken a national oath at Mizpah: “No one of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin in marriage” (Judges 21:1). The Corporate Identity of the Twelve Tribes Genesis 49 and Numbers 1 present Israel as a covenant family of twelve tribes, each allotted an inheritance yet bound in mutual responsibility. The Mosaic law repeatedly calls the nation “one assembly” (Deuteronomy 31:12). Extinction of any tribe would deface God’s covenant design (cf. Exodus 28:21; Revelation 7:4–8). Thus, once the heat of battle cooled, the people grasped the magnitude of a self-inflicted wound against their own covenant body. Justice Administered—But at a Terrible Cost Romans 13:4 teaches that legitimate authority “does not bear the sword in vain.” Israel’s punitive war was judicially appropriate; the perpetrators of Gibeah’s atrocity deserved capital punishment per Deuteronomy 22:25–27. Yet their military response escalated beyond the guilty city, consuming almost all of Benjamin. Judicial zeal devolved into near-genocide, violating proportional justice (cf. Proverbs 20:22). Realization of Irreversible Consequences Judges 21:3 laments, “Why, O LORD, God of Israel, has this happened, that today one tribe should be missing?” . Verse 6 then records national grief: “The Israelites were grieved for their brother Benjamin and said, ‘Today one tribe is cut off from Israel.’ ” The catastrophe produced three irreversible outcomes: 1. An oath preventing inter-marriage. 2. Loss of landholders, farmers, and defenders in Benjamin’s territory. 3. A violation of God’s original tribal arrangement (Numbers 26:55). Covenant Oath and Moral Tension Ecclesiastes 5:4 warns against breaking vows to God. Israel faced a paradox: maintain the oath and doom Benjamin, or break the oath and incur guilt. Their grief flowed from this tension—self-bound by words uttered in zeal (cf. Jephthah’s rash vow, Judges 11:30–35). Brotherhood Beyond Judgment Psalm 133:1 celebrates unity among brethren. Even after lawful punishment, the Israelites recognized Benjamin as “our brother” (Judges 21:6). The Mosaic economy balances justice with kinship compassion (Leviticus 19:18). Their grief reflected covenant brotherhood—judgment had satisfied righteousness, but compassion mourned the resulting loss (cf. Ezekiel 33:11, God’s own sorrow over judgment). The Providence of God in Preserving a Remnant Despite Israel’s missteps, God sovereignly preserved six hundred Benjaminites. The subsequent plan—providing wives from Jabesh-gilead and the Shiloh dance (Judges 21:10–23)—though ethically messy, spared the tribe from extinction. This foreshadows the divine pattern of preserving a remnant for redemptive purposes (Isaiah 10:20–22; Romans 11:5). Saul, Esther, and ultimately the Apostle Paul descend from Benjamin, demonstrating God’s long-range providence. Typological Glimpse Toward Christ Benjamin means “son of the right hand” (Genesis 35:18). His near-destruction and resurrection-like survival prefigure the rejected yet vindicated “Son seated at the right hand” (Psalm 110:1; Mark 16:19). Israel’s grief anticipates the sorrow that precedes the greater salvation history culminating in Christ’s resurrection (John 16:20–22). Contemporary Application 1. Guard against disproportionate responses, even when pursuing righteous causes (James 1:20). 2. Honor vows carefully; rash oaths entangle God’s people in avoidable dilemmas (Matthew 5:33–37). 3. Mourn consequences of sin while trusting God’s capacity to restore (Joel 2:12–27). Summary Answer Israel grieved for Benjamin because, although the war’s objective—punishing Gibeah’s wickedness—was just, the outcome nearly erased a covenant brother-tribe, threatening God’s twelve-tribe design and exposing the nation’s rash oath. Their sorrow combined covenant loyalty, realization of excessive zeal, awareness of self-inflicted loss, and the moral weight of preserving God’s ordained unity. Their lament affirms that divine justice and fraternal compassion are not mutually exclusive but must be held in balance under Yahweh’s sovereign, redemptive plan. |
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