Scripture Daily

Context No. 2884 of 4322 · Judges

Context · Reflection

Judges 20:24-28: in context

24The children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day. 25Benjamin went out against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men. All these drew the sword. 26Then all the children of Israel and all the people went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until evening; then they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 27The children of Israel asked the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 28and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?” The LORD said, “Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.”

In the terrible civil war against the tribe of Benjamin, Israel is defeated twice with staggering losses, even though they had asked God before going out. After the second defeat they go up to Bethel, weep, fast until evening, offer sacrifices, and ask again: shall we go out against our brother Benjamin, or stop? This time God says, go up, for tomorrow I will give him into your hand.

This is a dark chapter, and the war is anything but clean. What stands out spiritually is Israel's persistence in seeking God through repeated defeat. Twice they had asked and twice they had lost, and still they did not abandon the practice of bringing the question to God; they wept, fasted, and asked a third time. Sometimes a right course meets defeat before it meets deliverance, and the temptation after a loss is to stop asking altogether. God's first answer is not always his last, and his timing is his own.

When I have sought God and still met defeat, do I keep bringing the question to him, or give up on asking?

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