Judges 20:8-13: a reflection

8All the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, neither will any of us turn to his house. 9But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot; 10and we will take ten men of one hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand to get food for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that the men of Gibeah have done in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man. 12The tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What wickedness is this that has happened among you? 13Now therefore deliver up the men, the wicked fellows who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and put away evil from Israel.” But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the children of Israel.

When a grave evil has been done in Israel, the people rise up as one, unwilling to let such wickedness go unaddressed in their midst, resolved to confront and put away the evil. All the people arose as one man, the account says, resolved to deal with the wickedness that had been done, and they sent to demand that the guilty be handed over, that we may put away evil from Israel. A grave wrong had been done; and the people would not simply look away, tolerate it, or cover it. They rose up together, resolved to confront the evil and put it away from among them, unwilling to let such wickedness stand unaddressed in their community. This shows the resolve not to tolerate or cover grave evil, but to confront and put it away. Do not tolerate or cover grave evil in your midst. Be resolved to confront and put away evil, not look the other way. Wickedness left unaddressed corrupts a community. There is a time to rise up against evil rather than tolerate it.

Notice the people's resolve in the face of grave evil. A serious wickedness had been done in Israel; and the people did not respond by looking away, by tolerating it for the sake of peace, or by covering it up. They rose up as one, resolved to confront the evil and put it away from among them, demanding that the guilty be dealt with, that evil might be put away from Israel. They were unwilling to let such wickedness stand unaddressed in their community. This holds a lesson, even as the fuller story is a sorrowful one. There is a time to rise up against grave evil rather than tolerate it. Grave wrong, when it is done in our midst, is not to be simply looked away from, tolerated for the sake of avoiding conflict, or covered up to protect the guilty; there is a responsibility to confront it and to put it away, not to let serious evil stand unaddressed in a community, where it corrupts and spreads. This does not license harshness or vengeance, but it does mean that grave wickedness should not be tolerated or covered, but confronted and put away. We do well not to tolerate or cover grave evil in our midst, but to be willing, rightly, to confront it and put it away, that it not corrupt and spread. Do not tolerate or cover grave evil in your midst; be resolved to confront it. Wickedness left unaddressed corrupts and spreads through a community. There is a time to rise against grave evil rather than look away. Grave wrong should be confronted and put away, not tolerated for the sake of peace.

That is worth taking to heart, for grave evil is not to be tolerated or covered but confronted and put away, and we do well not to look the other way, as the people rose up against the wickedness in Israel. We can be tempted to tolerate grave wrong for the sake of peace, or cover it to protect the guilty; but the people rose up as one to confront the evil and put it away. Do not tolerate it. Do not look away from or cover grave evil in your midst; be resolved, rightly, to confront it and put it away, that it not corrupt and spread. Do not tolerate or cover grave evil in your midst, but be resolved to confront it and put it away rather than looking the other way, as when a grave evil had been done in Israel the people rose up as one, unwilling to let such wickedness go unaddressed, resolved to confront and put away the evil, and demanded that the guilty be handed over that they might put away evil from Israel; for a grave wrong had been done and the people would not simply look away, tolerate it, or cover it, but rose up together resolved to confront the evil and put it away from among them, unwilling to let such wickedness stand unaddressed in their community, which holds a lesson even as the fuller story is a sorrowful one, that there is a time to rise up against grave evil rather than tolerate it, since grave wrong done in our midst is not to be simply looked away from or tolerated for the sake of avoiding conflict or covered up to protect the guilty, but there is a responsibility to confront it and put it away and not let serious evil stand unaddressed in a community where it corrupts and spreads, which does not license harshness or vengeance but does mean grave wickedness should not be tolerated or covered but confronted and put away, so that we do well not to tolerate or cover grave evil in our midst but to be willing rightly to confront it and put it away.

Lord, when a grave evil has been done in Israel, the people rise up as one, unwilling to let such wickedness go unaddressed in their midst, resolved to confront and put away the evil. All the people arose as one man, the account says, resolved to deal with the wickedness that had been done, and they sent to demand that the guilty be handed over, that we may put away evil from Israel. A grave wrong had been done; and the people would not simply look away, tolerate it, or cover it. They rose up together, resolved to confront the evil and put it away from among them, unwilling to let such wickedness stand unaddressed in their community. Show me the people's resolve in the face of grave evil. A serious wickedness had been done in Israel; and the people did not respond by looking away, by tolerating it for the sake of peace, or by covering it up. They rose up as one, resolved to confront the evil and put it away from among them, that evil might be put away from Israel. They were unwilling to let such wickedness stand unaddressed. This holds a lesson, even as the fuller story is a sorrowful one. There is a time to rise up against grave evil rather than tolerate it. Grave wrong, when it is done in my midst, is not to be simply looked away from, tolerated for the sake of avoiding conflict, or covered up to protect the guilty; there is a responsibility to confront it and to put it away, not to let serious evil stand unaddressed where it corrupts and spreads. This does not license harshness or vengeance, but it does mean grave wickedness should not be tolerated or covered. Take that to my heart. Keep me from tolerating or covering grave evil in my midst for the sake of peace; help me be resolved, rightly, Lord, to confront it and put it away, not looking the other way, that serious wickedness not stand unaddressed and corrupt and spread.