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SERIES H --- THE JUDGES |
BIBLE STUDY LESSON 22
BENJAMIN DESTROYED? A DAY OF DESTRUCTION “They’re running away from us again,” shouted the men of Benjamin. As they overtook the rear of Israel’s army, they began killing the Israelites as they had done before. About thirty of the men of Israel died along the roadway between Gibeah and Bethel. But this retreat was part of the trap that the army of Israel had set. As soon as the men of Benjamin were far enough from the city, the army of Israel, which by this time had reached Baal-tamar, turned around and attacked, at the same time about ten thousand of them rushed from their place of ambush and moved into Gibeah behind the Benjamite army. This disaster came as a surprise to the Benjamites, so they lost about twenty-five thousand, one hundred men that day, all men who were skilled with the sword. In summary, this is the way the Benjamites were defeated: The main army of Israel ran away from the men of Benjamin as they came from Gibeah, drawing them away from the city so that their men in ambush would have room to fight. As soon as they could, these men in ambush rushed upon the city of Gibeah, killing the people in it with their swords and setting it on fire. When the main army of Israel saw the smoke from the city, they recognized it as their signal to turn around and attack. Since the Benjamites had killed a few of the men of Israel, they assumed that they were defeating them again. But when they saw the smoke rising from Gibeah and the army of Israel turning upon them, the men of Benjamin knew that they were facing a disaster. They tried to run away into the wilderness, but the men of Israel went after them. By this time the men who had been in the ambush rushed behind the Benjamites and began killing them. Before long, the army of Benjamin was surrounded. Without mercy Israel killed most of the army there east of Gibeah. Eighteen thousand of the men of Benjamin died in the first battle that day, while five thousand more were killed along the way as they tried to escape in the wilderness toward the rock of Rimmon. Later, two thousand more were killed as the army of Israel rushed after them toward Gidom. Altogether, more than twenty-five thousand brave men of Benjamin died that day. Only six hundred escaped to the rock of Rimmon and lived there for four months. As the army of Israel returned from battle, they killed all of the people of Benjamin, destroyed their cities and all that was in them, including their livestock. COMMENTARY THE JUDGES These people were known as the judges. The judges of the Old Testament were unlike judges in modern courts of law, they had no special legal training; they were ordinary Israelites with other occupations. But each of them, acting as a representative of God, was endowed with the leadership qualities necessary to govern and earn the people’s trust. The judges’ most important duty was not to enforce the law or to punish wrongdoers. Each accepted the office during a time of great need, and they became war leaders. They organized the army and led the Israelites in successful battle against oppressors. In times of peace the people continued to turn to the judges for guidance. Then it became their duty to defend what was right and just in everyday life. Some judges carried a wooden staff as a symbol of this authority or travelled from place to place only on light-coloured asses. But it was often difficult to get the tribes to cooperate and the Israelites began to insist that only a king could build an army to defeat the Canaanites. The judge Samuel appointed Saul as Israel’s first king and the period of the judges’ rule came to a close. TEST YOURSELF 1.) What happened the second time the Israelite army attacked Benjamin? 2.) How did the Israelites defeat Benjamin? 3.) How many Benjamites were killed in this civil war? 4.) What were the great leaders, appearing in times of crisis, called? 5.) Which of the following was a symbol of authority for these leaders? |