Judges 21:1-25

Consequences of our actions are hard for us to see and understand at the time of our actions.  However, later on when we have time to consider all of the ramifications of our decisions, we often come to regret our decisions and need to find creative ways of rectifying them.  As part of the civil war against the tribe of Benjamin, the other tribes of Israel had sworn not to give any of their daughters to the tribe of Benjamin in marriage.  Since it appears that the majority of the women had been killed in the war, this meant that the tribe was only one generation away from extinction.  This was an unforeseen consequence of the vows that they had made, and left them in a very difficult situation.  We would do well to consider closely the consequences of the decisions we want to make or in other words; it is wise to think before we act.  Israel came up with two solutions to this problem, neither of which I believe were pleasing to the Lord, but were simply further examples of men doing what was right in their own eyes without looking to the Lord for His direction.

ISRAEL SOLVES THE PROBLEM THROUGH KILLING: This first thing that Israel did when they recognized that there was a problem was to look and see if there was a group from within Israel that had not come up to the battle and made the vow.  When they discovered that nobody from Jabesh-gilead had come to the battle they thought they had a solution.  The decision was to go and slaughter all of the men and married women of Jabesh-gilead and then take all of the virgin women as wives for Benjamin.  This seems to me that it is an attempt to have two wrongs make a right.  I believe that it would have been far more pleasing to God if Israel had gone to the fathers of Jabesh-gilead, explained the situation and then allowed them to voluntarily give of their daughters to the tribe of Benjamin.  The solutions of the flesh usually end up creating more problems than they solve.

ISRAEL SOLVES THE PROBLEM THROUGH KIDNAPPING: There were not enough wives from Jabesh-gilead, so the second solution was for the remaining men to go and kidnap women who would come out and dance during the festivals at Shiloh.  These would be daughters of men who had vowed not to give their daughters to Benjamin, but technically, they were not giving them, the daughters were being kidnapped under the authority of the other tribes.  Once again this seems to be a rationalization that justifies breaking the vow without officially doing so.  The problem was solved in their minds, except for the fact that they had just authorized both murder and kidnapping which were prohibited by God in order to keep from making a vow that had been made before God.  Fleshly solutions never resolve spiritual problems.  I wonder how often I try to do the same thing in rationalizing my own sins.  May God grant us spiritual insight and sensitivity to avoid the pitfalls of