29: Human Solution: One Tragedy to Fix Another (Judges 21:1 – 25)

They felt deep regret for the Benjaminites but could not find a proper solution. Acting without seeking the Lord's guidance, their human solution led to another tragedy, justified by a poor excuse before the Lord.

Read Judges 21:1 - 25


Q1. Why was the tribe of Benjamin in danger of disappearing from Israel?

Their oath not to give their daughters in marriage to the Benjaminites left them with no hope of restoring their place as a tribe in Israel.


Q2. What was the other oath they had made, which they used to justify destroying Jabesh Gilead and providing wives for the Benjaminites?

“whoever do not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must be certainly be executed.”

It was ironic that they imposed the death penalty on those who didn’t attend the peace offering to the Lord. Furthermore, the primary purpose of annihilating Jabesh Gilead was to obtain women for the Benjaminites, not to punish the people, as they spared the women.

They offered sacrifices to the Lord but didn’t inquire of the Lord what to do.



Q3. What solution did they devise when they still needed 200 women?

They advised the Benjaminites to abduct women for marriage during the Lord’s festival.


Q4. Find verses that mention their oath. (five verses)

Not to give their daughters to the Benjaminites: 1, 7, 18, 22

Death for not coming to the gathering: 5

All three acts—the two oaths and the abduction during the festival—were ostensibly connected to the Lord. However, beneath them lay human sinfulness, resulting in outcomes that reflected their inherent evil. The oath not to give their daughters to the Benjaminites stemmed from self-righteousness toward the tribe but ultimately created the dilemma of seeking wives for the survivors. The tragedy of Jabesh Gilead was particularly contradictory; while it was framed as a punishment for failing to attend the Lord’s peace offering, the real motive was to provide wives for the Benjaminites. The abduction plan was justified with a feeble excuse to circumvent the oath, which was, in truth, an implicit violation. These actions revealed their hypocrisy: outwardly displaying zeal for the Lord and adherence to their oath while, in reality, attempting to resolve a crisis caused by the oath from their self-righteousness. 

Self-righteousness inevitably leads to hypocrisy, for no one is righteous.

Their prideful oath bound them. Instead of seeking the Lord’s guidance with repentant hearts, they devised a loophole.



Q5. The problem was resolved and the conflict dissipated, as everyone returned to their homes and land. However, the author of Judges concluded this way. “In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right” (v25). Find other verses that are similar to this. (From chapters 17, 18, 19. Three verses)

17:6. 18:1, 19:1, 21:25

The meaning of “Israel had no king” can be entailed as follows:

17:6 commented on Micah’s setting up a shrine and personal idols and assigning a priest as an unauthorized presumptuous deed. In the pagan nations of those days, only the king had the right to set up ‘a house of god’ (in Hebrew) and erect a statue of a god. From the Biblical viewpoint, only the Lord God had the authority to endorse the temple and priesthood. Micah acted like God.

18:1 commented on the tribe of Dan’s forsaking the Lord’s inheritance and choosing their own destiny as their departure from the Lord God’s kingship and His kingdom. The author emphasizes that the Danites lived separately from the truthful worship of God until their exile.

19:1 summarizes the societal corruption and the individual selfishness, especially of the Levites, as though they were called God’s people. They lived by their desires and selfish thoughts.

21:25: They knew good and evil to some degree, but not to the point of admitting their self-righteousness as a sin. Thus, they did not seek the Lord and couldn't fix the problem.

For all these pitiful situations, the author comments, “Israel had no king; each man did what he considered to be right.” 




Their method brought another slaughter. Note that they thought they did right.

If you do what you consider right, you do not accept the Lord as your king. Even though you are willing to do good, you can’t, for your intention is crooked by selfish desire, and your perception is distorted by self-righteousness. Only the Holy Spirit’s awakening and your willingness for self-denial will lead you to the path of life.


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