Under the Spirit of the Lord

INTRO

Some people have referred to the time of the Judges as the Israelites’ dark ages. This was a period of 300 years of pure evilness. The Lord would raise up judges to speak into the times and lead the people back to God for a while. God used each of the judges for a specific period of time. Mindi’s painting is like a snapshot that shows what real life was like during the book of Judges. Each of the judges began when the Spirit of the Lord came over them. Each was called to deliver and to save God’s people. Remember that our goal is to look at how each book of the Bible ultimately points to the coming of the Messiah––Jesus Christ. Because of our mess, we, too, need a Deliverer. In chapter 20, most of the Benjaminites were killed in battle. In chapter 21, the Israelites looked for wives to reestablish the tribe of Benjamin.

TEACHING

Judges 21:1-4: When the oath (v. 1) was made is not recorded in Scripture, but the reason behind it is important––the Israelites didn’t want the tribe of Benjamin to survive. However, the people of Israel gathered at Bethel and mourned together because of the absence of Benjamin (vv. 2-3). The people turned to the Lord in their grief, built an altar, and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings (v. 4). Burnt offerings were a sacrifice of atonement that acknowledged the sin nature and recognized a renewed relationship with God (Leviticus 1; 6:8-13). Fellowship offerings were a voluntary sacrifice given to thank God for His provision and deliverance (Leviticus 7:11-21). This provides a glimmer of hope that the Israelites were showing signs of returning to the Lord. However, God requires more than just the giving of sacrifices. Joel 2:12-13 says we are to rend our hearts, not our clothes. He was addressing grieving in the heart, more than outward signs of grief. Some outward expressions of dealing with the grief of sin: Genesis 37:34: Jacob tore his clothes and put on sackcloth; 2 Samuel 1:11: David tore his clothes in mourning; Job 1:20: Job tore his robe and shaved his head.

Listed are some expressions of inwardly dealing with the grief of sin:

• Hosea 6:6 - God requires loyalty over sacrifice and knowledge of God over offerings.
• Psalm 51:17 - God wants a broken spirit and a broken and humble heart.
• 2 Corinthians 7:10 - God wants godly grief that produces repentance.

Judges 21:5-9: The Israelites grieved that the tribe of Benjamin was not with them, and that the oath they had taken called for any to be put to death that violated it (v. 5). In their grief, they found compassion and wanted to save the entire tribe of Benjamin from annihilation (vv. 6-7). They were concerned that they had made an oath not to allow their daughters to marry any men from Benjamin. They realized that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the assembly (vv. 8-9).

“The Gileadites were descended from Manasseh, the grandson of Rachel, and thus there was a blood-tie with the descendants of Benjamin, Rachel’s son. In the subsequent history there was a very close link between the tribe of Benjamin and the men of Jabesh-gilead.”¹

Judges 21:10-18: The Israelites gathered together and sent 12,000 men to kill all the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead (v. 10), except for women who were virgins (v. 11). They found 400 virgins and brought them to Shiloh (v. 12). There were 600 Benjaminite survivors from the battle (Judges 20:47), so 200 virgins were still needed for these survivors. The Israelites sent a message of peace to the Benjaminites who had survived the fight (v. 13). The tribe of Benjamin returned, and Israel gave the 400 virgins to them (v. 14). The people had compassion on the tribe of Benjamin and decided they would give more virgins to be brides of the Benjaminites so they would not be wiped out (vv. 15-17). But they could not give their own daughters because they had made an oath (v. 18).

Judges 21:19-22: The Israelites determined that an upcoming annual feast (possibly the Feast of Tabernacles or Passover) would give them the opportunity to fix the deficit number of women needed (v. 19). The Benjaminites were told to hide in the vineyards while they watched for young women of Shiloh to come out to dance. Then, they were to each catch one to be their wife and take them back to Benjamin (vv. 20-21). That way, when the fathers (or brothers) came looking for their daughters, the fathers could be told that they had not broken their oath, but that the Benjaminites had need of more wives than what were available (v. 22).

Judges 21:23-25: The Benjaminites did as they were told. They took the women back to the land they had inherited and rebuilt their lives and families (v. 23). All the gathered Israelites returned home as well (v. 24). And, “in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted” (v. 25).

As we come to the end of this study, let’s look at the big picture of the book of Judges. Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25 all say the same thing: “In those days there was no king in Israel.” Over and over again, because there was no king, the people did whatever they wanted. The men of Gibeah raped a woman all night. The men of Benjamin had no problem defending evil. In Israel, there were massacres of innocent people, kidnappings of innocent people, constant disobedience of the law, and taking their eyes off the Lord.

CLOSING

The reality is that we do the same thing. The difference is that they didn’t have a king, and we do––King Jesus. In Judges, they wanted a king, and they kept looking for someone to come and save them. All of the judges were great people whom God used, but they fell short! Why? Because there is a real King who will come and set us free from all of this. The reality is that we’re all in this evil period:

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every one of us falls short.

Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin will always lead to death. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done!

Romans 5:8: “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”!

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift––not from works, so that no one can boast.”

Romans 10:9-10: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”

There are people reading this who have never embraced the gift of God’s love. They haven’t embraced this gift from Christ Jesus who died on the cross for them so that this craziness and evil will end for them. When you have this faith in God’s gift of Jesus Christ, it leads to life. When you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, then you will be saved. When you confess out loud that Jesus is your Lord, you will experience salvation.

The cycle of sin and death in Judges was all they had. But we do not have that anymore––we have the love of Christ. One of the things I love about Mindi’s painting is her depiction of the Holy Spirit. Scripture says that when you say yes to Jesus, He promises you the Holy Spirit will dwell inside you. Romans 8:14 says, “All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.” You are a child of God. That’s what the book of Judges does. It gives us the hope of deliverance in Christ from the evil that ruled Israel.

If you’ve never told Jesus, you want Him to be in charge of your life, now is the time. Do it now! Just say these words out loud,

“Jesus, I want you to be Lord. Forgive me of the cycle of sin in my life. Jesus, I believe that You died on the cross, were buried, and came back alive so I could be saved. Jesus, I want You as my Savior. Amen.”

If you’ve prayed this tonight, please go to www.reviveSchool.org or www.timetorevive.com so we can help you grow in this process.