J
U D G E S
CHAP. XXI.
The
ruins of the tribe of Benjamin we read of in the foregoing chapter; now here
we have, I. The lamentation which
Israel
made over these ruins, ver.
1-4, 6, 15. II. The provision they made for the repair of them out of the 600
men that escaped, for whom they procured wives, 1. Of the virgins of Jabesh-Gilead,
when they destroyed that city for not sending its forces to the general
rendezvous, ver. 5, 7-14. 2. Of the daughters of Shiloh, ver. 16-25. And so
this melancholy story concludes.
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Lamentation
for the Benjamites; Wives Provided for the Benjamites.
B.
C.
1409
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1 Now
the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give
his daughter unto Benjamin to wife. 2 And the people came to the
house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their
voices, and wept sore; 3 And said, O LORD
God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day
one tribe lacking in Israel? 4 And it came to pass on the morrow,
that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt
offerings and peace offerings. 5 And the children of Israel said,
Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the
congregation unto the LORD?
For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD
to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. 6 And the
children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There
is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. 7 How shall we do for
wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD
that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? 8 And they
said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to
Mizpeh to the LORD?
And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the
assembly. 9 For the people were numbered, and, behold, there
were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. 10 And
the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and
commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the
edge of the sword, with the women and the children. 11 And this is
the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every
woman that hath lain by man. 12 And they found among the
inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man
by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is
in the land of Canaan. 13 And the whole congregation sent some
to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and
to call peaceably unto them. 14 And Benjamin came again at that
time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of
Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not. 15 And the
people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD
had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
We may observe in these verses,
I. The ardent zeal which the Israelites had expressed against the wickedness
of the men of Gibeah, as it was countenanced by the tribe of Benjamin.
Occasion is here given to mention two instances of their zeal on this
occasion, which we did not meet with before:-- 1. While the general convention
of the states was gathering together, and was waiting for a full house before
they would proceed, they bound themselves with the great execration, which
they called the Cherum, utterly to destroy all those cities that should
not send in their representatives and their quota of men upon this occasion,
or had sentenced those to that curse who should thus refuse (v. 5); for
they would look upon such refusers as having no indignation at the crime
committed, no concern for the securing of the nation from God's judgments by
the administration of justice, nor any regard to the authority of a common
consent, by which they were summoned to meet. 2. When they had met and heard
the cause they made another solemn oath that none of all the thousands of
Israel then present, nor any of those whom they represented (not intending to
bind their posterity), should, if they could help it, marry a daughter
to a Benjamite, v. 1. This was made an article of the war, not with any
design to extirpate the tribe, but because in general they would treat those
who were then actors and abettors of this villany in all respects as they
treated the devoted nations of Canaan, whom they were not only obliged to
destroy, but with whom they were forbidden to marry; and because, in
particular, they judged those unworthy to match with a daughter of Israel that
had been so very barbarous and abusive to one of the tender sex, than which
nothing could be done more base and villainous, nor a more certain indication
given of a mind perfectly lost to all honour and virtue. We may suppose that
the Levite's sending the mangled pieces of his wife's body to the several
tribes helped very much to inspire them with all this fury, and much more than
a bare narrative of the fact, though ever so well attested, would have done,
so much does the eye affect the heart.
II. The deep concern which the Israelites did express for the destruction of
the tribe of Benjamin when it was accomplished. Observe,
1. The tide of their anger at Benjamin's crime did not run so high and so
strong before but the tide of their grief for Benjamin's destruction ran as
high and as strong after: They repented for Benjamin their brother, v.
6, 15. They did not repent of their zeal against the sin; there is a holy
indignation against sin, the fruit of godly sorrow, which is to salvation,
not to be repented of, 2 Cor. vii. 10, 11. But they repented of the sad
consequences of what they had done, that they had carried the matter further
than was either just or necessary. It would have been enough to destroy all
they found in arms; they needed not to have cut off the husbandmen and
shepherds, the women and children. Note, (1.) There may be over-doing in
well-doing. Great care must be taken in the government of our zeal, lest that
which seemed supernatural in its causes prove unnatural in its effects. That
is no good divinity which swallows up humanity. Many a war is ill ended which
was well begun. (2.) Even necessary justice is to be done with compassion. God
does not punish with delight, nor should men. (3.) Strong passions make work
for repentance. What we say and do in a heat our calmer thoughts commonly wish
undone again. (4.) In a civil war (according to the usage of the Romans) no
victories ought to be celebrated with triumphs, because, which soever side
gets, the community loses, as here there is a tribe cut off from Israel.
What the better is the body for one member's crushing another? Now,
2. How did they express their concern? (1.) By their grief for the breach that
was made. They came to the house of God, for thither they brought all their
doubts, all their counsels, all their cares, and all their sorrows. There was
to be heard on this occasion, not the voice of joy and praise, but only that
of lamentation, and mourning, and woe: They lifted up their voices and wept
sore (v. 2), not so much for the 40,000 whom they had lost (these
would not be so much missed out of eleven tribes), but for the entire
destruction of one whole tribe; for this was the complaint they poured out
before God (v. 3): There is one tribe lacking. God had taken
care of every tribe; their number twelve was that which they were known by;
every tribe had his station appointed in the camp, and his stone in the high
priest's breast-plate; every tribe had his blessing both from Jacob and Moses;
and it would be an intolerable reproach to them if they should drop any out of
this illustrious jury, and lose one out of twelve, especially Benjamin, the
youngest, who was particularly dear to Jacob their common ancestor, and whom
all the rest ought to have been in a particular manner tender of. Benjamin is
not; what then will become of Jacob? Benjamin is become a Benoni, the son of
the right hand a son of sorrow! In this trouble they built an altar, not in
competition, but in communion with the appointed altar at the door of the
tabernacle, which was not large enough to contain all the sacrifices they
designed; for they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, to give thanks
for their victory, yet to atone for their own folly in the pursuit of it, and
to implore the divine favour in their present strait. Every thing that grieves
us should bring us to God. (2.) By their amicable treaty with the poor
distressed refugees that were hidden in the rock Rimmon, to whom they sent an
act of indemnity, assuring them, upon the public faith, that they would now no
longer treat them as enemies, but receive them as brethren, v. 13. The
falling out of friends should thus be the renewing of friendship. Even those
that have sinned, if at length they repent, must be forgiven and comforted, 2
Cor. ii. 7. (3.) By the care they took to provide wives for them, that their
tribe might be built up again, and the ruins of it repaired. Had the men of
Israel sought themselves, they would have been secretly pleased with the
extinguishing of the families of Benjamin, because then the land allotted to
them would escheat to the rest of the tribes, ob defectum sanguinis--for
want of heirs, and be easily seized for want of occupants; but those have
not the spirit of Israelites who aim to raise themselves upon the ruins of
their neighbours. They were so far from any design of this kind that all heads
were at work to find out ways and means for the rebuilding of this tribe. All
the women and children of Benjamin were slain: they had sworn not to marry
their daughters to any of them; it was against the divine law that they should
match with the Canaanites; to oblige them to that would be, in effect, to bid
them go and serve other gods. What must they do then for wives for
them? While the poor distressed Benjamites that were hidden in the rock feared
their brethren were contriving to ruin them, they were at the same time upon a
project to prefer them; and it was this:-- [1.] There was a piece of necessary
justice to be done upon the city of Jabesh-Gilead, which belonged to the tribe
of Gad, on the other side Jordan. It was found upon looking over the
muster-roll (which was taken, ch. xx. 2) that none appeared from that
city upon the general summons (v. 8, 9), and it was then resolved,
before it appeared who were absent, that whatever city of Israel should be
guilty of such a contempt of the public authority and interest that city
should be an anathema; Jabesh-Gilead lies under that severe sentence, which
might by no means be dispensed with. Those that had spared the Canaanites in
many places, who were devoted to destruction by the divine command, could not
find in their hearts to spare their brethren that were devoted by their own
curse. Why did they not now send men to root the Jebusites out of Jerusalem,
to avoid whom the poor Levite had been forced to go to Gibeah? ch. xix.
11, 12. Men are commonly more zealous to support their own authority than
God's. A detachment is therefore sent of 12,000 men, to execute the sentence
upon Jabesh-Gilead. Having found that when the whole body of the army went
against Gibeah the people were thought too many for God to deliver them into
their hands, on this expedition they sent but a few, v. 10. Their
commission is to put all to the sword, men, women, and children (v.
11), according to that law (Lev. xxvii. 29), Whatsoever is devoted of men,
by those that have power to do it, shall surely be put to death. [2.]
An expedient is hence formed for providing the Benjamites with wives. When
Moses sent the same number of men to avenge the Lord on Midian, the same
orders were given as here, that all married women should be slain with their
husbands, as one with them, but that the virgins should be saved alive, Num.
xxxi. 17, 18. That precedent was sufficient to support the distinction here
made between a wife and a virgin, v. 11, 12. 400 virgins that were
marriageable were found in Jabesh-Gilead, and these were married to so many of
the surviving Benjamites, v. 14. Their fathers were not present when
the vow was made not to marry with Benjamites, so that they were not under any
colour of obligation by it: and besides, being a prey taken in war, they were
at the disposal of the conquerors. Perhaps the alliance now contracted between
Benjamin and Jabesh-Gilead made Saul, who was a Benjamite, the more concerned
for that place (1 Sam. xi. 4), though then inhabited by new families.
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The
Virgins of Shiloh Surprised.
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B.
C. 1409.
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16 Then the elders of the
congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the
women are destroyed out of Benjamin? 17 And they said, There
must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe
be not destroyed out of Israel. 18 Howbeit we may not give them
wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be
he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. 19 Then they said, Behold, there
is a feast of the LORD
in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of
Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem,
and on the south of Lebonah. 20 Therefore they commanded the
children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in
dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of
the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And it
shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that
we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we
reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at
this time, that ye should be guilty. 23 And the children of
Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of
them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their
inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them. 24 And
the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe
and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his
inheritance. 25 In those days there was no king in Israel:
every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
We have here the method that was taken to provide the 200 Benjamites that
remained with wives. And, though the tribe was reduced to a small number, they
were only in care to provide each man with one wife, not with more under
pretence of multiplying them the faster. They may not bestow their daughters
upon them, but to save their oath, and yet marry some of their daughters to
them, they put them into a way of taking them by surprise, and marrying them,
which should be ratified by their parents' consent, ex post facto--afterwards.
The less consideration is used before the making of a vow, the more, commonly,
there is need of afterwards for the keeping of it.
I. That which gave an opportunity for the doing of this was a public ball at
Shiloh, in the fields, at which all the young ladies of that city and the
parts adjacent that were so disposed met to dance, in honour of a feast of
the Lord then observed, probably the feast of tabernacles (v. 19),
for that feast (bishop Patrick says) was the only season wherein the Jewish
virgins were allowed to dance, and that not so much for their own recreation
as to express their holy joy, as David when he danced before the ark,
otherwise the present melancholy posture of public affairs would have made
dancing unseasonable, as Isa. xxii. 12, 13. The dancing was very modest and
chaste. It was not mixed dancing; no men danced with these daughters of
Shiloh, nor did any married women so far forget their gravity as to join with
them. However their dancing thus in public made them an easy prey to those
that had a design upon them, whence bishop Hall observes that the ambushes
of evil spirits carry away many souls from dancing to a fearful desolation.
II. The elders of Israel gave authority to the Benjamites to do this, to lie
in wait in the vineyards which surrounded the green they used to dance on,
and, when they were in the midst of their sport, to come upon them, and catch
every man a wife for himself, and carry them straight away to their own
country, v. 20, 21. They knew that none of their own daughters would be
there, so that the parents of these virgins could not be said to give them,
for they knew nothing of the matter. A sorry salvo is better than none,
to save the breaking of an oath: it were much better to be cautious in making
vows, that there be not occasion afterwards, as there was here, to say
before the angel that it was an error. Here was a very preposterous way of
match-making, when both the mutual affection of the young people and the
consent of the parents must be presumed to come after; the case was
extraordinary, and may by no means be drawn into a precedent. Over hasty
marriages often occasion a leisurely repentance; and what comfort can be
expected from a match made either by force or fraud? The virgins of Jabesh-Gilead
were taken out of the midst of blood and slaughter, but these of Shiloh out of
the midst of mirth and joy; the former had reason to be thankful that they had
their lives for a prey, and the latter, it is to be hoped, had no cause to
complain, after a while, when they found themselves matched, not to men of
broken and desperate fortunes, as they seemed to be, who were lately fetched
out of a cave, but to men of the best and largest estates in the nation, as
they must needs be when the lot of the whole tribe of Benjamin, which
consisted of 45,600 men (Num. xxvi. 41), came to be divided again among 600,
who had all by survivorship.
III. They undertook to pacify the fathers of these young women. As to the
infringement of their paternal authority, they would easily forgive it when
they considered to what fair estates their daughters were matched and what
mothers in Israel they were likely to be; but the oath they were bound by, not
to give their daughters to Benjamites, might perhaps stick with some of them,
whose consciences were tender, yet, as to that, this might satisfy them:-- 1.
That the necessity was urgent (v. 22): We reserved not to each man
his wife, owning now that they did ill to destroy all the women, and
desiring to atone for their too rigorous construction of their vow to destroy
them by the most favourable construction of their vow not to match with them.
"And therefore for our sakes, who were too severe, let them keep what
they have got." For, 2. In strictness it was not a breach of their vow;
they had sworn not to give them their daughters, but they had not sworn to
fetch them back if they were forcibly taken, so that if there was any fault
the elders must be responsible, not the parents. And Quod fieri non debuit,
factum valet--That which ought not to have been done is yet valid when
it is done. The thing was done, and is ratified only by connivance,
according to the law, Num. xxx. 4.
Lastly, In the close of all we have, 1. The settling of the tribe of
Benjamin again. The few that remained returned to the inheritance of that
tribe, v. 23. And soon after from among them sprang Ehud, who was
famous in his generation, the second judge of Israel, ch. iii. 15. 2.
The disbanding and dispersing of the army of Israel, v. 24. They did
not set up for a standing army, nor pretend to make any alterations or
establishments in the government; but when the affair was over for which they
were called together, they quietly departed in God's peace, every man to his
family. Public services must not make us think ourselves above our own private
affairs and the duty of providing for our own house. 3. A repetition of the
cause of these confusions, v. 25. Though God was their King, every man
would be his own master, as if there was no king. Blessed be God for
magistracy.
Contents
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