Judges Chapter 20 records Israel’s second civil war and the devastating consequences of a nation divided against itself. A horrific crime committed in Gibeah, compounded by Benjamin’s refusal to surrender the guilty, resulted in a civil war that cost Israel more than sixty thousand fighting men and brought the tribe of Benjamin to the brink of extinction.

What began as an effort to administer justice against the guilty men of Gibeah quickly escalated into a national conflict when the tribe of Benjamin refused to surrender the perpetrators. Instead of cooperating with their fellow Israelites to remove wickedness from their midst, the Benjamites assembled an army to defend their territory and fight against the other tribes of Israel. The refusal of Benjamin to hold the guilty accountable transformed a local crime into a tribal confrontation and ultimately into a civil war between brothers.

Other Teachings: Judges Series, The Levite’s Concubine – Judges 19:1-30, The Name of God

Why did Benjamin’s refusal to give up the guilty lead to civil war? Arthur Bailey teaches that Benjamin chose war to defend the wicked men of Gibeah because they were their own blood. When a congregation, a family, an organization, or a leadership structure protects wrongdoers because of personal relationships or institutional loyalty, it places loyalty above righteousness and people above YeHoVaH’s Commandments. Israel lost 40,000 men in the first two battles, and only after the people wept, fasted, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and inquired of YeHoVaH did He promise them victory. Arthur warns that knowing what is written without doing it puffs us up, and that if the enemy can get us fighting each other, our enemies become those of our own household. Believers can have compassion and emotion, but we must never compromise righteousness for wickedness, even for family.