The judges sustained Israel for almost 300 years of peace, with about 112 years of struggle that extended to Eli (40 years) and Samuel (about 25 years until Saul). The struggles were normal for a young nation, but on balance they were peaceful years.
Micah set up his own priest (Chapter 17)
It started with an
obscure set of events that started when Micah stole a fair amount of money
from his mother.
He then restored it to
her, but with her blessing used the silver to make a graven image, ephod, teraphim
and other priestly accouterments.
Initially he appointed
his son as his priest, but when a levite from Judah came to his house, he
secured his services as his household priest.
The reason was clear:
every man did what was right in their eyes. The nation had regressed and they
were no longer sensitized to the Lord.
The tribe of Dan sought to settle their land (chapter
18)
The Danites were not
yet fully settled, specifically along the coast, which confirms that it would take eons to fully settle the land.
They then sent 5 men from
the coastal towns of Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to determine
what their options were.
The men came to Micah
and when they saw his priest and his paraphernalia, they asked him if God
would favor their quest.
The priest did as all
unqualified charlatans do, he went with what they wanted to hear and off they
went to find that the people of Laish dwelt peacefully, but carelessly, without
the support of a magistrate. It seemed that they could settle the land.
So, they concluded
that Micah’s good guess suggested that he might do better as the priest of a whole
tribe than of a single household.
Well, the man was
ambitious enough to take the promotion and off he went, with a guard of 600 men,
together with all his snake oil and silky music.
Then Jonathon, son
of Gershom, the Levite, became their priest.
Things turned ugly (Chapter 19)
Our happy priest
then acquired a concubine, who followed his noble example and went off to play
the whore in Bethlehemjudah.
So he pursued after
her. That led him to her father and there was great merriment and a delay of 5
days as his father-in-law urged him to stay.
Then he simply had to
make his leave, but he reached Gibeah in Benjamin, at nightfall.
He was happy to spend the
night on the pavement with his errant concubine, but a good man insisted that they
come off the streets to stay in his home.
Later, some worthless
souls, sons of Belial or of the Devil, wanted to have the man, but the host
refused to let that happen as the man was under his protection.
So he offered his
daughter and ended up sending the priest’s concubine. They abused her all night
and she died on the threshold in the morning.
That so aggrieved the
priest that he cut the girl into 12 parts, which he throughout
Israel.
Civil war (Chapter 20)
What ensued was a
massive wave of anger and a deadly standoff between Benjamin and the tribes.
They assembled 400,000
men against Benjamin and insisted that those who did such evil be brought out
to face death.
Instead, the Benjamites
attacked Israel. They were very good fighters, with 700 left-handed warriors
who could sling a shot with uncanny accuracy.
The first and second
attacks felled over 40,000 men of Israel. They fasted and pleaded with God for
help and then did what Joshua once did.
They set ambushers in
the fields and drew an emboldened Benjamin out of the city of Gibeah, then lit a signal fire
that set the Benjamites in the middle.
Most of the tribe of Benjamin fell that day.
Restoration of Benjamin (chapter 21)
The nation was right.
They had acted righteously. Then they made their peace and arranged brides for
all that was left of Benjamin, so they could recover.
However, it was all
rather delicate as the rest of the tribes had sworn an oath that none of them
would give of their sons or daughters to Benjamin.
Eventually the crisis
passed and Benjamin was fully restored.
The upshot is that
when Israel later seceded into two kingdoms, Benjamin stood with Judah, confirming that out of their brokenness had emerged a faithful heart.
The chapter and book ends with a recurring theme, “There was no king in Israel at that
time”.
The time of the kings
was coming, but with it would come a more mature definition of the priest and
prophet, to lay the foundations for a centered, settled nation.
The cycle reflects a pattern seen in great nations like France, Britain and the US, which only came to full constitutional maturity after they first broke down through civil war.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
