Judges 20:12 - Meaning and Application

Here, first, we see the fair and right demand the tribes of Israel sent to Benjamin: hand over the criminals of Gibeah so they could be judged (Judges 20:12, 13). If Benjamin had come to the assembly as they should have, and agreed with the rest, then only the men of Gibeah would have had to answer. But by staying away, they seemed to side with the offenders, so the charge had to be brought against the whole tribe.

The Israelites were angry about the evil, but they were also careful in their anger. They did not think it right to attack the whole tribe unless Benjamin refused to give up the guilty men and so made themselves partners in the crime after the fact. They remind Benjamin how great the wickedness was, and that it had happened among them. So they should either punish the men themselves, according to the law of Moses, or hand them over to the whole assembly for public judgment, so that evil could be removed from Israel, the nation’s guilt could be taken away, and the disease could be cut out before it spread. The sin was so like the sin of Sodom that they had good reason to fear God would judge them as he judged those cities if they refused to act.

This was a reasonable demand, and if Israel had not made it, they would have had even more reason to grieve over what happened to Benjamin later. Before war or even a lawsuit, every peaceful way should be tried. Their request was like Joab’s demand to the city of Abel, “Give up the one man, and we will leave you alone” (2 Samuel 20:20, 21). In the same way, God will be at peace with us on one condition, that we part with our sins, put to death our evil desires, and then all will be well.

Second, we see the shameful stubbornness of the men of Benjamin, who were just as united in defending the criminals as the other tribes were in seeking justice. They had so little sense of honor, duty, and self-interest. They would not listen to their brothers (Judges 20:13), either because the tribe had become especially corrupt at that time, or because, as Bishop Patrick suggests, they resented the other tribes interfering in their affairs. They refused to do what they knew was right because their brethren had told them to do it.

If there were any wiser men among them who would have agreed, they were overruled by the majority. In that way, the whole tribe made the crime of Gibeah their own. So we share in evil deeds when we join with darkness, approve it, or defend it. There is almost no cause so bad that it will not find supporters, but those who block necessary justice and strengthen the wicked by saying, “You will not die,” will have much to answer for.

They were also wildly proud and reckless to take up arms against all Israel. Surely no one was more foolish than they were when they fought against justice, and therefore against God himself, against a people who had the high priest and God’s guidance on their side. They were openly rebelling against the nation’s highest and holiest authority.

They also went to war against a force far greater than their own. The difference in numbers was much worse than the one Jesus speaks of in Luke 14:31, 32, where a man with 10,000 wisely avoids a battle with someone coming against him with 20,000 and seeks peace instead. There the enemy was only two to one. Here it was more than fifteen to one, yet Benjamin still rejected peace. They could field only 26,000 men, plus 700 men from Gibeah (Judges 20:15), while Israel had 400,000 men (Judges 20:17). So sinners often rush on to their own ruin and stir up God’s jealousy, though he is far stronger than they are (1 Corinthians 10:22).

Still, it seems they trusted in skill more than numbers, especially in their 700 left-handed slingers, who were so skilled that they could hit a target very closely with a stone (Judges 20:16). But those good marksmen badly missed the mark when they supported such a wicked cause. Benjamin means “son of the right hand,” yet here we find his descendants left-handed.