Judges 20:18 - Meaning and Application

Here we have Israel defeated in both their first and second battles with the Benjamites.

Before the first fight, they asked God for guidance about the order of battle, and he directed them. Yet they were badly beaten. They did not ask whether they should attack Benjamin at all, because that matter was clear enough. The men of Gibeah had to be punished for their evil, and Israel was the nation that had to carry out that punishment. Their question was, “Who should go first?” (Judges 20:18). In other words, who should lead the army? If one tribe was to go first, the prince of that tribe would be seen as the commander of the whole force. If they meant only the order of marching, they would have asked who should go next, and then who after that. But once Judah was chosen to go first, all the tribes had to follow the lead of that tribe’s prince.

Judah was given this honor because our Lord Jesus was to come from that tribe, and he was to have first place in all things. The tribe that went first had the most honorable position, but also the most danger, and likely suffered the greatest loss in the battle. Who would fight for first place if he knew how risky it was? Yet even though Judah, a strong and brave tribe, went first, and all Israel went with them, little Benjamin, as he is called in (Psalm 68:27), was too strong for them all. The whole army laid siege to Gibeah (Judges 20:19). The Benjamites came out to break the siege, and Israel prepared to meet them hard (Judges 20:20). But the Benjamites attacked fiercely from the front, and the men of Gibeah came out against their rear, so Israel fell into confusion and lost 22,000 men (Judges 20:21). No prisoners were taken, because no mercy was given. All were put to the sword.

Before the second battle, they again asked God for guidance, and more earnestly than before. They wept before the Lord until evening (Judges 20:23), mourning the loss of so many brave men, especially since it showed that God was displeased. It also gave the Benjamites room to boast in the success of their wickedness. This time they did not ask who should go first. They asked whether they should go up at all. They had good reason to hesitate, especially after Providence had seemed to turn against them, because Benjamin was their brother. They were willing to lay down their arms if God so ordered it. God told them to go up. He allowed the attack, because even though Benjamin was their brother, he was like a diseased part of the body that had to be cut off.

After that, they took courage, though perhaps they leaned more on their own strength than on God’s command. They made a second attack on the rebels in the same place where the first battle had been fought (Judges 20:22). They hoped to recover their honor on the same ground where they had lost it, and they did not superstitiously avoid the place as if it had brought bad luck. But they were beaten back again, with the loss of 18,000 men (Judges 20:25). The losses from both days came to 40,000, which was one-tenth of their whole army, the same number they had earlier drawn by lot to bring food (Judges 20:10). They had set apart a tenth for that service, and now God again took a tenth in judgment.

What are we to say about this, that such a right and honorable cause should fail twice? Were they not fighting God’s battle against sin? Had they not received his command? And yet they still lost. First, God’s judgments are deep, and his way is in the sea. Clouds and darkness often surround him, but judgment and justice are always the foundation of his throne. We can trust that God is right, even when we cannot see his reasons. Second, God was showing them, and us through them, that the race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong. We are not to trust in numbers, which the Israelites may have done too confidently. We must never place our weight on human power alone, because only the Rock of Ages can bear it.

Third, God was correcting Israel for their sins. They were right to be zealous against Gibeah’s wickedness, but were there not sins among them too, even among them? Those who are quick to condemn others must be made to know their own guilt. Some think this was also a rebuke because they had not stood against the idolatry of Micah and the Danites, which had corrupted their religion. Now they were acting against the shameful conduct of Gibeah and the Benjamites, which disturbed the public peace, even though God had clearly commanded them to make war on idolaters (Deuteronomy 13:12). Fourth, God was teaching us not to be surprised if a good cause suffers defeat for a time, or to judge a cause by its success. The cause of grace in the heart, and of true religion in the world, may be beaten down and lose much, and seem almost destroyed, but justice will finally win out. We may be defeated in a battle, but not in the whole war. Right may fall, but it will rise again.