Judges Chapter 20 Part Two (Verses 18-48)

B. The battle against Benjamin and Gibeah

1. (Judges 20:18-21) The first day of battle--Israel is defeated before Benjamin
Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the LORD said, "Judah shall go up first." So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. Then men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arrayed for battle against them at Gibeah. Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and felled to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel.

Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God: With the battle lines and forces set in place, the assault began. However, the army of Israel first went up to Bethel to consult with God. Only thing to note, the entire army would not have moved to Bethel, but only the commanders. Second, there is a question of why they went to Bethel. There is much disagreement among scholars over this matter. However, as time goes on, evidence mounts to explain it. It has to do with the location of the Wilderness Tabernacle.

When Israel first arrived in Canaan, the Tabernacle was set up in Shechem. A while later, it was moved to Shiloh. It resided here only briefly before it was moved to Bethel. After some time, it was moved back to Shiloh. It remained at Shiloh for several hundred years. So this is the point in time when the Sanctuary (and the central religious authority, the priesthood) was located in Bethel. 

Who should go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin: In verse 18, we see the main reason they went to Bethel was to inquire about how to proceed in battle. This was something they remembered from the days of Joshua. It says they asked God how to proceed. The answer was that Judah should go first.

One question which we may ask is if God actually spoke to someone in this situation. The answer is no. The Urim and Thummin was carried and operated by the High Priest. He was the one to consult God. The two stones indicated God's specific will. We do not know how the stones indicated the divine answer, but God most likely did not directly speak to the sons of Israel. So when we see the LORD answering, it was most likely a divined answer given by the Urim and Thummin.

So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah: Having received their answer, the army attacked Gibeah with Judah in the lead. The sons of Israel were slaughtered, with Judah most likely taking the brunt of the causalities. Twenty-two thousand of Israel's army were killed. How could Benjamin do so much damage against such a mighty army? For one thing, the terrain worked for them. Gibeah is located in hilly country. Thus, it favored the defense. Now matter how many soldiers Israel had available, only a small portion of them could approach the city to assault it. The bulk of the forces waited their turn as replacements for the fallen. If you see your fallen comrades dead on the ground, you will not be very likely to fight or to fight with much valor. Instead, once Israel's army started to fall, it was a domino effect. Soldier after soldier lost heart and was ultimately killed.


2. (Judges 20:22-23) Israel seeks God after the first defeat
But the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and arrayed for battle again in the place where they had arrayed the first day. The sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall we again draw near for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him."

The sons of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening: The leaders of the army went back to Bethel and wept. They beseeched the LORD for the reasons why they had failed. They thought they had His blessing and followed His instructions. They again consulted God by means of the Urim and Thummin. They asked if they should attack once more. The answer was "yes".


3. (Judges 20:24-25) On the second day of battle, Israel is defeated before Benjamin again
Then the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day. Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and felled to the ground again 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword.

The sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day: After regrouping, they prepared for another attack on Gibeah. Even though it says that this occurred on the second day, it does not mean the day after the first day of battle. It simply means the second time they battled. Several days or even several weeks could have passed in between the first and second battles. They were again defeated. Israel lost an additional 18,000 men.


4. (Judges 20:26-28) Israel repents before God after the second defeat
Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. The sons of Israel inquired of the LORD (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron's son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the LORD said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."   

Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept: In verse 26, we find Israel going back to Bethel with their tails between their legs. They are dismayed and confused. But they are not ready to give up. This time, they take a different approach to inquiring of God. They fasted and they offered sacrifices. Then they asked God what to do. The answer was unequivocal: they were to attack Giebah one more time. But the LORD communicates this time it will be different. This time Benjamin will fall to the sword.

The Israelites now understood that repentance and humility were needed to properly approach the Creator of all things, and numbers alone are never a guarantee of success.

Phinehas: Here we find the war priest for Israel was none other than Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron. Remember Phinehas was the man whose resolute action of using a spear to run through the Midianite woman and Hebrew man who were having intercourse inside the camp of Israel, killing them both, saved Israel from God's wrath. Phinehas's bold action (when everyone else was paralyzed or utterly disinterested) atoned for Israel's rebellion before the LORD and ended a divine plague which had already killed 24,000 Israelites. Phinehas is one of the most unrecognized Old Testament Bible heroes.

Phinehas had taken a lead role in the war against Midian and acted as a mediator during a time when the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan were suspected of disunity and apostasy due to the erection of a memorial altar. Interestingly, like Moses, Phinehas had been given an Egyptian name. Pe-nehasi is the Egyptian pronunciation, and it means "Nubian" or "the dark skinned one". Just as Moses as given the Egyptian name Mose and it was later Hebraized to Mosheh (and then in English it is changed to Moses), so Pe-nehasi was later Hebraized to Peh-nehk-aws (and in English we say Fin-e-has). Bottom line: Phinehas was noticeably darker skinned than the average olive-skinned Hebrew.


5. (Judges 20:29-48) Third day of battle--victory for Israel over Benjamin and Gibeah
So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. The sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as at other times. The sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. Then sons of Benjamin said, "They are struck down before us, as at the first." But the sons of Israel said, "Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways." Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush broke out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them. And the LORD struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who draw the sword.

So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. Then the men of Israel turned in battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men, for they said, "Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle." But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that disaster was close to them. Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them. They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest and trod them down opposite Gibeah toward the east. Thus 18,000 men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant warriors. The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.

So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah: After having two failed first attempts, the sons of Israel switch tactics. Instead of a direct frontal assault on Gibeah, they plan an ambush much in the same fashion which Joshua used in the battle for Ai.

The third attack on Gibeah begins just as the previous two had. The Benjamites assume that since the method of attack seemed the same, they could expect the same outcome. What they did not know was that this was a trick. When it appeared the Israelites were being routed, they turned and ran. The Benjamite warriors gave chase. Once they were a fair distance outside Gibeah's defensive walls, a hidden company of Israelites stole into the city. They captured it and burned it.

When the Israelites who were running away saw the thick black clouds of smoke rising upward, that was the signal for them to turn around and begin attacking the Benjamites who were pursuing them.

With their city captured, and caught in a vise between two forces, the army of Benjamin was doomed. Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin died defending Gibeah, and the rest ran to try to save their lives. But the warriors of Israel were ready for that. They easily caught up to them and killed them. Five thousand fled towards the Rock of Rimmon (Rimmon means pomegranate tree) and were slaughtered on the road. Another 2,000 headed for the city of Gibeah and were also killed. Six hundred more made it to the Rock of Rimmon and hid there for four months.

After this, the Israeli army executed every last man, woman, child and even all the livestock that had anything to do with Gibeah. The tribe of Benjamin lay on the verge of complete extinction.      

The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)

In the Bible, God commands us to come together and celebrate on certain days of the year. These biblical feast days are broken down into three seasons. There are the first three feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits) which occur in March/April. Then there is Shavuot (Pentecost) which happens in May/June. Then there are the fall feasts of Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). (For more details, see Leviticus 23).

Yom Teruah is a day to reflect on our special relationship with the God of the universe and recommit to walking in our created purpose--that is, sanctifying the name of God in this world and bringing Him glory. Yom Teruah, along with the rest of God's feasts, is called an appointed time (moed). It is a special time that God told us to remember and celebrate every year.

Yom Teruah marks the beginning of the fall feasts. The name Yom Teruah means day of shouting or making noise. This day has later become known as Rosh Hashanah, which means head of the year. It is the beginning of the civil year on the Jewish calendar.

According to Jewish tradition, Yom Teruah is the anniversary commemorating the creation of Adam and Chavah (Eve). Adam and Eve’s first day on earth corresponds to the first day of the year.

Many scholars believe the command to blow a shofar represents man’s way to re-create the day God created Adam. The idea is this: on the sixth day of creation, God breathed His breath into Adam. When God created Adam, God was lending His breath to man. Adam destroyed the perfect life when he sinned in the garden. Every year, man is commanded to blow the shofar during Yom Teruah. By blowing on the shofar, man is blowing his breath (and thus his life) back to God; man is giving back his spirit to God. God then decides if He wants to give the person another year of life on this earth.

This concept of God giving us life is supported in Scripture by the following verses:

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4)


The concept of us giving back our spirit to God is supported by the following verses:

Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)

 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:44-46)

These verses emphasis it is God who we commit ourselves to. It is God who decides what will happen to our life on this earth. If He chooses to give us more life, we will continue to live. If He chooses that we die, we die.

Every year on Yom Teruah, the Israelites petition God to be written in the Book of Life for another year of life. Our lives are only a loan from God. On Yom Teruah, the people give their lives back to God and ask Him for another year of life of this earth.

In keeping with the idea that our lives are a loan from God, this is the reason the Israelites strictly forbid self harm (i.e., cutting oneself or self mutilation. Suicide also strictly forbidden because our bodies are not own our, but God’s.) “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)



Blowing the shofar (trumpet horn made from an animal)
In Leviticus 23:24, we are told that Yom Teruah is a memorial proclaimed with a blast of trumpets. The Hebrew word for trumpet is shofar, which is an ancient musical instrument made of a ram's horn. The shofar can be made from any clean animal—goat, antelope, ram, etc. The most popular animal used is an antelope because it has a HUGE horn.

Horns from cows, ox or calves are not used. Although these are clean animals and are in abundant supply, the ox was the animal the Israelites used to make the golden idol when they came out of Egypt. The Israelites do not want to remind God of this sin by blowing an animal’s horn which caused Israel to commit a great sin against God.

(As an aside, when the high priest entered the Holies of Holies on Yom Kippur, his garment is plain white linen. He does not wear the fancy high priestly garments which include lots of gold. Again, it is believed one of the reasons God commanded the high priest to wear plain white garments is to not remind God of Israel’s grave sin while the high priest is making the atonement offerings for himself, his family and the nation of Israel.

Continuing in this tradition, most who attend Yom Kippur services will not wear gold jewelry and will wear white garments. Many believe the scene in Revelation 19 with the armies of heaven following after Jesus are clothed in white linen because this event takes place on Yom Kippur.

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-15))


The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22)
Every year on Yom Teruah, the story about Abraham binding Isaac is read. There are many lessons in this story which point to Jesus and also to Yom Teruah. (Read Genesis 22)

Verse 2: One of the first things God tells Abraham is that he is to go to the land of Moriah. Moriah is a mountain ridge. When Abraham is sent to Moriah, it is to the same place as the future home of the temple mount.

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (1 Chronicles 3:1)

Moriah means the land of teaching or the land of Torah. What a fitting name because this is where God’s word went forth into all the land and will continue to go forth into all the land in the future.

Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:2-3)

Verse 4: Abraham arrives on the third day and goes with Isaac to the place of sacrifice. An interesting parallel: it is on the third day Jesus rises from the dead and is delivered from death. It is also on the third day Isaac will be delivered from death.

Verse 5: Abraham says he and the young man are going to go “worship” and “we will come back to you.” Abraham was already given the command to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham knew this was an exercise of his faith. He knew if God was going to allow Abraham to kill Isaac, God would have to resurrect Isaac.

God had told Abraham he would receive a blessing and many nations would come through him.

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him,
“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me, and be blameless.
2 “I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
And I will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 “No longer shall your name be called Abram,
But your name shall be Abraham;
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. 7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your [f]descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your [g]descendants after you. 8 I will give to you and to your [h]descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:1-8)

God had already given Abraham a promise of a son. With that promise, God told Abraham many nations would come through Isaac and his descendants. The covenant would be made with Isaac. God also made it very clear Ishmael was not the one through whom the covenant would be made.

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” (Genesis 17:15-21)

The binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah was a test of Abraham’s faith. Abraham knew this. He has already been promised a son in his old age. God had been faithful and true to lead Abraham out of the land of the Chaldees and into the land of Canaan. Over and over again, God’s word had been proven true to Abraham. God was giving Abraham a major final exam. Now that all His promises had been fulfilled, would Abraham be willing to trust God enough to know that if he killed his son, his only son, God would intervene? From all the words given to us in this Scripture, Abraham seemed not to have a doubt that God was faithful and true to His word.

Verses 6 and 7: Isaac takes the wood to burn the sacrifice. Abraham takes the fire. Issac asks where is the sacrificial lamb.

Verse 8: Abraham replies, God will provide the lamb.

The wording in English is very poorly translated in our Bibles. The Hebrew says, “God will provide Himself as the lamb for the burnt offering.” This completely changes the meaning of the text. Abraham does not mean God will produce a lamb so they can have a sacrifice. Rather, Abraham says God Himself will be the sacrificial lamb. Again, this points to Abraham’s incredible faith the God will deliver Isaac from this test of faith.

Verse 9: It says Abraham binds up his son Isaac. Most Bible illustrations show Isaac to be a small child. This is completely false. In chapter 23, we read Sarah dies being 127 years old. Sarah was 90 years old at Isaac’s birth. That means Isaac was 37 years old when Sarah dies. We can assume the binding of Isaac took place shortly before Sarah’s death. We can speculate Isaac was in his 30’s. (Again this draws some very close parallels with Jesus’ death on the cross. Most believe He was in his 30’s when placed on the execution stake.)

Remember, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. If Isaac was in his 30’s, Abraham would have been in his 130’s. Isaac would have been in the prime of his life. He could have easily overcome Abraham. Isaac, too, must have had a tremendous amount of faith to comply with his father’s wishes to be tied up and bound to the altar. Isaac knew the next act would be for him to be slain. If Isaac did not trust in his father and in God, he could have fled from the scene.

Verse 11 and 12: The Angel of the LORD calls to Abraham and tells him not to sacrifice Isaac.

Verse 13: Abraham sees a ram caught in the thickets by its horn. Abraham offers the ram up as a sacrifice. The ram being caught in the thicket by its horns is one of the reasons a ram’s horn is used for the blowing of the shofar. This is a reminder that of how Isaac should have been slain on the altar, but God provided a substitute.

Verses 16-18: God tells Abraham because he was obedient, he will receive a blessing.

Verse 19: Abraham returns to his men, and they return home to Beersheba. Scripture is eerily silent about Isaac. It is very odd that the text only says Abraham returns to his men, and they (Abraham and his men) return to Beersheba. Where is Isaac? Why is he not mentioned. The next time Isaac is mentioned in the text is when Abraham’s servant fetched Rebecca to by Isaac’s bride. Isaac is out in the field at evening praying when Rebecca arrives.

Now Isaac had come from going to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the Negev. 63 Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. (Genesis 24:62-67)


An interesting side note: In Genesis 21, Abraham and Sarah are living together. In verse 31, Abraham names the place where he is Beersheba. In Genesis 22:19. Abraham and his men go back to Beersheba. In Genesis 23, we read Sarah dies at the age of 127 in Hebron. Hebron is 26 miles from Beersheba. When did Sarah move? Also, it appears from the text, Abraham was not living in Hebron with Sarah when Sarah died. “…and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah…” (Genesis 23:2).

Abraham would not have had to go anywhere if he was living with her in Hebron. It appears something happened between Genesis 21 and 23 which caused Sarah to abandon Abraham in Beersheba and move 26 miles north to Hebron.

Many scholars believe Sarah was outraged Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac on the altar in Mount Moriah. It is just speculation, but something happened which caused the two to split and live separately. It is also speculated, the binding of Isaac incident caused Sarah so much stress, it killed her. Again, it is just speculation, but Sarah’s death comes immediately after the story of the binding of Isaac.

Conclusion
Yom Teruah is a great time to shout and make noise to give glory and honor to our Creator. He gave us breathe and has numbered all our days. May we all be written in the Book of Life for the year to come. Shana Tova!

It's time to shout! It's Yom Teruah!

Did you know that God commands us to rejoice and make noise? Indeed, Yom Teruah, also knows as the Feast of Trumpets and Rosh Hashanah, is a wonderful celebration in which we come together to worship the God of Israel with shouts of joy and with blasts on the shofar as we look forward to the second coming of our Messiah.

This year, Yom Teruah begins at sundown on Friday, September 18.

 In the Bible, God commands us to come together and celebrate on certain days during the year. These biblical feast days are broken down into two seasons--the four spring feast days and the three fall feast days. (See Leviticus 23 for a complete overview of the feasts.) Yom Teruah marks the beginning of the fall feasts. The name Yom Teruah means day of shouting or making a noise. This day has later become known as Rosh Hashanah, which means head of the year. It is the beginning of the civil year on the Jewish calendar.

According to Jewish tradition, Yom Teruah is the anniversary commemorating the creation of Adam and Chavah (Eve). It is a day to reflect on our special relationship with the God of the universe and recommit to walking in our created purpose--that is, sanctifying the name of God in this world and bringing Him glory. Yom Teruah, along with the rest of God's feasts, is called an appointed time (moed). It is a special time that God told us to remember and celebrate every year.

With that said, the following is a list of ways in which you can make this amazing holy day part of your life.

1. Observe the Season of Teshuvah On the Hebrew calendar, the month before the fall feast days is called Elul. In Judaism, this month is traditionally associated with the theme of repentance, or in Hebrew teshuvah. It is a time of introspection, reconciliation and preparation. The season of teshuvah begins at the beginning of Elul and goes all the way to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The word teshuvah means to "return". The goal of the entire season is simply to "return" to God. In other words, we are to restore unhindered fellowship with Him.

2. Blow the Shofar In Leviticus 23:24, we are told that Yom Teruah is a memorial proclaimed with a blast of trumpets. The Hebrew word for trumpet is shofar, which is an ancient musical instrument made of a ram's horn. Yom Teruah celebrations should consist of making lots and lots of noise on the shofar! As believers in Messiah, the shofar blast is done in anticipation for the second coming of Messiah who will return at the sound of the trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

3. Don't do any ordinary work Yom Teruah is called a day of rest. It is a high Sabbath. Therefore, you must not do any work on this day. This is an easy mitzvah (good deed) to do on Yom Teruah. Simply enjoy God's gift of rest and remember the ultimate rest we have in our Savior. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29).

4. Have a holy convocation Yom Teruah is all about community. Therefore, if at all possible, make every effort to be part of a congregation on this day. If there is no congregation in your local area, then get together with a small group of family, friends or perhaps a Bible study group. Together, enjoy the many fun traditions attached to this feast and make this a day of praise and worship to our King.

 5. Have a tashlich ceremony Tashlich is a beautiful tradition. On the afternoon of Yom Teruah, God's people gather together to throw breadcrumbs or small rocks into a river (or any flowing body of water). This tradition symbolizes God's forgiveness through Jesus and how He casts our sins into the depths of the sea as mentioned in the book of Micah. "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19)

Since Rosh Hashanah is regarded as the head of the year, this is also a great time to make "New Year's Resolutions". The month of Elul leading up to the fall feasts is supposed to be a time of introspection. In fact, in Aramaic, the word Elul means "to search". During this season of teshuvah, we are to ask God to search us and expose anything in our lives that offends Him. Therefore, your breadcrumbs or small rocks can represent particular sins, addictions or even certain character deficiencies (such as being easily frustrated or have a tendency to be prideful). This tradition symbolizes the act of throwing things away and allowing God to work in your life to change you.

6. Read the story of binding of Isaac It is customary on Yom Teruah to read and reflect on the binding of Isaac (see Genesis 22). God commanded Abraham, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall tell you" (Genesis 22:2). This is the first mention of the word "love" in the Bible, and it is connected to the picture of a father offering his only son.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whomever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) The blowing of the shofar on Yom Teruah reminds us of how God provided a ram in Isaac's place as an offering to God (Genesis 22:13). As believers in Jesus, it also reminds us of how the Messiah died in our place to free us from the death we deserve due to our sins. There are many Messianic pictures found throughout this incredible story. Here are some of the interesting parallels which exist between Jesus and Isaac.

1). Both had a miraculous birth (Genesis 21:1-7, Matthew 1:18-25).
2). Both were the only son of their fathers (Genesis 22:2, John 3:16).
3). Both carried the wood for their own sacrifices (Genesis 22:6, John 19:17).
4). Both were delivered from death on the third day (Genesis 22:4, 1 Corinthians 15:4).

7. Eat a festive meal Last, but not least, no feast day is complete without having a feast! On Yom Teruah, it is customary to eat apple slices dipped in honey, symbolizing our hopes for a "sweet" new year. The eating of a honey-dipped apple is done in anticipation for when Jesus returns at the sound of a trumpet and brings His people into a "land flowing with milk and honey".

Shanah Tovah (Have a good year), friends! May your Yom Teruah celebration be blessed!

Judges Chapter 20 Part One (Verses 1-17)

Introduction
Chapters 20 an 21 are mostly a self-explanatory historical account of perhaps the worst atrocity committed by the Hebrews which is recorded in the Bible.

In chapter 19, we studied the gut-wrenching story of a Levite and his unnamed concubine who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. The time frame is perhaps 20 years after Joshua died. The couple got into some type of serious argument which led to the woman leaving her husband and going home to her father who lived in Bethlehem. After the Levite thought it over, he decided the concubine was worth winning back. He journeyed from his home to Bethlehem in hopes of retrieving his concubine. When the Levite arrived, there was reconciliation between the two. The Levite, the Levite's servant (whom he had brought with him on the journey) and the concubine began their travels back to Ephraim. They stopped for the evening in the city of Gibeah.

Gibeah was a territory which belonged to Bejamin. The Levite had the option of stopping a few hours earlier when they passed near Jebus (later called Jerusalem), but the Levite decided against this since Jebus was still controlled by one of the Canaanite peoples. They kept going a little farther so that they could overnight among fellow Hebrews.

When they arrived in Gibeah, no Benjamite would offer the customary hospitality which was actually a sacred duty of the residents. An elderly man who was sojourning in Gibeah noticed the trio and offered his home as a safe place to stay. No sooner than they had gone inside than a crowd of worthless men gathered and demanded the old man send out his house guest, the Levite man. They wanted to have homosexual relations with the traveler. The old man was in an impossible situation. He did not have the means to defend himself or his hosts from these men (as he was bound by Middle Eastern culture to do). Then the Levite offered his concubine to the men (in an eerie similar story which we read about in Genesis when Lot entertained two angels).

While the old man and the Levite huddled in fear inside all night, the Benjamite men of Gibeah raped and tortured the concubine. When they were through with her, the concubine crawled back and died outside the old man's doorway. The Levite packed up her body and carried it on a donkey back to his home in the hills of Ephraim.

Rather than giving the concubine a proper burial, the Levite cut her body into 12 pieces and sent one piece to each of the 12 tribes as a message. The Levite wanted to ask the nation of Israel what they intended to so about such a horror which had happened to this woman and the Levite. At the center of it all was what would Israel do about their brothers from the tribe of Benjamin. The answer was not long in coming. And this is where the story picks up in chapter 20.


ISRAEL'S WAR WITH BENJAMIN AND GIBEAH

A. The nation gathers to judge Gibeah
1. (Judges 20:1-2) The nation gather at the Levite's request.
Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah. The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers who drew the sword.

Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba: Verse one says that "all" the people of Israel answered the call to do something about the murder of the Levite's concubine by the Benjamites. It also makes the point that despite the tension which existed between the two and a half tribes who had elected to make their homes east of the Jordan and the nine and a half tribes who had entered the Promised Land with Joshua, the warriors from Gilead also responded to the call. Gilead was technically a specific area occupied by the tribes of Gad and Manasseh in the Trans-Jordan, but it was also used as a general term.

The editor of the Book of Judges uses the term from Dan to Beersheba to mean all of Israel. This makes the subtle point that this narrative was written AFTER the tribe of Dan had migrated to the north of Israel and conquered the city of Laish. (Also remember the Book of Judges also repeatedly states: "At that time, there was no king in Israel," so it is obvious the Book of Judges was put together when Israel did have a king.

Remember, it was Hebrews from the tribe of Benjamin who wanted to homosexually gang rape the Levite man. They accepted his concubine to assuage their perverted sexual appetites. And they were not satisfied until they killed her in the process. But what is equally appalling is that the Levite's response to all this (he butchered his concubine's corpse) was apparently considered justifiable when in fact the Levite should have been prosecuted for such a ghoulish act of dismembering her. But such was the condition of Israel at that time and generally throughout the period of the Judges. There is no hint of objection to the Levite's actions.

The congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah: Verse two explains that the eleven tribes of Israel gathered at Mizpah. This was considered a holy convocation to engage in a kind of holy war (even though we cannot really give it an official holy war status). The Hebrew used here is: kahal ha edah meaning the congregation of the people. This phrase is generally reserved for a gathering of the people of Israel to worship God. Four hundred thousand armed men showed up. This also gives us evidence of the early dating of this event shortly after Joshua's death because there still was tremendous unity among Israel to come together. (As we have previously seen beginning with Othniel, Israel was very divided. Each tribe during the time of the Judges generally only cared for themselves).


2. (Judges 20:3-7) The Levite describes the abuse and murder of his concubine
(Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, "Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?" So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, "I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ravished my concubine so that she died. And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel's inheritance; for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and counsel here."

Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Isarel had gone up to Mizpah: The tribal prince of Benjamin had no doubt also received a portion of the concubine's body in expectation that he and his tribe would want to join their brothers in punishing the men of Gibeah. But the leadership of Benjamin chose to harbor the murderers instead. Of course, they knew what was going on and that the other tribes were gathering for war.

Once everyone was gathered at Mizpah, the tribal elders of Israel asked the aggrieved Levite to tell his story to them. It seems as though the Levite's account is a bit altered. The Levite claims the men of Gibeah wanted to kill him, which was not the case at all. So things at Mizpah started off on bad information.


3. (Judges 20:8-11) Preparations for war are made  
Then all the people arose as one man, saying, "Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to his house. But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000 and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply food for the people, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin they may punish them for all the disgraceful acts that they have committed in Israel." Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.

Then all the people arose as one man: Verse eight is essentially the making of an oath before God by the eleven tribes. The oath is this: they would not return to their homes without taking retribution on Benjamin. As an aside, what the Scripture actually says is that they will not return to their ohel (tent) or bayith (dwelling or house made of stone, brick or wood). This highlights how soon after entering Canaan this occurred because many of the Israelites had not yet conquered their territories fully and were still living in goatskin tents like they used during their exodus journey. Some Israelites had settled in the land and were living in regular dwellings made from stone, brick or wood.

Apparently a battle with Benjamin was anticipated because the first thing the leaders of the eleven tribes did was to agree to assign 10% of their men to the task of establishing a supply line to the fighters. Benjamin was already known to be among the best and most fierce warriors in all of Israel. The eleven tribes were not about to take them for granted that they had a large advantage in terms of numbers. But Benjamin had another advantage that we will explore shortly: terrain.


4. (Judges 20:12-17) Benjamin's help sought and not given
Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? Now then, deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. The sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. From the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered 700 choice men. Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword; all these were men of war.  

Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin: The grand meeting at Mizpah was but a formality as they would never have mustered their armies and marched them there if it was only to have a discussion. Their collective minds were made up before they ever left home. But since the goal was to punish the guilty, the next thing that happened was that runners were sent to various clan leaders in Benjamin with the message to hand over the men of Gibeah for proper justice, i.e., execution.

But the sons of Israel would not listen to the voice of their brothers: Benjamin refused to either invoke justice on their own or they would not allow the eleven tribes to do it for them. Instead, they chose to fight against their brethren on behalf of these degenerates for no other reason than they were also Benjamites.

This shows us another side to tribalism, and a little later on in this story yet another decision will be made to illustrate the ancient mindset. It is that above all, tribes remain loyal to themselves and do not easily accept outside interference, even from another brother tribe. Although tribes (which are always divided up into clans) would regularly have blood feuds going on between themselves, if an outsider would want to interject their influence into the matter, a war would ensue. In places in the world where ancient tribalism is still alive and well such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Jordan, etc., you will see this exact pattern dominating to this very day. It is next to impossible for Westerners to wrap our minds around this foundational cultural aspect of the Middle East, but we can learn all about it by simply studying the Bible because it was the same then as it is now.

The sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah: Verse 14 says the "sons of Benjamin" went to Gibeah to fight. In the passage just before it also says the "sons of Israel". This is an expression to state the representatives of each group went out. The use of the word "sons" does not mean children and it does not mean everyone. Rather, it is an expression of doing the service on behalf of their tribe or nation. 

The sons of Benjamin were numbered 26,000 men who draw the sword: Benjamin gathered their fighting men together for war: 26,000 soldiers. Remember, a fighting man was generally regarded to be someone from around 20 years of age to around 50 years of age. Those younger and older men of Benjamin were NOT counted in this 26,000.

In addition to the 26,000 fighters of Benjamin, there were 700 Benjamite men from the city of Gibeah (many of whom would have been the criminals who killed the concubine). This gave the total army from Benjamin 26,700 soldiers.

Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed: The additional reference to the 700 left-handed men who were able to sling stones were a special group of Benjamites within the 26,700 soldiers. This is no small feat as these stone slingers were deadly accurate. Stones could be slung at a speed of up to 90 miles per hour.

Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword: It is helpful to notice that the 400,000 soldiers of the combined Israelite army only represented about two thirds of the size of the available army under Joshua. So there were reserves if needed. However, Benjamin was outnumbered almost 20 to 1. So although there were reserve troops, the idea probably was not even contemplated.