Dearest Reader,
Good evening. Yesterday was a reading session and today is also the same. The foundation provided is so important to the understanding of virtue in dark times. The Bible says, in those days there was no king in Israel. During this dark period all manner of wickedness was abounding.
Let us begin with the question posed by the Levite after he dismembered his concubine into twelve pieces and sent her piece by piece throughout the country Israel:
"Say to every man in Israel: 'Has such a thing as this ever happened from the time the Israelites came up from the land of Egypt until now? Think about it! Talk it over. Do something!'"
Ready read...
THEN ALL the Israelites came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah, from Dan even to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead.
And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot who drew the sword.
(Now the Benjamites [among whom the vile tragedy occurred] heard that the [other] Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) There the Israelites asked, How did this wickedness happen?
And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, replied, I came to Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night.
And the men of Gibeah rose against me and beset the house round about me by night; they meant to kill me and they raped my concubine, and she is dead.
And I took my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and [wicked] folly in Israel.
Behold, you Israelites, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.
And all the people arose as one man, saying, Not any of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his home.
But now this we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it,
And we will take ten men of 100 throughout all the tribes of Israel, and 100 of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000, to bring provisions for the men, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin they may do to them according to all the [wicked] folly which they have committed in Israel.
So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.
And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that has been done among you?
Now therefore, give up the men [involved], the base fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and put away evil from Israel. But the Benjamites would not listen to the voice of their kinsmen the Israelites. But the Benjamites out of the cities assembled at Gibeah to go out to battle against the other Israelites.
And the Benjamites mustered out of their cities at that time 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men.
Among all these were 700 chosen left-handed men; every one could sling stones at a hair and not miss.
And the men of Israel, other than Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.
The Israelites arose and went up to the house of God [Bethel] and asked counsel of God and said, Which of us shall take the lead to battle against the Benjamites? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first. Then the Israelites rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.
And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin and set the battle in array against them at Gibeah.
The Benjamites came forth out of Gibeah and felled to the ground that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. But the people, the men of Israel, took courage and strengthened themselves and again set their battle line in the same place where they formed it the first day.
And the Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening and asked of the Lord, Shall we go up again to battle against our brethren the Benjamites? And the Lord said, Go up against them. So the Israelites came near against the Benjamites the second day.
And Benjamin went forth out of Gibeah against them the second day and felled to the ground the Israelites again, 18,000 men, all of whom were swordsmen.
Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up and came to the house of God [Bethel] and wept; and they sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.
And the Israelites inquired of the Lord--for the ark of the covenant of God was there [at Bethel] in those days,
And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days--saying, Shall we yet again go out to battle against our brethren the Benjamites or shall we quit? And the Lord said, Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.
So Israel set men in ambush round about Gibeah.
And the Israelites went up against the Benjamites on the third day and set themselves in array against Gibeah as at other times.
And the Benjamites went out against their army and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite and kill some of the people as at other times, in the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country--about thirty men of Israel.
And the Benjamites said, They are routed before us as at first. But the Israelites said, Let us flee and draw them from the city to the highways.
And all the men of Israel rose out of their places and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar, and the men of Israel in ambush rushed out of their place in the meadow of Geba.
And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard; but the Benjamites did not know disaster was close upon them.
And the Lord overcame Benjamin before Israel, and the Israelites destroyed of the Benjamites that day 25,100 men, all of whom were swordsmen.
So the Benjamites saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to the Benjamites, because they trusted in the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.
And the men in ambush quickly rushed upon Gibeah, and the liers-in-wait moved out and smote all the city with the sword.
Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke arise from the city,
The men of Israel should all turn back in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to smite and kill some of the men of Israel, about thirty persons. They said, Surely they are falling before us as in the first battle.
But when the [signal] cloud began to rise out of the city in a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to the heavens.
When the men of Israel turned back again, the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that disaster had come upon them.
Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel and fled toward the wilderness, but the battle followed close behind and overtook them; and the inhabitants of the cities destroyed those [Benjamites] who came through them in their midst.
They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and overtook and trod them down at their resting-place as far as opposite Gibeah toward the east. And there fell 18,000 men of Benjamin, all of them men of valor.
And [the Benjamites] turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel picked off on the highways 5,000 men of them; they pursued hard after them to Gidom and slew 2,000 more of them. So that all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor. But 600 men turned and fled to the wilderness to the rock Rimmon and remained at the rock Rimmon four months. And the men of Israel turned back against the Benjamites and smote them with the sword, men and beasts and all that they found. Also they set on fire all the towns to which they came.
Scripture reference: Amplified Judges 19:30, Judges 20
Dearest Lovers of God,
Over the next several writings I will be addressing the issue of virtue in dark times. There will be a great deal of reading so I hope you are prepared.
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