Judges 20:21-28

Hey, y'all! :)

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Judges 20:21-28

Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encourage themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, "Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?" And the LORD said, "Go up against him."

So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day. And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword.

Then the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the LORD said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand."

 

We are not guaranteed instant victory. The Lord had clearly sent the men of Israel to fight against the men of Benjamin in order to bring about justice and a renewed purity after the awful things they had done (see chapter 19). But before they gained the victory, they were thoroughly beaten twice, causing them to cry out to the Lord and weep before Him. So often, we seem to think that we should be able to go out and quickly claim a victory in our life somehow--but that is not always how it works. We have to be committed to and prepared for a long battle, as well as willing to get on our face before the Lord and cry out to Him.

 

Father, I am willing to fight for as long as it takes...help me to seek Your will and Your strength, and to press on in the face of defeat!

 

May the Lord bless you richly with all that He is!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website