Judges 21

One problem leads to another. The solution we believe to be the Lord's may have consequences that we did not intend.

Benjamin was defeated. But now the question that had escaped everyone's attention before was obvious. “What shall we do for wives for those who are left?” They did not want to see one tribe entirely blotted out of the Lord's people.

So they captured 400 young women from one town in Israel by destroying the city of Jabesh-gilead, and they stole 200 girls from Shiloh while they were dancing at a festival. These 600 were presented to the remaining men of Benjamin to give a future to that small tribe that had been so decimated in battle.

The unusual actions that were taken at this time to restore peace among the tribes were not the rogue decisions of a few fanatics. The whole congregation of the people of Israel under the leadership of the elders of the nation came up with these bizarre plans and accomplished them.

Somehow peace was restored.

The book of Judges ends with this final commentary that sums up the entire situation. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Even when an entire lawless nation comes up with a plan that has overwhelming approval, it can still be the strange collective product of individual godlessness.

As the generations moved forward a king would come. First Saul of the tribe of Benjamin(!) would be king, and then David the unexpected shepherd boy from Bethlehem in Judah would establish an everlasting dynasty. But the Lord was always the real king in Israel.

What does it mean to us today that Jesus is King? This Messiah has a human lineage from King David, but He is also the divine Son of God. In the one person of Jesus we have a King who is both God and Man.

Jesus leads His people with perfect wisdom. There are never unintended consequences with Him. Will we learn how to humble ourselves, to hear His voice, and to follow our King?

Jesus will never lead us to destroy a city or to capture young girls away from the protection of their homes. That is not His way. He leads by the light of His life and by the love of His cross. The path the He gives to His church may seem odd to others, but it is God's will for those who repent and believe.

Jesus' life was a life of holy submission to the Word of the Lord. His death was the perfect act of steadfast love. Through His life and death He has secured for us a place in a resurrection world beyond all the unintended consequences of the present age of death.

We have a great King. We need to stop our murderous flesh from following our own ideas of what seems right to us and to others around us at the moment. The people who hear the voice of Jesus will listen more than they speak. They will learn more than they teach. They will love with the love that is willing to follow the King.

If that way of life seems bizarre, it is not because it is lawless. It is only because the way of God may seem very strange to the sons of the earth. In the kingdom of Jesus Christ, cross-love is the new normal. May the Lord help us to walk in that life of love by the power of the Holy Spirit.