Judges

Judges 21: Israel needs a righteous King

Begin in prayer

Before we finish Judges and see how the LORD alone gives the righteous rule we need, let us come to Him together. Ask Him to teach us our need and to help us see Christ, the King whose kingdom has no end.

Surely now they will say, “We have no king; for we don’t fear Yahweh; and the king, what can he do for us?”

Hosea 10:3

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Please show us Jesus as the righteous King we need. Turn us from trusting our own judgment against Your Word. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Israel mourns Benjamin's near destruction but has sworn not to give its daughters to the survivors as wives. The assembly orders the slaughter of Jabesh Gilead for staying away, sparing four hundred young virgins for Benjamin. It offers peace to the six hundred survivors, but there are still too few wives. The elders then tell the remaining men to seize women dancing at Shiloh's feast and promise to answer their families' complaints. Benjamin carries off the women, returns to its land and rebuilds its cities. The book ends with no king in Israel and everyone following what is right in his own eyes.

As you read Judges 21, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD alone gives the righteous rule His sinful people need.

Israel grieves because Benjamin is nearly lost, yet its oaths leave the survivors without wives. The people weep before God and recognize that the LORD has made a breach among the tribes. They then look for a community absent from their assembly, because another oath had threatened such people with death. Their answer brings slaughter to Jabesh Gilead, sparing only four hundred young virgins as wives for Benjamin. When these are too few, the elders arrange for Benjamin's men to seize women dancing at Shiloh's feast. They plan to quiet the families' complaints by arguing that the daughters were taken rather than given. Benjamin rebuilds, but the book closes by naming the absence of a king and everyone's reliance on their own judgment. Israel needs righteous rule that changes the sinful ways producing this misery.

How does Judges 21 show us that the LORD alone gives the righteous rule His sinful people need?

Israel's grief cannot undo its destructive oaths.

The men have sworn not to give daughters as wives to Benjamin. They now weep before God because one of Israel's tribes is nearly gone (verses 1 to 7). The LORD has made a breach among them, and their oath makes their desired repair harder.

Israel answers its loss with more killing.

The assembly discovers that Jabesh Gilead sent no one to Mizpah. It orders the deaths of its men, women and little ones, sparing four hundred young virgins (verses 8 to 12). These women become wives for Benjamin's survivors, but there are still too few.

The people's own judgment brings further wrong.

The elders tell Benjamin's men to seize dancing women from the feast at Shiloh. They prepare to answer the families by saying the daughters were taken instead of given (verses 19 to 22). The men carry the women away, and the book closes with everyone following what is right in their own eyes.

Memorise

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, which choices do I need to bring under Christ's rule?

Judges ends, “Everyone did that which was right in his own eyes.” Oaths, grief and new plans have brought further killing and the seizure of women. Israel needs righteous rule, and its sinful people cannot create it by following their own desires.

God gives the King whose kingdom has no end in Jesus Christ (Luke 1 verses 32 and 33). He always did His Father's will and willingly bore the sins of His people at the cross. He suffered the punishment due to their sins and completed everything needed to save them. God raised Him from the dead, and He lives to rule and keep those who trust Him.

Please turn from your sin and trust this righteous King. Everyone in those days did what was right in his own eyes, so come and let Jesus show you what is right. Under His gracious rule, every sinner who trusts Him is forgiven. Judges ends without a king, but God has given His King, and His kingdom will have no end.

Parent's note

Tell your children that a Christian home cannot save them. Explain the deaths at Jabesh Gilead and the taking of women at Shiloh in your own careful words. Let the chapter's last verse expose the evil of following our own desires against God's rule. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for the righteous King who saves sinners and teaches them His ways, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;

Revelation 1:5

Lord God, please forgive the ways we choose our own desires over Your Word. Bring us to trust Jesus as Savior and King. Give us hearts that love Your rule and seek the good of others. Amen.