NOW THE MEN OF ISRAEL HAD SWORN IN MIZPAH SAYING, "NONE OF US SHALL GIVE HIS DAUGHTER TO BENJAMIN IN MARRIAGE: "Sworn" (saba') , to make to swear an oath. This vow (Click for ISBE article on vow), probably taken in the name of the Lord, was not an ordinary vow but invoked a curse on oneself if the vow was broken. Once again a hasty vow leads to trouble. In his zeal to assure victory, Jephthah vowed to offer a human sacrifice to the Lord (Jdg. 11:30). In the same way, the Israelites' hasty vow here leads to atrocities being committed against Israelite women on a mass scale. Just as Jephthah's daughter's dance of celebration was turned into tragedy and mourning (11:34), so the Shilonite girls' dancing (in v. 20) was interrupted as they were abducted from their families (v. 23). This theme of the hasty, foolish oath reappears in 1 Samuel 14:24-45, where Saul's vow jeopardizes the life of his heroic son Jonathan.

The Bible emphasizes the importance of keeping one's vow. A vow unfulfilled is worse than a vow never made. While vows do not appear often in the New Testament, Paul made one that involved shaving his head (Acts 18:18).

The apostle Paul came from the tribe of Benjamin. No doubt he was grateful for those four hundred women from Jabesh Gilead (v12) and the two hundred women who were kidnapped at Shiloh, for they kept the tribe alive.

Preacher's Commentary writes that...

SO THE PEOPLE CAME TO BETHEL: The two oaths sworn at Mizpah (21:1, 5, cp 20:8) were intended to stop the evil committed by the Benjamites from contaminating the whole nation and to ensure full participation by the other tribes in the punitive action that was required. But the excessive slaughter of 20:48 had now produced an unexpected result: the entire tribe of Benjamin was threatened with extinction.

AND SAT THERE BEFORE GOD UNTIL EVENING, AND LIFTED UP THEIR VOICES AND WEPT BITTERLY (Jdg2:4, 20:26): Once more they find themselves weeping as a result of hasty action carried out apart from seeking God's will (see 20:23, 26) Earlier the Israelites wept because they were defeated by the Benjamites (20:23, 26). Now they weep because the disciplinary action against the Benjamites has nearly annihilated one of the tribes. But their weeping was  more from remorse than repentance.

AND THEY SAID, "WHY, O LORD, GOD OF ISRAEL, HAS THIS COME ABOUT IN ISRAEL: As with Gideon (6:13), no answer was given. Yet the book’s larger context gives the clear answer that Israel had sinned and continued to sin in horrible ways.

SO THAT ONE TRIBE SHOULD BE MISSING TODAY IN ISRAEL (cp Joshua's question Jos7:7-9): There is here no mourning for sin, no humbling because of national transgression, no return to the LORD. Accordingly no word from the LORD comes to them. They act wholly in self-will (v10). Cp. Da9:3-13.

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Judges 21.3
G Campbell Morgan

AND IT CAME ABOUT THE NEXT DAY THAT THE PEOPLE AROSE EARLY AND BUILT AN ALTAR THERE: The altar was built, not at Bethel, where an altar already stood (20:26), but the next day, back at Mizpah, their base camp (20:1). This vignette affords some evidence that this was not a regular place of worship, else an altar would have been found in the place; and their act was not according to the law, as may be seen in several places of the Pentateuch. But there was neither king nor law among them, and they did whatever appeared right in their own eyes.

FOR THEY HAD TAKEN A GREAT OATH: The adjective modifying oath is literally the "great" or "big" one. This is the only time in the OT that gadol modifies "oath."

The first attempt to deal with the problem (it was only partly successful) is a clear case of using one oath to circumvent another (v6-13). It was a maneuver that was legally justifiable, but morally dubious to say the least, and a terrible price was paid by the people of Jabesh Gilead (v11). The second (v15-23) has exactly the same character. The justification given in [v22] was a clever piece of casuistry which entirely avoided the moral issues involved. The same men who had been so outraged at the rape of the Levite’s concubine now asked the men of Shiloh meekly to accept the rape of their daughters as a fait accompli.!

WHAT SHALL WE DO: here is the fruit (of doing what is right in your own eyes) of a heart that has wandered from the LORD, in Whom alone (at least for NT believers) are "hidden ALL the treasures of wisdom & knowledge" (Col2:3).

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Judges 21:7
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily

We have sworn by the Lord.

Amid the gross evils of this time, the people of Israel were very tenacious of their vows, which had been ratified in the presence of God, and under the solemn sanctions of the Tabernacle. Because they had sworn not to give their daughters in marriage to Benjamin, they had to devise an expedient to obtain wives for the six hundred who had escaped massacre, that the tribe should not become extinct.

The same spirit was manifested by Jephthah, when he said, “I have opened my mouth to the Lord; I cannot go back.” No doubt there was the implied conviction that God would avenge the violation of an oath solemnly taken in his name.

What new emphasis is added by this conception to the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews: “God, willing to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath.” Since He could swear by no greater, He swore by Himself, that He would bless and multiply Abraham and his seed. If then you are of the faith of faithful Abraham, you have the right to claim the fulfillment of God’s promise in this double aspect: He will bless and multiply. And it is impossible for Him to alter or fail in the word He hath spoken.

JABESH-GILEAD was located about 22 miles S of the Sea of Galilee, 9 miles SE from Beth Shan and 2 miles E of the Jordan. The absence of representatives from Jabesh Gilead was conspicuous, since men had come from other parts of Gilead (20:1) They had sent no troops (cf. 20:1) and thus all its inhabitants were destroyed except 400 virgins, who were given to the Benjamite men who remained (v12).

Later on Saul of Benjamin rescued Jabesh Gilead from invaders (1Sa11), and they in turn risked their lives to save his body from disgrace (1Sa31:11-13). These close ties probably came as a result of the intermarriage in [Jdg21].

AND THEY FOUND AMONG THE INHABITANTS OF JABESH-GILEAD 400 YOUNG VIRGINS: bethulah ("virgin") occurs only in v12, while v11,12 both have the idiom "young women who had never slept with a man" (NIV renders it "virgin in v11; cf. Nu31:17,18). Codex Vaticanus inserts "But spare the virgins" at the end of v11, probably copying the style of Nu31:18.

WHO HAD NOT KNOWN A MAN BY LYING WITH HIM; AND THEY BROUGHT THEM TO THE CAMP AT SHILOH WHICH IS IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: An expedient is hence formed for providing the Benjamites with wives. When Moses sent the same number of men to avenge the Lord on Midian, the same orders were given as here, that all married women should be slain with their husbands, as one with them, but that the virgins should be saved alive, [Nu31:17, 18]. That precedent was sufficient to support the distinction here made between a wife and a virgin. Their fathers were not present when the vow was made not to marry with Benjamites, so that they were not under any colour of obligation by it: and besides, being a prey taken in war, they were at the disposal of the conquerors. Perhaps the alliance now contracted between Benjamin and Jabesh-Gilead made Saul, who was a Benjamite, the more concerned for that place (1Sa11:1-4), though then inhabited by new families.

AND THE PEOPLE WERE SORRY (had a change of heart) FOR BENJAMIN: As in [v6], the grief of the nation is mentioned.

"Were sorry" (naham) refers in the present context to the emotional pain caused by the Lord's judgment. In Genesis 6 God was sorry that he had created man. In 1 Samuel 15 He regrets that he had made Saul king. In both cases this regret prompts God to seek to reverse His prior actions by eliminating the source of his regret. Jdg. 21:15 differs in that the Israelites are pained over a prior action, but it is God's, not their own. Nevertheless, this passage is similar to the others in that the Israelites seek to ameliorate the situation by undoing the effect of this prior action.

BECAUSE THE LORD HAD MADE A BREACH (gap as in a wall): "Breach" or "Gap" (perets) was usually associated with an outburst of the Lord's anger ("And David became angry because of the LORD'S outburst [root word parats] against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day." 2Sa 6:8). "Breach"  also refers to a break in a wall, and figuratively in this context and would refer to God's judgment upon the Benjaminites accomplished through battle (Judg. 20:35). Benjamin's near extinction left a gaping hole in the Israelite tribal structure, much like a breach in a wall (see the use of peretss in

BUT WE CANNOT GIVE THEM WIVES OF OUR DAUGHTERS." FOR THE SONS OF ISRAEL HAD SWORN (Jdg21:1, 11:35): For the 3rd time reference is made to the oath that forbade the giving of daughters to Benjamin (v18; cf. v1, v7). In the absence of wives, the breach (v15) seemed irreparable.

SAYING CURSED IS HE WHO GIVES A WIFE TO BENJAMIN: The less consideration is used before the making of a vow, the more, commonly, there is need of afterwards for the keeping of it.

A FEAST OF THE LORD FROM YEAR TO YEAR IN SHILOH (Dt12:5; Jos18:1; 1Sa1:3): Not sure which feast but likely Tabernacles as vineyards (v20) are mentioned and the grape harvest comes in August and September. One of the purposes of the fall Tabernacles Feast was to rejoice over the summer fruit that had been gathered. Samuel's parents traveled annually to Shiloh to worship the Lord (1Sa1:3). Others believe the Passover is intended, for the dancing could imitate the celebrating of Miriam and the women of Israel after the Exodus (cf. Ex15:20-21). One cannot be dogmatic.

Three times a year every Israelite male was required to appear before the Lord at the central sanctuary (Ex23:14-19; 34:23)

WHEN THEIR FATHERS OR THEIR BROTHERS COME TO COMPLAIN TO US: It was customary for the brothers of a girl who had been abducted to demand satisfaction (see Ge 34:7-31; 2Sa 13:20-38). It was therefore important that the elders anticipate this response and be prepared to get cooperation from the girls' families. The Israelites promised to intercede for Benjamin on the grounds that there was no other way to save the devastated tribe. The action against Jabesh Gilead had brought forth only 400 wives, and more were needed. Besides, the fact that the Benjamites stole the maidens absolved the parents from the curse against giving their daughters to Benjamin! These arguments may have been less than convincing, but the leaders of Israel prevented the relatives from retaliating against the Benjamites (cf. 18:22-26).

Preacher's Commentary notes that...

en tais hemerais ekeinais ouk en basileus en Israel aner hekastos (each) to euthes (Not found in NT: righteous) en ophthalmois (another translation = enopion) autou epoiei (3SIAI)

IN THOSE DAYS THERE WAS NO KING IN ISRAEL: 1Sa8:7 "they have rejected Me from being King"

Every pilot is taught one very basic lesson at the beginning of his training. In an air traffic control zone you do not do what seems best in your eyes. You do what the control tower tells you to do. That is always true, but it is especially true when the visibility is bad. The reason is of course very simple. The controller knows things that you do not know. He has better information and a better perspective to guide a pilot safely to his destination. To act on your own causes disasters. This principle of aviation is also an important principle of life. We live at a time when a thick moral fog has settled upon our society. The old moral landmarks have been obliterated, and no one seems to know the difference between right and wrong. Ethically and morally, the visibility is nil, and people are groping for anything that will help them find their directions. It is very tempting at such a time to fly by the seat of your pants, living by your own standards, doing whatever is right in your own eyes. This epitomizes the book of Judges and especially the last 2 chapters. The other alternative is to be guided by Someone Who can see what we cannt see and who knows what we do not know. The great promise of God's Word is that if we commit ourselves ot doing what is right in God's eyes, we will be directed safely through the moral fog. The Lord is not a controller Who makes mistakes. He is the omniscient, loving Father Who wants only the best for His children.

If these last chapters teach us anything, they teach that there is no sin committed which affects only one person alone. There is no such thing as victimless sin. Any sin sends ripples into all of society.

EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYE (Pr29:18): They thought that what they were doing was "right" (cp Isa5:20,21) cp What was "righteous" in his own eyes...sounds like "values clarification" or "situation ethics" of the late 20th Century...taking prayer & Bible out of the schools left a void...no "King" and everyone did his own thing. Nike's commercial summarizes this truth..."Just do it" or the beer commercial "You just go around once so grab for all the gusto you can!"

This tragic indictment, first made in Jdg17:6, is repeated in this final verse of the book...so Judges does not seem to end like a fairy tale where "they all lived happily ever after." But in God's wonderful merciful providence there is a "Now" in Ru1:1 which shines forth as a bright flame of hope in the midst of a crooked & perverse generation who did not know God nor know His power (Jdg2:10 contrast w the previous generation Jdg2:7).

In between the accusations (Jdg17:6, 21:25) is found the most appalling description of moral and spiritual chaos. Yet these people were the chosen people of God, and were no more than one generation away from Joshua and "the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that He did for Israel" (Jdg2:7). Their fathers had served the Lord during that period, but then "there arose another generation after them" who "did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim" (Jdg 2:10,11). It is highly probable that it was during this generation that the tragic events of Jdg 17--21 took place (see notes on Judg 18:1 and 20:28). The truth is that Israel more often went astray in their hearts (Heb 3:10 describing the first generation who had experienced literal Passover...remember though that while it pictured salvation, it was but a shadow. Salvation was always by personal faith which manifest itself in a walk of obedience, a holy life.) as explained in Ezek 20:1-24, and tragically most undoubtedly never experienced true salvation, even though God's presence was always there for them. Judges is just one of the more poignant chapters of disobedience in Israel's history but by no means is it the exception.

When the younger generation forsakes the faith of their fathers and begins to compromise with the pantheistic cultures of their ungodly neighbors, it may not be long before they descend into utter wickedness (Ro1:21-32). Almost the same thing is happening to the current generation in America and other Christian nations today.

Judges closes with the reflection by the author on the absence of strong leadership and the lack of spiritual discernment (Heb5:14) that had led to the near total disintegration of Israel’s uniqueness as a nation. The tragic comment of the inspired historian who wrote the book of Judges notes that a nation unified under Moses, and miraculously victorious under Joshua, had now fallen into sin, defeat, and disunity. Thus, the book of Judges gives us a picture of the tragic results of sinful compromise with an ungodly world. Fortunately, the appendix of the book of Ruth indicates that God was still at work among His people, even during this dark hour. A ray of hope was about to dawn through which God’s Man, the Son of Man, would come to rule His people.

THE BIBLE contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its stories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you.

It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.

CHRIST is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end.

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

Here in this 21ST century the heads of state would do well to study the Book of Judges. Back in 1928, when the depression first began, a brief editorial appeared in the staid Wall Street Journal, which went something like this: