NOW THE MEN OF ISRAEL HAD SWORN IN MIZPAH SAYING, "NONE OF US SHALL GIVE HIS DAUGHTER TO BENJAMIN IN MARRIAGE: (had sworn -Jdg 20:1,8,10; Je 4:2) (None of us - Jdg 21:5; 11:30,31; 1Sa 14:24,28,29; Eccl 5:2; Mk 6:23; Acts 23:12; Ro 10:2) (daughter - Ex 34:12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Dt 7:2,3)

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 (Jdg 11:34), so the Shilonite girls' dancing (in Jdg 11:20) was interrupted as they were abducted from their families (Jdg 11:23). This theme of the hasty, foolish oath reappears in 1Samuel 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 (Jdg 21:12) and the two hundred women who were kidnapped at Shiloh, for they kept the tribe alive.

Guzik...

Considering their anger against Benjamin, this probably seemed like the right thing to do. But this foolish oath had unforeseen consequences. Justice not only brings punishment to evildoers, but it also guards against punishment that is too harsh. (Enduring Word Commentary Series)

Preacher's Commentary writes that...

SO THE PEOPLE CAME TO BETHEL: (Bethel - the house - Jdg 21:12; 20:18,23,26; Joshua 18:1)

The two oaths sworn at Mizpah (Jdg 21:1, 5, cp Jdg 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 Jdg 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 (lifted - Jdg 2:4; Ge 27:38; 1Sa 30:4)(Jdg 20:26):

Once more they find themselves weeping as a result of hasty action carried out apart from seeking God's will (Jdg 20:23, 26) Earlier the Israelites wept because they were defeated by the Benjamites (Jdg 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: (Deuteronomy 29:24; Joshua 7:7, 8, 9; Psalms 74:1; 80:12; Proverbs 19:3; Isaiah 63:17; Jeremiah 12:1)

As with Gideon (Jdg 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.

Guzik...

They cried out to God, almost as if it was His responsibility that the tribe of Benjamin was on the edge of extinction. The question, "Why has this come to pass?" was easily answered: Because of the excessive vengeance of the tribes of Israel against the tribe of Benjamin. (Ibid)

SO THAT ONE TRIBE SHOULD BE MISSING TODAY IN ISRAEL (cp Joshua's question Josh 7:7, 8, 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. Da 9:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.

This is an amazing irony - the abominable pagan enemy that Israel was supposed to utterly destroy they failed miserably to eradicate to their subsequent duress and discipline (Jdg 1:1-36). But their own offspring they have almost utterly destroyed because of the godless vow they had made in (Jdg 20:8). And this would also explain how in their perverted thinking they vowed not to have a daughter marry a Benjaminite, thus treating him like a Canaanite with which they were forbidden to intermarry. This is fruit basket turnover. Wrong is now right & right is wrong. How could they have regressed so far so fast after Joshua & the elders died? Remember these events although placed in Judges at the "end" of the book, in fact probably occurred at the very beginning of the 300-350 years of apostasy!

G Campbell Morgan commenting on Jdg 21.3 notes that...

This is a very sad chapter, and gives us the last of the illustrations of the conditions obtaining when there was no king in Israel. As we have seen, more than once the writer drew attention to the fact, and so traced the lawlessness to the lack of authority. The truth is that Israel had lost its living relation to its one and only King. Unin­structed zeal, even in the cause of righteous­ness, often goes beyond its proper limits, and does harm rather than good. The terrible slaughter of the men of Benjamin continued until not more than six hundred of the tribe were left. Then another of those sudden revulsions which characterize the action of inflamed peoples occurred. Israel is seen suddenly filled with pity for the tribe so nearly exterminated. They realized that the unity and completeness of the family of Jacob was threatened by their action. The sad part of the story is that, to remedy the threatened evil, they resorted to means which were utterly unrighteous. Wives were provided for the men of Benjamin by further unholy slaugh­ter at Jabesh-Gilead, and by the vilest iniquity at Shiloh. It is impossible to read these last five chapters without realizing how perilous is the condition of any people who act without some clearly defined principle. Passion moves to high purpose only as it is governed by principle. If it lacks that, at one moment it will march in heroic determination to establish high ideals, and purity of life; and almost immediately, by some change of mood, will act in brutality and all manner of evil. Humanity without its one King, is cursed by lawlessness. (Morgan, G. C. Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible).

AND IT CAME ABOUT THE NEXT DAY THAT THE PEOPLE AROSE EARLY AND BUILT AN ALTAR THERE: (rose early -Psalms 78:34,35; Hosea 5:15; built there - Jdg 6:26; Ex 20:24,25; 2Samuel 24:18,25; 1Kings 8:64; Hebrews 13:10)

The altar was built, not at Bethel, where an altar already stood (Jdg 20:26), but the next day, back at Mizpah, their base camp (Jdg 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: (Jdg 21:1,18; 5:23; Leviticus 27:28,29; 1Sa 11:7; Jer 48:10)

Oath (shebuah) (07621) is a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says

Shebuah - 29v in the OT - Gen 24:8; 26:3; Exod 22:11; Lev 5:4; Num 5:21; 30:2, 10, 13; Deut 7:8; Josh 2:17, 20; 9:20; Judg 21:5; 1 Sam 14:26; 2 Sam 21:7; 1 Kgs 2:43; 1 Chr 16:16; 2 Chr 15:15; Neh 6:18; 10:29; Ps 105:9; Eccl 8:2; 9:2; Isa 65:15; Jer 11:5; Ezek 21:23; Dan 9:11; Hab 3:9; Zech 8:17. NAS = curse(1), oath(25), oaths(1), perjury*(1), swear(1), sworn(1).

TWOT...

To swear in the Old Testament was to give one’s sacred unbreakable word in testimony that the one swearing would faithfully perform some promised deed, or that he would faithfully refrain from some evil act (Gen 21:23, “swear … that thou will not deal falsely with me”). Occasionally one swore that he freely acknowledged a truth and would continue to acknowledge it in the future. This was the case when Abraham in Gen 21:30,31 caused Abimelech in swear to the truth that he, Abraham, had dug, and hence owned, the well called Beer-sheba.

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 (Jdg 21:6-13). 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 (Jdg 21:11). The second (Jdg 21:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23) has exactly the same character. The justification given in [Jdg 21:22] 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.!

In spite of this "bankruptcy" the story finally moves to a point of fragile equilibrium, with the Benjamites rehabilitated and calm restored (Jdg 21:23,24). Amazingly, Israel survives, but this was due to God’s overruling more than to the performance of its leaders and its institutions. Israel’s survival in the chaotic period of the judges was a miracle of God’s grace, as salvation always is (Ep 2:8)!

CONCERNING HIM WHO DID NOT COME UP TO THE LORD AT MIZPAH, SAYING, "HE SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH (cp Jdg 5:23):

The tribes had a mutual responsibility in times of military action (Jdg 5:13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Those who failed to participate were often singled out and sometimes punished (Jdg 5:15, 16, 17, 23). Complicating the situation for Israel was the fact that they had taken a second oath, calling for the death of those who did not participate in the battle.

Lange's Commentary...

Israel here also again clearly shows in its history, what every man may observe in his own experience: that repentance and vows, with reference to past precipitate sin, have scarcely been expressed, before the same thing is done again, and frequently with the same blind zeal which was just before lamented. At that time, when indignation at the outrage in Gibeah filled all hearts, an oath was also taken that every city in Israel that did not send its messengers to the national assembly, consequently took no part in the general proceeding against Benjamin, which was the cause of God, should be devoted to destruction. Such a city was considered to make itself, to a certain extent, an ally of Benjamin, and to be not sufficiently disturbed by the outrageous misdeed, to give assurance that it did not half approve of it. Amid the terrible events of the war, it had been neglected to ascertain whether all cities had sent messengers; it is only now, when the question how to help Benjamin up again without violating the oath, is considered, that the absence of messengers from Jabesh-Gilead is brought to light. And what is it proposed to do? To deal with that city as they have just lamented to have dealt with Benjamin. In order to restore broken Benjamin, another and in any view far less guilty city is now to be crushed.

The reconciliation of breaches made by wrath is to be made by means of wrath.

The people lament that they have sworn an untimely oath, and instead of penitently seeking to be absolved from it before God, undertake to make it good by executing another, equally hard and severe, and that after “Jehovah” has smitten the rebellious (Jdg 20:35), and peace has been restored.

Jabesh-Gilead was a valiant city, full of men of courage, as all Gileadites were...Israel sends 12,000 valiant warriors against Jabesh-Gilead—a duly proportioned number, if 40,000 proceeded against Benjamin. The commander of these troops is instructed to destroy everything in Jabesh, except the virgin women, who are to be brought away, in order to be given to Benjamin.

AND THE SONS OF ISRAEL WERE SORRY FOR THEIR BROTHER BENJAMIN AND SAID, "ONE TRIBE IS CUT OFF FROM ISRAEL TODAY: (Jdg 21:15; 11:35; 20:23; 2Sa 2:26; Hos 11:8; Lk 19:41,42)

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" (Col 2:3).

"What shall WE do"...since the results of our wisdom has been so wonderful! Men are truly deceived when even in their extremis, they refuse to go humbly & in brokenness & repentance to the Fountain of Living Waters & choose to hew for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jer 2:13). Let us all be warned. Run to His Word. Seek His face in prayer. Confess sin. Repent. Walk humbly before your God (Micah 6:8)

FOR WIVES FOR THOSE WHO ARE LEFT, SINCE WE HAVE SWORN BY THE LORD NOT TO GIVE THEM ANY OF OUR DAUGHTERS IN MARRIAGE: (Jdg 21:1,18; 1Samuel 14:28,29,45)

Of course it was contrary to the Mosaic Law for the remaining 600 Benjamites to marry non-Israelites (cf. Ex34:16; Dt 7:3). 

><>><>><>

F B Meyer (Judges 21:7, 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 (1 Samuel 11:1-3; 31:11-13; 2 Samuel 2:5,6) 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. Jdg 20:1) and thus all its inhabitants were destroyed except 400 virgins, who were given to the Benjamite men who remained (Jdg 21:12).

Later on Saul of Benjamin rescued Jabesh Gilead from invaders (1Sa11), and they in turn risked their lives to save his body from disgrace (1Sa 31:11, 12, 13). These close ties probably came as a result of the intermarriage in [Jdg 21].

The tragedy of their reasoning right in their own eyes is that they were more zealous and faithful to their manmade vows then they were to their covenant keeping God! How much we all are like them. Men are commonly more zealous to support their own authority than God’s. 

People were numbered - As when one musters the troops.

Jabesh was the only town in Israel which had not taken part in the exterminating warfare against the tribe of Benjamin.

New American Commentary...

So now the question for the Israelites became, Did any tribe or clan (Jdg 21:5) fail to attend the gathering at Mizpah? When they review the roll of those who had appeared “before the Lord” and placed themselves under obligation to the great oath, by a perverse stroke of luck they are relieved to discover one such clan. For whatever reason, the people of Jabesh-Gilead were not represented at the assembly. Consequently they are not bound by the oath to give their daughters to the Benjamites.

This is the first mention of Jabesh-Gilead in the Old Testament. Although the name, which means “well-drained soil of Gilead,” is preserved in modern Wadi el-Yabis, one of the main east-west tributaries of the Jordan cutting through the hills of Gilead, the precise location of the town along this wadi is uncertain. The most likely candidate is Tell Maqlub seven miles east of the Jordan and thirteen miles southeast of Beth-Shan. According to 1Sam 11:1–11, some time later Saul is said to have rescued the town from the oppression of the Ammonites, for which they remained grateful until Saul's death. Being a descendant of one of the six hundred Benjamites, Saul's interest in Jabesh-Gilead was based upon his sense of kinship with the people of this region. When Saul died, David recognized their kindness to him and tried to persuade them to switch allegiance to him (2Sa 2:4, 5, 6, 7). The narrator does not disclose the reason the men of Jabesh-Gilead did not appear in Mizpah (whether ignorance, neglect, or defiance), but the account elicits sympathy for this city. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, their own fellow Israelites will storm the town, slaughtering men, women, and children. Unlike the Benjamites in 21:12, 13, they appear not to have been afforded an opportunity to give an account for their absence.

Mattoon's Treasures...

The Gileadites were the descendants of Manasseh who was the grandson of Rachel. The Benjamites had a blood tie with them because Benjamin was the son of Rachel. The closeness between them is seen later in the Scriptures. In 1Samuel 11:1, the Ammorites threaten Jabesh-Gilead. They in turn appeal to Saul, a Benjamite, for aid and deliverance. We also find in 1 Samuel 31 that the men of Jabesh-Gilead recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons from the walls of Beth-shan and buried their bodies at Jabesh-Gilead. The closeness of these two groups may have been one reason why they wouldn't join the army at Mizpeh that was opposing the Benjamites. If they knew about the oath of death, then Jabesh-Gilead knew what was at stake when they remained at home. Their destruction would be their own fault. Desertion had serious consequences.... death. Refusal to come to battle was looked upon as having no concern or anger toward the crimes committed and no concern for protecting the nation from God's judgment. Another possible reason why Jabesh-Gilead did not come to arms is they may have never heard the summons to war because they are on the fringe of the territory.

Matthew Henry...

There was a piece of necessary justice to be done upon the city of Jabesh-Gilead, which belonged to the tribe of Gad, on the other side Jordan. It was found upon looking over the muster-roll (which was taken, Jdg 20:2) that none appeared from that city upon the general summons (Jdg 21:8,9), and it was then resolved, before it appeared who were absent, that whatever city of Israel should be guilty of such a contempt of the public authority and interest that city should be an anathema; Jabesh-Gilead lies under that severe sentence, which might by no means be dispensed with. Those that had spared the Canaanites in many places, who were devoted to destruction by the divine command, could not find in their hearts to spare their brethren that were devoted by their own curse. Why did they not now send men to root the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, to avoid whom the poor Levite had been forced to go to Gibeah? Jdg 19:11,12. Men are commonly more zealous to support their own authority than God's. A detachment is therefore sent of 12,000 men, to execute the sentence upon Jabesh-Gilead. Having found that when the whole body of the army went against Gibeah the people were thought too many for God to deliver them into their hands, on this expedition they sent but a few, v. 10. Their commission is to put all to the sword, men, women, and children (Jdg 21:11), according to that law (Leviticus 27:29), Whatsoever is devoted of men, by those that have power to do it, shall surely be put to death.

Keil and Delitzsch...

(Jdg 21:5; 5:23; Deuteronomy 13:15; Joshua 7:24; 1Samuel 11:7; 15:3)

Israel's treatment of Jabesh Gilead is excessively severe. This whole episode is full of rashness and confusion, as one would expect when people do what is right in their own eyes! (Jdg 21:25).

Guzik...

Here again Israel did something that seemed right at the time, but was actually a horror. They decided to slaughter a whole city of Israel, a city that refused to join with Israel in the fight against Benjamin. This is doing one bad thing to make up for another. Israel instead should have repented of their foolish oath made at Mizpah, and they should have agreed to give their daughters as wives to the men of the tribe of Benjamin, renouncing the foolish vow of Judges 21:1.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge...

As they had sworn to destroy those who would not assist in the war (Jdg 21:5) they determined to destroy the men of Jabesh, and to leave none except the virgins; and to give these to the 600 Benjamites who had escaped to the rock of Rimmon. The whole account is dreadful. The crime of the men of Gibeah was of the deepest dye; the punishment involving both the guilty and innocent, was extended to the most criminal excess, and their mode of remedying the evil they had occasioned was equally abominable.

Here is another comment from Cundall and Morris

AND THIS IS THE THING THAT YOU SHALL DO: YOU SHALL UTTERLY DESTROY (same word Dt 7:2, Jdg 20:17):

The phrase utterly destroy is found numerous times in the Book of Joshua in regard to the conquest of the Canaanites & signifies something "under the ban" or totally given to destruction as a sign that it is totally devoted to God. However, there is no hint that God supported this bloodbath at Jabesh Gilead. But they were doing what was right in their own eyes.

Utterly destroy (02763) (charam) - 47x in the OT - Ex 22:20; Lev 27:28f; Num 21:2f; Deut 2:34; 3:6; 7:2; 13:15; 20:17; Josh 2:10; 6:18, 21; 8:26; 10:1, 28, 35, 37, 39f; 11:11f, 20f; Judg 1:17; 21:11; 1 Sam 15:3, 8f, 15, 18, 20; 1 Kgs 9:21; 2 Kgs 19:11; 1 Chr 4:41; 2 Chr 20:23; 32:14; Ezra 10:8; Isa 11:15; 34:2; 37:11; Jer 25:9; 50:21, 26; 51:3; Dan 11:44; Mic 4:13. NAS = annihilate(1), covet(1), destroy them utterly(1), destroy utterly(1), destroyed them utterly(1), destroying(1), destroying them completely(2), destruction(2), devote(2), forfeited(1), set apart(1), sets apart(1), utterly destroy(11), utterly destroyed(22), utterly destroying(3).

EVERY MAN AND EVERY WOMAN WHO HAS LAIN WITH A MAN (Numbers 31:17,18; Deuteronomy 2:34):

AND THEY FOUND AMONG THE INHABITANTS OF JABESH-GILEAD 400 YOUNG VIRGINS: (Jdg 20:18,23; Joshua 18:1; Psalms 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12)

bethulah ("virgin") occurs only in Jdg 21:12, while Jdg 21:11,12 both have the idiom "young women who had never slept with a man" (NIV renders it "virgin in v11; cf. Nu 31:17,18). Codex Vaticanus inserts "But spare the virgins" at the end of Jdg 21:11, probably copying the style of Nu 31:18.

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, [Nu 31:17, 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 (1Sa 11:1, 2, 3, 4), though then inhabited by new families.

PROCLAIMED PEACE TO THEM:  (spoke - Jdg 20:47; Joshua 15:32) (Deuteronomy 20:10; Isaiah 57:19; Luke 10:5; Ephesians 2:17)

AND THE PEOPLE WERE SORRY (had a change of heart) FOR BENJAMIN: (Jdg 21:6,17)

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 - 1Chronicles 13:11; 15:13; Isaiah 30:13; 58:12)

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 perets in ...

BUT WE CANNOT GIVE THEM WIVES OF OUR DAUGHTERS." FOR THE SONS OF ISRAEL HAD SWORN (Jdg 21:1, 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): (Ex 23:14-16; Leviticus 23:2,4,6,10,34; Numbers 10:10; 28:16,26; 29:12; Deuteronomy 16:1,10,13; Psalms 81:3; John 5:1; 7:2)

Not sure which feast but likely Tabernacles as vineyards (Jdg 21:20) 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, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; 34:23)

WHEN THEIR FATHERS OR THEIR BROTHERS COME TO COMPLAIN TO US: (Give them to us voluntarily - Philemon 1:9, 10, 11, 12) (each man - Jdg 21:14; Genesis 1:27; 7:13; Mark 10:6, 7, 8; 1Corinthians 7:2) (Give them to them - Jdg 21:1,7,18; Pr 20:25)

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. Jdg 18:22-26).

Preacher's Commentary notes that...

AND THE SONS OF BENJAMIN DID SO, AND TOOK WIVES:

How different is this act [which the sons of Israel gave approval to] from the men of Gibeah taking the concubine and raping her? To be sure they are not identical but there is a touch of bitter irony in this unusual ending to this horrid saga in Israel.

ACCORDING TO THEIR NUMBER FROM THOSE WHO DANCED, WHOM THEY CARRIED AWAY. AND THEY WENT AND RETURNED TO THEIR INHERITANCE AND REBUILT THE CITIES AND LIVED IN THEM: (Rebuilt Jdg 20:48)

AND THE SONS OF ISRAEL DEPARTED FROM THERE AT THAT TIME, EVERY MAN TO HIS TRIBE AND FAMILY, AND EACH ONE OF THEM WENT OUT FROM THERE TO HIS INHERITANCE:

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: (No king Jdg 17:6; 18:1; 19:1)

 1Sa 8:7 "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: (Pr 29:18)  (right - Jdg 18:7; Deut 12:8; Ps 12:4; Pr 3:5; 14:12; Eccl 11:9; Micah 2:1,2)

They thought that what they were doing was "right" (cp Isa 5:20,21) 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 Jdg 17:6, 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 (Jdg 2:10 contrast w the previous generation Jdg2:7).

In between the accusations (Jdg 17:6, 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" (Jdg 2:7). 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: