A bizarre story closes Judges, perfectly illustrating the book’s theme of everyone did what was right in their own eyes.
After wiping out most of the tribe of Benjamin in civil war, then swearing to never give the surviving men their own daughters for wives, the leaders of Israel paused. None wanted to see the tribe of Benjamin fade away, and so they hatched a plan to provide the 600 survivors with wives.
First, they murdered everyone in a small town that failed to send anyone to fight with them against Benjamin, keeping only the young virgins. This provided 400 traumatized young women. Still short, the leaders encouraged the remaining bachelors to raid a festival and carry off whatever girl they could catch.
While the innocent women danced, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife.
I am not making this up.
I wonder what these marriages were like? How did their kids turn out? What a great research study – how does a community, where every marriage was founded on murder and kidnapping, develop and grow?
One thing is clear. The philosophy of everyone does what is right in their own eyes, leads to chaos. The powerful, the aggressive, the hateful flourish, while innocent people bear the brunt.
Unfortunately, a similar view of hyper-individualism, personal autonomy, and living my truth abounds in our society. It’s trumpeted in advertising and blooms across social media. The fruit produced feels like the stories in Judges – broken, hurting people looking for the next fix to make us happy.
On the flip side, the Lord heard and responded to the cries of his people in Judges. Our cries reach the same Lord, and our hope rests in his hearing and response.
Judges 21 in week fifteen of reading the Bible cover to cover
Benjaminites seize wives from Shiloh – 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld
Truth!