Thursday - Judges 20 - Israel's Second Civil War

The pieces of the body of the dead concubine (from chapter 19) had the desired effect. The nation of Israel gathered in mass to bring justice.  They essentially assembled to fight against Gibeah and ultimately against the whole tribe of Benjamin.  Although the people of Benjamin won the first 2 battles against Judah (the tribe of Israel which was selected to fight first), on the 3rd day they were deceived and soundly routed. Except for 600 men, the whole tribe of Benjamin was utterly wiped out. Justice had prevailed and the evil men of Gibeah were dead. Had the rest of the tribe delivered them up to be judged, they could have escaped with their lives, but because they were willing to harbor and defend unrepentant perverts, God destroyed them with the men of Gibeah.

The harsh reality of this passage is that sometimes the only option that remains in dealing with certain people is hard justice. Especially when it comes to dealing with groups of people, unfortunately there is always a Rubicon that can potentially condemn them (Ecclesiastes 8:11).  This is even seen in the patience of God against the whole of humanity. As time passes we aren't getting better and better... we are getting worse and worse. The day will come when the only remaining viable option will be an unleashing of the wrath of God against all wayward nations. Ultimately, only the annihilation of evil will suffice.  The same God who exhibits unending love also possess unwavering justice. Anyone who rejects His love will eventually find themselves tortured by His holy justice.