Show Me The Way

 DEVOTION

JUDGES

SHOW ME THE WAY

Judges 20:12-28

12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you? 13 Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites. 14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. 15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah. 16 Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. 17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men. 18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first." 19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. 20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. 21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. 23 The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them." 24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day. 25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords. 26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD. 27 And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?" The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

NIV

Wonders will never cease, as Israel has now made an inquiry of the LORD. However, their request is not whether they should go fight against the Benjamites, but who should go first. It was not until the Benjamites cut down forty thousand men of Israel in two days of battle that the Israelites wept and fasted before the LORD and presented offerings. Because the ark of the covenant of God was at Bethel, we must know the presence of the LORD was there in some way. Was there still a pillar of fire standing over the tabernacle? How did Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, minister before the ark? Was it the same way that his father and grandfather did? Aaron was installed as the first priest by his brother Moses after he constructed the tabernacle exactly as the LORD instructed. The LORD answered their inquiry and told them he would give the Benjamites into their hands. How did the LORD speak to them? How did they know it was the LORD who told them the next battle they would win? This leads us into the same situation in life. First, do we only inquire of the Lord when things are not going the way we think or plan them to go? Second, when we find ourselves in a difficult spot, do we weep and fast before the Lord, presenting our offering before Him. Of course, we do not offer grain or burnt offerings, but only ourselves as living sacrifices. Thirdly, how do we know when the Lord answers us, and in what form is his answer? We do not have the ark of the covenant of God, or the tabernacle, or the temple to represent the presence of the Lord, nor do we have a pillar of fire showing us where the Lord is present. However, we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, who came with what appeared as tongues of fire on the disciples that day in Jerusalem. Then we would believe we have the presence of the Lord within us, and He leads us into all truth. However, this would also imply that we are always listening to that small, gentle voice within, leading us in the way we should go. We think Israel may have made their first mistake by deciding for themselves, making their own verdict against the men of Gibeah. Plus, from the account the Levite told them, they did not have all the truth. We should be careful not to make the same mistake, deciding our path and then asking the Lord to help us along our way when we encounter an obstacle. We should seek first His kingdom, which implies that before we do or decide to do anything, including every aspect of our lives, we should inquire of the Lord, “Show me the way?”