The Levities actions had the desired effect and all of Israel was appalled at what had happened, and it stirred them to action. In our own times terrible events are sometimes needed to shake us out of our slumber and rise up to do something about the situation.
The Israelites decided to get an army together to punish the Benjamites. A tenth was taken from each tribe, so that all were represented. Action was taken on behalf of the community.
Instead of repenting the Benjamites decided to muster their own army. This is a picture of the response of all mankind. Instead of responding to God's call for repentance, we react against God instead.
The Israelites inquired of the Lord for detailed battle plans.
For two days the Benjamites seemed to have the upper hand and killed many Israelites. The Israelites were discouraged, but instead of giving up they went to inquire of the Lord. So they persisted and eventually won the battle. There is a lesson for us here. There is no problem with feeling discouraged or confused at times, this is normal and it happens. The problem is if we then give up. Instead we should take our situation and our feelings to the Lord.
The previous defeats only played a part in the final victory, giving the Benjamites a false sense of security.
No comments:
Post a Comment