Judges 21:2,3 - Why has this happened to Israel?

21:2,3

We now get a positive aspect. The people are seated before God, crying out to the Lord and weeping bitterly. They are distraught that such a terrible thing has happened to Israel. “Why should one tribe be missing?” A terrible situation had arisen as a consequence of the hideous actions of the people at Gibeah, and the subsequent refusal of the Benjaminites to acknowledge and address the wrong. So why had such a thing happened? It is all a result of the persistent failure of Israel to live according to the Lord’s ways, according to the Law. The gang rape of the Levite’s concubine was an issue that had to be addressed. One might think what else could Israel do, other than its attack on Benjamin. Now it must be noted that God handed the Benjaminites over to Israel in the previous chapter, but only after the two disastrous initial attacks. The only true solution was for Israel to repent and turn to the Lord. Perhaps we can draw a parallel with the current Israel-Gaza situation. An absolutely horrendous event occurred on October 7th 2023. Israel has since invaded Gaza with much loss of life. There are those who say Israel should stop their military actions, but this is naive, for Hamas wants nothing other than the destruction of the state of Israel and the death of Jews. Moreover, a significant number of the “ordinary” Palestinians hold similar views. Moreover, it is worth remembering that Gaza voted Hamas into power in about 2004 or 2005. Admittedly this was to replace a corrupt government, and they have not been allowed to have any further elections! However, to portray the Palestinians as purely innocent victims is not entirely true. But when the current phase of the conflict ends, as it will eventually do, what is going to happen? Israel will have killed numerous Palestinians, it will have destroyed so many buildings and so much infrastructure. The hatred of Israel in Palestine will be even greater than before.