So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city. – Judges 20:11

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 24, 2019): Judges 20

Winston Churchill remarked that “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” But the reverse is also true. It is amazing how an enemy lurking on the outside can make the differences inside disappear. In times of crisis, all of our inner conflicts seem to disappear. Even the national borders that exist between friends have less meaning. All that matters is the enemy that is standing at the door. Politics and other conflicts are laid aside so that our energy can be directed at solving the problem.

Repeatedly, the author of Judges warns us that this was a troubled time for Israel. At this point in history, Israel had no national leader, and even the tribes were left without someone who could look at the big things and decide a proper course of action. At this point in the history of Israel, every person decided what was right for their family unit and followed the advice that they gave to themselves.

And for the most part, this was true. But even at this point in the history of the nation, there was something that could unite the tribes; it was an enemy standing at the gates. It is important to note that, at this point, the individual tribes acted as individual nations, sovereign yet with a historical connection that made them somewhat allied to each other. Later, when the need to choose a king arose, one of the problems would be that a king would seem to elevate one tribe over another. In the argument over whether David should be made king was raised the question of why Judah might be more important than Ephraim or Dan. Will a Judean King be willing to argue for what is best for all of the tribes, and not just for what is best for the tribe of Judah?

But as far as the incident at Gibeah was concerned, all of the tribes, with the notable exception of the tribe of Benjamin, were unified against what had happened in the city of Benjamin. The incident at Gibeah was unique in that it raised both an external threat, Gibeah was a city in Benjamin and external to the other eleven tribes, and an internal threat, Gibeah was a city that existed within Israel and was governed by Israel.

So, for the moment, all of the differences of the tribes was laid aside. And each tribe would take part in the punishment of Gibeah. The tribe of Benjamin would stand alone in defense of the city. And the first civil war of Israel was about to take place; a war that would have devastating consequences.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 21