They Justified Wrong Actions to Correct Past Mistakes.. Judges 20

Perhaps the leader of the tribe of Benjamin had been given distorted facts about the serious crime in their territory, or perhaps they were too proud to admit that some of their people had stooped so low. In either case, they would not listen to the rest of Israel and hand over the accused criminals. They were more loyal to their own tribe than to God's law.

By covering for their kinsmen, the entire tribe of Benjamin sank to a level of immorality as low as that of the criminals. Through this act, we get a glimpse of how thoroughly the nation's moral fabric had unraveled. The time period of the judges ends in a bloody civil war that sets the stages for the spiritual renewal to come under Samuel.

The Israelites moved from one mess to another. Because of a rash vow made in the heat of emotion, here they destroyed another town. The Israelites probably justified their action with the following argument:

1) an oath could not be broken

2) because all the women from Benjamin had been killed, the few remaining men needed wives to prevent the tribe from disappearing. To spare the unmarried women from Jabesh-Gilead seemed the right solution.

We donot know all the circumtances behind the brutal massacre at Jabesh-gilead, but it seems that the rest of Israel followed Benjamin pattern. They put tribal loyalties above God's commands, and they justified wrong actions to correct past mistakes.