Tag Archives: forgiveness

Absalom’s Return

107 – Absalom’s Return

2 Samuel 14:1-33

After three years, David finally stopped mourning for Amnon. Then he started to miss his son Absalom. Still, he wouldn’t ask him to return from hiding. 

Joab noticed this, so he hired a woman who was good at acting. He told her to go to the king, and he gave her the words she should say. She went before David dressed in clothes of mourning. She bowed before him and said, “Help me, my king.”

David said, “Tell me your problem.”

“I only had two sons after my husband died. Recently they got into a fight and no one stopped them. Soon, one killed the other one. Now my family says I’m to give them the only son I have left.  They say he must die because he’s a murderer. My king, this would remove my husband’s name from the earth.”

David said, “You can go home. I’ll take care of this for you. If anyone says this isn’t right, bring them to me.”

She said, “Oh, please swear by God that my son won’t be killed for what he did.”

David said, “I swear it by the Lord who lives. Your son won’t die for this.”

She said, “May I ask you one more question?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I knew you’d give me a right judgment because the wisdom of God is in you. You clearly see what is good and what is evil. That’s why this judgment was good.

“So, why don’t you follow your own judgments? You’re wronging the nation of God by not bringing back your son. We’re all going to die someday, but God is the God of life. He wants us to be reconciled to one another.”

David said, “You asked me a question, now I have one for you. Listen to me carefully. You must tell me the truth. Did Joab send you here to talk to me?”

She said, “My lord the king has the wisdom of an angel of the Lord. No one can get anything around him. Yes, your servant Joab told me what to say, but it’s only because he loves you and wants what’s best for you.”

The king called for Joab and said, “Go and bring Absalom back in peace, but I don’t want to see him.” So Joab went and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. He was allowed to live in his own house.

Two years went by and he still wasn’t allowed to see the king. Finally, he decided to ask Joab to arrange a meeting between him and his father. He sent for Joab, but he didn’t come. He sent for him a second time, but he still didn’t come.  Finally, Absalom sent his servants to set a fire to Joab’s barley field.

Joab went and yelled at Absalom. “Why did you set fire to my field?”

“I had to get your attention. Now tell me. Why did you bring me back to Jerusalem? I was better off where I was. Go to the king and arrange a meeting between the two of us. I want to see him even if he kills me.”

So Joab arranged a time when the king and his son could meet. Absalom went before his father and bowed down with his face to the ground. David got up and went and kissed his son.

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Tamar

106 – Tamar

2 Samuel 13:1-39

Amnon was David’s oldest son—and his favorite. Amnon had everything he wanted, except one thing. He wanted his half-sister Tamar. She was beautiful and a virgin. He thought about her all the time. He literally got sick wishing he could go to bed with her.

He had a cousin who was known to be crafty. Once he heard how Amnon felt, he came up with a plan.  He said, “Lay in your bed as if you’re sick. When the king asks about you, tell him you want Tamar to come make some bread in your room. Tell him you want her to feed it to you.”

Amnon followed this plan, so the king asked Tamar to go help her brother with some food. While she was there, Amnon sent all the servants out of the room. As she handed him some food, he grabbed her and said, “Get in bed with me!”

She begged him, “No, please. Stop this. This is a horrible sin. You’re putting me to shame. Ask the king and he’ll give me to you. He’ll give you anything.”

But Amnon wouldn’t listen. He pulled her into bed and raped her. As soon as he was done, he no longer wanted her. In fact, he hated her. He said, “Get out of here!”

She yelled, “No! Don’t throw me away. What you’ve done is wrong, but sending me away is worse.”

He shouted for his servant. “Take this woman out of here and lock the door behind her.”

After Tamar was put out, she tore her clothes, the ones that showed she was a virgin. She put ashes on her head and cried as she walked along. 

Her brother was Absalom. As soon as he heard what happened, he vowed to kill Amnon. But he knew it had to be planned out carefully. So, he had his sister move into his house. He told her, “For now, try to put it out of your mind. Don’t say anything about it.” 

From that day on, Tamar was sad and moody, and Absalom totally stopped speaking to Amnon. The king was furious when he heard about the rape. Still he didn’t do anything about it. 

Two years later, Absalom held a sheep shearing party and invited all of David’s sons. He made sure Amnon would be there. Absalom provided a large banquet for the occasion. Everyone had plenty to eat and drink. 

Absalom told the servants to watch Amnon carefully. He said, “Wait until he’s had plenty to drink, then kill him. Don’t be afraid. You won’t get into trouble. You’re simply following my orders.”

They did exactly as they were told. When the time was right, they killed Amnon. The other sons ran for their lives. 

News of this quickly got back to the king. He was told Absalom had killed all of the king’s sons. David ripped his clothes and fell to the ground. Finally, someone told him that it wasn’t true. Only Amnon had died. They said, “Absalom has been planning this since his sister was raped.”

Finally, the other sons of David came down the road and went before the king. Everyone cried together.

Absalom ran to a neighboring country to hide from his father. David grieved for Amnon for three years.

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Nathan’s Story

105 – Nathan’s Story

II Samuel 12:1-31 Psalm 51:1-19

Only God knew about David’s sin with Bathsheba. He sent the prophet Nathan, who stood before the king and told this story: “There were two men who lived in the same city. One was rich. He had a large herd of cattle and a large flock of sheep. The other was poor. He only had one small lamb, but she was like a daughter to him. The lamb grew up with his children as a pet. She ate from their bowls, drank from their cups, and even slept with them at night.

The rich man had a friend come to visit from a far off city. When it came time for a meal, the rich man didn’t want to use one of his own sheep. Instead he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.”

David became angry. He stood up and shouted, “That’s disgusting! How could he be so heartless? He deserves to die. He’ll give the poor man four lambs for what he’s done.”

Nathan pointed at David and said, “You are the man! The Lord says, ‘I made you king over Israel and gave you all you have. I would’ve given you more if you had asked for it. So why have you despised me and done this evil? You killed Uriah with an Ammonite sword, and took his wife. Because of this, the sword will never leave your house. You did all of this in secret, but I’ll judge you openly.’ ”

David broke down before Nathan. “I have sinned against the Lord.” 

Later, he wrote this prayer:

“Oh God, have mercy upon me. 

Hold me tight within your love.

In your compassion, remove my rebellion.

Wash my guilt, and remove 

the stain of my sin.

I know I’m rebellious. 

My sin haunts me day and night.

You’re the one I fought against.

This evil is against you.

You’re right to be angry and throw me away.

I’ve been this way all my life.

But I know you want to teach me.

Go deep inside of me and put wisdom there.

Use harsh cleansers until 

everything is absolutely clean.

Replace my depression with joy.

Remove my sin and give me 

a clean new heart.

Give me a determined spirit, 

and restore the joy of my salvation.

If you do these things, I’ll teach others about your ways.”

Nathan went to David and said, “The Lord has heard your prayer and has taken away your sin. You’ll not die, but the child will die because of how you treated the Lord.”

Suddenly, the child became sick. David begged God to spare him. The king wouldn’t eat, but spent day and night on the ground pleading with God. His servants tried to get him to eat, but he refused.

On the seventh day, the child died. The servants were afraid to tell David. They had watched him agonize while the child was still alive. They thought he would do something desperate when he found out the child was dead.

He saw them whispering to one another. He said, “Is the child dead?”

“Yes, he is dead.”

So David got up off the ground, took a bath, and put on clean clothes. He worshipped in the house of the Lord and then sent for something to eat.

The servants were amazed. He explained it to them. “While the child was still alive, I pleaded with the Lord in case he would be gracious and let the child live. But now that he’s dead, there’s nothing I can do. He can’t come back to me, but I can go to him.”

 Later, Bathsheba gave birth to another son, and David named him Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon, and said he would be the next king of Israel.

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David Made King

99 – David Made King

2 Samuel 3:1 – 5:4 I Chronicles 11:1-3

The kingdom of Ish-bosheth continued to grow weaker. Still, Abner’s influence grew stronger. One day the king said to him, “Why did you sleep with my father’s concubine?”

Abner got angry and said, “How dare you! My loyalty to your father is the only thing that has kept me from handing you over to David. Now you’re accusing me of sinning with this woman. That’s it! I’m going to establish David as king over all of Israel.” Ish-bosheth was speechless.

Abner sent a message to David. “I’m ready to give you the kingdom of Israel. Let’s work out the agreements.” 

David said, “One thing has to happen first before I’ll work out any agreement with you. If you come, you must bring my wife Michal, Saul’s daughter. Don’t come without her.”

Guards went and got Michal, and took her away from her new husband. As they walked down the road, the husband followed behind them, crying as he walked. Finally, Abner turned and yelled, “Go home!” So the man turned and went home.

Abner got the elders of Israel to agree that David was king of Israel. He then went and told David. Together they had a banquet to celebrate the news.

Abner then said, “I’ll go and make the final arrangements for your coronation. Then you’ll be king over the whole nation.” So David sent him away in peace.

Joab had been away while all of this was happening. He returned just after Abner had left. He went to David and said, “Why did you let Abner escape? Don’t you realize that all of this is just a trick to entrap you?”

Then, without the king knowing it, Joab sent a message to Abner. “Please, come back to Hebron.” When Abner got back, Joab asked him to step aside so they could have a private conversation. Once they did, Joab stabbed Abner in the stomach. He fell to the ground and died.

David was devastated when he heard about what had happened. He put a curse on Joab and his descendants. The king knew that Joab had killed Abner to avenge his brother’s death. Still, he made him and his men rip their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn Abner. 

David then walked behind the funeral procession, and cried openly at the gravesite. He wouldn’t eat anything for the rest of the day. He said to his soldiers, “A great leader of Israel has died today.”

All of Israel took note of what David did, and they were convinced that he had nothing to do with Abner’s death.

Two men went into the house of Ish-bosheth and killed him while he was in bed taking an afternoon nap. They cut off his head and took it to King David saying, “Your enemy is dead.”

David said, “When I was in Ziklag, a man came and told me he was merciful to King Saul by killing him before the Philistines could torture him. He thought he was bringing me good news, but I had him put to death. Now you come and tell me you killed the king of Israel while he was sleeping in his bed.” David had both men killed. He then had their hands and feet cut off and their bodies were hung near the pool of Hebron.

All the tribes of Israel met in Hebron and made David their king. He was 37 years old.

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Abigail

93 – Abigail

1 Samuel 25:1-44

David and his men lived in the same area as a rich herdsman named Nabal, a descendant of Caleb. He was known to be mean and harsh, but he had a beautiful wife who was much more practical in how she dealt with others. Her name was Abigail.

Having David’s army in the area was a great advantage to Nabal because foreign raiders didn’t come and steal from his herds. Still, Nabal didn’t invite David and his men to his annual sheep-shearing feast. So David sent 10 young men with a message. “Peace to you and yours. I respect you as my own father. Your shepherds will tell you that we have protected your flocks over the entire time we have lived in this area. Instead of us coming to your feast, please send some food and provisions with these young men.” 

Nabal said, “I don’t know David. I’m definitely not his father. Slaves are always running away from their masters. Tell him to go back to where he came from. I’m not going to take food away from my servants and give it to strangers.”

The young men went back and told David everything that was said. David said to his men, “Put on your swords. I protected this man’s goods, and he repays me with insults. Not one man in his camp will be alive in the morning.”

Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s servants went and told Abigail what was said and done. He said, “David’s men were ‘a wall’ to us while we were out in the fields. They protected us night and day. We didn’t lose one animal during this time. Yet, your husband insulted them and refused to help them. You must think of something because your husband has offended an army that can kill all of us.”

Without telling her husband, Abigail gathered provisions for David’s men. She got 200 loaves of bread, 2 wine skins, 5 butchered sheep, a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 cakes of pressed figs. She put all of these things on some donkeys and headed down the road.

As she rounded a corner, she saw David’s men coming toward her. She got off the donkey and ran to him. She knelt down with her face to the ground and said, “It’s my fault your men were mistreated. I would have treated them well if I had known they were coming. Forgive my husband. His name means ‘fool,’ and that’s how he acts. Please accept these gifts of food.

“It’s the Lord who’s kept you from getting revenge today. He has always fought your battles for you, and he always will. When he makes you king, you’ll want a clear conscience about this day.”

David said, “It was God who sent you here today. Your wisdom has kept me from shedding blood and taking revenge on a man who offended me. If you hadn’t come, every male in your camp would have died.” He then accepted Abigail’s gifts.

She went back home to find Nabal feasting like a king. She didn’t tell him what happened. He got drunk and fell asleep. 

In the morning, she waited until he was sober, and then told him what she did the day before. He immediately had a heart attack and lay in a coma for 10 days. Then the Lord killed him.

David heard about his death and said, “Praise the Lord! God kept me from doing evil, and he punished Nabal for the evil that he did.”

David then sent a message to Abigail asking if she would become his wife. She agreed and went to him.

Meanwhile, Saul gave his daughter Michal to become the wife of another.

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Corner of Saul’s Robe

92 – Corner of Saul’s Robe

1 Samuel 24:1-22

Saul started chasing David from place to place. At one point, they came to a large rock formation. David and his men were on one side, and Saul’s army was on the other. If Saul had gone a little farther, he would’ve seen David and been able to get him.

Just then a messenger went to Saul and said, “Hurry! You need to come back. The Philistines have invaded our land!” So Saul had to retreat in order to save the nation from the Philistines. After that, that rock formation was called “Rock of Escape.” 

David moved his men to the canyons of En-gedi. After Saul was done fighting the Philistines, he heard that David was at En-gedi. He selected 3,000 of his best soldiers and took them toward En-gedi.

Along the way, Saul stopped, and went into a cave to relieve himself. He didn’t know David and his army were in the back of that cave. His men were thrilled that the Lord had given Saul to David. They whispered, “Kill him!”

Instead, David quietly got close and cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Instantly, he felt guilty for doing this. He said to his men, “Hear what I’m saying. God anointed Saul to be king over Israel. Even my little finger won’t hurt him.” He held his men back so Saul could leave the cave peacefully.

 As the king was walking away, David came out and yelled, “My lord the king!” Saul stopped and looked back. When Saul stopped and looked back, David bowed down. He said, “Who are you listening to? Who told you I wanted to hurt you? Look at the corner of your robe. It’s missing because I’m holding it in my hand. God gave your life to me when you came into this cave. My men told me to kill you, but I didn’t because you’re my king. You’re the Lord’s anointed, and I would never hurt you.

“Listen to what I’m saying. I haven’t sinned against you. Still you’re trying to kill me. I’m asking the Lord to judge between us, and I know he will make things right. But I will never hurt you.”

When Saul heard this, he broke down and cried. He said, “Oh my son David, you’re more righteous than I. You have only returned good for all the bad I’ve done to you. How is it that the Lord gave me to you, and you didn’t kill me? Who’s heard of such a thing?

“Now I know it’s true. You’ll be king over Israel. Oh David my son, swear to me by the Lord. When you’re king, don’t kill my descendants. Don’t eliminate my father’s name from our tribe.” 

So David made that vow to Saul. The king then took his men and returned back home. David led his men up to the stronghold. 

About that same time, the prophet Samuel died, and everyone in Israel mourned his death.

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Ein Hedi
Waterfall at Ein Gedi, probable general location of the cave in this story.
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En Gedi aerial from south, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com
En Gedi area aerial from east, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com
En Gedi Nahal David waterfall, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Saul’s Disobedience

85 – Saul’s Disobedience

1 Samuel 14:47 – 15:35

One day Samuel went to Saul with instructions from God. “The Amalekites attacked my people when I brought them out of Egypt. Therefore, go to battle with them and destroy everything. Kill all the people and all of their livestock. Don’t leave anything alive.”

So Saul took his army and attacked the Amalekites. He defeated them, but didn’t kill everything. Saul’s men kept the best of the livestock for themselves. They also captured king Agag and didn’t kill him. 

The Lord said to Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul king over Israel. He doesn’t follow me and he doesn’t do as I say.”

Samuel grieved in his spirit, and prayed all night. The next morning, he went and found Saul. As the prophet walked up, the king said, “The Lord bless you. I’ve done what God asked me to do.”

Samuel looked at him. “Then why do I hear the sounds of sheep and cattle?”

“Oh, the men saved the best livestock so we could sacrifice them to the Lord. But we destroyed the rest.”

Samuel said, “Stop talking! I’ll tell you what God thinks of what you’ve done. When you were humble, God made you the leader over his people. He then gave you a job to do. He said, ‘Go kill this extremely sinful people. Don’t let any person or animal live.’ Why did you make him angry by not doing what he said?”

Saul said, “I did obey him. I killed everyone except Agag, their king. And then I killed all the animals except these few. We kept the best for a sacrifice.”

Samuel said, “Do you think the Lord wants sacrifice more than obedience? No! To obey is better than a sacrifice. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. Stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. You rejected God’s command. Therefore, he’s rejected you as king over Israel.”

Saul said, “I’ve sinned! I can now see clearly that I ignored the Lord’s command and didn’t listen to you. I was afraid of the people, and obeyed them rather than God. Please forgive my sin. Come. Let’s worship the Lord together.”

Samuel turned away, “No, I won’t go with you. You rejected the Lord. Now he’s rejecting you as king.”

Saul grabbed Samuel’s robe and it tore as he turned away. Samuel stopped and looked at the rip. He said, “The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel away from you today. He’s given it to your neighbor, who’s better than you. God isn’t like men. He won’t change his mind.”

Saul yelled, “I’ve sinned! All I ask is that you honor me in front of the people. Come, worship with me.” 

So Samuel went with him and allowed him to bow down before the Lord. The prophet then said, “Bring me Agag, king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came before Samuel, not knowing what to expect. Samuel took a sword and said, “You’ve made many women childless. Now your mother will be childless.” The prophet then killed Agag and cut him into pieces.

Then Samuel returned to his home. He never again visited Saul as long as he lived. Still, he grieved over him constantly.

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Jonathan’s Victory

84 – Jonathan’s Victory

1 Samuel 13-14

Continued from the previous story

Jonathan looked at the Philistines’ camp on the other side of the pass. He said to his armor bearer, “Let’s go over there and kill a few Philistines. The Lord just might help us. He’s not limited by how many of us there are.”
 
The man said, “If you go, I’ll go with you.”

Jonathan said, “Here’s my plan. We’ll go across to the rear of the Philistine camp. We’ll let them see us at the bottom of their cliffs. If they tell us to stop, we’ll come back here. But if they tell us to come up, we’ll consider that a sign from God. We’ll know that the Lord will give us victory.”

They decided not to tell the king where they were going. When they got to the cliffs, the Philistines saw them. They said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of their hiding places!” They yelled down to Jonathan. “Come on up, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”

Jonathan laughed, “Follow me. The Lord has given them to us.” The two men climbed up the cliffs and killed twenty Philistines.

News quickly spread through the rest of the Philistine camp. This caused panic. They said, “The Israelites have attacked us from behind.” Suddenly the earth shook, and their panic turned to terror. They ran in every direction.

Men in Saul’s camp saw this and told the king. He looked around. “Call the roll and find out who’s missing.” They found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.

As Saul assembled his troops, the panic in the Philistine camp intensified. When Saul’s army marched into battle, he found that the Philistines were fighting each other. 

The Israelites that had joined the Philistines now rallied around Saul. Those who hid among rocks and caves came out and joined the battle.

 Saul wanted his men to completely focus on winning the battle, so he shouted, “I put a curse on anyone who eats food before we win this victory.” His men obeyed, but soon they became hungry and tired.

Jonathan didn’t know what his father had said. He found some honey in the forest and ate it. Others immediately told him about the king’s order. He said, “The king shouldn’t have said that. Look at me. I ate some honey, now I’m ready to fight again. Our men should eat all of this food that the Philistines have left behind. Then they would fight harder.”

Saul finally realized his army was famished! He had a meal prepared and allowed his men to eat. The king then wanted to go back into battle, but suddenly realized something was wrong. He called everyone together and said, “Something is wrong, and I’m going to find out who’s behind it. Once I know who it is, he’ll be put to death, even if he’s my own son.”

He then drew lots, and it fell on Jonathan. The king asked him, “What did you do?”

“I ate some honey. If I’m to die for that, then I’m ready to die.”

Saul said to his son, “I took an oath, therefore you must die.”

The people shouted, “Jonathan won’t die! God used him to give us victory today. As the Lord God lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground.

So the people saved Jonathan’s life. With that, the battle was over and the Philistines returned to their own territory.

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Peace for an Eye

82 – Peace for an Eye

1 Samuel 11:1-15

Saul went back to his hometown after he was made king and the ceremony was over. God moved several fighting men to go with him. Others laughed at the thought of him being their king. They showed their disgust by refusing to give him a gift. Saul ignored this and went back to work on the family farm.

At that same time, the Ammonite army went to fight against a city in Israel. The leaders of the city said to the Ammonite king, “We’re willing to surrender to you. What are your terms?” \

The king said, “Here are my terms. I’m going to use you to insult all of Israel. I’ll do this by gouging out the right eye of everyone who lives in your city.”

The leaders of the city sent back a message. “Give us seven days to consider your demands. We’ll use that time to see if anyone in Israel is able to help us. If not, we’ll submit to your terms.”

The city leaders sent messengers to all of Israel. When the news of this came to Saul’s town, the people began to moan and cry. Saul came in to town with his oxen after finishing a day’s work in the field. He looked around and said, “Why is everyone crying?”

They told him the terms of the Ammonite king. Anger burned within Saul when he heard these words, and the Spirit of God took control of his spirit. He turned and killed his own oxen. He cut them into pieces and sent them throughout Israel with this message. “Look at this piece of meat. This is what your ox will look like if you don’t come immediately and fight. Every man is to march behind Saul and Samuel. There are no exceptions.”

 As soon as people heard this message, the fear of the Lord filled them. 330,000 men united to follow Saul into battle. 

He sent a message to the city that was under the threat of the Ammonites. “We’re bringing an army to defend you. We’ll be there before midmorning.”

The people of the city were overjoyed. They sent a message to the Ammonite king and said, “We’ll come out to you tomorrow. You can then do whatever you want with us.”

Before sunrise, Saul’s army attacked the Ammonite camp.  The Israelites kept killing Ammonites all morning and into the afternoon. Only a few escaped.

After this great victory, the people said to Samuel, “Who are those men who were disgusted about Saul being our king? Give us their names and we’ll kill them.”

Saul spoke up, “No! Don’t kill them! Today is a special day. Today, the Lord delivered Israel.”

Samuel said, “I have a better idea. Let’s unite together and once again make Saul our king.” So the people united together and rejoiced as they made Saul their king.

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Brides for Benjamin

74 – Brides for Benjamin

Judges 20:1 – 21:25

Continued from the previous story
The entire nation of Israel prepared for civil war. All the tribes united against the tribe of Benjamin. They declared that no city was exempt from this war. Any that violated this would be destroyed. They also swore an oath that no man would give his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.

Both sides gathered massive armies. The commanders of Israel went to Bethel and sought God’s leadership. In the morning, the war started. By the end of the day, the Benjaminites had killed many Israelites and had won the battle.

The commanders of Israel went before the Lord in anguish. They said, “Should we continue this battle against our brothers?”

The Lord said, “Fight them.”

The next day, the Benjaminites once again killed many Israelites and won the battle. This time, the entire army went before the Lord at Bethel. They made sacrifices and cried out in anguish. They said, “Should we go up against Benjamin again, or should we stop?”

The Lord said, “Go and fight them. I’ll give you victory tomorrow.”

The Israelite army prepared to fight in the morning, but this time they hid some of their men behind the city. The Benjaminites came out to fight, and once again it seemed like they were winning. The Israelites pulled back and the Benjaminites ran after them. They shouted, “We always win every battle!”

Soon the city was unprotected. Those in hiding entered the city and totally destroyed it, killing everyone. When the army of Israel saw the smoke coming from the city, they turned and charged back into battle. The army of Benjamin also saw the smoke and knew they’d been tricked.

The Lord fought against Benjamin, and soon they were terrified and tried to run, but Israel had them surrounded. The only ones to survive were 600 men who hid in a fortress. Everyone else in the tribe was killed, and their cities destroyed.

Once it was over, the people of Israel realized what they had done. They went to Bethel and sat before the Lord. They sobbed and mourned. “Oh Lord God. What have we done? Now we’re missing one of our twelve tribes.”

They stayed before the Lord all day and made sacrifices. They said, “What can we do? We only have 600 men from Benjamin and all their women are dead.” They knew it was important that the tribe repopulate.

They couldn’t give them their daughters because of the oath they had taken. Suddenly they got an idea. “Was there a city that didn’t come to battle as they were commanded?”

One city had disobeyed the order to fight. So the army of Israel went and killed everyone there. The only exception was virgin women. When the battle was over, they had 400 virgins from that city.

Israel made peace with the 600 men in the fortress, and gave them the 400 women to be their wives. They still needed 200 women.

Then they had another idea. They said to the Benjaminites, “Shiloh has an annual festival. At one point, young women come dancing out of the city. Hide in the vineyard next to the road. When the time is right, each of you jump out and grab a wife for yourself. Take them back to your own land. Don’t worry about their fathers and brothers. They’ll complain to us, but we’ll explain the situation.”

So the Benjaminites hid in the vineyard next to the road. They waited until the young women came dancing out of Shiloh. At the right moment, they jumped up and grabbed wives for themselves.

The fathers and brothers of the women complained, but the men of Israel said, “Be kind and let them keep your daughters. They need wives, and we don’t have enough to give them. Don’t worry about the curse because you didn’t actually give them your daughters. They took them!”

The men of Benjamin went back to their cities and rebuilt them. They settled down with their new wives and raised families. Once again, all was peaceful in the land.

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Used with Permission from Bible Mapper Blog