In the closing chapters of the book of Judges (read Judges 19-21), there is an account given which very forcefully reveals the truth of Jeremiah 17: “The [human] heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it.”
Judging the Sin
The sin described in Judges 19 was perpetrated by the tribe of Benjamin, and it was so grievous that Benjamin’s brothers (the eleven other tribes) were of one mind to administer judgment against him. Reading the details of this shocking trespass (Judg. 19:22-30) is sufficient to know that the eleven tribes were right in seeing that judgment should fall.
The eleven tribes had yet to learn that those who undertake to wield the rod of judgment (God’s strange work; Isa. 28:21) must do so in a spirit of meekness, not in one of self-aggrandizement (Gal. 6:1). The eleven tribes had to learn this lesson painfully, for after the ensuing battles were ended, they had lost 40,000 men while Benjamin had lost only 26,000. This comparison, however, doesn’t tell the complete story, because the tribe of Benjamin was practically obliterated, having only 600 survivors.
Feeling the Sin
The eleven tribes also had to feel the full burden of what had taken place. They made great lamentations for their brother. They wept and cried out, “Why . . . should [there] be today, one tribe lacking in Israel?” (Judg. 20:26; 21:23,6). It will be noted that there was much weeping and repenting before the Lord. This is the necessary prerequisite to fulfill the prophecy of Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” There is also the testimony of Nineveh’s king, who rightly ascribed to Israel’s God a prospect of mercy when His judgment seemed imminent (Jonah 3:9-10).
Mercy for the Guilty
And so with the knowledge of these Scriptures, some might wonder if God’s mercy could possibly prevail in the case of Benjamin, whose sin was so great that it defies human imagination. The question becomes not only could Benjamin be restored in God’s sight, but would he ever be able to once again win back the respect of his brethren?
Grace Abounding
The answer is found in 1 Samuel 9:15-17. It is stated here that when the time came for Israel to be ruled by a king, their very first king was Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. He reigned over the twelve tribes of Israel for forty years. And in Romans 11:1 it is recorded that the Apostle Paul was also of the tribe of Benjamin. He labored some thirty years, unifying and strengthening the early churches that sprang up in Europe and Asia Minor. And so it is evident that God’s mercy did indeed reach down to the depths of despair, and not only restored the tribe of Benjamin, but placed them in a position of prominence with their brethren. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20).
An Example for Our Learning
The example of Benjamin’s restoration may serve as a source of encouragement when discipline must be inflicted in the local assembly. It is well to remember that the Lord has allowed the breach, for “the cause was from the Lord” (1 Kings 12:15). The first concern should be that one of the members of Christ’s body is now lacking from the assembly. Surely this is “a time to weep” (Eccl. 3:4). It is also a time to acknowledge a lack of diligence in warning of the enemy’s desire to make inroads into our very midst. It is a time to encourage repentance and restoration. And, finally, it is a time to remember that “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26) and that “He is plenteous in mercy” (Psa. 86:5).
R. Erisman