NOTES for Jdg 20:24-48

The sons of Benjamin have been defeated. Their defeat was determined neither by the superior strength of the tribes that took the field, though they did have it, nor by their more cunning tactics, though those too played a part. The main reason was that in this war the Lord was not with the Benjaminites, who were defending a right to wickedness.

And now Benjamin lies defeated, most of its sons have fallen, and its cities have been burned. What remains among the ashes? A bitter lesson remains: those called to something higher are not automatically able to maintain the proper standard. They can fall so low that the evil they commit turns back upon them and strikes them as painfully as it does the wicked among the pagans—perhaps much more painfully. Merely belonging formally to those who are called, without abiding constantly in faithfulness, will not justify anyone.