Judges 21:19-22 – Another Disturbing Solution
The Israelites have vowed not to give their daughters in marriage to the men of Benjamin, yet after the destruction of Jabesh-Gilead and the forced marriage of the young women of that town to the survivors, 200 Benjaminites remain without wives. The solution the Israelites propose is as disturbing as the earlier one. They encourage the men of Benjamin to capture and force the young women of Shiloh into marriage, taking them by force as they come out of the town to dance during a feast of the LORD. They believe that by allowing the Benjaminites to take these women by force, they will have kept their rash vow not to “give” any of their daughters in marriage to them.
To their sins of making a rash vow and of using and encouraging violence in order to force women into marriage, the Israelites add the sin of deceit. In Matthew 5:33-36, Jesus warns of the foolishness of trying to deceive God by twisting our words. God is not fooled when we use double-speak or otherwise rationalize or excuse wrongdoing by manipulating our words or the words of others. In addition to avoiding rash vows, we must let our “yes” be “yes” and our “no” be “no,” and not “swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24:4).
Questions
- How do the Israelites solve the problem of finding wives for the remaining 200 men of Benjamin?
- What is deceitful about this solution? What other problem is there with this solution?
- In addition to avoiding rash vows, what must we consider when making oaths or vows?
Prayer Points
- Ask God to help us not to swear deceitfully, to avoid rash vows and to be honest in keeping our righteous vows.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.