The 11 tribes of Israel had prepared 400,000 soldiers to war against the rebellious Benjamin…
Which means Benjamin was outnumbered almost 20 to 1.
It’s also interesting to know that the 400,000 soldiers were only two-thirds of the army originally led by Joshua.
So backup troops could be supplied if needed.
Next we’re told the army moved to Beit-El to consult with God.
Well, actually it wouldn’t have been the entire army that traveled to Beit-El.
Just the commanders.
But the big question is why hightail it all the way to Beit-El in the first place?
There’s been a lot of head scratching among scholars as to why…
But there shouldn’t be because the answer is simple.
IT ALL HAD TO DO WITH THE LOCATION OF THE TABERNACLE.
When Israel first entered the Promised Land, the Tabernacle was first set up in Shechem.
Then it was moved to Shiloh.
Soon afterwards it was transported to Beit-El.
And then it was moved back to Shiloh where it remained for a good several hundred years.
So we’re dealing with that window of time when the Tabernacle and by default the priesthood was situated in Beit-El.
I’m discerning an interesting takeaway here.
The Israelites moved to Beit-El because they wanted to consult with God.
But was that really necessary?
Did not Paul say “God is not far from us”.
Or Yeshua say “The Kingdom of God is already among you”.
My point is it isn’t necessary to place geographical restrictions on how and when we can communicate with our Father in Heaven.
You can communicate with Him right now if you want to.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“The woman said to him,
‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,
and you people say that the place where
people must worship is in Jerusalem.‘
Yeshua said to her, “Believe me, woman,
a time is coming when you will worship
the Father neither on this mountain
nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not know.
We worship what we know because
salvation is from the Jews.
But a time is coming
—and now is here—
when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth,
for the Father seeks such people
to be his worshipers.
God is spirit,
and the people who worship him
must worship in spirit and truth.”
-John 4:19-24
Perhaps the reason was that God said, in Deutoronomy 12, that sacrifices could only be performed where God places his name, which was (at that time) wherever the Tabernacle was situated (BTW… wasn’t it first located at Gilgal?)
When seeking the Lord’s advice, a sacrifice would have to be offered, so they had to go to Beit El (House of God) to seek his counsel.
Another reason may be, as you point out throughout this book, the influence of the surrounding Gentiles who offered on high places and believed that gods were geographically identified. Such as when Naaman was cured by Elisha, he took dirt home with him to represent the God of (the land of) Israel, and in 1 Kings when Israel fough Aram, the leaders of Aram thought they lost because they believed God was a god of the mountains, so they attacked the following year on flat plains (they learned how wrong they were).
Or maybe it’s a combination of both of these incorrect ways of thinking about God?