“Then the army of Israel went out to attack Binyamin and set up their battle line in front of Giv‘ah. But the army of Binyamin came out of Giv‘ah and slaughtered the army of Israel; on that day 22,000 men fell.”-Judges 20:20-21
Ever prayed to God about what to do in a certain situation?
And when you got your answer you took immediate action on it?
But then the outcome ended up being a total disaster?
Well, this is exactly the situation the 11 tribes went through when fighting against Benjamin.
After getting the go-ahead from the Lord to attack Benjamin, they did…
But they ended up getting soundly trounced.
It’s quite amazing when you think about it actually.
Benjamin was greatly outnumbered…
Yet they were able to cause incredible damage.
One advantage they did have is that their terrain worked in their favor.
Gibeah was located in a hilly area.
So it didn’t manner how many soldiers the 11 tribes possessed…
Only a small portion of them could attack the city at once…
The others had to wait their turn to replace those who got killed ahead of them…
Not a very motivating situation to be in if you think about it…
Who would be anxious to throw himself into a battle when those who went before him had just gotten slaughtered?
After getting their butts kicked in the first battle (22,000 men fell that day), the leaders of the army returned to Beit-El confused and humiliated.
They again inquired of the Lord (through the Urim and Thummim) and asked Him should if they should wage another attack against Benjamin?
Again God answered YES.
So they regrouped and attacked again.
And by the way, although the Scripture says the attack occurred on the “2nd day”, it doesn’t mean the very next day.
It just means the second time they attacked…which could have been days or even weeks later.
Anyways, they got their butts thoroughly kicked again.
And they lost another 18,000 men!
The confusion must have been compounding like crazy in their heads at this point.
But they weren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
Once again they headed back to Beit-El.
Verse 26 tells us what they did next.
“They fasted that day until evening,
offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings to Adonai,
and asked Adonai what to do. “
So we see they took a different approach to seeking the Lord’s Will.
Instead of the Urim and Thummim, they fasted and offered sacrifices.
And then asked the Lord what to do.
This time God answered:
“Attack, because tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”
And true to God’s Word, the Israelites succeeded in their 3rd attack against Benjamin.
So what gives here?
Why did God give Israel the victory on the 3rd attempt but let them get trounced on the 1st and 2nd attempts?
It wasn’t like the Israelites were acting of their own accord on the 1st and 2nd attempts.
They were in the Lord’s Will because God had made it clear they should attack Benjamin starting with Judah.
Now some teachers will say that God granted victory to the Israelites on the 3rd try because they had humbled themselves.
The humiliation of defeat had led them to humility…
They had to learn the hard way that numbers alone doesn’t guarantee victory…
That’s what some teachers say anyway.
They may be right…
But I don’t see the Israelites filled up with arrogance and pride on the first and second attacks.
They inquired of the Lord what to do and they did what they were told.
I think the answer more lies in this famous quote from Thomas Edison:
“I have not failed 10,000 times—
I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways
that will not work.”
In other words, it’s the good ‘ole principle of “if at first you don’t succeed, try again” that’s at work here.
Sometimes the way to success is by both prayer and perseverance baby!
And not just blind perseverance either.
On the third attack, the Israelites actually changed their tactics.
Instead of the direct frontal assault they employed which led to a blood bath, they planned an ambush by hiding some men around Gibeah.
Remember, when Edison was developing his incandescent light bulb, he wasn’t trying the same material over and over again to try and get the bulb to light up.
That would’ve been just plain stupid man.
He was persistent in trying DIFFERENT THINGS over and over again until he achieved a favorable result.
Interestingly, this more covert, ambush style of attack was the same methodology used by Joshua and his men when they took the city of Ai.
Alrighty, that does it for today.
Be blessed!
And be persistent in the Lord’s Will!
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