Judges 20:7-12
Judges 20:7
Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
Since
all the heads of the people of Israel were now assembled with the 400,000, it
was time for them to give counsel as to what they should do about the situation
in Gibeah. It must be noted that
not all the inhabitants of Gibeah were like the rabble that attacked the
Levite’s concubine. Yet, there
should have been some kind of laws or magistrates to prevent or punish such a
situation.
Judges 20:8
And
all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent,
neither will we any of us turn into his house.
The
people attending rose up with one agreeing thought that none of them would
return back home or go to their tents until the situation in Gibeah has been
resolved concerning the murder of the Levite’s concubine.
Judges 20:9
But
now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot
against it;
A
suggestion was made that not all of the four hundred thousand men should attack
Gibeah but that they should cast lots to see who will go up against Gibeah to
give them an ultimatum concerning the murder or if they refuse to do anything
about it, to take physical measures against the town.
Judges 20:10
And
we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an
hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for
the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to
all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.
Since
the army may be there for a while or that there supplies were running low, they
dispatched men according to the size of companies 10 for 100, 100 for 1,000, and
1,000 for 10,000 for the purpose of visiting the adjacent towns and maybe
sending some of the men back to their towns to garner supplies of food and water
for the troops who were ready to bring vengeance on Gibeah.
Victuals is food. They
needed the food so the army would be well-nourished when they advance upon
Gibeah and begin to retaliate against not only the inhabitants but also the ones
who perpetrated the crime along with the Magistrates who were very lax in their
duties and were not doing the job they were supposed to be doing and that was to
enforce the law.
Judges 20:11
So
all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.
So
all the men of the army were now poised and ready to approach the city and they
were unified in purpose as one man set on a certain course.
They were determined to see that justice was done for the Levite and his
concubine.
Judges 20:12
And
the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What
wickedness is this that is done among you?