Judges 21:16-20
Judges 21:16
Then
the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that
remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
Then
the elders of the congregation were still in a dilemma because there were not
enough women for the men of Benjamin because they were 200 short and they were
trying to figure out where they would get the other 200 from so Benjamin does
not go out of existence.
Judges 21:17
And
they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin,
that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
They
knew that there must be an inheritance for those who escaped out of Benjamin.
They were concerned now that one tribe should not be destroyed out of
Israel. Where were these elders
when the men of Israel were ferociously attacking the men of Benjamin?
Why did they fail to restrain them when they were almost totally
destroying Benjamin?
Judges 21:18
Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel
have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
Then
they realized that they could not give any of their daughters to the men of
Benjamin because they pronounced a curse upon any who gives their daughters to
be a wife of a Benjamite. Because
of the oath, they had to find another way to get 200 women for the remaining men
of Benjamin.
Judges 21:19
Then
they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place
which is on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that
goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
Then
they knew there was a feast of the Lord in Shiloh.
This was one of the times when all the males in Israel had to appear
before the Lord.
Three times in the year all thy males
shall appear before the Lord GOD.
(Exodus 23:17, KJV) On the
north side of Beth-el the women have a festival where they dance.
There was a public road from Beth-el to Shechem and the place was east of
that highway. The place south of
Lebonah was a place of a beautiful vale or valley.
Judges 21:20
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in
the vineyards;