Healing the Rift: Unity in Broken Times

Open Question: Think back to when you were a kid. What was one thing you did that you were more afraid of being embarrassed about than in trouble

Bible Passage: Judges 20

Judges 19:30 ESV

And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

Judges 20:11 ESV

So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.

Judges 20:13 ESV

Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel.

Summary:

Judges 20 narrates a dark chapter in Israel's history, showcasing the devastating impact of sin on community relationships. The inter-tribal conflict ignited by the heinous act in Gibeah reveals the desperate need for accountability, reconciliation, and the comprehensive restoration of unity among God's people, emphasizing how disobedience and moral failure lead to catastrophic communal outcomes.

Application:

This Lesson will help Christians reflect on their roles as peacemakers, urging them to actively combat divisions and seek healing in their communities. By highlighting the necessity of unity in the body of Christ, and the importance of seeking God's intervention in resolving conflicts, it encourages believers to embody the peace and humility that Jesus exemplified.

The primary teaching focus here is on the necessity of reconciliation and unity in the face of moral chaos along with the danger of reacting in unguarded rage. It shows that God calls His people to confront the conflicts that arise in their relationships and work toward healing and collective accountability—an initiative that must be rooted in prayer and humility.

Big Idea: In times of moral decline and chaos, God Calls his people to pursue unity and reconciliation, reminding us that healing our relationships reflects the heart of the Gospel.

Big Question: Are you truly seeking God for his guidance or for him to cosign your unchecked desires

Quick Recap:

A night that should have been filled with good food and rest for the night became a nightmare. The men of Gibeah surrounding the old man for Ephram’s house demanding that he hand over the Levite so that they could rape him. The old man offering his daughter and the Levites concubine to satisfy their sinful desires! And then the Levite forces his concubine out the house into the hands of the dogs of Gibeah; she is abused all night and then dies with her hands on the threshold. We concluded that this is all because Israel has lost it’s moral compass; there is no governing authority and no central focus of worship. God is not king let alone their Lord and God is certainly not worshiped!

This is where our discussion picks back up. What we are about to study and discuss is what happens when moral decay decides to try to implement righteous judgement.

Digging In And Pulling Out:

1. Demanding Divine Unity

Judges 20:1-11

A Twisted Truth:

The Levite’s distorted sense of honor was offended, and when he arrived at his home, he took the body of his concubine and cut it into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel, apparently accompanied with an explanatory message and a plan for meeting.

Question: Why do you think the Levite picked such a gruesome way to call on the people of Israel?

The Levites objective was to use shock value to bring as many of the tribes together. This wasn’t

The Levite is asked by the people to tell his story. His shortened version, while told the basic facts, their is a glaring distortion and omission; the Levite removed his part in the treachery. The focus of this abridged version is entirely on himself as the aggrieved victim.

Question: Think back to the times satan has been mentioned in the bible when he speaks- How did he take God’s truth and twist it for his own desire/outcome?

Question: What would a twisted truth in the church look/sound like today and it’s negative effects on the church and the world?

Question: Why is it important for believers to take personal responsibility for their actions regardless of how it will bring judgement upon them?

Reflection Point: the Lord desires for us to seek justice but not to distort the truth in order to gain such. Remember the trial of Jesus and how the witnesses were brought forth in the effort to twist the words of Christ to condemn him to death. Pilate attempted to symbolically wash his hands of the blood of Jesus to absolve him of knowingly handing a innocent man over to a blood lusting mob! Have we twisted our own testimony in the effort to hide our guilt?

2. Responding with Righteous Responsibility

Judges 20:12-17

Benjamines Response:

Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

The tribe of Benjamin didn’t respond to the call to assemble. Now, it would be expected that the people of Gibeah not show since the horrible act happened in their city, but for the whole tribe to not respond is telling of the divisive moral decline of the nation. To make the matter even worse Israel granted Benjamin to send out the men of Gibeah to be punished and put to death for the rape and murder of the concubine. “But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel.” Whatever small inclination of the Lord’s Law within the conscious of Benjamin is gone. They have chosen to protect sin rather than judge it!

Question: What is the danger of turning a blind eye to sin for a congregation?

Pilate washed his hands of the blood of Jesus to “free” him of his part in handing Christ over to the Jewish authorities to be crucified. Pilate could have declared Jesus innocent but fear of the crowd rioting in the district he governed overruled what he knew was the right choice. If there was any small inclination of the Law of the Lord within the conscious of Benjamin they knew that them not assembling showed that either they cosigned the actions of Gibeah or they were attempting to wash their hands of the act!

Reflection Point: All Benjamin had to do was confess the sins of their fellow tribes men and let the Law of the Lord trump their tribal loyalty. Confession is more than simply saying one is a “sinner” in general; it requires us to face specific details of our sins and even the sins of those in our own camp. Our lack of confession is one of the major steps in creating disunity in the church. It shows lack of accountability. We must become bold enough to speak truth in love in effort to keep the bond of unity in peace; otherwise we will be a house of spiritual dead corpse lifting hands in a sanctuary that has become a coffin.

Israel’s Outrage

James 1:19–20 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

The national cry was, “Consider It!” it was obvious that clear action must be taken! Inflamed by the startling dismembered body parts of the concubine and misled by the selective evidence of the Levite, the assembly united as one man saying “None of us will go to his tent, and non of us will return to his house… that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.” The city of Gibeah has been declared the enemy of the State.

But the issue ins’t that Gibeah should be judged, or at lest the men who did the deed, it’s that the nation would act precipitously and not think of seeking guidance from the Lord until they were rashly committed to a plan. Their vow of judgement came first with an oath then they went to Bethal to inquire of the Lord’s guidance. It should have been the other way around.

Question: How does Israel’s reaction compare and/or contrast to the James 1:19-20

Reflection Point: In our youth group class we discussed reacting on impulse; we might think we are being courages but after the smoke clears we realize how foolish we were. Swift outrage, even if for the right reason, often has greater devastating results than intended. The centurion at the cross, surely just doing his duty, eventually looked up and said “Truly this was the Son of God.” He didn’t know God’s will for the death of Jesus but he still realized the blood on his hands. Let us not wait until the smoke clears and we see the devastation of our choices before we finally realize His ways are not our ways.

3. Securing Spiritual Resolution

Judges 20:18-48

Judges chapter one started off with Israel inquiring of who should go up to fight first against the Canaanites; and now Israel is now inquiring who shall go up to fight first against their brethren the Benjamites; their brothers.

While we see the Lord give the same instruction as to who should go up to lead the charge the results are not at all the same. In the first two battles Israel is defeated and suffer massive losses. Why is victory given over to Benjamin when they are protected the guilty party of that horrific evening? The answer perhaps is in their approach before and after each battle.

Let’s go through all three approaches to see what could be at play here:

Approach #1: Judges 20:18

They inquired of God “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin”

They came to the Lord with an already made up mind not to seek guidance but to seek a cosign to their swift rage. Are we guilty of forcing our will upon the Lord?

Approach #2: Judges 20:23

Defeated and now Weeping before the Lord “Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin”

This time they acknowledge that Benjamin is their brother. They are coming to realize they aren’t fighting some Canaanite nation but their own bloodline. But the realization of this war still hasn’t sunk in yet. Are we guilty of knowing we are at war with our brother and yet not wanting peace?

Approach #3: Judges 20:26-30

Defeated again the whole army went up to Bethel and wept. But now they sat before the Lord and fasted day until evening and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And then they inquired of the Lord “Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?”

Defeated a second time Israel doesn’t redraw the battle line outside of Gibeah as they did the last two times. This time the army retreats to Bethal or in other words to the house of the Lord. This retreat is different from the last time. The last time they wept at the line they drew for war. This time they worship. Remember there hasn’t been a central focus of worship for some time. But defeated and broken Israel collectively worships!

Question: Why is corporate worship for the church so powerful to a group of believers? [Consider Matthew 5:23-24]

Reflection Point: What will it take before we truly to turn to the Lord? How much lost must we go through. Israel lost wave after wave of men in their effort to defeat the smallest tribe of their nation; Benjamin. When Israel first entered the promised land they were the smallest nation defeating all others because of the strength of their God! And here Israel is a image of a large Canaanite nation being defeated by a smaller nation because of the removal of the strength of their God! God is still God regardless if we call him Lord or not! Again the question is; How much lost must we go through before we call Him Lord.

Apply & Pray

“What would Jesus do” is a cliche only to those who treat it like a bracelet to only wear. But to the believer it is what we say to ensure our reaction represents the image of our Savior. Do we get it right all the time? No! We are just as guilty as Israel for acting on impulse and emotion. But thank the Lord for grace, mercy, and forgiveness which comes clothed in love. We don’t have to wait till the smoke clears before we repent and reconcile with our sisters and brothers in the Lord.

And that’s part of corporate worship! Looking across the room to someone you know you need to forgive or to ask forgiveness of; and the Spirit weighs so heavy on your conscious you can’t go another song without needed to make right what has been wrong for so many weeks!

Next Lesson: Chapter 21 we conclude our walkthrough Judges and we see that although the Lord granted victory it came at an possible lost of a whole tribe! Sin has it’s consequences and how we respond even to the consequences have further consequences.