Joshua 20
Judges chapter 20 addresses a major crisis that arose within the Israelite community—specifically, the horrific crimes committed by the residents of Gibeah, a town in the tribe of Benjamin, and the response of all the tribes of Israel to those crimes. After the incident that began in chapter 19 (the Levite’s concubine being killed in Gibeah), the eleven tribes of Israel gather to seek God’s will, and then resolve to punish the town of Gibeah. This chapter shows the collective responsibility of the Israelite community for wrongdoing, conflicts between tribes, and the difficulties encountered in the process of carrying out justice.
1verseThe LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,
2verse“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,
3versethat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.
4verseHe shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.
5verseIf the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before.
6verseHe shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’”
7verseThey set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
8verseBeyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
9verseThese were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.
Structure and Flow
- 20:1-11: All the tribes of Israel gather at Mizpah, hear about the situation involving the crime, and demand that the tribe of Benjamin hand over the offenders.
- 20:12-17: The tribe of Benjamin refuses the request, and an atmosphere of war begins to form.
- 20:18-28: Israel asks God and then suffers defeats in two consecutive battles. Only after asking a third time do they receive a promise of victory.
- 20:29-48: In the third battle, Israel wins, but the town of Gibeah, its residents, and the tribe of Benjamin end up suffering severe losses.
Overall Meaning
This incident is not merely a civil war between tribes; it clearly reveals how severely God’s law and justice had collapsed within Israelite society at the time. The crime of one tribe spreads into an issue for the entire community, and while they seek God and try to resolve it, they experience repeated failure and enormous sacrifice along the way. It exposes the Israelite community’s deep struggle with unity and justice, as well as the limits of human enforcement.
Points for Reflection
- Even if we say we are seeking God’s will, if true repentance and obedience are not present, we may experience unexpected failures and difficulties.
- We need to think about who should take responsibility for the community’s sins, how that responsibility should be borne, and how far the execution of justice can be permitted.
Applying to Myself
- I can reflect on whether I stay silent or turn away from wrongdoing around me, rather than addressing it.
- When facing difficult problems, I need to learn the attitude of living that first honestly seeks God’s will, and even amid failure, clings to God more deeply.
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