And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel.
--Judges 21:15 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on May 6, 2013 of Psalm 87; Mark 9:14-32; Judges 20:19-21.
A long story unfolds at the end of the book of Judges, telling of the near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin. A great evil had been done in Gibeah, a city of Benjamin. The rest of the houses of Israel gathered to discuss what to do, how to respond to the sin that had occurred and been allowed by the children of Benjamin. After much prayer and with direction from the Lord, they went to war to wipe the sin from Israel. The first two days, the battle went against them with the armed men of Benjamin prevailing. Each day the men of Israel sought the word from God whether to proceed, and each day He gave it. On the third day, God assured them of victory. They employed a tactic Joshua had previously used by setting an ambush, utterly destroying the city of Gibeah and catching the army of Benjamin in between their two forces. Only 600 fled and escaped; all that remained of the tribe of Benjamin. All the rest of Benjamin's descendants and cities were destroyed. All of Israel grieved, for this was the first time they were without one of the twelve tribes. A member of their family was missing. Perhaps they partly blamed God (He "had made a void"), for He gave them the word to proceed with the attacks. Israel made peace with the remnant of Benjamin, devised a way for the 600 to take wives with no oaths being broken, and allowed the house of Benjamin to rebuild and survive.
Sometimes we may find ourselves in a similar situation as the children of Israel, in that we may be grieving over a missing family member. Perhaps the missing loved one passed away, and we might blame God for allowing them to be taken. Maybe they just rebelled against the rest of the family and left home, abandoning all they had known and breaking contact with those left behind. Again we might accuse God for not doing more on our behalf to keep the family together. Or it may be that we have been forced to perform an act of "tough love", to punish a loved one or cause them discomfort in an attempt to correct wrong or harmful behavior. This is pretty much what the children of Israel did to the tribe of Benjamin, with God's help. They grieved the loss nonetheless, and so would we, no matter what that loss resulted from. But blaming God is simply misdirected and totally nonproductive. Like Israel, we must find a way to pick up the pieces and do everything we can to ensure the survival of those left behind. This task is made possible if not easier if we keep our faith and trust in the Lord for His help. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Please see Philippians 4:13.) Amen.
Heavenly Father, it hurts us so much when one we love is no longer with us. It doesn't matter why they are gone; the pain we feel in our hearts is great and real. Forgive us, Lord, when we blame you for our loss. Please comfort and console us, and help us find a way to go on with life and to help the rest of our loved ones come to terms with the loss also. Give us, please Father, Your strength to continue. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Sometimes we may find ourselves in a similar situation as the children of Israel, in that we may be grieving over a missing family member. Perhaps the missing loved one passed away, and we might blame God for allowing them to be taken. Maybe they just rebelled against the rest of the family and left home, abandoning all they had known and breaking contact with those left behind. Again we might accuse God for not doing more on our behalf to keep the family together. Or it may be that we have been forced to perform an act of "tough love", to punish a loved one or cause them discomfort in an attempt to correct wrong or harmful behavior. This is pretty much what the children of Israel did to the tribe of Benjamin, with God's help. They grieved the loss nonetheless, and so would we, no matter what that loss resulted from. But blaming God is simply misdirected and totally nonproductive. Like Israel, we must find a way to pick up the pieces and do everything we can to ensure the survival of those left behind. This task is made possible if not easier if we keep our faith and trust in the Lord for His help. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Please see Philippians 4:13.) Amen.
Heavenly Father, it hurts us so much when one we love is no longer with us. It doesn't matter why they are gone; the pain we feel in our hearts is great and real. Forgive us, Lord, when we blame you for our loss. Please comfort and console us, and help us find a way to go on with life and to help the rest of our loved ones come to terms with the loss also. Give us, please Father, Your strength to continue. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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