HOW WINNERS LOSE

In the final two chapters of the book of Judges, Israel was divided into 2 warring factions.  There was an eleven tribe super-majority of “Israel” against the one-tribe minority of Benjamin.  In chapter 20, “Israel” went to war against the Israelites in the tribe of Benjamin.

The majority party represented the country and used its power to attack the minority party as though they weren’t citizens of the same country.  But, to be clear, the grounds for the attack were absolutely correct.  

(The reason was a horrific crime and a miscarriage of criminal justice. I wrote about it in a post called  “The Ugliest Chapters.”)

Before God let Israel win on the 3^rd day, He  sent them into two days of battle where Israel was slaughtered by the Benjamite minority.    Losses were heavy on both sides, kinda like the Lord was punishing both parties.

Israel ultimately won and in Judges 20:36-39, the national government punished the criminals who had escaped local justice.  But they didn’t stop there. 

The men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to. (Judges 20: 48)

Israel also swore an oath (signed a pledge) that “None of us shall give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife.” ( Judges 21: 1) 

With only about 600 Benjamite men surviving the incursion, this pledge amounted to genocide. 

See?  The ruling faction didn’t just deal with the issue; they set about to destroy everything and everybody associated with their opponents in the minority.

Sometimes the Republicans are the majority and the Democrats are Benjamin.  Sometimes, it’s the other way around.   Sometimes the old heads outnumber young adults 11-1.  Sometimes the younger perspective has a super-majority of support.

But when any human coalition comes into power in anger, Scripture and history teach us that no matter who the humans are, they tend to take their “mandate” too, too far.

You can win the war and lose your souls.

Here’s how you know that your group has crossed the line.  4 points. 

#1) You regret your own policies--- in secret.

God’s Law was careful, explicit, and emphatic about preserving both the national and tribal integrity of Israel.  There was a whole system of redemption and return to insure that no tribe would ever be without land.   

They [Israel] lifted up their voices and wept bitterly, ^and said, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?” (Judges 21: 2-3)

#2) You have defeated the enemy but become the bad guys when you turn on  your own people when their morality contrasts your mistakes.   

 

Israel  made a great oath concerning anyone who had not come up to the Lord at Mizpah [against Benjamin], saying, “He shall surely be put to death.” (Judges 21: 5)

One clan had not participated in the slaughter of their countrymen, and for that offense, Israel attacked Jabesh Gilead. (Judges 21: 8-11)

#3) Your side has gone from victors to villains when you break your own rules trying to secretly sabotage a platform you publicly support.

Having signed a pledge committing themselves to never intermarry with the Benjamites, Israel arranged for the Benjamites to kidnap young women from the majority tribes while they looked the other way  (Judges 21: 12-24).

#4) Your victorious faction that has lost its corporate soul when you start blaming God for the consequences of you disobeying God.   

^

And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a void in the tribes of Israel. (Judges 21: 15)

Wait.  Who voided one of the tribes?   

Killing off ALL of Benjamin and preventing the survivors from reproducing was not God’s idea.

The Word of God commands us to hold criminals and corrupt officials accountable. But God does not give us license to target an entire community or an entire class of officials.

You don’t get to kill Black people just because they’re Black or police officers just because they’re police officers and then blame the ensuing chaos on God.

You don’t get to murder homosexuals just for being gay or discredit pastors just for believing what the Bible says about homosexuality and say that it’s what Jesus wants.

Well you can, because like the Jews in the time of Judges, we live in a culture where there is no king and everyone does what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21: 25)

But if we let our power overrun God’s commands, we clear a path for everyone’s destruction. 

As I said in an earlier blog, the book of Judges is written out of chronological order.  The final chapters actually happened first.   In the rest of the book of Judges, the Jewish nation, Benjamin and all, spend the next few centuries in serial subjugation.   

Their Promised Land became an oppressed land because they did what we are doing.

1)      We come to power in anger and make rules that we regret.

2)      We attack our own people when they refuse to follow us into sin.

3)      We make unethical backroom deals with our opponents while we publicly pretend to support the official platform.

4)      And we blame God for all the chaos we create. 

This is how a victorious nation becomes a culture of losers. 

Consider it, take counsel, and speak. (Judges 19: 30)

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

Follow me on twitter @AndersonTGraves 

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 

Miles Chapel CME Church

P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064