Believers Battle Believers | Judges 20:45-48

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Our text today is Judges 20:45-48.

And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. Five thousand men of them were cut down in the highways. And they were pursued hard to Gidom, and 2,000 men of them were struck down. So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor. But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. And the men of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the city, men and beasts and all that they found. And all the towns that they found they set on fire. — Judges 20:45-48

The last verses of Judges 20 are heartbreaking. Israel wins the battle—but loses its brother. Towns are burned. Families destroyed. A tribe nearly erased. What began as justice ends in devastation.

When believers battle believers, no one wins. The body of Christ turns on itself, and the mission suffers. What remains are ashes, regret, and a broken witness to a watching world.

This is the cost of church hurt and hypocrisy. When pride replaces grace and division replaces love, we scorch the very ground we were called to cultivate. The fire spreads—from one wound to another—until the family of faith looks no different from the world.

But this isn't where God's story ends. Jesus came to heal what sin burned down. Through his cross, he made peace between us and God—and between each other. Where the sword once divided, his blood now unites. The gospel restores what pride destroys.

If you've been hurt by the church or by another believer, Jesus invites you to come home. He knows your pain. He was betrayed, abandoned, and denied by those closest to him—and still he forgave.

Healing starts when we stop swinging and start surrendering. Lay down your sword. Stop fighting other believers and start following Jesus. He is the only one who can turn ashes into beauty, division into unity, and hurt into healing.

ASK THIS:

1. Have I been part of a conflict that hurt another believer?
2. How has church hurt or hypocrisy affected my faith or witness?
3. What relationships need reconciliation in my life today?
4. Have I brought my wounds to Jesus for healing—or just carried them?

DO THIS:

• Reach out to someone you've been divided from and start the conversation toward peace.
• Pray for those who've hurt you instead of rehearsing the pain.

PRAY THIS:

Jesus, heal the wounds we've caused and the ones we carry. Forgive us for fighting our brothers and sisters when we should have fought for unity. Restore Your Church, beginning with me. Make me an instrument of peace and healing today. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"O Come To The Altar."