Ingenious Wickedness: Judges 21

Judges 21 recounts the tragic aftermath of Israel’s civil war against Benjamin, as the nation realizes one of its own tribes is on the verge of extinction. Bound by a reckless oath not to give their daughters in marriage to the surviving Benjaminites, the Israelites attempt to solve the crisis through further violence and moral compromise, attacking Jabesh - Gilead to seize young women and later permitting the abduction of women from Shiloh. Rather than seeking the Lord in repentance, they rely on human schemes that only deepen the chaos. The book closes with its sobering refrain: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” underscoring the spiritual disorder of the time and pointing to the desperate need for righteous, godly leadership.