Recovery from Civil War

 

    It is a well known fact after any war there is an economical decline.  There is many reasons for that, but mostly because the nation focuses their money on winning the war.  When the soldiers come home they have to focus on getting through what they lived and figure out what their new norm will be.  Everyone is changed, even if it does not happen right in front of you.  Priorities change and that includes how you spend your money, time, and life values.

    What is not sell known is the healing process.  A civil war is worse for the people than when it is fighting a foreign enemy.  You are fighting people that you may know.  It can be years for a nation to heal.  In some cases they split all together and never recover.  

    In the case of the Israelites things were no different.  However, it did become the end of the age of the judges.  People had failed to follow God and God was done choosing the best out of a bad batch to lead His people in His ways.

    The Benjaminites were basically disowned by the nation.  The Israelites vowed that none of their women would marry any of them.  This brought grief to to some because there were tribes already intermarried with the Benjaminites.  They made a fellowship offering and made an oath that anyone who did not come to the assembly would be put to death.  They were trying to make peace with the Benjaminites. The Israelites ended up killing 12,000 warriors that lived at Jabesh Gilead (Benjaminite city).  Then they proceeded to kill every male and non-virgin female.  

    The 400 virgins that they found were taken to Canaan.  It seems that they were all the women left out of the Benjamin tribe.  These women would be the only source of repopulation for them.  It was not enough, so the tribes allowed some of their women to be kidnapped as they danced at the annual festival.  That way they would not be cursed by giving their women over to them.

    People had become a little wild.  Everyone was doing as they pleased.  They did what was right for them, but no one was asking God what was right.  It was a short lived revival, so God left them to live how they pleased for a time without a judge before he gave them a king.

Judges 21