God, all the officers of the civic organization, of the government, heads of a community of warriors, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword. That was the strength of the army of Israel at that time. V. 3. (Now, the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) They knew of the meeting, had probably been invited to attend, but neither sent representatives, nor did they give any token of horror or indignation over the infamous deed committed in their midst. Then said the children of Israel, in an effort to determine the facts of the case, Tell us, how was this wickedness? The question was directed to the entire assembly, every one who knew anything of the matter being requested to give the information which he possessed. V. 4. And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, at whose instigation the assembly had convened, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge. V. 5. And the men of Gibeah, the lords of the city, for they were guilty with their whole city, since they had not prevented the excess, rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me. The crime which the men of Gibeah had intended was really worse than murder, and it would probably have resulted in the Levite's death; he may have been ashamed to speak of the crime by its right name. And my concubine have they forced that she is dead, a victim of their bestial lusts. V. 6. And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness, a most unnatural immoral deed, and folly in Israel, a most revolting wickedness, a crime against the entire people. V. 7. Behold, ye are all children of Israel, familiar with the Lord's condemnation of such wickedness; give here your advice and counsel, they should decide upon a course of action after having passed sentence upon the guilty. V, 8. And all the people arose as one man, with energetic unanimity, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, return home, neither will we any of us turn into his house, for even a short stay, until this crime had been avenged. V. 9. But now, this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah: we will go up by lot against it, in such a manner that the lot should decide which warriors should be actively engaged in the expedition; v. 10. and we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel and an hundred of a thousand and a thousand out of ten thousand, ten per cent. of the entire army, to fetch victual for the people, to provide food and equipment for the expedition, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according

to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel, punishing them in the measure which they deserved for their crime. V. 11. So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together, a unit in fellowship, as one man, firmly resolved to see this thing through to an end which would please Jehovah and remove the stain from Israel. V. 12. And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe, the families of the tribe, of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you? V. 13. Now, therefore, deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. By the punishment of the criminals, delivered up to justice by the Benjamites, the requirements of the Law would have been satisfied, and Benjamin itself would have been vindicated. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel, thus becoming partakers in the sin of the citizens of Gibeah. Israel here proved itself to be a congregation of the Lord, in letting itself be ruled and directed by the Lord's Word and will. A true congregation will be zealous for the name and honor of God, also by fighting against all sinful acts and by removing the leaven of wickedness and uncleanness from its midst.

THE REVERSES OF ISRAEL.-V. 14. But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities, namely, those of the entire tribe, unto Gibeah, thus placing themselves under the leadership of its wicked chiefs, to go out to battle against the children of Israel. V. 15. And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities, out of their entire territory, twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, able-bodied warriors, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men. V. 16. Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed, literally, "deprived of the use of their right hand"; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. Since the Benjamites at first took up their stand on the heights, these skilful slingers were of special value to them in repelling the attacks of the Israelites. V. 17. And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, with the exception of this one tribe, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword; all these were men of war. V. 18. And the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God, to Bethel, where the ark had probably been brought for the duration of this expedition, and asked counsel of God, through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first, to

fight in the vanguard of the army, to open the battle, as the champion of the nation. V. 19. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning and encamped against Gibeah, they set themselves in battle array. V. 20. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. V. 21. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, in a sudden, desperate thrust, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day, both by slaying and by disabling, twenty and two thousand men. It was a case of overconfidence, of self-righteous assurance on the part of Israel. V. 22. And the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves, they invested themselves with new strength, and set their battle again in array in the place where they. put themselves in array the first day, anxious to wipe out the disgrace of the first defeat. V. 23. (And the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until even, truly sorrowful over their display of sinful self-confidence, and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin, my brother? The question implies some doubts concerning the justice of their cause. And the Lord said, Go up against him.) V. 24. And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day, they advanced in a rapid attack. V. 25. And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again, by slaying, wounding, and disabling eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword, the tenth part of their army had thus been slaughtered or put out of commission. V. 26. Then all the children of Israel, the soldiers, and all the people, the non-combatants that had come along with the army, went up, and came unto the house of God, apparently again to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before the Lord, and fasted that day until evening, in deep sorrow over their own sins, for they felt that these defeats were placed upon them in the nature of a chastisement, in order to teach them humility and trust in God alone, and offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord, sacrifices intended to plead for God's merciful assistance. V. 27. And the children of Israel enquired of the Lord, (for the Ark of the Covenant of God was there in those days, v. 28. and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days, so these events happened not long after the death of Joshua,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin, my brother, or shall I cease? And the Lord, whose object of teaching the Israelites repent

ance and humility had been attained, said, Go up; for to-morrow I will deliver them into thine hand. This was not a mere permission, but a definite command, with a promise attached to it. Chastisements, such as the Lord laid upon Israel in this instance, are always beneficial to His children, for they make them realize their absolute dependence upon God and remind them of their many lapses in faithfulness and obedience toward Jehovah.

THE BENJAMites DefeaTED AND ALMOST EXTERMINATED. - V. 29. And Israel set liersin-wait round about Gibeah; they no longer relied upon superior force, but made use of strategic arts in placing various details of soldiers in ambush. V. 30. And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, moving forward to attack the city, and put themselves in array against Gibeah as at other times. V. 31. And the children of Benjamin, in total ignorance of the ambush in their rear, went out against the people, and were drawn away, torn away, severed, from the city; and they began to smite of the people and kill, to wound, disable, and slay, as at other times, in the highways, at the intersection of two roads, of which one goeth up to the house of God, to Bethel, and the other to Gibeah in the field, to the fields near the city, about thirty men of Israel. V. 32. And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel, relying upon their ambuscade, said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways, as just related. V. 33. And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, they relinquished their advanced position, and put themselves in array, forming a new line of battle, at Baal-tamar (place of palms); and the liers-in-wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah, a slope near the city denuded of forest growth, but probably covered with bushes which offered sufficient shelter to the men in ambush. V. 34. And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, that being the sum total of the men who had been placed in ambush, and the battle was sore; but they, the Benjamites, knew not that evil was near them, that misfortune had overtaken them. V. 35. And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel, this fact being brought out here with great emphasis; and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men; all these drew the sword. V. 36. So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten, they had thought, when they rushed forward to attack the invading army that the Israelites were once more overcome; for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the

liers-in-wait, which they had set beside Gibeah. V. 37. And the liers-in-wait hasted and rushed upon Gibeah, all these details being added here in a description of the battle; and the liers-in-wait drew themselves along, they moved forward steadily, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword. V. 38. Now there was an appointed sign, one which both the attacking party and the ambush had agreed upon, between the men of Israel and the liers-in-wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke, a mighty pillar which could not be overlooked, rise up out of the city. V. 39. And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons, as related above, v. 31; for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us as in the first battle. V. 40. But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the whole city, apparently, gong up in smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven, literally, "there went up the whole of the city heavenward." V. 41. And when the men of Israel turned again, making a sudden firm stand after their apparent flight, the men of Benjamin were amazed, filled with terror; for they saw that evil was come upon them. V. 42. Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness, trying to escape toward the northeast; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them, literally, "and they out of the cities destroyed them in their midst," that is, wherever the fugitives came, the inhabitants of the cities fell upon them and slew them, for the feeling against Benjamin was bitter everywhere. V. 43. Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, completely surrounding them, and chased them, and trode them down with ease, or, from Menuchah, over against Gibeah toward the sun-rising. V. 44. And there fell of Benjamin, in this part of the

battle, eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valor. V. 45. And they turned, trying to escape in another direction, and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, about fifteen miles north of Jerusalem; and they, the Israelites, gleaned of them, killed in this running skirmish after the main battle, in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, in the direction toward Rimmon, and slew two thousand men of them. V. 46. So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valor. This is a round number, the exact number included one hundred men more, v. 35. In addition, there were evidently a thousand men who had fallen in the first battles, making the total of the slain Benjamites twenty-six thousand and one hundred. V. 47. But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, they effected their escape and fortified themselves in the fastnesses of this rocky wilderness, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months. V. 48. And the men of Israel, in a fury which knew no mercy, turned again upon the children of Benjamin, on the defenseless part of the population, old people, women, and children, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city as the beast, and all that came to hand, whatever living thing they happened to strike; also they set on fire all the cities that they came to. It was a campaign of extermination much more savage than any undertaken against any of the heathen nations. But it was the punishment of God upon the tribe which had taken the part of the criminals of Gibeah; for the holiness of God cannot bear the abominations of the heathen in the midst of His people. All those who know His command and truth, and still persist in doing according to the manner of the heathen, should be excluded from the company of the believers, eventually to be punished by the wrath of Him who is a jealous God.

The Tribe of Benjamin Rebuilt. THE EXPEDITION AGAINST JABESH-GILEAD. V. 1. Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, at the time of the great assembly, chap. 20, 1, when the embittered feeling against Benjamin. ran high, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin, to any member of that tribe, to wife, man for man they had promised that. V. 2. And the people, after the close of the war of vengeance, came to the house of God, to Bethel, where the Ark of the Covenant re

mained till the end of the campaign, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore, realizing the extent of their passionate outburst and its effects, for it had been to punish the guilty, not to destroy a tribe, that Israel had taken the field; v. 3. and said, O Lord God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel? The fierceness of civil war had had its usual consequences, but the complaint of the people included, at the same time, the prayer

that God might show them ways and means of averting the entire destruction of the tribe of Benjamin. V. 4. And it came to pass on the morrow that the people rose early, and built there an altar, large enough for their purpose, and offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings, for they realized that the plans which they had could not be realized without a full reconciliation with the Lord, which meant, of course, a full return to the fellowship of His mercy. V. 5. And the children of Israel said, realizing that there might be a way out of their difficulty, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the Lord, to take part in this campaign of vengeance? For they had made a great oath, which included the threat of death upon every one that did not appear, concerning him that came not up to the Lord at Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death. V. 6. And the children of Israel (had) repented them, they had been filled with deep sympathy and care for the rebuilding of the tribe of Benjamin, for Benjamin, their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day. V. 7. How shall we do for wives for them that remain, whence and how could wives be provided for them, seeing we have sworn by the Lord that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? These two factors, that of the oath and that of the possible non-appearance of some part of the tribes, having been set forth, the author continues his narrative. V. 8. And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that come not up to Mizpeh to the Lord? And, behold, when they made careful inquiry, a thing which they had neglected to do in their first indignation and zeal, there came, had come, none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, a city of the valley east of Jordan, about midway between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, to the assembly. V. 9. For the people were numbered, to make sure that this report was true, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there. V. 10. And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, especially renowned among men known for their valor, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, as a punishment for their neglect in joining the congregation of the Lord in this important enterprise, with the women and the children. V. 11. And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man, in carnal intercourse. V. 12. And they, the men of the expedition, found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male; and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, where it had been removed,

now that the campaign had been brought to a close, which is in the land of Canaan, to distinguish it from Jabesh in Gilead. V. 13. And the whole congregation sent some, envoys, to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them, to assure them of their peaceful intentions. V. 14. And Benjamin came again at that time, the six hundred men that had escaped returned to the land of their inheritance; and they, the congregation gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead, the four hundred virgins; and yet so they sufficed them not, for there were still two hundred men to be supplied. One step had been taken for the restoration of the tribe, but there was still more to be done.

BENJAMITES

WIVES FOR THE REMAINING FROM THE Daughters of SHILOH.-V. 15. And the people repented them, they were again filled with anxious care, for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel, since this one tribe had been almost exterminated. V. 16. Then the elders of the congregation said, in discussing other possibilities of securing wives for the remaining Benjamites, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin? So far as the members of their tribe were concerned, there were no women for them. V. 17. And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, ways and means had to be found to that end, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel. V. 18. Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters; for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin. V. 19. Then they said, as an expedient was finally suggested to them, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly, year after year, in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem and on the south of Lebonah, this detailed description being added for the sake of the Benjamites, who might thus reach the designated V. 20. locality without attracting attention. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards; v. 21. and see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, at the designated time, probably the festival of the Passover, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, the virgin which he intended to make his wife, and go to the land of Benjamin. V. 22. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, to make this robbery of the virgins a court case, that we will say unto them, Be

JUDGES 21, 23–25.

RUTH 1, 1.

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favorable unto them for our sakes, because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war; for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty. This has been transcribed as follows: "Be quiet and gentle; give the maidens kindly to us. You know that we did not take them in war, as booty, as, for instance, at Jabesh. We have indeed allowed them to be taken (for which no grudge is to be held against Benjamin); but in peace, not for injury; and as you did not give them, no guilt attaches to you." (Lange.) V. 23. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught, a total of two hundred virgins; and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, which had been burned down, and dwelt in them. V. 24.

And the children of Israel, all those who had been engaged in the campaign of punishment against Benjamin, departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance. V. 25. In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes, a notice once more inserted by the author, in order to intimate that such things would probably not have happened if there had been a strong central government dispensing justice in the entire nation. Just as the congregation of Israel accepted the remaining Benjamites after they had been punished and acknowledged their wrong, so a Christian congregation will remit the sins of the penitent sinners when they apply for readmission to the Lord's assembly.

This short book, "the idyl of David's greatgrandmother," tells the charming story of Ruth the Moabitess, who lived in the days when the Judges ruled in Israel, a more exact fixing of the time being almost impossible. "One of the sweetest stories in the Bible, showing that even in the blackest period God has men and women who love and serve Him. In Boaz we have the model rich man of his age; every act and word shows his deep faith in God. In Ruth we have an example of modesty and patience, coupled with a remarkable belief in the true God. In Naomi we have a specimen of a good woman, whose religion shows itself in fidelity to all her duties." (Sell.) "One chief purpose of the book seems to be the tracing of the genealogy of David to the Moabitess Ruth, whose name it bears." (Robertson.)

"This information gains in significance if we remember that the genealogy of David is at the same time that of Jesus Christ. The

story therefore goes to show how Ruth the Moabitess, by birth an alien to Israel, was chosen to become an ancestress of the Savior. Her reception into the communion of Israel also testified to the fact that even in the days before Christ Gentiles might be admitted to the kingdom of God if only they received the promises of the covenant in true faith. - As the genealogy here recorded ends with David's name, it is improbable that the book should have been written before David had become a person of influence and renown among the people of the covenant. We find an additional reason for this assumption in chap. 4, 7, where the author explains a peculiar custom, which had fallen into disuse in his days. The author remains unknown to us; but it has been suggested that David himself might well have penned this account of a significant episode in his family history," and the record concerning Christ's ancestors was thus completed.

Ruth Accompanies Naomi to Bethlehem. ELIMELECH AND NAOMI IN THE COUNTRY OF MOAB.-V. 1. Now, it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, some hundred and fifty years before the reign of David, that there was a famine in the land, an afflic tion threatened by the Lord, Deut. 28, 22—24, and sent from time to time as a punishment of Israel's iniquity in committing idolatry. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah, the town afterward famous as the birthplace

of our Lord, went to sojourn, to live as an alien, in the country of Moab, literally, "in the fields"; for the entire territory was conceived to have been divided into fields for agricultural purposes, he, and his wife, and his two sons. It may well have been that importations of grain from Egypt were cut off by the hostility of the Philistines, and that the inhabitants of Judah, therefore, were almost obliged to turn to the country east of the Dead Sea, although the Moabites belonged to