What happens when people don’t seek wisdom from above? The cure is worse than the disease.
Just as an aside, there isn’t one of us smart enough to figure out life on our own. Only one Man could do that—but He never did! He always checked in with His Father first: “I always do those things that please Him” (Jn 8:29). Not so the Israelites. They remind us that it isn’t enough to intermittently check in with heaven; we need God’s help every step of the way. Now what do they do? Benjamin is decimated. They vowed that no one would give his daughters in marriage to anyone in Benjamin. They ask, “O Lord God of Israel, why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?” (Jdg 21:3). Maybe because they hadn’t asked Him? They had done such a thorough job of excising the cancer that they’d pretty well killed the patient. Now the so-called solution to their self-made problem sounds like something politicians would come up with these days. Let’s call it the Benjamite Family Rejuvenation Plan. So many have been killed, let’s see… Here’s an idea! Let’s go kill some more! We’ll slaughter the people of Jabesh-Gilead who didn’t come to help, sparing only the young virgins! Then the Benjamites can have them as brides. But there were only 400 of them, so back to the drawing board. Somebody else had another brilliant inspiration. They could kidnap some! There’s a festival at Shiloh where the young ladies come out to dance. You Benjamite fellows hide in the vineyards, then swoop down and grab a wife! We can hardly believe this is in the same Book on which Western civilization was based. But there it is. And why? The Lord not only wants to teach us His right way, but to show us what happened when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (v 25). Not good!