Bible Commentaries
Judges 20

Verses 1-48

Judges 20:8 And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.

Judges 20:8 Comments - America has departed far from justice in this country! Crime and abominable sins have little justice, so that they increase.

Judges 20:18 And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, 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.

Judges 20:18 “And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God” - Comments - The location for the house of Lord is most likely in Shiloh at this time in Israel’s history (Judges 18:31).

Judges 18:31, “And they set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh .”

Judges 20:18 “and asked counsel of God” - Comments - In order to be successful, one must seek God’s counsel to know exactly how he desired to deal with them. In a business, a manager will not make any major decisions for the company without consulting the directors for advice and direction. If he did, the company would fail.

Judges 20:18 “And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first” - Comments - Strong says the name Judah ( יְהוּדָה ) (H3063) means, “celebrated.” He says this name is derived from the primitive root ( יָדָה ) (H3034), which literally means, “to hold out the hand,” thus “praise” (Genesis 29:35). Jacob prophesied that Judah was to be the leader over his brethren and victor over his enemies (Genesis 49:8). Thus, it was Judah that God choose to lead the children of Israel through the wilderness and into battles.

Genesis 29:35, “And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.”

Genesis 49:8, “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.”

Numbers 2:9, “All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.”

Judges 20:22 And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.

Judges 20:22 “encouraged themselves” - Comments - We find a number of examples of people encouraging themselves in Scripture. A similar phrase is “Be strong, and quit yourselves like men.” The children of Israel encouraged themselves in the Lord:

Judges 20:22, “And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.”

The Philistines were able to encourage themselves and win the battle. See:

1 Samuel 4:7-9, “And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, and quit yourselves like men , O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.”

Note that there was another time when David encouraged himself in the Lord.

1 Samuel 30:6, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God .”

King David told his son Solomon to be strong like a man should be.

1 Kings 2:2, ”I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;”

God told Job to gird up his loins like a man and interact with Him in dialogue.

Job 38:3, “Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.”

Paul exhorted the Corinthians to be strong like a man as they pursued a lifestyle of sanctification within their church members.

1 Corinthians 16:13, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.”

Judges 20:26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.

Judges 20:26 Comments - This time, the children of Israel really humbled themselves before God and leaned strongly to His counsel.

Judges 20:28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.

Judges 20:28 “And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days” - Comments - The fact that Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, was alive during the time of the war with the Benjamites means that this story is not in chronological order, as the first sixteen books of the book of Judges appear to be.

Judges 20:28 “And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand” - Comments - They learned that it is not by might, nor power, 400,00 men (Judges 20:17) against 33,000 (Judges 20:15), but by God’s Spirit (Zechariah 4:6, Zechariah 4:1 Cor 20:15).

Zechariah 4:6, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

2 Chronicles 20:15, “And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's .”