All of Israel came to know of the tragedy that happened in Gibeah in Benjamin when the Levite cut up his concubine and sent her body parts to each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The men of Israel knew they had to do something, despite the fact they had no king. So, all the men of Israel gathered before the Lord at Mizpah. There, the Levite whose concubine had been raped and murdered recounted his story. Then he demanded the Israelites tell him what they were going to do. The Gibeonites must be punished! The men of Israel were right. Sin must be purged.

So, the tribes of Israel went to Benjamin demanding they turn over to them the men of Gibeah who did the awful deed. Benjamin refused. Instead of extraditing the perpetrators, the tribe of Benjamin mustered 26,000 trained soldiers, along with 700 able men from Gibeah. The Benjamites clung to their pride and wanted to protect their kinsmen from Gibeah, no matter what crimes they had committed. When we have no king, there is no true sense of justice.
Application: Father, without you, our sense of justice is warped. We can only seek ruinous revenge. Help us to seek you as our true source of justice and peace.
One Word: Seek God’s justice, not our own