CIVIL WAR by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC
Introduction: It is common knowledge that the American Civil War was our nation’s bloodiest war ever. According to the American Battlefield Trust, 620,000 people died in total. According to some estimates, the numbers could have been as high as 850,000. If we talk in terms of casualties (not just deaths but also wounds, injuries, sicknesses, captures, captivity, and MIAs, that number could be 1.5 million. Of course, we are not including any PTSDs in these numbers. Our own state of North Carolina had over 30,000 deaths, so also our neighboring state of Virginia. The Battle of Gettysburg saw the most casualties – 51,000. In that battle, out of the 800 men of the 26th North Carolina (they came from 7 counties in the western part of the state), there were 714 casualties. One of out of every four soldiers never returned home. In his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln said: “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” So also, in our series through the book of Judges, we come to the section where there was a civil war among God’s people, where brother fought against brother. Main Point: Every believer must fight a Civil War against one’s own sin nature. We may fail to win at times, but with God’s help, we will have victory. Never forget that we are precious to God. For each of us, he gave his only Son to die.
Judges 20 1 So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. 2 And the leaders of all the people, all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand foot soldiers who drew the sword. 3(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the children of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wicked deed happen?”
Context: What wicked thing is being referred to here? We saw last weekend how certain men of Gibeah (a city of Benjamites) had ganged raped the Levite’s concubine (wife without a dowry) and she died. They not only had the homosexual spirit of Sodom but they also hated the presence of God and wanted to do that to the Levite. We also learned how the Levite was not a bad guy but a man who truly loved his wife. He went after her even though she deserted him, spoke to her heart, and won her back. But on their way back home, a gruesome crime was committed. He didn’t just ditch her body there. He took her home and did what we might consider unthinkable – Judges 19 29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!”
It was a self-maledictory oath to deal with by-stander apathy. This is similar to what Saul did later when the Ammonites came against Jabesh Gilead – 1 Samuel 11 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
The Levite’s message to all the tribes of Israel was this – if you don’t come out and fight against this evil, your women will one day have to suffer the fate of his wife. Judges 20 12 Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? 13 Now therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel!” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel. The Benjamites not only refused but they even got themselves into battle formation, especially with their special weapon. Judges 20 16 Among all this people were seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss. They were like a machine gun. Now, all are guilty, and all will be dealt with. Justice is not divisible.
The children of Israel even prayed – Judges 20 18 Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” The LORD said, “Judah first!” What’s the result? Judges 20 21 Then the children of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and on that day cut down to the ground twenty-two thousand men of the Israelites. 22 And the people, that is, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and again formed the battle line at the place where they had put themselves in array on the first day. 23 Then the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Go up against him.” 24 So the children of Israel approached the children of Benjamin on the second day. 25 And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah on the second day, and cut down to the ground eighteen thousand more of the children of Israel; all these drew the sword. 26 Then all the children of Israel, that is, all the people, went up and came to the house of God and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 27 So the children of Israel inquired of the LORD (the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, 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 my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
Why did the good guys die? Not just about the military and tactical reasons, but spiritual reasons. This was not just about any battle. This was spiritual.
Let me turn for a moment to our American experience. As Mark Twain is reputed to have said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. In American history, both sides benefited from the slave trade. The North from the mercantile interests and the south from the farming interests. The South produced the cotton through slave labor which the North used in their factories to make textiles. In fact, Edward Baptist, in his book The Half Has Never Been Told, shows how slavery was directly connected to the national and global economy. Northern banks, especially in New York, were very committed to the expansion of slavery. It’s very misleading to say that prejudice was only in the South and not in the North. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Harriet Beecher Stowe in her famous novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” depicted slavery as a national sin. Simon Legree, the cruel slave owner in the novel, was actually born in the north. Some of the pro-slavery politicians of the south (William Yancey of Alabama and John Slidell of Louisiana) were from the north. Why did we have such a huge casualty on both sides? Remember the 1.5 million casualties in the Civil War? 490,309 were from the South and 596,670 from the South (American Battlefield Trust).
Abraham Lincoln understood this very well when he said in his 2nd Inaugural Address (I read a portion in the beginning, but here’s the line leading up to it) – “If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which in the providence of God must needs come but which having continued through His appointed time He now wills to remove and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him. Fondly do we hope…”
Here’s the point: the Israelites that came from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead were no better than the Benjamites. They had the same evil hearts.
Finally, Judges 20:29, they decided to trick the people. Then Israel set men in ambush all around Gibeah. 30 And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in battle array against Gibeah as at the other times. 31 So the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city. They began to strike down and kill some of the people, as at the other times, in the highways (one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah) and in the field, about thirty men of Israel…35 The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword….46 So all who fell of Benjamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword; all these were men of valor…48 And the men of Israel turned back against the children of Benjamin, and struck them down with the edge of the sword—from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. They also set fire to all the cities they came to. They did not take any plunder. No economic benefits from this battle. Actually, it brought plenty of disadvantages. Why do it? It was the right thing to do.
How interesting that the same thing happened in our American history! Nothing like this in any other nation! It’s because God has his hands upon us. People are trying to rewrite history instead of looking below the surface to see what was God’s purpose.
Here’s where it applies even to us individually – Romans 2 1 “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?” We don’t fight any physical war like this anymore. John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Just like the people of Israel, the early victories are quick and supernatural. If you remember, when the people of Israel, led by Joshua, came to the Promised Land, God made a way for them through the Jordan River. Then they came to the city of Jericho and the plan was simply to walk around the city with the Ark of the covenant once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day. After that, the priests blew the shofar, the people shouted, and the walls came crashing down. How quick and easy! So also, in the early period of our Christian journey, life is quick and easy. You struggle with some habit, addiction, or sin. Just one encounter, one sermon, and one resolution, and the battle is won. You were praying for some need, and just like that God answered! You can see the supernatural work of God. It is clear and obvious.
For e.g. I’ve seen that many many times, and it’s wonderful to see people’s faith begin to grow. This is God’s design to help us grow.
Just like the people of Israel, after the early victories, the battles get tougher and more intense. If you are not careful, it may seem that Jericho was the model of how every city was going to be won. “Why don’t we just walk around the city once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh day. Then blow, shout, and victory is ours.” Unfortunately, that was not the model. Entire denominations and systems of theology are built on how God can set you free in an instant. Songs have been written that talk about Jericho being the normal Christian life. That’s not true. Yes, he can, but not always.
After Jordan and Jericho, they had to fight. Now, in Judges 20, they had to fight against one of their own. So also, there is a daily fight and struggle in the Christian life over the other Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, but also against the Benjamites – anger, self-pity, greed, foul language, etc. It is a daily battle, and it is not quick and easy. Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” The bloodiest battle you have to fight is against your own self. You cannot do it unless you keep your eyes on Christ. Hebrews 12 3 “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.”
What is the worth of a human, more specifically, a woman’s life, in the Old Testament? For one woman, 66, 130 died. That’s a lot! Think back on the American Civil War – 620,000 people died, i.e., 2% of the population of the time. If we were to compute that by today’s standards – the American population is approximately 335 million in 2024. 2% of that is 6,700,000. That’s powerful, but not powerful enough to be compared with your soul and mine. 1 Peter 1 18 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Invitation: Here are main applications –
Have you received his gift of salvation through Jesus Christ?
The greatest Civil War is the battle against our own self. We will have victory in the end.
Every life is precious to God. For each of us, God gave his Son.