11/05/2026
MONDAY, 11 MAY
TEXT: JUDGES 21:15-25
TOPIC: THEY DID WHAT SEEMED RIGHT TO THEM
JUDGES 21:15-25 (NIV)
15:The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel.
16:And the elders of the assembly said, “With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left?
17:The Benjamite survivors must have heirs,” they said, “so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out.
18:We can’t give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: ‘Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.’
19:But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah.”
20:So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, “Go and hide in the vineyards
21:and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin.
22:When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.’”
23:So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.
24:At that time the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.
25:In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.
THEY DID WHAT SEEMED RIGHT TO THEM
Recall how Israel fought one of its own, Benjamin, on account of the sin of Gibeah, who r***d a Levite's concubine to death.
Benjamin and the rest of Israel incurred human casualties that were unprecedented.
Though Israel tried to make amends by providing wives for the 400 remnant men of Benjamin, some couldn't get, and the rest of Israel could not give out their daughters to fill the gap because of the foolish vow [vs.18] they made.
This explains why today's text opens with "the people felt sorry for Benjamin because the LORD had made this gap among the tribes of Israel" [vs.15].
Israel committed more wrongs when they counselled and supported the remaining men of Benjamin to abduct the daughters of Shiloh into marriage.
Regrettably, two wrongs cannot make one right. These events show that "all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes" [vs.25].
When people choose to live ungodly lives, there is no limit to the evil they can do.
QUESTION: Who or what motivate your lifestyle today?
PRAYER: Use the response to the answer above to pray.
Food for the Day - 2026
