旧约 - 士师记(Judges)第21章

Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
士师记第廿一章   第 21 章 

  士 21:8-12> 出尔反尔,以错补错,以色列人简直失去了理智…… 

  21:8-12 以色列人鲁莽行事之后,又做出同样鲁莽的补救。他们起初因情绪激动而冒失起誓( 21:5 ),现在又毁灭另一个城邑。他们可能提出以下的理由为自己的行为辩护:( 1 )起了誓是必须谨守的,他们曾起誓,凡不协助与便雅悯人争战的,必被治死。( 2 )因为便雅悯支派的妇女都被杀死,所剩的少数男人需要妻子生儿育女,确保这支派不至于灭绝。因为基列雅比人没有上来协助,所以杀死他们的男人,留存未婚的女人,似乎是合理的解决方法。 

  我们不知道基列雅比这一场残酷大屠杀的整个过程,但是以色列其余各支派,似乎皆仿效便雅悯事件的模式。他们把对支派的忠诚,放在顺服神的命令之上,认为要改变过去的错误,现在就应采取非常的行动。 

  士 21:25> 士师时代的人照己意而行,结果为此而付上代价── 

  21:25 以色列人在士师时代体验到苦难,因为各人皆依照自己的意欲行事,按自己所认定的是与非而行,这样就产生可怕的后果。现在的世界也是一样,个人、小团体以及整个社会,皆以自己作为决定性的权威,一点也不理会神的旨意。在人宁可付一切代价来满足个人自私的欲望时,每一个人就要因此付出代价。 

  将我们的计划、愿望与动机皆交托给神,依祂旨意而行,才是根本的、英勇的行动。像基甸、耶弗他、参孙这一类的人,皆是战场上的英雄,但是他们个人的私生活则多不足取。 

  要想作真正的英雄,为使神的国得以实现,必须每天在家庭中、工作中、教会与社会中争战。我们的武器是神的标准、道德、真理,以及从圣经所领受的信念。如果我们只搜集属世的财宝作战利品,而不寻求天上的财宝的话,战争就必失败。──《灵修版圣经注释》