United—But Devising War With Each Other | Judges 20:8-17

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Our text today is Judges 20:8-17.

And all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot, and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.” So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.

And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel. And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war. — Judges 20:8-17

Israel’s outrage turns into organization. They swear an oath not to go home until justice is served. It sounds noble—but it’s dangerous. What started as righteous anger now becomes collective vengeance. They are so convinced of their own version of justice that they can’t see the injustice they are about to commit. The people unite around punishment, not repentance, blind to the fact that their zeal will make them guilty of the same sin they condemn.

There is no Judge in this moment—no voice of God’s appointed leadership. The nation acts without discernment, following a rogue man who looks like a spiritual leader but does not live like one. The Levite’s story fuels their passion, but not their prayer. They rally around his words, not God’s Word.

The unity here is impressive but deceptive. They’re “as one man,” but not under God. They’re driven by zeal and confuse justice with revenge.

And Benjamin, the brother tribe, refuses to hand over the guilty men of Gibeah. Pride meets pride. The result? Civil war. Israel will soon destroy its own family in the name of righteousness.

This is what happens when justice acts apart from God's Word and direction. We seek to destroy the guilty instead of restoring them. The line between moral conviction and moral arrogance gets blurry.

We see this same division today. Churches split over politics, believers cancel one another online, and movements built on truth end up powered by hate. Somewhere along the way, we stopped asking, “How do we honor God?” and started devising, “How do we win?”

Justice without God's truth and direction always ends in destruction. Because without grace, even the right cause becomes the wrong crusade.

Jesus showed us the better way: He didn’t excuse sin, but he didn’t execute sinners either. He bore their punishment to redeem them. That’s what real justice looks like. It's always the truth, but it's wrapped in love.

ASK THIS:

1. Is my passion for justice rooted in love or in pride?
2. When I see sin, do I seek restoration or revenge?
3. How do I respond when brothers and sisters in Christ disappoint me?
4. Am I building unity under God or alliances around outrage?

DO THIS:

• Before confronting someone’s sin, pray for their restoration—not their ruin.
• Look for one relationship in your life that needs grace more than judgment.

PRAY THIS:

Lord, keep me from turning Your justice into my vengeance. Give me a heart that loves mercy, seeks unity, and fights for truth without losing grace. Teach me to stand firm and kneel low at the same time. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“What Mercy Did for Me.”