In this daily Bible reading is the account of the Israel attacking and nearly wiping out the tribe of Benjamin because of a heinous crime. The men of Gibeah in Benjamin had violently raped and murdered a Levite’s concubine.
The tribe of Benjamin would not punish the men of Gibeah, so the other tribes of Israel punished them. In the ensuing battle virtually the entire tribe of Benjamin was destroyed. Only 650 fighting men were left. It is interesting that God supported this action. God gave Benjamin into the hands of the other tribes.
This event illustrates the devastating effect of sin in personal lives and in the life of a nation. The harm that sin caused in this example was great. A total of 65,000 people were killed. 25,000 were killed in the tribe of Benjamin and 40,000 from the other tribes of Israel.
We cannot and should not minimize sin and its effects in our lives. We must avoid sin at all costs. Sin will destroy not only us but our loved ones as well.
