When Repentance Wasn't Real: A Warning From Judges 20-21

In this final story there have been three scenes.

• In the first scene we discovered that temporal comforts are no antidote for sin and its effects.

• Similarly, in the second scene we saw that religious observances may look genuine but not produce the fruits associated with true repentance. (Lk.3:8)

• In the third scene Israel continues to practice a pseudo-repentance detached from God’s Word.

As we begin, let’s read Judges 20:18-28, “The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, ‘Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?’ And the Lord said, ‘Judah shall go up first.’

Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. But the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day. And the people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. And they inquired of the Lord, ‘Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?’ And the Lord said, ‘Go up against them.’

So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin the second day. And Benjamin went against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All these were men who drew the sword. Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And the people of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, ‘Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?’ And the Lord said, ‘Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.’”

If this story ended after Judges 20:28 you would have to conclude that Israel had moved through a process toward true repentance. We saw this before in Judges 10 and if this were to have happened it would be a wonderful way to end this book. However, the story does not end in verse 28 and everything that Israel does after this is pretty sinful. (20:29-21:25)

As a result, we are confronted with a dilemma, “Does Judges 20:18-28 describe true repentance or not?” This is important because the type of repentance that we see here is pretty common today.

There are a few ways to consider Judges 20:18-28. First, maybe this was true repentance but Israel lacked the wisdom needed to produce the appropriate fruit. If you were in Israel’s position how I would you have acted under these circumstances?

A great injustice had been done in Judges 19 and there wasn’t a lot of time for Israel to discern God’s will for the upcoming battle. After they ‘repented’ God did not say, “Stay here for a while and consider the wisest course of action.” No, the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”

Many of us could testify that after we came to the LORD it was difficult in those initial days. After having lived quite some time doing what is right in our own eyes it was hard to start making good choices, to start thinking a new way, to surround ourselves with godly people, and to replace bad habits. (Rom.12:1-2) Therefore, maybe this was true repentance in Judges 20:18-28, but because of these circumstances they were bound to stumble and sin.

However, if this is the case, what do you do with verses like…

• Proverbs 14:33- “Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.”

• Or Proverbs 9:10- “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

I am uncomfortable saying that when there is ‘true repentance’ that God can’t lead and guide a person in those initial days of difficulty. The scriptures paint a different picture. When Israel first came out of Egypt God led them by the hand, protected them from their enemies, and He instructed them in the way that they should go. (1 John 1; Ps.77:19)

From the moment someone believes upon Christ a spiritual battle begins (Luke 8:12), therefore, the LORD is like a father who leads a child and like a shepherd who leads his flock? (Isaiah 40:11- “He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs (young lambs) in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”)

Observation: When one truly repents they will not continue in sin, make excuses for their sin, or blame God for the calamity sin brings. After this ‘repentance’, Israel cannot be identified by any of these gracious virtues.

Second, maybe the majority of Israel does NOT repent but a remnant does. There could be a remnant that responds in faith even when the majority doesn’t. Israel has often been a very religious and faithless people who does not turn to the LORD and find true spiritual healing. (Isaiah 1) However, out of this group of religiously veneered people is a remnant who submits to the LORD and does His will.

If this is true, this text highlights that the majority did not repent and not those who did. This view acknowledges that even when the masses are given over to their own desires, the LORD still has a remnant that He is calling to Himself. (John 10)

Third, perhaps through the steps that we see in Judges 20:18-28 that appears to be leading Israel to repentance, there is no real change in the people. What if the LORD is disciplining both Israel and the people of Benjamin through these things. If this is the case, when the LORD gives Israel approval to go against Benjamin and tells them that He will give them the victory, He is not making a statement about the genuineness of their repentance, but simply turning from disciplining Israel to disciplining Benjamin.

Observation: If Israel had seen these initial defeats as discipline by the LORD, then they would have recognized that Benjamin was His instrument that God was using. If this had happened Israel might have repented and been more merciful as the instrument of God’s judgment against Benjamin.

Conclusion: I have concluded that Judges 20:18-28 is a warning for us to not be like Israel in the repentance that they display. (1 Cor.10:11- “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.”) Some in Israel may have repented, but not many. God has given them several opportunities to repent, but in the end they fell short of true repentance.

One of the reasons I have concluded that Israel’s repentance is false is because in the future Israel will continue to do this sort of thing. In the future, Samuel will have to confront them. In 1 Samuel 4 Israel is at war with the Philistines. Initially, they are defeated by their enemy and when this happens Israel doesn’t repent; instead, they called for the ark of the LORD to be brought out to the battlefield. Here is a clear example of Israel making plans and then trying to use God just like in Judges 20 & 21.

When the ark of the LORD is brought into the Israelite camp there was a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. This sound, and the fact that the ark of the LORD had come into the Israelite camp, terrified the Philistines. Despite this, we read in 1 Samuel 4:10, “The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.” As a result, the Philistines captured the ark because Israel thought that God could be used in this way.

After this, Samuel tells them what they needed to do, saying, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods...and direct your heart to the LORD and serve Him only, and He will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.” (7:3) Israel obeyed these words. Then in 1 Samuel 7:5 Samuel gathers the people at Mizpah, the same location in Judges 20-21, and they repented and Samuel judged them. The word ‘judge’ means that Samuel spoke the Word of the LORD to them. (Judges 2:17)

Another example of what it looks like to repent that does not mirror our text is in Nehemiah 8 & 9. In Nehemiah 7 the walls surrounding Jerusalem have been completed. Then in Nehemiah 8:1-2a we read these beautiful words, “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly…”. Nehemiah 8:3 says, “And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.” The people want to hear the Word of God here, this is not the case in Judges 20-21.

Observation: What a beautiful moment in Israel when the people ask for the priest to read the Law to them. Now look at Nehemiah 9:1-3, “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.”

In this passage Israel assembles, fasts in sackcloth, humbles themselves with earth on their heads, separate themselves from all foreigners, confess their sins and iniquities (even of their fathers), and they stood up in their place to read the Book of the Law of the LORD their God. For hours they read the Law, and for four hours they made confession and worshiped the LORD. None of this was done in Judges 20.

Observation: The Word of God must be preached to bring correction, reproof, and exhortation. The Word of God is the only thing that can show us our sin and produces a faithful response.

Warning: As you come to the end of the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah returns to Babylon. When he leaves the people almost immediately begin to sin. (Proverbs 19:27) Nehemiah 13 begins with these words, “On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people…” (1), however, in verse 4 we see that the people quickly begin to sin: Eliashib the priest allowed Tobiah to have a chamber in the house of God, portions were being withheld from the Levites so they fled each to his own field, the Sabbath was not being honored, and the Jews began to marry outside of Israel. How quickly we can return to sin! Sin is crouching at the door, but we must learn to mater it. (Genesis 4:7)

In Judges 21, there are three strong witnesses which testify that the repentance in Judges 20 was not genuine.

First, Israel’s actions in Judges 20:29-48 (and to the end of this book) testify that this repentance is not genuine. After ‘repenting’ Israel shows no mercy, kindness, or compassion toward Benjamin. (46-48) Later, when they do have ‘compassion for Benjamin’ (21:6) they will hurt others within Israel to try to do something about it! In fact, in Judges 21 Israel will sin in similar ways that the men of Gibeah had done in Judges 20. For example,

• In vv.8-12 they slaughter Jabesh-gilead and take 400 young virgins to be wives to the men of Benjamin.

• In v. 13 Israel proclaimed ‘peace’ to the men of Benjamin, but in vv. 16-24 Israel permits Benjamin to terrorize the families and girls of Shiloh.

Second, verses 1-7 contain another example of a faulty repentance, We read,

• “Now the men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, ‘No one of us shall give his daughter in marriage to Benjamin.’ (In v.1 we discover that they made their own plans, oaths, and vows previously in Mizpah.)

• And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. (In v.2 Israel again comes to Bethel and weeps.) 

• And they said, ‘O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?’ (In v.3 they seem to blame God for what they did that went far beyond what he had said. {Proverbs 19:3} They are not repenting of their actions regarding these things.) 

• And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. (In v.4 they are building an altar and offering burnt offerings and peace offerings. After they do these things, like before, they do not seek God’s wisdom.

Third, the scriptures themselves testify that these two occasions of repentance were not genuine when it says, “In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” If this was real repentance this would not have been testified too. Instead, wouldn’t the scriptures testify to the faithfulness of that generation like we have seen at other times in this book? Example: Joshua 2:6-7- “The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD hand done for Israel.”)

Observation: If these people did not submit to the LORD or obey His commands, how great is this temptation in our day when we live in a time that is described as the ‘Age of Personal Autonomy’?

In Judges 19-21 we have seen, “A Sinful people, living in sinful families, who are living in sinful community.” Since sin effects all of these things we need to truly repent. Any person, any family, and any community who will sincerely repent and submit to the LORD can be restored and be used greatly by the LORD.

Example: When Nehemiah returned from Babylon and saw all the sin in Jerusalem, he stopped it. When Jesus saw the sinfulness in people, in families, and in communities, (Hebrews 9) He determined to deal with it. We were powerless, so He came to save us. Therefore, let us turn to the LORD and be filled with His Spirit as we seek to know the Word, do the Word, and teach it to others. (Ezra 7:10)

We have finished our study in the Book of Judges and I think it is fitting that the book ends with this story. We have seen God raise up 12 Judges in this book and during their ministry the people would usually serve the LORD. However, after they are gone the people fall away and the decline of Israel into apostasy continues.

Did you know that in this book we did not see one time when the second generation improved and built upon the progress of the previous generation! Will we do any better? What do we think we will need to do to see that happen? We need to stop doing what is right in our own eyes. We need to truly repent and submit to our King and obey His Word. We cannot continue to live like we have been. How will we respond to what we have learned as an individual, in our family, and in our community? Our first step is to truly repent and encourage others to do the same.