Each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. (Judges 21:23)Chapter 19 gives the gory details of a heinous crime - the rape-murder of a Levite's wife. Chapter 20 chronicles the punishment dealt to the perpetrator - nearly a death sentence for an entire tribe of Israel. Benjamin was reduced to 600 men, their wives and families butchered, and the rest of Israel determined they would not give those surviving men wives with which to continue their family lines.
As the gravity of the situation hit them, and they had a chance to clear their heads, they hatched a plan. Jabesh Gilead had not shown up to support their action against Benjamin, so that city became a target. Its men, women and children were killed, and only its young unmarried women were spared. Those 400 women were given to the men of Benjamin as wives.
Problem: There were still 200 Benjamites who needed wives. You can't make this stuff up. The Israelites realized that the young women of Shiloh were enjoying a festival in the fields near their city. They determined to look the other way, while the remaining Benjamites each captured a woman. This gives a whole different meaning to Hi ho the derry-o, the farmer takes a wife.
And the story ends: In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did as he saw fit (21:25).
Have you ever done what you thought was right only to realize later it was a bad decision?
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