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    The last chapter of Judges ends with a bittersweet story. Because of the horrific sin of the Benjaminites, the rest of Israel refused to give their daughters to the Benjaminites as wives, yet no one in Israel was willing to cut that tribe off from Israel completely. The story ends with the rest of Israel delivering wives to the Benjaminites captured in battle so that the tribe of Benjamin might be restored.
    This story is an allegory to our own salvation. Because of our sin, not one of us can enter the Kingdom of God. No one can fulfill God’s law, and as a result, we are cut off. Because of that, God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to fulfill the law on our behalf and to die for the sins of all mankind so that we are not cut off. Through Jesus battle with sin, death, and the devil on the cross, we are redeemed and given the promise of returning to God’s Kingdom.
    This ends our study of Judges. Tomorrow, we start our study of 1 Peter.
DLH
