Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the entire tribe of Benjamin to ask them, "What is this evil thing that has occurred among you? Now then, hand over the men those ungodly men, and we'll execute them in order to remove this evil from Israel." But the descendants of Benjamin wouldn't obey the request of their own relatives, the Israelis, so the descendants of Benjamin assembled from the cities of Gibeah to fight the Israelis in battle. read more.
The day of the battle, the army from the descendants of Benjamin numbered 26,000 expert swordsmen from their cities, not including the inhabitants of Gibeah, who numbered 700 special forces soldiers. Out of all these soldiers, 700 of them were left-handed and each one could sling a stone at a hair and never miss. But the Israeli army not counting the tribe of Benjamin numbered 400,000 expert swordsmen, all of them battle-hardened soldiers. The Israelis mounted up, traveled to Bethel, and asked God what to do. They said, "Who is to lead us in our opening attack against the descendants of Benjamin?" The LORD replied, "Judah is to open the attack." So the Israelis got up in the morning, encamped near Gibeah, and the army of Israel went out to fight the tribe of Benjamin, assembling in battle array against them at Gibeah. The descendants of Benjamin came out of Gibeah, and 22,000 soldiers of Israel fell in battle that day. But the army the men of Israel encouraged themselves and arrayed for battle again the next day in the same place where they had gathered the day before. From there the Israelis went up and wept in the LORD's presence until evening. Then they asked the LORD, "Should we attack the descendants of Benjamin again?" The LORD replied, "Attack them." So the Israelis attacked the descendants of Benjamin for a second day, and the tribe of Benjamin went to war against them from Gibeah during that second day, and 18,000 soldiers from the Israelis all of them expert swordsmen fell to the ground. All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. The Israelis inquired of the LORD, since the Ark of the Covenant was there at that time while Eleazar's son Phinehas, a descendant of Aaron, served before it in those days. They asked, "Should we go out to war again against the descendants of our relative Benjamin, or shall we cease?" And the LORD answered, "Go out, and tomorrow I will deliver them into your control." So Israel set soldiers in ambush around Gibeah. The Israelis went out against the descendants of Benjamin on the third day, arraying themselves against Gibeah as they had done previously. They attacked the army and were drawn away from the city as they began to inflict casualties on the soldiers along the roads to Bethel and Gibeah, just as they had done the other times. About 30 soldiers from Israel fell in battle there and in the fields. Then the descendants of Benjamin told themselves, "They're falling right in front of us, just like before!" But the army of Israel told themselves, "Let's draw them away by escaping to the highways from the city." So the entire army of Israel moved from their location and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamer while that part of their army moved from their ambush positions from Maareh-geba. As 10,000 of Israel's best soldiers came to fight Gibeah, the battle became fierce, but the army of Benjamin didn't know that disaster was close at hand. The LORD struck Benjamin in the full view of Israel. As a result, the Israelis destroyed 25,100 soldiers of Benjamin that day, all expert swordsmen. Then the descendants of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. The army of Israel pretended to retreat from the army of Benjamin, knowing that they had set some soldiers in ambush near Gibeah. The soldiers in ambush rushed out to attack Gibeah, deploying in force and executing the entire city with swords. Meanwhile, the army of Israel had arranged to signal their soldiers who had been hiding in ambush by sending up a cloud of smoke from the city. The army of Israel turned around in the battle, and the army of Benjamin began to attack and kill about 30 soldiers, thinking, "Now we're really defeating them, just like before." But then the smoke began to rise from the city in a column. The army of Benjamin observed behind them that the whole city was going up in flames straight into the sky! At that point, as the army of Israel turned back to face the army of Benjamin, the army of Benjamin was filled with terror, because they realized that disaster was about to overtake them. So they turned tail and ran away from the army of Israel toward the wilderness, but they were overtaken in battle when soldiers came out from the cities to destroy them. They surrounded the army of Benjamin, pursuing them ceaselessly until they defeated them near the east-facing border of Gibeah. That's how 18,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin fell in battle, all of whom were valiant soldiers. The rest of them turned and ran into the wilderness in the direction of the rock of Rimmon, but 5,000 of them were killed on the highways while 2,000 of them were overtaken and killed near Gidom. To sum up, the soldiers from the tribe of Benjamin who died that day totaled 25,000 men, all of them expert swordsmen and valiant soldiers. However, 600 soldiers ran into the wilderness in the direction of the rock of Rimmon, where they remained as fugitives for four months. Meanwhile, the army of Israel went back to fight the surviving descendants of Benjamin. They attacked the entire city with swords, including its cattle and everyone they could find. Then they set fire to all of the cities that they could find.

Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so we could humble ourselves before our God and seek from him an appropriate way for us and our little ones to live, and how we should guard our personal wealth, Verse ConceptsFasting, Reasons ForFasting, Practice OfAttitudes Of HumilityJourneyRepentance, Examples OfRivers And StreamsTeachablenessCanalsHumbling OneselfFastingFasting And Prayer

In every province where the order of the king and his edict reached, among the Jewish people there was great mourning, fasting, weeping, and lamenting, and many lay down on sackcloth and ashes. Verse ConceptsProvincesAshesWailingPeople Mourning Catastrophe

"Go and gather all the Jewish people who are in Susa and fast for me. Don't eat or drink for three days, night or day. Both I and my young women will also fast in the same way, and then I'll go in to the king, even though it's against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Verse ConceptsFasting, Examples OfPray For UsFastingFasting And Prayer

All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfAsceticism, TypesPrayer, Practicalities OfSacrifice, In OtUnhappinessWeepingArk Of The Covenant, EventsAction Until EveningFasting

While Moses was there with the LORD for 40 days and 40 nights, he did not eat or drink. He wrote the Ten Commandments, the words of the covenant, on the tablets. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfThe Number FortyWaterForty DaysTen ThingsMore Than One MonthFasting For Long PeriodsTerms Of The Covenant At SinaiThe Law Given Through Moses

All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfAsceticism, TypesPrayer, Practicalities OfSacrifice, In OtUnhappinessWeepingArk Of The Covenant, EventsAction Until EveningFasting

All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfAsceticism, TypesPrayer, Practicalities OfSacrifice, In OtUnhappinessWeepingArk Of The Covenant, EventsAction Until EveningFasting

All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. Verse ConceptsFasting, Nature OfAsceticism, TypesPrayer, Practicalities OfSacrifice, In OtUnhappinessWeepingArk Of The Covenant, EventsAction Until EveningFasting

When the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why did the LORD defeat us today when we fought the Philistines? Let's take the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so it may go with us and deliver us from the power of our enemies." So the people sent word to Shiloh and took away from there the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, who sits above the cherubim.

After this, the entire assembly of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there, where the land lay conquered before them. Verse ConceptsCongregationPriesthood, In OtShrinesTent Of MeetingArk Of The Covenant, EventsSacred PlacesThe House Of God At Shiloh

The Israelis mounted up, traveled to Bethel, and asked God what to do. They said, "Who is to lead us in our opening attack against the descendants of Benjamin?" The LORD replied, "Judah is to open the attack." Verse Conceptsenquiring of GodFirst To FightFighting EnemiesPeople Of Judah

he would stick it into the boiler or pot, and take everything the fork brought up that is, the priest would take it for himself. This is what they were supposed to do with all the Israelis who came there to Shiloh. Verse ConceptsCaldronspot

These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Nun's son Joshua, and the heads of the families of the Israeli tribes distributed by lot in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land. Verse ConceptsTent Of Meeting

So they concluded, "Look, there's a festival to the LORD every year in Shiloh on the north side of Bethel, south of Lebonah and on the east side of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem"" Verse ConceptsRoadsShrinesEvery YearFestivals Observed

Micah's carved image, that he himself had crafted, was in place during the entire time that God's tent was set up at Shiloh. Verse ConceptsThe House Of God At ShilohThe Temple At Shiloh

"Go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I first caused my name to dwell. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. Verse ConceptsPriesthood, In OtA Place For God's NameThe First Temple

All the Israelis, including its army, went up from there to Bethel and wept, remaining there in the LORD's presence, fasting throughout the day until dusk, when they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings in the LORD's presence. The Israelis inquired of the LORD, since the Ark of the Covenant was there at that time

Just as I did to Shiloh, I'll do to the house in which you trust and which is called by my name, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors. Verse ConceptsTrust, Lack OfA Place For God's Name