Judges 20:26
Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
Judges 20:26 belongs to the account of the outrage at Gibeah, when the murder of a Levite's concubine drove Israel to war against Benjamin after Israel had twice been defeated and fled before their enemies. Then all Israel and all the people came up to the house of God, wept and sat before the Lord, fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Him in mourning and worship. The house was the tabernacle and sanctuary at Shiloh, though those who render the Hebrew as Bethel held it to be Bethel where the ark then rested with Phinehas ministering before it as a place of special worship. Their fasting expressed sorrow and is fitting in times of distress and affliction, as an example of turning sincerely to God with weeping and offerings before eventual victory when present sorrow and apparent failure give way to joy and success. After Israel so sought the Lord He sent them to fight Benjamin a third time, yet the grief and worship do not excuse the sin, for the war left Benjamin least and nearly extinct so that the later choice of a king from Benjamin showed wisdom meant to remove jealousy among the tribes.
Historical Setting and Meaning
The closing chapters of Judges to which this verse belongs record backsliding, injustice and punishment as a history of national disgrace and its consequences, showing the low state into which Israel had fallen before Samuel was called. It belongs to the account of the outrage at Gibeah, where the murder of a Levite's concubine led Israel to war against Benjamin and brought that tribe close to extinction. The gathering, weeping, fasting and offerings it describes took place after Israel had twice been defeated by Benjamin and had fled before their enemies.
The house of God where Israel gathered was Bethel, since the Hebrew term translated house of God is also rendered Bethel and several Bible versions translate it that way here. It is also understood as the tabernacle and sanctuary at Shiloh where Israel gathered before the Lord. The ark of the covenant was at Bethel at this time, and Phinehas stood before it, making it a place for special worship services where Israel came during the troubled time of the judges to seek the Lord.
The verse records that all Israel and all the people came up to that place, wept and sat there before the Lord, fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Him. Their coming to where the ark was showed seeking of the Lord, while their weeping, fasting and offerings showed mourning and acts of worship.
Spiritual Lessons and Outcome
Israel's fasting on that day was an expression of sorrow when they fled before their enemies, and fasting is fitting in times of distress and affliction. The weeping, fasting, and burnt and peace offerings were a sincere turning to God in distress after defeat, before the victory that followed. Present sorrow and apparent failure may therefore be followed by joy and success when people turn sincerely to God.
After two defeats by Benjamin, Israel came to the house of God, wept, sat before the Lord, fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Him. Having thus sought Him in worship and fasting, the Lord sent them to go up and fight Benjamin a third time. Their grief and religious response belong to a record of backsliding, injustice, punishment, national disgrace and its consequences, and do not excuse the sin involved.
That civil conflict left the tribe of Benjamin least and nearly extinct. The later choice of a king from Benjamin therefore showed divine wisdom designed to remove all grounds of jealousy among the other tribes.