And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
The verse stands in the closing, last chapters of Judges, which record Israel's backsliding and the disgrace and punishment that followed. Those last chapters show the low state into which Israel had fallen before the call of Samuel the prophet.
It belongs to the account of Israel's conflict with the wicked Benjamites after the murder of the Levite's concubine at Gibeah. During the troubled times of the judges the ark of the covenant of God was at Bethel, where the Israelites came to inquire of the Lord and seek guidance from him. Phinehas served before the ark there, showing Bethel as a place of worship and special services before the ark.
After suffering two humiliating defeats by Benjamin, Israel sought the Lord and the Lord sent Israel against them a third time, and Israel conquered and was ultimately victorious. The repeated setbacks show that present distress and apparent defeat can be followed by success when God's people turn to him sincerely.
That conflict nearly brought about the extermination of the tribe of Benjamin. It left Benjamin a small, nearly extinct tribe, and choosing Saul from Benjamin helped remove grounds for jealousy among the other tribes.
The verse stands in the closing, last chapters of Judges, which record Israel's backsliding and the disgrace and punishment that followed. Those last chapters show the low state into which Israel had fallen before the call of Samuel the prophet.
It belongs to the account of Israel's conflict with the wicked Benjamites after the murder of the Levite's concubine at Gibeah. During the troubled times of the judges the ark of the covenant of God was at Bethel, where the Israelites came to inquire of the Lord and seek guidance from him. Phinehas served before the ark there, showing Bethel as a place of worship and special services before the ark.
After suffering two humiliating defeats by Benjamin, Israel sought the Lord and the Lord sent Israel against them a third time, and Israel conquered and was ultimately victorious. The repeated setbacks show that present distress and apparent defeat can be followed by success when God's people turn to him sincerely.
That conflict nearly brought about the extermination of the tribe of Benjamin. It left Benjamin a small, nearly extinct tribe, and choosing Saul from Benjamin helped remove grounds for jealousy among the other tribes.