Judges 20:38
Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city. Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.
The appointed sign was that the ambush force would send up a great column of smoke and flame from the city, letting the main body of Israel know the plan was being carried out. It belongs to the account of the crime at Gibeah, with which the whole tribe of Benjamin identified itself. It belongs to the account of the murder of the Levite's concubine and the conflict that nearly exterminated the tribe of Benjamin. It is part of the record of Israel's backsliding and the disgrace and punishment that followed.
It stands in the closing chapters of Judges that reveal the low state and low condition into which Israel had fallen before the call of Samuel the prophet. That history stands in mighty contrast to the miracles and teaching of Christ in Luke, yet joins with them in showing the goodness and mercy of God. It belongs to Israel's struggle against Benjamin, in which Israel was twice defeated before finally gaining victory, showing that setback and apparent defeat need not mean the cause is lost, for distress can be followed by joy and success.