Judges 20:29-35 – Only with God can we find victory

One important step to take before we embark on any venture is to seek the Lord and know His heart before one embarks on it. We must not just approach Him cursorily but earnestly. Coming to the Lord with a cavalier attitude is bordering on contempt. He is holy and deserves to be treated with the utmost seriousness. When we are serious with Him and earnestly seek His heart, He makes it His business to respond to us. According to Jeremiah 29:11-13, He already knows the plan He has for us. He has a plan of welfare and hope and future for those who are His. He wants us to have answered prayers. When we know that He answers prayers, it will be a great motivation to seek Him. And when we do that with our whole heart, we will find Him. This is His promise to us “You will find me if you search for me with your whole heart.” So when the Israelites woke up to the realization that they needed to seek the Lord earnestly, they did so. Then He answered them and said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” He not only promised them success but gave them the specific time they ought to launch the attack.

By this time the Benjamites had grown in confidence. They must have thought that they could not lose for they had already beaten them twice. So they were carelessly emboldened and did not take care to rethink their plan. People are often like that. When we have been successful in previous times, we tend to take things for granted. That attitude spelled trouble for them. For the united Israelites had already wised up and they found a strategy to attack the Benjamites. The Israelites first set an ambush around the city of Gibeah to catch them by surprise. Then a group of them approached the city and frontally attacked the Benjamites and then faked a retreat. Thinking that they were running away, the Benjamites were lured into pursuing the fleeing Israelites. When they came to an open space, they found themselves attacked from three directions. And in a fierce battle, 25,100 of the Benjamites were demolished.  

The victory of the Israelites highlights for us the need for us to seek the Lord earnestly if we are to have a victorious venture. The defeat of the Benjamites shows us that we should not be over-confident just because we have had successes previously. We must always take the time to evaluate our strategy. If we have been successful, we need to hone our process and seek to do even better. If we have failed, we must find out where we have gone wrong and make the needful amendment and adjustment.  In our spiritual journey, we must seek to have an overcoming strategy in our combat against the devil, the world and the flesh. We must seek God and find our strength in Him. Together with Him, we shall move on from strength to strength and gain victory upon victory, and experience glory upon glory. Remember, these are only possible when we are on the Lord’s side. Be sure to stay with Him in life!