Daily Reading — Judges 20,21 – Ruth 1
Click here to listen to Alexander Scourby Reading the King James Bible.
The sin of chapter 19 shows the wickedness that lies in the heart of men who do whatever “feels good”. Israel is right about the sin at Gibeah—but wrong in how they handle it.
They never ask, “Should we go?”
Only, “Who shall go up first?” (Judges 20:18)
They come to God with their decision already made.
Book of Ezekiel 14:4 — “I the LORD will answer him… according to the multitude of his idols”
Their idol is their own judgment.
So God answers within that framework: Judah goes first.
Then God begins to deal with them:
- 22,000 fall (Judges 20:21)
- 18,000 more (20:25)
They were right about the sin—but wrong in spirit, wrong in approach, and now the consequences are unfolding.
As a former leader of a Reformers Unanimous chapter, I taught these principles often:
Principle #5: “Small compromises lead to great disasters (otherwise known as little sins lead to big sins).”
That is exactly what unfolds here:
- One sin at Gibeah
- A decision made in the flesh
- 40,000 dead
- A tribe nearly wiped out
- Another city destroyed
- Moral compromise sanctioned
What looked small did not stay small.
And alongside that:
Principle #7: “We lose our freedom to choose when we give in to temptation. The consequences of sin are inevitable, incalculable, and up to God.”
They started it—but they could not stop it.
Only after loss do they finally submit:
“Shall I yet again go out… or shall I cease?” (20:28)
Now victory comes—but the damage is already done.
Benjamin is nearly destroyed (20:48).
And instead of repenting, they begin managing consequences:
- Destroy Jabesh-gilead for wives (21:8–12)
- Justify it under their vow
- Then permit wives to be taken from Shiloh (21:20–23)
Sin… fixing sin… with more sin.
They never return to God about:
- their excess
- their vow
- their solutions
They just keep deciding—and acting.
The diagnosis:
“Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)
They asked God to guide their plan—instead of asking God for His.
And once that begins, sin will not be corrected.
It will be compounded.
Even well-intentioned people can move in the flesh. Paul said:
Book of Romans 7:18 — “for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”
The desire to do right is not the same as the ability to do right. Israel had the right desire—to judge sin—but lacked the submission to do it God’s way. That is where the danger begins.
Scripture shows us how to stop sin before it multiplies:
Book of Proverbs 3:5–6 — “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
The failure in Judges 20 was not ignorance—it was leaning on their own understanding first, then asking God to assist. The correction is simple, but absolute: acknowledge Him first, not after the plan is formed.
And when failure has already begun, the answer is not to manage it—but to stop and deal with it honestly before God:
Book of Proverbs 28:13 — “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Israel covered, adjusted, and engineered—but never truly confessed and forsook. That is why the problem grew.
Practically:
- Stop before acting—seek God, not confirmation
- When wrong—confess it, don’t manage it
- Forsake it early—before it spreads
That is how small sin is cut off before it becomes great disaster.
Keep reading, Ruth begins where Judges leaves off—with a different spirit altogether.
Until tomorrow, stay in the Book. 📖
Brother Tony