29So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved. 30Yet before they had filled their desire, with the food still in their mouths, 31God’s anger flared against them, and He put to death their strongest and subdued the young men of Israel. 32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; despite His wonderful works, they did not believe. 33So He ended their days in futility, and their years in sudden terror. 34When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God. 35And they remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. 36But they deceived Him with their mouths, and lied to Him with their tongues. 37Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant. 38And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.
New Testament·Luke 24:1–13
1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them. 5As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee: 7‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’” 8Then they remembered His words. 9And when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11But their words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe the women. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. And after bending down and seeing only the linen cloths, he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. 13That same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
Old Testament·Judges 20
1Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah. 2The leaders of all the people and all the tribes of Israel presented themselves in the assembly of God’s people: 400,000 men on foot, armed with swords. 3(Meanwhile the Benjamites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) And the Israelites asked, “Tell us, how did this wicked thing happen?” 4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, answered: “I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night. 5And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died. 6Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. 7Behold, all you Israelites, give your advice and verdict here and now.” 8Then all the people stood as one man and said, “Not one of us will return to his tent or to his house. 9Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will go against it as the lot dictates. 10We will take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred out of every thousand, and a thousand out of every ten thousand, to supply provisions for the army when they go to Gibeah in Benjamin to punish them for the atrocity they have committed in Israel.” 11So all the men of Israel gathered as one man, united against the city. 12And the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? 13Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites. 14And from their cities they came together at Gibeah to go out and fight against the Israelites. 15On that day the Benjamites mobilized 26,000 swordsmen from their cities, in addition to the 700 select men of Gibeah. 16Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing. 17The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized 400,000 swordsmen, each one an experienced warrior. 18The Israelites set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, “Who of us shall go up first to fight against the Benjamites?” “Judah will be first,” the LORD replied. 19The next morning the Israelites set out and camped near Gibeah. 20And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin and took up their battle positions at Gibeah. 21And the Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down 22,000 Israelites on the battlefield that day. 22But the Israelite army took courage and again took their battle positions in the same place where they had arrayed themselves on the first day. 23They went up and wept before the LORD until evening, inquiring of Him, “Should we again draw near for battle against our brothers the Benjamites?” And the LORD answered, “Go up against them.” 24On the second day the Israelites advanced against the Benjamites. 25That same day the Benjamites came out against them from Gibeah and cut down another 18,000 Israelites, all of them armed with swords. 26Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, where they sat weeping before the LORD. That day they fasted until evening and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD. 27And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, 28and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” 29So Israel set up an ambush around Gibeah. 30On the third day the Israelites went up against the Benjamites and arrayed themselves against Gibeah as they had done before. 31The Benjamites came out against them and were drawn away from the city. They began to attack the people as before, killing about thirty men of Israel in the fields and on the roads, one of which led up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah. 32“We are defeating them as before,” said the Benjamites. But the Israelites said, “Let us retreat and draw them away from the city onto the roads.” 33So all the men of Israel got up from their places and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar, and the Israelites in ambush charged from their positions west of Gibeah. 34Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them. 35The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords. 36Then the Benjamites realized they had been defeated. Now the men of Israel had retreated before Benjamin because they were relying on the ambush they had set against Gibeah. 37The men in ambush rushed suddenly against Gibeah; they advanced and put the whole city to the sword. 38The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city, 39the men of Israel would turn in the battle. When the Benjamites had begun to strike them down, killing about thirty men of Israel, they said, “They are defeated before us as in the first battle.” 40But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke. 41Then the men of Israel turned back on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had come upon them. 42So they fled before the men of Israel toward the wilderness, but the battle overtook them, and the men coming out of the cities struck them down there. 43They surrounded the Benjamites, pursued them, and easily overtook them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east. 44And 18,000 Benjamites fell, all men of valor. 45Then the Benjamites turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and Israel cut down 5,000 men on the roads. And they overtook them at Gidom and struck down 2,000 more. 46That day 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell, all men of valor. 47But 600 men turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months. 48And the men of Israel turned back against the other Benjamites and put to the sword all the cities, including the animals and everything else they found. And they burned down all the cities in their path.
Reflect
Where do you need to trust God instead of your own understanding?