![]() So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, ``Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the LORD said, ``Judah shall go up first." Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword all these were men of war. Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. The sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel.įrom the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered, 700 choice men. ``Now then, deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, ``What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man. ``And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply food for the people, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the disgraceful acts that they have committed in Israel." ``But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah we will go up against it by lot. Then all the people arose as one man, saying, ``Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to his house. ``Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and counsel here." ``And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel's inheritance for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. They intended to kill me instead, they ravished my concubine so that she died. ``But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, ``I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, ``Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?" The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers who drew the sword. Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah. And generosity is a way to demonstrate that we believe what He says. Which is more reliable-our instincts or the Word of almighty God? If we can trust our Father with salvation, we should certainly be able to trust Him with our finances. In giving to the Lord, we have the privilege of watching Him fulfill His Word. God tells us to test Him in this and see if He is faithful (Mal. What conflicted creatures we are! We take one part of Scripture and say it’s true, and yet we dis- count another section, feeling that God cannot be trusted in the area of our wealth. Many of us have staked our eternal security on what the Lord has said in the Bible, but some still doubt what He says about money and His provision for us. ![]() The good news in today’s Scripture passage is that the Lord promises to provide everything we need if we will honor Him with the first part of our wealth. We’re tempted to replace the Father’s plan with our own because His feels so uncertain. The thought of giving that way creates anxiety about not having enough. For many of us, however, that’s hard to put into practice. ![]() Yesterday we learned about the Lord’s plan for financial security: giving back to Him the first part of our earnings.
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