The Sin of Fallen Israel

This passage deals with how the twelve tribes of Israel prepared for war to punish the tribe of Benjamin, following the tragedy in which a Levite's wife was brutally killed. Seeking his own revenge, the Levite cut his wife's body into twelve pieces and sent them out to stir up Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin chose war rather than repenting of its sin. Israel went out with an army of tens of thousands and asked God for victory, but in their hearts there was no true repentance and no will to reconcile.

The sermon points out that the prayers and sacrifices Israel offered were not what God delights in. Burnt offerings and peace offerings stand for sacrifice and reconciliation, but Israel tried to use them to satisfy its desire to destroy its brother. God does not help those who repent, and he did not hear their prayers. Instead, they could not see their own sin and sought only to judge the other side, and as a result they suffered a tragedy in which countless lives were lost.

The sermon asks whether believers, when they see a brother's weakness, should first look at themselves and repent. It asks whether true repentance is found not in a faith that judges and condemns one another, but in humbly taking a brother's sin as one's own and praying.