v.1,11 - This seems to be the only time in the whole of the book of Judges that all Israel are united with a common cause. It is so sad that it is a cause against their own brethren. If only they could have been so united against the inhabitants of the land.

v.18 - One of the few times in the period of the Judges when Israel enquired of God. However maybe they should have first asked whether they should go u[ against Benjamin. They already knew who should go up first. [Judges 1:1 - 2]

v.28 - The mention that Phinehas the son of Eleazer shows that this event, though recorded at the end of the book of Judges was an event near the beginning of the period of the Judges. [Joshua 24:33] I suspect that it is recorded at the end because of the contrast between Saul of Benjamin and David of Bethlehem.

20:15 26,000 men
20:35 25,100 men destroyed
So 900 men left - that is all!

V.18 How the Israelites approached Yahweh over the matter of Benjamin is important to consider.  The first time they inquired of Yahweh they asked Him : Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin?  This was presumptuous as they assumed that Yahweh was in agreement with their mission.  They had taken their own counsel with no mention of seeking Yahweh's (v.7). The consequence of their conceit was the loss of 22,000 men.  

V.23 In the second occasion of inquiry to Yahweh, the Israelites asked Him: Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?  At least, now, they asked His counsel but there was no consideration of their own position or responsibility.  Consequently, they lost a further 18,000 men. 

V.26 Now they examined themselves and asked for forgiveness: Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 

Vs.27,28 After their hearts were contrite, they approached Yahweh for the third time and He guaranteed success. 

The lesson for us is that if we wish help from Yahweh, we must ask for guidance without having a pre-determined outcome in our minds; we must always examine ourselves as for motives; we must always ask for forgiveness.  This is especially true of our dealings with our brethren (Psa 51:17; 1John 1:9).  

20:25  That so many of the men of Israel were killed in fighting against Benjamin doubtless indicates that whilst Benjamin was at fault there were also problems with the rest of the nation.  Remember at this same time the nation had been marrying the inhabitants of the land Judg 3:6, contrary to the command of God.

V.7 Israel had decided to attack Benjamin initially by its own counsel and not that of Yahweh's.  Yahweh is never pleased when His people, (which includes us), act without consulting Him. 

Vs.2,17 Israel had 400,000 soldiers.  On the first two confrontations with Benjamin, Israel lost 40,000 men (vs.21,25).  This loss constituted 10% of the fighting force - the same amount as the army suppliers (v.10).  Was Yahweh sending a strong message, in kind, to never forget His role in the partnership with His people (Prov 26:5)?

V.13 In the family of Israel, each tribe had a responsibility to take care of its own affairs.  Benjamin failed its duty, and even refused to correct the situation when called to account by the rest of the family.  Harsh action followed from the rest of Israel which came united in its opposition (v.11). 

Does this episode offer a pattern to the spiritual family of Israel in these spiritually weak times?  Each ecclesia is autonomous and expected to take care of its own affairs.  If an ecclesia fails to do so, should not the rest of the family exert moral suasion to have it do the right thing?  If that ecclesia refuses, how could it continue to be part of the family?

20:10 Remember we have seen Bethlehem-Judah, the home of Boaz, and now Gibeah is, it is emphasised, in Benjamin to force the link with Saul. Judah had the faithful man in Bethlehem-Judah in the form of Boaz. Gibeah, on the other hand. Produced the man Saul who was a failure as king. Judges is setting the scene. Benjamin is not fit to produce a king. Judah is.

20:1-7 Whilst the account of the man whose concubine had been abused was correct the nation did not behave appropriately. It was their obligation, under the law, to make enquiry as to the truth of the matter before they took any action. The principles behind this are extensively shown in the law of Moses.

20:18-44 That Judah suffered great losses when fighting against just one city is an indication that their behaviour had not been faultless either and God was punishing them as well as punishing the inhabitants of Gibeah

V.47 Rimmon is located 15 Roman miles north of Jerusalem (a Roman mile is 1617 yards (1470m) in length, while a statute mile is 1760 yards (1610m) in length).  The rock is actually a small cone-shaped, limestone mountain.  Today, the village of Rummon occupies it.

20:4 The mention here of Gibeah that is in Benjamin is one of a number of occasions that place is mentioned in Judges 17-21. It occurs rarely outside the book of Judges. It is the home of Saul. The destruction of almost all the men of Gibeah and the subsequent marriage of the remaining men to the daughters of Jabesh Gilead provides the family ancestry of Saul – hence, maybe, his willingness to defend Jabesh Gilead 1Sam 11:1-10 and the subsequent willingness of the men of Jabesh Gilead to risk their lives to retrieve the body of Saul 1Sam 31:12

V.18-20 In these few verses we have two important lessons that can not be repeated often enough.We all hear, but do we listen? We all see, but do we observe?

42:6  In speaking of Jesus as ‘a light for the gentiles’ the Jews would have wondered about where they might receive a blessing. But, as Paul says in Romans on a number of occasions, Isaiah speaks extensively about the call of the gentiles.

42:1 The phrase ‘in whom my soul delighteth’ is found in Matt 17:5 so the way in which the voice of God from heaven in Matt 17:5 quotes these words proves that this is a prophecy of the work of Jesus.

HOW TO PREACH

As Christians, one of the ways we should be changing our lives is to become more like Jesus. Our aim should be to get to know the character of Jesus and to make imitating him our way of life. Isaiah has some challenging prophecies about what Jesus would be like. Our responsibility after reading those prophecies is to try and do the same.

"He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out." (Isa 42:2-3) Jesus did not come with his sword at his side, and the trumpet in his hand to force people to listen and to turn to him. Nor did he come to conquer by extinguishing small sparks of faith and pulling apart damaged people. Jesus came in a gentle way.

The message Jesus gave was compelling - not because it was loud, but because it was God's message and something we all need to hear. He came to fan into flame the small sparks of faith that look as if they are going out and to heal those that are broken and bruised, leading them all gently back to God. Jesus preached with love, gentleness, humility and compassion. We need to follow his example leading others to him with love, gentleness, humility and compassion.

42:5 The language used here is repeated by the prophet – Zech 12:1– after the return from Babylon. Babylon has been the focus of this area of Isaiah.

V.6 The promises given to the Jews will be bestowed upon the Gentiles through Jesus. The foundation of Christian hope is grounded in these promises (Gal 3:16,29).

V.10 For a fuller picture of praise involving those who go down to the sea read Psa 107:23-31.

V.16 The phrase crooked places straight (KJV) has to do with a road that is undulating.  Yahweh promises to make the way level.  A better understanding is: rough places into level ground (ESV). 

42:6 The one who is given as ‘a covenant of the people’ is Jesus as can be seen from the way in which the same ideas are found in Isa 49:9. He would recovers the ‘prisoners’ (v 7) from the prison of death

Abraham is the example. He 'believed God' and consequently was counted 'righteous' (Genesis 15:6) Abraham became 'heir of the world (Romans 4:13) so whilst the 'world' was just a place of transient value before faith is became his inheritance. We are 'Abraham's seed' (Galatians 3:29) and consequently share those promises - if we have his faith.

1John 5:8. “The spirit, and the water, and the blood: These three agree in one”. These three elements of the one witness represent the Truth, Baptism, and Sacrifice, and thus stand for progressive stages in the development of a walk of faith towards the kingdom of God. The word “agree” eisi (1526) means moving to an object; the object in this case being the witness, and the witness testifying to God manifest in the flesh. Where Truth leads to Baptism, and that in turn to a life of sacrifice.

1John 5:21. The Apostle Paul defines idolatry as covetousness. (Col 3:5) Idolatry is therefore not limited to worship of a pagan idol, but to the worship of self, materialism, or anything that might blot God out of our life.

Vs.7,8 (v.8 up to and including the word earth) were incorporated in the KJV from late manuscripts of the Vulgate.  They are not found in Greek manuscripts before the sixteenth century.  Modern versions have omitted these sections.  We can, therefore, dispense with them and their obvious Trinitarian bias. 

5:3 Simple really, isn’t it? In principle yes. Far easier than spending vast amounts of intellectual energy defining doctrine – necessary as that is – our understanding of the gospel is determined by our response to Him.

V.21 This admonition comes without any explanation. That is, in this letter John does not discuss idolatry. But from a historical perspective, John's admonition fits what we read of the first century ecclesias. The believers at this time encountered the pagan world along with idol worship (Acts 15:29 , Acts 19:23-41,  1Cor 8:4, 7)

V.8 The agreement of the Spirit, water, and blood are focused in the testimony of Jesus.  Baptism (water) marked the beginning of His ministry (Matt 3:13-17); blood marked His sacrifice at the end of His ministry (Matt 26:28); the Spirit, which God gave Him without measure, enabled Him to perform His Father's assigned work during His ministry (John 3:34; 5:36).

5:6 The way in which Jesus came ‘by blood’ is seen in his life and his death. The Hebrew brethren are encouraged to resist sin by looking to Jesus. They had not ‘resisted unto blood’ – Jesus had – Heb 12:4

5:2-3    The repetition of ‘keep’ with respect to the commandments shows that we demonstrate our love towards God by the way that we live. We do His will not out of fear, nor even in the hope of a reward. Rather we keep His commandments simply because we love our God.

1John 5:10-12 has a most interesting pattern. We should note first of all that the word “witness” is the same as the “record” (see1John 5:9,10,11).

v10 says that he who believes on Jesus has the witness in himself.          That’s like a = b

v11 says that the record (or witness) is God’s gift of eternal life.            That’s like b = c

If those two equations are right, then we would expect a to equal c. And this is just what

v 12 does say.

v12 says that if we have the Son then we have life.                              That’s like a=c           

We could further note that 1John 5:13 has the pattern a = c =a.

1John 5:10-12 has a most interesting pattern. We should note first of all that the word “witness” is the same as the “record” (see1John 5:9,10,11).

v10 says that he who believes on Jesus has the witness in himself.          That’s like a = b

v11 says that the record (or witness) is God’s gift of eternal life.            That’s like b = c

If those two equations are right, then we would expect a to equal c. And this is just what

v 12 does say.

v12 says that if we have the Son then we have life.                              That’s like a=c           

We could further note that 1John 5:13 has the pattern a = c =a.

1John 5:10-12 has a most interesting pattern. We should note first of all that the word “witness” is the same as the “record” (see1John 5:9,10,11).

v10 says that he who believes on Jesus has the witness in himself.          That’s like a = b

v11 says that the record (or witness) is God’s gift of eternal life.            That’s like b = c

If those two equations are right, then we would expect a to equal c. And this is just what

v 12 does say.

v12 says that if we have the Son then we have life.                              That’s like a=c           

We could further note that 1John 5:13 has the pattern a = c =a.

1John 5:10-12 has a most interesting pattern. We should note first of all that the word “witness” is the same as the “record” (see1John 5:9,10,11).

v10 says that he who believes on Jesus has the witness in himself.          That’s like a = b

v11 says that the record (or witness) is God’s gift of eternal life.            That’s like b = c

If those two equations are right, then we would expect a to equal c. And this is just what

v 12 does say.

v12 says that if we have the Son then we have life.                              That’s like a=c           

We could further note that 1John 5:13 has the pattern a = c =a.

Vs.14,15 Those in covenant relationship with God through Jesus can pray to Him.  It is assured that those prayers will be heard, and that replies will be given.  However, the prayers must be in accordance with God’s will.  Prayers for selfish gain will not be heard.   

V.16 There is sin that leads to death (ESV).  Jesus says that all manner of sin will be forgiven except blasphemy (vilification, slander) against the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31).