Judges 20

So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.

(Jdg 20:1)

There is nothing that will bring people back to a place of seeking the Lord like a sudden unexpected tragedy. As humans we go out, and we do our thing; “whatever is right in our own eyes”… we don’t think we will ever really have to pay the consequences.

The whole society had been living this way when SHOCK!!! Out of nowhere they were confronted with just how wicked their actions had really gotten. A piece of this poor concubine sent to each tribe, and they all gather together. Notice what this verse says… when they gathered together they were as ONE MAN before the LORD.

It took tragedy to unite them, and their unity wasn’t found in their self seeking, self serving lifestyle… it was found in a place of brokenness before the Lord.

I often hear the question asked, “Why does God allow Evil?” The VA Tech question has brought it up again. Maybe we are asking the wrong question… maybe the question to ask is “why did this happen?” The concubine, Columbine, V-Tech, or the Tsunami… we can ask WHY?!?!

The answer to all of these, in different ways is the same: SIN. Sin is the cause of the evil and destruction we see in the world, God told us it would be this way. He told Adam, “If you eat it, you will surely die”. Sin entered the world, and it has been destroying lives ever since. The answer to the “why do bad things happen to good people” question is simple as well; there are no good people. We are all sinners, and SIN doesn’t play favorites. Neither does the devil.

The hope in all of this what we see here in Judges 20:1. In the midst of the tragedy, we see triumph. The people turn AS ONE back to the Lord. As those who walk with Jesus, may we share the love Christ with those asking “why” in the wake of this most current tragedy, and point them to the who that can defeat death once and for all!