13“Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.” But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.
Sometimes justice hits home and we end up defending the wrong person. The horrible rape that set up this situation deserves justice. Rape is never justifiable. And this was a gang rape. The men of the town all took part. Justice is needed. The rest of Israel has gathered to bring about justice. They want to punish only those who did the crime, but their close relatives are not willing to surrender them. They end up on the wrong side of justice. They let family get in the way of obedience to the Lord. And as a result they incurred judgment on themselves as well. We see this in the movies when the rich person pays the fancy lawyer to defend their obviously guilty child. We see it in Paris Hilton whose money has freed her again and again.
The Arnold Journey 