His life was in danger. The life of his
mistress was in danger. The mob finally
forced the door open. They raped and
killed his mistress. He was distraught and
couldn’t be comforted. In his pain, he cut
the body of his dead concubine into
pieces and shared the parts amongst the
tribes of Israel to express the wickedness
the tribe of Benjamin had committed. He
cried for justice.
The other tribes of Israel demanded that
the mob who committed the hideous
crime be delivered to face justice. The
tribe of Benjamin refused and threatened
to fight if need be. Israel (without
Benjamin) went before the Lord and
asked if they should go to war with the
rascal Benjamin and which particular tribe
should go first. God told them to go and
that Judah should go first.
With that assurance and given that they
heavily outnumbered Benjamin (Israel
was four hundred thousand compared to
Benjamin, which was only 26,700 men),
Israel went to war but were heavily
defeated. They lost twenty-two thousand
men that day. They came back, cried, and
once again inquired of the Lord if they
should go again and fight Benjamin. The
Lord was clear. Go again. This time
around, they lost eighteen thousand men
(bringing the total number of casualties to
forty thousand, i.e. 10 per cent of their
population, just like tithe).
Judges 20:1–48 tells the story.
Israel was devastated. Why would God
send them to a battle only for them to be
defeated in an embarrassing manner?
Then it occurred to them that they had
been foolish the two previous times! God
clearly commanded that nobody should
come before Him empty-handed!
Ignorance is not an excuse in law! Even
with God!
Deuteronomy 16:16 says, “Three times in
a year shall all thy males appear before
the LORD thy God in the place which he
shall choose; in the feast of unleavened
bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in
the feast of tabernacles: and they shall
not appear before the LORD empty.”
They fasted and offered burnt and peace
offerings (Judges 20:26) and only then did
God make the battle personal: “And the
LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will
deliver them into thine hand” (Judges
20:28). And He did.
How come unbelievers are getting the
best deals in town? How come
unbelievers are landing the best jobs?
How come all the prophecies concerning
you seem not to be working? The answer
lies in your offering and sacrifice!
Solomon’s unprecedented sacrifice
shouted, and God had to come down and
ask him what he wanted. Even in death,
Abel’s sacrifice shouted for justice! Jacob’s
venison (sacrifice) delivered Isaac’s
blessing to him instead of Esau, and
Dorcas’s selfless giving caused Peter to
bring her back to life!
If you have tried praise and worship, if
you have tried prayer and fasting, if you
have tried crying and sorrowing and they
have not worked, try reckless sacrifice!

Twice in one day I've heard about give sacrificially ... I'm thinking there might be something too it ...