Day 26 - Judges 20:26

A Fasted Journey for Spiritual Renewal

Day 26

“Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord.” -Judges 20:26

Only the dead have seen the end of war. I wrote a post that I named after that Plato quote. That post was published on Day 26 of my fast. This passage in Judges is extra prudent considering the timing. In Judges 20:19-48 the tribes of Israel were battling one of their own, the tribe of Benjamin. Initially Israel loses 22,000 people in battle. They regrouped and went into battle the next day and lost another 18,000.

This second battle loss brought them to such a point of remorse that they went up to Bethel, wept, fasted, and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. One likely explanation for their back to back defeats was that the Lord wanted to bring them back to a spirit of repentance. The primary way for people to even realize that they need to repent and that they did something wrong in the eyes of the Lord is that they need to be humbled. So many live in such hubris that they go on sinning, loving their sin, and embracing their sin. Often to the point of no return (see Romans 1).

The Israelites realized their need for true repentance and outwardly showed it by fasting and making offerings. They likely fasted in mourning for the loss of 40,000 of their people. All of these reasons, mourning, humility, and repentance are all associated with fasting as we have seen throughout the previous 25 days.

The Israelites then drafted a new battle plan that improved on the failed plan which they had used during both defeats. The Israelites were superior in numbers, but as history has shown countless times, that doesn’t always matter in war. The Benjamites had a force of 26,700 and during this third battle, the Israelites killed all but 600 of them. Only the dead have seen the end of war.

I am not a medical professional. This journal is about my spiritual path and about that which the Lord has placed on me. This is not medical advice, nor was this fast done for any medical purpose. If you have a medical interest, seek medical advice. If you have particular health concerns, seek medical advice and/or conduct your own research. Any fasting advice, effects, realizations or anything else related to my fast come from my personal reflection and experience. If you are considering fasting, consulting with a healthcare provider may be appropriate for you.