For e.g. you know that God called you to resign and to take up another job offer but once you have joined the company you started experiencing insurmountable odds and difficulties. Did you hear from God correctly? If yes, then why do you seem to be facing so many challenges in your job?
The fact is that doing God's will may not be necessarily smooth. In fact I believe that God allow the testings and difficulties to shape our character and build our faith!
The story of the Levite whose concubine was murdered in Gibeah by a group of useless men gives us some precious lessons on this. When the Levite lodged at the home of an old man in Gibeah, a group of useless men came knocking on the door asking to have sex with the Levite.
Instead of protecting his guest, the old man pushed the concubine out of the door to meet their demands. She was raped all night and collapsed at the door in the morning - dead.
Without judging whether the old man did right or wrong (for indeed in those days, Israel was a lawless nation), the death of the concubine was 'published' throughout Israel by the Levite. As no newspapers existed during those days, he decided to do one thing - he cut up her body in 12 pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all Israel.
It was so awful that all who saw it said, "No such deed has been done or seen from that day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak" - Judges 19:30
Speak they did, considered they did and conferred they did. The decision of the leaders of all the tribes of Israel was to raise up and army by recruiting volunteers from all over Israel to go to Gibeah in Benjamin to repay all the vileness that they have done for Israel (Judges 20:10).
The one good thing that came out of it was the great unity among them. It was going to be a corporate war. Judges 20:11 "So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united together as one man".
Although Benjamin was given a chance to avoid the civil war they refused to deliver the perverted men who committed the crime. Instead they gathered to war, 26,000 of them. Israel outnumbered them as they had 400,000 men who drew the sword.
Now this comes the important part. Did Israel seek the Lord whether going to fight their brothers were God's will?
Indeed they did! In Judges 20:18 "Then the children of Israel arose and went up to the house of God to inquire of God. They said, "Which of us shall go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin?"
Did God answer them? Yes, he did! In the same verse "......The Lord said, "Judah first!"
Was it God's will for them to attack Benjamin?
Yes it was. In fact God asked them to put Judah at the head of the army.
However is verse 21, it was told that 22,000 men were cut down by the children of Benjamin! How could they have lost the battle when God clearly told them to let Judah go up first?
Was it because they asked the wrong question?
Was it because they did not spend long enough praying in God's presence?
Was it because they heard wrongly?
No! It was not because they did not pray. It was not because they did not seek God's will before they rose up to fight Benjamin. It was because Benjamin was too strong for them!
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