“Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.” (Judges 20:12-26, NIV)

What a waste! These are the words that popped into my mind as I read today’s passage. A civil war breaks out between the tribe of Benjamin and the rest of the tribes of Israel over the rape and murder of the Levite’s concubine. As a result, people on both sides of the war suffered heavy casualties because they could not reach a peaceful settlement. They wasted many lives, resources, and time, all because they would not give up on their lust and pride. Verses 14-17 sum it up:

“From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites. At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah. Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.”

What a waste. Think of the lives lost, time wasted, and resources squandered all because of this stupid incident. The statement, “Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred chosen men who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss,” helps us to understand this waste. These were unique, gifted, and talented people, but instead of using their giftedness for the glory of God, they used it to fight each other because of pride. Just imagine how all this could have been avoided if the Levite had done the right thing, if the Benjamites had handed over the offenders, or if the Israelites had taken a more diplomatic approach? In addition to human loss, they also wasted their precious time, money, and other resources in this civil war.

More significantly, they ended up killing off half their countrymen, making themselves weak, defenseless, and vulnerable to the enemy nations surrounding them. The Israelites came to God for a blessing for their fight, but they would not know true victory until they fully realized that they were brothers fighting brothers. We can see this in their prayer. In their first prayer, they prayed for guidance from “battle against the sons of Benjamin.” Their second and third prayer were for guidance from “battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin.” They realized that they were fighting their “brothers!” But once the blood was spilled, there was no turning back. What a waste.

Church people can learn a great deal from this lesson. Unless we come before God in humility, we will also end up wasting our lives, time, and resources fighting each other rather than the true enemy. Like these 700 gifted soldiers, our churches are full of unique, gifted, and talented people. However, unless we humbly present ourselves as living and holy sacrifices acceptable to God and be transformed in our minds to know the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Rom.12:1-2), we will end up wasting our giftedness for stupid things too.

• Why do you think the author mentioned the 700 gifted left-handed soldiers in this passage?
• In what ways are we wasting our giftedness, and what does it mean to present ourselves as living and holy sacrifices for God’s glory?