C: This lesson will focus on the Israelites battle against the Benjamites. In Judges 19, we see that a man's mistress was raped and murdered by the people of Benjamin.

Judges 19:25-27
25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go.
26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.
27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.

He was very upset by this, and so was the whole country. They decided to punish the people who did this.

Judges 20:13
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.

But the men of Benjamin refused to hand over the guilty people, and so there was a war.

Judges 20:14-18
14 From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites.
15 At once the Benjamites mobilized twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred chosen men from those living in Gibeah.
16 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.
17 Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fighting men.
18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first."

1. Weeping Before God

Judges 20:19-28
19 The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah.
20 The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.
21 The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.
22 But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.
23 The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them."
24 Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day.
25 This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
26 Then the Israelites, all the people, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD.
27 And the Israelites inquired of the LORD. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,
28 with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, "Shall we go up again to battle with Benjamin our brother, or not?" The LORD responded, "Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands."

C: Twice the Israelites fought against the Benjamites, and twice they were defeated. So they sat down and wept, crying out to God (v.23,26).

Each time God told them to keep on trying. In our lives, we've also had tough times, times that have made us cry.

Q: When have you felt really sad in your life, crying out in pain? It could be times when someone was sick, or when someone died, or when we were alone, or mistreated.

2. God Gives the Victory

C: The great news tonight is that God saw their tears. They persevered, and God gave them the victory. God has seen our tears, too, and he will give us victory.

Revelation 21:1-4
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Look at what happened.

Judges 20:33-36
33 All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west of Gibeah.
34 Then ten thousand of Israel's finest men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjamites did not realize how near disaster was.
35 The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjamites, all armed with swords.
36 Then the Benjamites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah.

C: God gave them a great victory against the same army that had defeated them. God will give us the victory in our lives if we keep on trying.

Conclusion

It is great to have a God who feels our pain and wipes away our tears. We must learn to depend on him more and more, and he will lead us to victory.