Love your enemies?

And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night. And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead. So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel. Behold, you people of Israel, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.” 
And all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot. . . .  (and) repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.” 
So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man. And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” 
But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel. And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. . . .  all these were men of war. The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” 
And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.” . . . . 
(Judges 20:1–28)

The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. This happened again, but the third time, after prayer and fasting, and offerings to the Lord, they asked again and the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.” 

Last night our home group were asked what quality of God we would emphasize: His kindness or His sternness? Most said His kindness as shown in Jesus Christ rather than His sternness as seen in this narrative in Judges. However, I thought of Jesus overthrowing the money-changers tables in the NT and the several times His anger was expressed. God is both gracious showing mercy, yet holy and displaying His outrage at sin. 

Romans 11 tells how He uses even the sin of the Jews to show mercy to the Gentiles, and the faith of the Gentiles to reach the Jews. Then Paul declares, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

It seems contrary to God's love and mercy to pit one tribe of His people against another, yet His attitude toward sin shows up in Judges, just as it shows up in the NT at the cross where His outrage against sin combined with mercy for sinners tell me that God is both. We would not realize His kindness if we didn’t know His outrage.

Jesus, You hate sin so much and love sinners so much that the only thing to do was take our sin upon Yourself and die for it so that we could escape its grasp. Your mercy is meaningless without realizing how badly we need it.