Judges 20:23

“And the children of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until even, etc.] The evening of the day in which the battle was fought; not that the whole army went up to Shiloh to the house of God there, but a deputation of them, who lamented their defeat, and the loss of so many lives, but not their sins and transgressions, and particularly the idolatry they had been guilty of: and asked counsel of the Lord, saying, shall we go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? they seemed to have some doubt, by the loss they sustained, whether they were right in going to war with Benjamin, especially as he was their brother; and therefore the question now is, not who should go…”

“Wept - Not so much for their sins, as for their defeat and loss. My brother - They impute their ill success, not to their own sins, but to their taking up arms against their brethren. But still they persist in their former neglect of seeking God's assistance in the way which he had appointed, as they themselves acknowledged presently, by doing those very things which now they neglected. Judges 20:26”

“wept: Jdg 20:26, Jdg 20:27; Psa 78:34-36; Hos 5:15 And the: It seems most evident that the Israelites did not seek the protection of God. When they "went to the house of God," ( Jdg 20:18), it was not to enquire concerning the expediency of the war, nor of its success, but which of the tribes should begin the attack, and here the question is, "Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother?" Having so much right on their side, they had no doubt of the justice of their cause, and the propriety of their conduct; and having such a superiority of numbers, they had no doubt of success. But God humbled them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies; and shewed…”

“But before renewing the conflict they went up to Bethel, wept there before Jehovah, i.e., before the sanctuary of the ark, where Jehovah was present in the midst of His people, enthroned between the cherubim, until the evening, and then inquired of the Lord (again through the high priest) "Shall I again draw near to war with the children of Benjamin my brother" (i.e., renew the war with him)? The answer ran thus: "Advance against him." Judges 20:24”