26 Then all the Israelites, the whole army, 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 fight against the Benjamites, our fellow Israelites, or not?”
The Lord responded, “Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.”
After the Israelites' second defeat of the civil war, they went up to Bethel, the House of God, and they wept, fasted, and gave burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord. And they called the Benjamites as "our Fellow Israelites." The severe battles seemed to have happened because of one sinful man, but it started from the total crimes and sins of the nation, not obeying the Word of God, forgetting the House of God. The Word of God and the House of God lead our lives well enough to live a just and true life, though humans of sinful nature are not capable to do.
Bethel was the place where their ancestor, Abraham and Jacob had met God and worshiped Him when they were lost in life and had no hope, getting away from their homes and families, because of their sins. Likewise, the Israelites finally remembered this place after losing 30,000 lives of their own, except the ones of Benjamites. The Benjamites also should have judged and blamed the guys for doing something wrong, but they couldn't, rather I presume that they thought they could win over the other clan people with their strength and weapons. They didn't regard that as a big crime, but maybe as their pride or a good relationship within themselves.
Our history tells us the same events through both the Korean war and the Civil war in the US and others as well. These kinds of war of dog-eat-dog fights happen again and again. Nowadays, the politicians of my country show the same thing on a single day. If we do forget Bethel, the House of God, I am sorry that we have no hope and these kinds of fightings and wars would keep going on everywhere and every time.
For,“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached to you. (Peter1:24-25)