- What is important in this story and how is it similar to the previous story?
- Lack of a king
- A Levite traveling again
- Israelites interacting with each other as opposed to an enemy
- What is significant about the lack of a king?
- There is no authority structure
- People did as they pleased
- People were not accountable
- APPLICATION: Who are you accountable to? What authority structures are in your life? Do authority structures in your life change when you marry? (Yes, the man and women separate from their families. They still honor their parents, but the spouse becomes more important than the family.)
- This is the second time we see a Levite traveling around aimlessly or living in a non-Levitical city (unclear his city of origin)
- Also a dispute arises, the phrase can mean the wife was unfaithful or that she disagreed with him, felt alienated, and separated herself (Clarke)
- The husband goes after her 4 months later (which doesn't communicate that he cared)
- Also, monogamy was the standard, so he should not have a concubine (implies more than one wife)
- NOTE: this should be one of the religious examples to the people
- He goes to an Israelite city, which ought to be a good thing, a safe move
- No one shows any hospitality to him (at first) which is in contrast to the hospitality of his father-in-law
- Providing a safe haven is an important thing (example in internet of men taking advantage of women versus a gentleman protecting women)
- The last clause in vs. 15 would have been shocking anywhere in the ancient Near East … social disintegration (Block)
- First of all, this story is a replay of a previous story in the bible …?
- It replays Lot and Sodom
- Gibeah is the new Sodom
- What is more, 20:12-14, Benjamin defends the actions of the Gibeahites
- In favor of the man who takes them in, what can we say?
- He shows hospitality
- He understands the danger of staying on the street at night
- He provides for them
- Against the man, and the Levite we see what?
- Total disregard for that which should be of utmost importance
- Rather than sacrificing their lives, they sacrifice the women
- Man was designed to protect the woman
- Ephesians 5:25-33 (NIV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband
- The reason God uses the picture he does is because that is our job, to protect the weaker vessel
- (Judges 19:22) The narrative of the horrid outrage that was committed, of the proposal of the old man, the unfeeling, careless, and in many respects inexplicable conduct of the Levite toward his wife, disclose a state of morality that would have appeared incredible, did it not rest on the testimony of the sacred historian. Both the one and the other ought to have protected the female inmates of the house, even though at the expense of their lives, or thrown themselves on God's providence. It should be noted that the guilt of such a foul outrage is not fastened on the general population of Gibeah. At the same time, the indulgence of debasing passions reveals the true origin of the strong addictedness to idolatrous rites. 'In the relaxing, oppressive climate of the Ghor the most odious vices appear native; and this explains the demoralized condition of the Benjamites in whose territory this plain was situated (Josh 18.)' (Drew's 'Scripture Lands, p. 100; also Stewart, 'Tent and Khan,' p. 375). (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
- We are protect the honor of women. At this point in history, the wife is just a piece of property
- The disease of the society manifests itself in the abuse of women (McCann)
- "The entire book presents a nation rotting at the core. Nothing is normal, least of all the Canaanite version of patriarchy. Normative biblical patricentrism perceives male headship not as a position of power but one of responsibility, in which the leader sacrifices himself for the well-being of the led. In the Book of Judges this pattern is reversed. Repeatedly women and children are sacrificed for males." (Block)
- There is a reason that these stories are in Judges
- They point to the utter sinfulness that the people have descended
- They explain why two tribes are nearly destroyed (one lost spiritually) and the other almost destroyed physically
- They emphatically make a point about leadership, God's word, accountability, the peer pressure of culture, …
- The whole people gather in outrage at the sin. Sometimes, tragic events are what is required to wake us up from out stupor. Why is that?
- We fail to see the signs
- We don't stand up to the subtle steps of sin
- Why do the Benjamites fight?
- They were too proud to admit they were wrong
- Possibly they liked their sin and did not want to change
- Maybe they didn't see anything that was wrong
- The start of healing is something that has not happened in a while and did not happen in the story of the last Judge, what is it?
- Repentance
- The people cry out to God
- APPLICATION: Sometimes we need to cry out to God in repentance for our sins
- The most important verse of this passage is the writers summation of everything in verse 25
- The people had no spiritual authority
- The people did whatever they pleased
- APPLICATION: You need spiritual authority in your life. And as adults, I don't think it should be your parents. You need to find godly men and women that you can be accountable to. You need to be regularly involved in a church. If you believe you don't need church, you are wrong. Read 1 Cor 12-14. You need to be regularly involved and committed to a body of believers
Judges 19:1–15 (ESV) — 1 In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a
certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of
Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him
to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and
bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she
brought him into her father’s house. And when the girl’s father saw him, he
came with joy to meet him. 4 And his father-in-law, the
girl’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate
and drank and spent the night there. 5 And on the fourth
day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl’s
father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread,
and after that you may go.” 6 So the two of them sat and
ate and drank together. And the girl’s father said to the man, “Be pleased to
spend the night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And when the
man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him, till he spent the night
there again. 8 And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning
to depart. And the girl’s father said, “Strengthen your heart and wait until
the day declines.” So they ate, both of them. 9 And when the
man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law,
the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day has waned toward evening.
Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and
let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for
your journey, and go home.”
10 But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and
arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of
saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. 11 When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant
said to his master, “Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites
and spend the night in it.” 12 And his master said to him,
“We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the
people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah.” 13 And he said to his young man, “Come and let us draw near to one of
these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah.” 14 So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them
near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, 15 and they turned
aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat
down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to
spend the night.
Judges 19:16–30 (ESV) — 16 And behold, an old man was coming from his work in
the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was
sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites. 17 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of
the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come
from?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem
in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I
come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the Lord,
but no one has taken me into his house. 19 We have straw and
feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and
the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your
wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.” 21 So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they
washed their feet, and ate and drank.
22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city,
worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to
the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your
house, that we may know him.” 23 And the man, the master of
the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so
wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring
them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but
against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine
and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until
the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of
the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.
27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors
of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine
lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer.
Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. 29 And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of
his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her
throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And all who saw
it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the
people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it,
take counsel, and speak.”
Judges 20:1–7 (ESV) —
1 Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba,
including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the
Lord at Mizpah. 2 And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes
of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000
men on foot that drew the sword. 3 (Now the people of
Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the
people of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil happen?” 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 Behold, you people of Israel, all of you, give your
advice and counsel here.”
Judges 20:12–14 (ESV) —
12 And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin,
saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? 13 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. 14 Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah
to go out to battle against the people of Israel.
Judges 21:2–4 (ESV) —
2 And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God,
and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly. 3 And they said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened in
Israel, that today there should be one tribe lacking in Israel?” 4 And the next day the people rose early and built there an altar and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Judges 21:15–25 (ESV) —
15 And the people had compassion on Benjamin because the Lord had made a
breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives
for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” 17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of
Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. 18 Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people of
Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.” 19 So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at
Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from
Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20 And they
commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the
vineyards 21 and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to
dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his
wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we
will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for
each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else
you would now be guilty.’ ” 23 And the people of
Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the
dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their
inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them. 24 And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man
to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his
inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was
right in his own eyes.
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