What Can Happen When God is Forgotten- Judges 19

 The last few weeks in our Judges series have had us examine some of the less-attractive moments in Israel’s storied history. While some of the stops along the way have been less than pleasant to read through, these episodes are important as they help us understand what the world is like (or what can happen to a nation) when God is forgotten and his Word is ignored. The same lesson will be driven home today as we look at one of the lowest moments ever recorded in all the Scriptures. Though our trek in Judges 19 will prove difficult, it is a necessary journey as we learn to avoid the pitfalls that can leave us, or those around us, susceptible to the kinds of behaviors we will read about in these verses.  Today we are going to look at FOUR ACTIONS that illustrate what is possible in a context that has forgotten God in Judges 19.

a. ACTION #1: Hospitality is Extended in Bethelehem-19:1-10

This chapter starts much the same way that chapter 17 and 18 begin, with a reference to the lack of godly leadership in the land—“Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel…” (19:1). Just as this vacuum had paved the way for idolatry in connection with money and power in the previous chapters, here, this vacuum will continue to open the door for more expressions of godlessness. The verse continues with “there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and remained there for a period of four months…” (19:1-2). This is not the same Levite who was involved in chapters 17-18. Instead, this new character is introduced as someone who is having some domestic problems. His wife (or at least his concubine—we will use both terms interchangeably given than the scholarship is divided on their relationship) proves unfaithful to him. Other translations suggest that she finds him repugnant or leaves because of some dispute and returns to her father’s home in Bethlehem. Not the best way to begin a story.

After four months of separation, “Then her husband set out and went after her to speak tenderly to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So she brought him into her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he was glad to meet him…” (19:3). The note about the servant and the donkeys that accompany the Levite in this journey suggest that this man was of some means. This is reiterated, perhaps, by the fact that the concubine’s father was “glad to meet him.” Maybe the father desired that these two reconcile or the father had learned of the concubine’s unfaithfulness. Either way, what we see from the father is nothing but generous hospitality toward the Levite when he arrives to retrieve his wife.

Notice the lengthy description of the Levite’s visit and the extent of the grace shown him by this woman’s father in verses 4-9: “… His father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him, and he remained with him for three days. So they ate and drank and stayed there. Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, ‘Strengthen yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.’ So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, ‘Please be so kind as to spend the night, and let your heart be cheerful.’ However, the man got up to go; but his father-in-law urged him, and he spent the night there again. Now on the fifth day he got up to go early in the morning, but the girl’s father said, ‘Please strengthen yourself, and wait until late afternoon’; so both of them ate. When the man got up to go, along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, ‘Behold now, the day has drawn to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is coming to an end; spend the night here so that your heart may be cheerful. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey and go home.’...” (19:4-9). What is the purpose of these details in the text? The answer will become clear as the story progresses and another scene of hospitality is considered alongside this description. “This folksy, realistic introduction to the story stresses the father’s hospitable attitude” (Chisholm, Judges and Ruth, 490), and this will not be the characters’ experience in the future.

Eventually, the Levite and his wife could postpone their journey no longer—"But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And with him was a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him…” (19:10). Notice how the man and his entourage is depicted. It is subtle, but it foreshadows something very important about this man’s view of this woman. The man is described first, then his donkeys, and only then his concubine. This order and the cavalier way in which the woman is depicted demonstrates something about their relationship. To this Levite, this woman was a merely one of many possessions and this is something that falls far short of God’s design and instruction elsewhere. This man’s low view of his wife will throw himself open to grave evil later in this story and probably illustrates how many men during this dark period of Israel’s history treated their wives. YIKES!

b. ACTION #2:  A Journey is Taken to Gibeah-19:11-15

While on the way to their next destination, this Levite, his servant, and his concubine make a fateful decision—“When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and the servant said to his master, ‘Please come, and let’s turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.’ However, his master said to him, ‘We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; instead, we will go on as far as Gibeah.’…” (19:11-12). Note the late hour that this deliberation takes place. Night was the time for danger and crime and this detail sets an ominous tone for what follows (Fields, “The Motif of Night as Danger,” 31). In the dark of night, the Levite is unwilling to stop near Jebus (as he didn’t trust the foreign inhabitants there). Instead, he opts to continue on until they reached what he expects would be a safer place.

“And he said to his servant, ‘Come, and let’s approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.’ So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin” (19:13-14). Again note the temporal cues in the story. The sun has set and these travelers have placed themselves in a fairly precarious spot. Night has fallen and this group must rely on the hospitality of those they will meet to be taken in and cared for. Typically in the ancient near east this would not have proven to be a problem (as hospitality was and continues to be a highly valued virtue in this part of the world). However, let us remember what things were like in the days of the Judges where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (17:6) and pervasive wickedness ruled the day. This is probably not the right time to through oneself at the mercy of strangers. Decency and neighborliness are in short supply.

At first, they do not stumble upon anyone and the citizens do not seem to be concerned in the least about the time-honored principle of hospitality that was so wonderfully extended by the Levite’s father-in-law earlier in the story. The text reads, “They turned aside there to enter and spend the night in Gibeah. When they entered, they sat down in the public square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night…” (19:15). It makes no difference that this was not a “foreign city” and that the inhabitants were “from the descendants of Israel” like the travelers. Though, as the Levite probably expected, they should have been welcomed warmly, they are left in the streets (maybe he should have listened to his servant earlier). These details are, among other things, an indictment on God’s people during this time. So distant from the Lord and his word are the Israelites that they don’t even seem to be able to extend common cultural courtesies to their own people!

c. ACTION #3: Hospitality is Extended in Gibeah-19:16-21

However, out of the darkness emerges “an old man…coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. And he raised his eyes and saw the traveler in the public square of the city; and the old man said, ‘Where are you going, and where do you come from?’…” (19:16-21). Perhaps our first impression about the lack of hospitality in this city were wrong and there is still a small sliver of humanity in this town. However, if your “spidey senses” are tingling and you don’t have a good feeling about this, you probably aren’t alone. Can anyone say “stranger danger!”? 😊 What is interesting about this character is that he, like the travelers, is not from Gibeah. He, like the travelers, is not native to this town and yet, he is the only one in the town that extends any courtesy.

With no one else paying them any attention, the Levite answers this old man’s question in verses 18-19 with “And he said to him, ‘We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no one will take me into his house. Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.’…” (19:18-19). The Levite makes a case that while he had expected to receive some hospitality in Gibeah, they had everything they needed in the public square and could manage for the night. They are, after all, just passing through and would be gone in the morning.

Upon hearing this, “the old man said, ‘Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night I the public square.’ So he took him into his house and fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet and ate and drank” (19:20-21). Again, the only person willing to take in these travelers and care for them is himself not from the city. That said, take care of them he does. That said, what appears to be a lucky break soon turns into terror. While they might be safe and cared for in the apartment of this elderly man from Ephraim, the lack of hospitality from those native to Gibeah will soon prove to be a symptom of a far greater evil present in the town (Chisholm, Judges and Ruth, 491).

d. ACTION #4: Atrocities are Committed-19:22-30

What follows is one of the sickest and most grotesque scenes in this book, if not the entire Bible (viewer discretion is advised). “While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, ‘Bring out the man who entered your house that we may have relations with him.’ Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, ‘No, my brothers, please do not act so wickedly. Since this man has come into my house, do not commit this vile sin…” (19:22-23). The town of Gibeah quickly reveals its true colors under the cover of darkness as men of the city surround the house and pound on the door, insisting that the old man release the young Levite so that they might sodomize him. No doubt those who read this immediately draw parallels between these men from Gibeah and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. The demand of these men represents a clear violation of three fundamental social/moral laws: the law of hospitality, the law against any intercourse outside of marriage, and the law against homosexual relations (Block, Judges Ruth, 536). The pounding of the door and demands made suggests that the men outside were seeking, like ravenous wolves, to satisfy their fleshly lusts and were willing to transgress what was both holy and culturally proper to accomplish this. Such is expected in a world where God is forgotten and people do what is right in their own eyes.

However, what is perhaps even more shocking than the demand made by these men is the response of the old man and the Levite. In fact, their response reveals that these characters are not so different from those pounding on the door outside. The old man says, “Here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man. But the men would not listen to him…” (19:24-25a). What?! Which is worse: wanting to have your fleshly needs satisfied in an unbiblical way or treating those made in the image of God (the young virgin and concubine) as though they are expendable? Certainly both are far removed from anything encouraged by God in his word.

The unthinkable happens in verses 25-26—“So the man seized his concubine and brought her outside to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight” (19:25b-26). This Levite, in a shameless act of self-preservation, throws this woman to the wolves and she experiences the most horrifying night of her life. “In the morning the battered and dehumanized concubine stumbled back to the house and fell down in the doorway” (Chisholm, Judges and Ruth, 494).  There she remained until the door was opened later that same morning. It is a tragic and terrifying episode betraying just how far God’s people had descended into godlessness in this period.

Later that same morning “when her master got up…and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. And he said to he, ‘Get up and let’s go,’ but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his home…” (19:27-28). Can you imagine? First, there is no indication that this man was going to go looking for this woman after sending her out to these abusers. He seems intent on leaving. He only stops when her body is blocking the doorway as he exits the home. Upon seeing her, he coldly calls out to her “get up, let’s go” only to finally discover that the girl he had so cavalierly discarded the previous night was dead. Is indifference like this even possible? However, this is, unfortunately, not the end of the story.

The chapter concludes with an especially gruesome note: “When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb. Then he sent her throughout the territory of Israel. All who saw it said, ‘Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, make a plan, and speak up!’…” (19:29-30). As if the spectacle could not be any more morbid, the Levite cuts up this woman into twelve pieces—one for each tribe—and sends these throughout the territory of Israel as a kind of object lesson/testimony to what had happened. Even in death there is no respect for this woman. Seized for a second time, she is subjected once again to male violence (this time post-mortem).

So What?

Why does such a story exist? Why does God permit such acts to occur? What function does this chapter in Judges possibly serve (other than to offend and disgust)? Attention to the context will offer some help as we draw an application for today from this passage. Consider the kinds of things that were taking place during the days of the Judges—days in which people did what was right in their own eyes and idolatry ruled. First, God was considered something that could be built and divine favor was something you could buy (Judges 17). Ambition and a sense of misplaced entitlement to places, things, and people drove entire tribes to unjust behaviors against unsuspecting people (Judges 18). And here, self-preservation and seeking to satisfying one’s earthly lusts overwhelms decency, holiness, and respect for those made in the image of God (Judges 19). These are the signposts of a people/nation that has forgotten God. This is what one can expect in a godless context. In such a place, God becomes a trinket, self-importance rules, and people become objects that can be used and discarded at will. This is not how God intended his people to live and yet, this is the level all people are capable of descending to when they leave God on the outside looking in.

Unfortunately, evidence of these trends is all around us today. Idolatry is pervasive, entitlement reigns, seeking to satisfy all kinds of lusts is priority number one, and people are mistreated or devalued as tools rather than as precious in the eyes of God. Our world of paganism, self-centeredness, promiscuity, and human trafficking. God’s people must stand out in such a world and not give in to these tendencies like the Israelites had in their ancient context. We must stand for and extend worship to the one true God. We much get over ourselves and seek to serve and sacrifice for others. We must pursue purity and holiness in all things and consider our fellow man or woman as fearfully and wonderfully made. These ought to be the hallmarks of God’s people. These are the signposts of heaven, pointing the way to a better kingdom in a world that has settled for far less.