Judges 19: 1 – 30
The Punishment Does Not Suit The Crime
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months. 3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4 Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there. 5 Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.” 6 So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again. 8 Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate. 9 And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.” 10 However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him. 11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.” 12 But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.” 13 So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.” 14 And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night. 16 Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites. 17 And when he raised his eyes, he 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 So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of the LORD. But there is no one who will take me into his house, 19 although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, “Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.” 21 So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank. 22 As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!” 23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!” 25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go. 26 Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light. 27 When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place. 29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. 30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!”
Have you had a punishment dealt to you that you consider was far beyond the sin or crime that you committed? I know that I have plenty of times. In today’s study we are going to see how in my opinion a woman was dealt the maximum sentence for a crime or sin or adultery, and that is murder.
This chapter gives an account of the sad story of a Levite and his concubine, and of the evil consequences following it. It describes how she played the harlot, and went away from him to her father's house, to which he followed her. There he was hospitably entertained by her father for several days, and then set out on his journey back to his own country. And passing by Jebus or Jerusalem, he came to Gibeah, and could get no lodging, but at length was taken in by an old man, an Ephraimite.
But the house where he was enjoying hospitality was beset by some evil men in Gibeah, with the same intent with which the men of Sodom beset the house of Lot which is described in the book of Genesis chapter 19.
After some argument between the old man and the local men, the concubine was cast out of the house to them and abused by them until she died. On this the Levite her husband cut her into twelve pieces, and sent the pieces into all the borders of Israel, as a shocking message to Israel of what had been done in their midst.
Why should such a story have been included in the sacred record? It is because our Precious Holy Spirit put it in. I can think of a few possibilities. For one thing this situation demonstrated how far the people of Israel had fallen from what they once were. How they had been contaminated by the inhabitants of the land, with their sexually perverted ways, in which they had come to dwell. They no longer obeyed the commandments in the covenant, especially ‘you shall not commit adultery’ and ‘you shall not kill’.
Secondly it demonstrated that the leadership of Israel was failing, and that their attitudes of heart were wrong. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. The tribes were not as tightly bound in the covenant as they should have been, although this incident greatly contributed to the cementing of that unity.
Thirdly it demonstrated that when the right occasion came along they could act together as Yahweh had intended.
Fourthly, It is quite possible that from hints in chapters 17 and 18 we know who this Levite is and as a result there is much to glean from what happened. We will cover this important point shortly.
The idea is that there was no central authority to ensure the administration of justice, and the Lordship of Adoni Yahweh was being ignored. Thus there is reference to the fact that they no longer saw God as their king, and by failing to do so have reached this parlous position. It would appear that no strong central figures had replaced Joshua. So they looked to no one, and expected judgment from no one.
The system arranged by God had failed because of the slackness of the people of Israel and their failure to fully augment it. People were free to behave as they wished, in general only observing their local customs, and only accountable for their behavior locally. This meant that someone from outside often had relatively little protection. They were fair game. So sins such as adultery, sodomy, murder, and so on were committed with impunity against them.
There was a central sanctuary located in Shiloh which acted as a unifying force for the tribes, and there were those at the central sanctuary who could theoretically be appealed to, but they clearly had little influence in practice. They were dependent on the support of the tribes. And the tribal unity was spasmodic, and often casual, as the book of Judges has demonstrated. This was not the central living force that God had intended.
And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
He lived in a city that was on the side of those mountains of Ephraim furthest from Bethlehem-Judah. Remember back in chapter 17 regarding a man named Micah and a Levite. Take a look again with me at what was listed, “7 Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim.” Is it a coincidence that this Levite is the one and the same person who we now read about in chapter 19? We will see some more hints that indeed this was the same person.
2 But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months.
If we stop and think about what has happened it becomes clearer of some history. The Levite was from Bethlehem as well as the young woman. He lusted after this woman but was not willing to make her his wife. He wanted her physically but did not want to make her his partner so she became his concubine.
You might be thinking that this woman must be out of her mind to accept such a relationship. Oh really? It happens all the time today. Women accept false promises such as ‘Some day I am going to marry you.’ They figure that one day the guy is going to realize what a great wife she would be that he will follow up on that vague promise.
It is plainly recorded that she was unfaithful to him. It is highlighted that she turned toward prostitution. Please note though that it does not say that the Levite was aware of what was going on. All he was aware of was that she took off for her home back in Bethlehem.
The Levites’ wife left him and returned to her parental home. There she was clearly received, in spite of the fact that she had broken a contractual relationship. Strictly some attempt should have been made to restore her to her husband, but they may have feared that she might be put to death for what she had done.
3 Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.
Her husband went after her, and thus it was not the husband who was directly responsible for her leaving. He wanted her back.
The woman’s father put on a show of rejoicing. Perhaps he was pleased, hoping it would save his daughter from disgrace. He must have recognized that his daughter was at fault.
I want you to notice that this Levite had a servant. It was extremely rare that a priest would be rich enough to have a servant. It points out that this Levite must have been in a higher religious position than others.
4 Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.
The welcome was a clear sign of friendship and willingness to maintain the contract. He prevailed on him to stay some time with him. Three days is a complete period, for three is the number of completeness. It was probably the length of time required for such a welcome if it was to indicate genuine acceptance, and for the Levite to also indicate friendship. Things like this were never done in a hurry. In addition, ‘Three days’ could mean he stayed the night, accepted one day’s hospitality as a gesture of friendship and was ready to go on the third day.
5 Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”
The Levite and his servant had a long journey ahead, so they rose early to make final preparations for the journey. Then when the time came he stood up ready to depart.
The father was using delaying tactics. A good question to ask is why? It is possible that the father did not completely trust that the Levite had known about his daughter and her infidelity.
6 So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.” 7 And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again.
There was no friction between them. Both were satisfied with the situation, although possibly the Levite was wishing he could go on his way with his wife. Courtesy, however, demanded that he not be seen to be in a hurry to leave.
His father-in-law pressed him to stay a further night. There was great entreaty, and firm pleas, that he would stay a further night. So he stayed another night. The giving and receiving of hospitality was an important part of life in those days, and the Levite did not want to offend his father-in-law.
8 Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.
The father-in-law knew that it was not possible to indicate that he wanted to delay him another day, so instead he pressed him to stay until after the evening meal, which was eaten in mid afternoon. And the Levite, probably unwillingly, agreed. And they ate the meal together. But the continued delay was to cost him dearly.
9 And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.”
Interestingly this is the first indication that we know that the concubine had agreed to go back with him, although the hospitality shown did suggest it. Night was now approaching and he wanted to be on his way as quickly as possible.
Once again his father in law suggested he stay the night. This had no doubt been his intention all along. And he tried to play on the fact of how much more attractive it would be to eat and drink the night away, rather than start on a journey as darkness approached, and find lodgings which would be far less comfortable. The day was ‘camping down’ for the night, why did he not do the same?
The father-in-law realized that the Levite’s patience was now strained. There comes a time when too much hospitality can become an embarrassment. So he promised that he would let him go first thing the next day.
10 However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him.
This time he was determined on his journey. He saw that this could go on for ever, and realized that his father-in-law would continue to seek to keep him there. It definitely seemed as though his wife was very reluctant to go with him. So, come what may, he was determined to go. The decision was made and they finally did leave. There was still some light left before night fell.
11 They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”
The servant suggested that as night was approaching it might be wise to find lodging for the night. This could be in an inn or it may have been through seeking hospitality at the gate of the city, from some worthy citizen. In those days inns were few and hospitality was regularly offered to travelers at the gate of the city. It was looked on by the worthy as a sacred responsibility, and once a man was under your roof you were looked on as having sacred obligations towards him.
You will please note how it is stressed that the city was not one that belonged to the confederation of Israel. It is ironic. There in that city of strangers he may well have found the safety among strangers that he would not find among his own people. The city had once been captured by the Israelites but was retaken when they moved on to more victories. And from then on the fortress had proved invulnerable. The Jebusites continued to live among the people of Judah and Benjamin, safe in their fortified city, although the three lived together in the lower city. Gradually things had become more relaxed and at this time it would seem that peace prevailed.
12 But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.”
The Levite was a patriotic and religious man and preferred not to depend on or trust foreigners if he could help it. The Jebusites were one of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, who were to be dispossessed and destroyed, and were idolaters and worshippers of Baal, with their sexually abandoned beliefs, and he knew that his wife had already been led astray by similar religious beliefs. Thus as a Levite responsible for the maintenance of the religion of Israel he preferred to trust to his own people. He was not aware how debased many of them too had become, permeated as they had been by Canaanite practices, the result of their not having been faithful to God’s demands to totally destroy the Canaanites and their religion.
Gibeah was in the portion of the tribe of Benjamin, and was inhabited by men of that tribe, and so was more agreeable to this Levite, who thought that it would not have been deeply affected by depraved religion. He thought that they would know how to treat a Levite. It was around 6.5 kilometers or four miles) from Jebus or Jerusalem, and, although it was near sun setting, he chose rather to proceed on to this place than to lodge at Jebus.
13 So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.”
So he decided to set off to one of the nearby Israelite towns, either Gibeah or Ramah, which were close to each other, about two miles apart. Fatally Gibeah was the nearest.
14 And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.
The choice was made for them by the time of day when they reached Gibeah, for the sun set, and night came on.
15 They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night.
Instead of going forward, and passing by Gibeah to make for Ramah, they turned off the road, and went into the city to seek a lodging there. Normally someone would welcome strangers at the gate of the city. Inns were mainly on the roads between towns and hospitality in towns was dependent on the inhabitants. But here there was no welcome. In a way this was ominous. Not only did it demonstrate that the people were unusually inhospitable, it raised the question as to why. For hospitality was considered extremely important. But all knew that once hospitality was given there was a sacred responsibility to the person in question. If they wished to do harm to strangers they would not offer hospitality.
16 Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.
As it happened an old man was returning from his fields out in the country. He was coming back late from working in them, possibly because the fields he rented were some distance from the town. You have to notice that the older man was not a native of the town, for he was a sojourner, he had not been quite so contaminated by their attitudes towards strangers. And as it happened he came from the same area as the Levite.
The tribes should have been united and friendly towards each other, but it is clear here that there was some discordance between the tribes. The aim is to contrast the goodness and hospitality of the Ephraimite with the rank sinfulness and evil of the Benjaminites.
17 And when he raised his eyes, he 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?”
Lifting up the eyes is merely a phrase indicating ‘turning the attention on’. On doing this he saw the wayfaring man in the street of the city, whom he realized to be a traveler by the fact of his two asses and his companions, and by their general behavior. So he asked where they had come from and what their destination was.
18 So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of the LORD. But there is no one who will take me into his house,
He answered his last question first, giving the starting point of the journey, so as to make clear what he was doing passing Gibeah. In troublesome times it was necessary to make clear that there was nothing suspicious about his circumstance. Then he explained his destination, and explained that that was where he lived. He did not realize that the old man also came from the same area which would warm his heart towards him. Finally he pointed out that, prior to returning home, he was bound for ‘the house of Lord’, the tabernacle of God.
The house of the Lord was in Shiloh. If you remember back in chapter 18 the Danites promoted this Levite to be their own High Priest back in their new land in the mountains of Ephraim. This Levite was taking his concubine back with him there not to Shiloh.
19 although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.”
There was no reason for the lack of hospitality for they had all their provisions with them. All they needed was a bed for the night. This was said mainly to persuade the old man to help them. It would be at no cost to him. For the laws of hospitality would usually mean provision for a guest.
20 And the old man said, “Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.”
The old man offered the kind of hospitality that would be expected. It was not seemly that a traveler should be left in the street. We get a hint here that the older man feared what would happen to them if they did so. He no doubt knew his fellow-townsfolk and about their propensities.
21 So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
With some relief and gratitude they accepted the old man’s offer and he led them to his house, where every provision was made for them. Note that the animals’ needs were met first as befitted a careful and considerate owner, and an equally careful and considerate host.
22 As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”
While all was content inside the old man’s home, creatures of the night gathered to the house. They were the men of the city, men of darkness, come to do what they had been planning ever since the travelers had arrived. They are seen as representing the whole city. The listing of the people as the ‘Sons of Belial’ or perverted men, indicated the people as the very basest kind. The men of the city surrounded it, a crowd slavering with lust and evil desire, intent on perversion and murder, and this to one who was holy before God. There was no way he would escape.
As a result of the noise the old man went to the door, to enquire what the meaning of all the noise was, although he probably in his heart knew. They replied, making their full intentions clear. They were not even ashamed of the actions and activities they had in mind. There was no evasion. They wanted to engage in gang rape on the man. To ‘know’ meant ‘to have sexual relations with’. So low had these people of Israel fallen as a result of being influenced by the Canaanites, probably the Jebusites, that they openly declared their intended sin. Indeed in their hearts they had sinned already.
23 But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brethren! I beg you, do not act so wickedly! Seeing this man has come into my house, do not commit this outrage.
Bravely the old man opened the door and went out to speak with the men. He hoped to appeal to them by reason. He made the strongest plea he could think of, that the man was enjoying his hospitality. Once a man had received hospitality the host had a sacred duty to protect him, and the crowd knew that. But he also made clear to them that their actions were wicked. They were ‘folly’. The word indicated action of the basest kind which was seen as a slight on God Himself. It is regularly used of sexual misbehavior. He also possibly had in mind that the man was a Levite. Not to have welcomed such a man with hospitality was a breach of their sacred duty towards God’s own.
24 Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine; let me bring them out now. Humble them, and do with them as you please; but to this man do not do such a vile thing!”
The old man was willing to give his daughter to these evil men. It seems incomprehensible to us that he should offer his own daughter, presumably a virgin, to their evil lusts, but the man he was defending was holy to the Lord and enjoying his hospitality.
It is significant that the concubine was also his guest, and as a wife would surely be seen as more important than the male servant. Yet, please take note that he offered both women to them. This suggests that the laws of hospitality in Israel were primarily applicable to men, and only to women as companions of the men. He possibly had in mind that at least with the women it would be natural sex, (we note he did not offer the male servant), and he would not therefore share their guilt for sodomy. They would hopefully survive it as the man probably would not.
25 But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go.
Nothing would at this point divert them from their purpose. They continued beating at the door in their dreadful lust. The Levite took hold of his woman and thrust her through the doorway, for if he had gone out to them they would have achieved their purpose.
It seems that the Levite acted to save the man’s daughter, and he may certainly have had in mind that his wife was a concubine. He certainly expected her to be alive in the morning. All through the emphasis has been on the fact that she was his concubine. He no doubt considered his own worth, and the worth of the daughter, as being superior. The concubine, though beautiful, was more expendable. That she was beautiful comes out in that once the men had seen her they forgot about their chief prey.
26 Then the woman came as the day was dawning, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.
The woman struggled back to the house but it would seem that she had been so maltreated that she collapsed there and had no strength to knock. And there she lay until it was light.
27 When her master arose in the morning, and opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, there was his concubine, fallen at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold.
Once he was satisfied that the crowd had gone, the Levite decided to make his escape as quickly as he could. Her posture suggests that she had almost made it. Her hands were on the very threshold. When he found her there he clearly thought she was asleep. This is why he said,
28 And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place.
When there was no answer, the Levite realized with unbelievable bitterness in his heart what had happened. She was dead. They had killed her. What she had suffered had been too much for her and her heart had given way. And the beasts who had raped her had gone back to their houses, also unaware of what they had finally done. Had she lived that might have been the end of the affair. A lesson learned, an experience endured which was no doubt experienced by many travelers, but life going on. But she died, and her death would have awful consequences.
Where was his place? It was back in the land of the Danites. He carried off her dead body, without making any remonstrance to the inhabitants, from whom he could not expect any justice. But the demands for justice and vengeance were in his heart.
29 When he entered his house he took a knife, laid hold of his concubine, and divided her into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.
Determined to have justice the Levite decided on a dreadful thing. No doubt his mind was temporarily a little deranged from what had happened, although we must remember that as a Levite he was used to seeing carcasses carved up. And he divided up her body with a carving knife, using the lay out of the bones to determine the pieces, until he had produced twelve pieces. These were one for every tribe, including Benjamin. He could not believe that Benjamin could possibly justify what had been done.
Why did he do such a thing? It was so that the most gruesome indication of what had been done should be brought home to the tribes. He wanted to shock them into action. He was only an obscure Levite and he knew from his connections with the central sanctuary how easily such things could be forgotten. But he wanted to make sure that this case would not be forgotten. And coming from a Levite, a servant of the sanctuary, and one set apart as God’s, such a ‘present’ would have even more impact.
The message would be clear. The woman had met a violent death of a most obscene kind in breach of the covenant of Yahweh. He may also have intended to convey the message that it was the equivalent of human sacrifice, that she had been, as it were, sacrificed to Baal.
If you have a chance go back to the book of Genesis beginning with chapter 10 you come across a guy by the name of Nimrod. He defied God Almighty and had the people accumulate today in one spot and not spread out in the earth. He then built a religious temple declaring himself as God. He became known as Baal. It is important that you know that Nimrod incorporated into his worship system the grisly practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism. Our authority Hislop says, “the priests of Nimrod or Baal were necessarily required to eat of the human sacrifices; and thus it has come to pass that ‘Cahna-Bal’ (cahna meaning priest & Bal referring to Baal) is the established word (cannibal) in our own tongue for a devourer of human flesh.”
30 And so it was that all who saw it said, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up!”
The pieces would be delivered by messenger. The Levite had enough influence and power to order the distribution of this woman’s body. It was from there that the call to action ought to go. And the messengers would take a report of what had happened and what the pieces meant. They were a call for justice on the terms of the covenant, on penalty of death for failure to give it.
It was a call for action and judgment in legal jargon. They were to weigh up the situation, discuss the matter together and then come to a decision. We see how this became so as described in the book of 1 Samuel chapter 11, “1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.” 3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” 4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the people, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7 So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.” And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. “
The whole episode demonstrates how low morals in Israel had fallen. The Levite’s attitude to his concubine wife, his failure to protect her, the lack of hospitality from anyone except the old man, the behavior of the men of Gibeah, all reflected the level to which society had fallen.
When we read this part of the Scripture we are horrified at what it says, are we not? Yet this country now has become worse than what we read about in chapter 19. In the ridiculous pursuit of total freedom we have kicked our Holy and Precious God out of our country.
These same kinds of atrocities are going on today. They are killing babies and selling their parts. The Levite had exposed what was going on in front of everyone’s eyes to the light and it was revolting. We have just done the same with a killing organization of our babies. It is just that we do not want to even think about it. It just goes on.
We hear all those lousy politicians express their horror against these acts yet when it came to vote the taking away of government funds from these murderers they voted against the action.
Look at these Scriptures which speak about our country;
Psalm 33:: 12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Isaiah 9:16, “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Matthew 15: 14, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
We no longer have any leaders what we have is politicians. People who all want to act like he or she is someone important. How pathetic.
Like the action taken by the tribes of Israel we need to also take action. I do not mean in arms of violence but through the best weapon that we have and this is prayer.
I end with this Scripture which I know you understand. In 2 Corinthians 7, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
