Judges 19 - A Levite & Concubine
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{DON’T START WITH PRAYER…}
How many of you had a WWJD bracelet?
WWJD?
WWJD?
What Would Jesus Do?
What Would Jesus Do?
Maybe the question we ought to be asking throughout this epilogue to the book of Judges is
What Would the Judges Do?
What Would the Judges Do?
6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Epilogue Overview (Judges 17-21)
Epilogue Overview (Judges 17-21)
Danites (CH 17-18)
Chapter 17 - Micah & the Levite priest
Chapter 18 - Danites take the Levite and the Idol from Micah
Benjamites (CH 19-21)
Chapter 19 - Levite who took a concubine / Gibeah’s Crime
Chapter 20 - Civil War in Israel with Gibeah over the Levite’s Concubine
Chapter 21 - Israel’s plan to preserve Benjamin
The point of these stories at the back of Judges is to describe what is meant throughout the book when we read, the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. We should be shocked…we should hear the words of the final verse of this passage throughout,
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.”
{now pray} LET’S PRAY...
A Levite goes to get his concubine (Judges 19:1-10a)
A Levite goes to get his concubine (Judges 19:1-10a)
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.
1a - There was no king in Israel...
1b - A Levite took a concubine…
As with chapter 17-18, a Levite is at the center of our story
The Levites are supposed to be set apart to serve the needs of the Priesthood in worship of the Lord.
It is important for me to point out from the outset, we are talking about this Levite’s concubine.
A concubine is normally a secondary wife OR wife of lower status than a first wife OR a slave wife
So, lets remember this is a story about this Levite going to retrieve his concubine…not his primary wife.
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.
2 - She was unfaithful OR “angry with him” and went to her father
The word unfaithful is very easily changed to she was extremely angry with him
3 - he came to her after 4 months and was received well
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.
4-7 - Her father keeps him for four days
Judges 19:8–10 (ESV)
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.
8-10a - Her father tried to keep him a fifth day, but the Levite refused
The Levite goes to Gibeah (Judges 19:10b-15)
The Levite goes to Gibeah (Judges 19:10b-15)
Judges 19:10–13 (ESV)
10 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.”
10b - About the time they SHOULD stop (considering how late in the day it was), they are at Jebus.
11 - The servant suggests they stay in the city of the Jebusites.
12 - The Levite decides not to stay in Jebus likely because he thinks they wouldn’t be shown hospitality
13 - So they head to Gibeah
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.
14-15 - But when they got to Gibeah…still nobody showed them hospitality.
An old sojourner takes in the Levite (Judges 19:16-21)
An old sojourner takes in the Levite (Judges 19:16-21)
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.
16 - Strange contrast to me that the old man comes in late from the fields…what are the men of the city doing?
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.
17-21 - He sees the Levite and invites him to stay with him.
At this point the old sojourner has taken full responsibility for the safety of these travelers.
Sons of Belial (Judges 19:22-26)
Sons of Belial (Judges 19:22-26)
This whole passage intentionally should give you a bit of deja vu to the men who harassed Lot in Sodom (Genesis 19)…however, while there are some similarities, there are some major differences as well.
Judges 19:22 (ESV)
22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door.
The Men of Gibeah are described corporately (all the men of the city)
They are called sons of Belial, according to Daniel Block is, a combination of the negative particle bĕlî, “nothingness, not, without,” and the noun yaʿal, “worth, profit, benefit,” from a root meaning “to be worthy,” …they are the sons of NOTHING WORTHY.
The depth of this is expanded on by Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1...
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Judges 19:22 (ESV)
22 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.”
22 - Men of the city, worthless fellows, demand the old man bring out the Levite so they can have sex with 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.”
23-24 - The old man protests and offers his daughter and the Levite’s concubine
23 -
Judges 19:25 (ESV)
25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them.
25a - The men of Gibeah wouldn’t listen so the Levite forces his concubine out to them
Judges 19:25 (ESV)
25 And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.
25b - The men of Gibeah abused her all night
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.
26 - At morning she came and fell dead at the old man’s door.
27-30 - The Levite sends a message to Israel
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.
27 - Her master opened the doors and his concubine was at the door of the house, hands on the threshold
28a - He said… “Get up let us be going” but there was no answer
28b - He put her on his donkey and went 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.
29 - He divided her up into 12 pieces and sent her throughout 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.”
30a - “Such a thing has never happened since we came out of Egypt to this day
30b - Consider it, take counsel, speak
GO WITH THIS...
Are we any better? Short answer...Nope.
Now for the long answer...
Concubine
Concubine’s Father
Any one of us who tries to control the outcomes is no different…we seek to control for our own benefit and we can end up being the cause of an even greater mess.
Old Sojourner
Any one of us who measure our morality by lesser of two evils is no different
Form and Function
Men of Gibeah
Any one who compromises or justifies their battle with lust and pornography is no different
I’m going to put this in the most blunt way I think I can guys...When we take any sexual pleasure outside of the confines of marriage, we treat women and SPECIFICALLY the wife the Lord would or has blessed us with as the men of Gibeah treated this concubine.
There is victory to be had in this battle, but it means we must, CONSIDER, TAKE COUNSEL, and SPEAK.
The consequences of sexual immorality in the church are deadly.
Levite
He was wrong to have a concubine
He was unwise to leave at night
He was wrong to force out his concubine to the men of Gibeah
He was disgusting in his treatment of the concubine’s burial
The only thing he accomplished in doing so is to incite a civil war
He certainly did not care for the honor of this woman
There is nothing worthy of praise for this man’s character
So, I ask, are we better? my answer is no.
Jesus said, to have hate in your heart, is to murder. To have lust in your eyes is to commit adultery. He didn’t lower the bar of the purity according to the Law of the Old Testament…Jesus raised it to holy perfection.
This is why Paul reflects in Romans concerning sin:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Don’t let the depravity of man chase you from the redeeming love of God
If you find yourself judging humankind without acknowledging your own brokenness, then neither will you be able to receive the redeeming love of the Lord.
And if the Lord is the one who has shown you such deep and unconditional love, why would you not want to walk in His ways and meditate on His laws.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Why gather as a church weekly?
God formed the earth in one week…in doing so he set the basic rhythm of our life to be one week at a time
One part of this week is to acknowledge God as Sovereign over every area of our life: financial, spiritual, emotional, mental, relational, etc.
This is why we gather every week as a congregation to praise the Lord for his provision in these things.
exceptions, sure…but normatively, go worship your God every week with His Body, the Church…whatever expression that may be for you. But let’s not reduce church to a Bible study…we need to be exhorted, encouraged, prayed for, sing, commune, etc.