Juízes 19

Juízes 19

Guzik writes that "What unfolds in the rest of this chapter is so distasteful that the commentator F.B. Meyer recommended not reading it. Commenting on this first verse, he wrote: “It will be sufficient to ponder these words, which occur four times in the book, without reading further in this terrible chapter, which shows the depths of the depravity to which may sink apart from the grace of God.” Ed comment - I strongly disagree with F B Meyer for at least three reasons - (1) 2Ti 3:16-17+ says ALL Scripture is profitable including Judges 19-21, (2) this chapter is a picture of the depths of human depravity, seeds inherited from Adam (Ro 5:12+) which are present in every one of our hearts, seeds that can be "watered" and can grow into "destructive plants", and (3) finally as Paul clearly teaches in 1Cor 10:6+ "these things happened as examples for us, so that (PURPOSE) we would not crave evil things as they also craved." So "grit your teeth" and read these gory, grisly, gruesome chapters 19-21. One of the main lessons from Judges 18-19 (and there are many lessons) is that when evil is not dealt with promptly and properly, it has a tendency to grow. One is reminded of Paul's rhetorical question "Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?" (1Co 5:6+). As the sordid tale unfolds we see that sin in the city of Gibeah eventually infected the tribe of Benjamin and led to a bloody civil war in the land of Israel. In a moral universe, God has established certain fixed laws which when violated will bring destruction as a natural consequence (cf principle of sowing and reaping - Gal 6:7-8+). Tragically, history is full of illustrations of this fact and most of us have some personal examples that would attest to validity of these principles! The Book of Proverbs has a few sage words reminding us that… Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Pr 14:34). The unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity” (Pr 11:3). The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness” (Pr 11:5). The violence of the wicked will drag them away, for they refuse to do what is right” (Pr 21:7). Where there is no vision (word from God), the people are unrestrained (run wild as we see in Judges 19), but happy is he who keeps the law." (Pr 29:18) Gary Inrig - We see that same mindset all around us. “Who am I to judge? It’s your thing. Whatever.” Our society is filled with gross immorality, defended by suave, articulate, attractive spokespersons. You can scarcely find a perversion that someone is not willing to defend as essential to human freedom. I am reminded of the man who summarized his life in these words: “I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures and all I get is abuse and the existence of a hunted man.” Who was that poor, persecuted, misunderstood humanitarian? Al Capone, the gangster. When God goes, everything and anything goes. That is the lesson of Scripture and history, and it is presented in vivid detail here in the book of Judges. It is a story of “3 Rs,” except they are not “reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic” but “rape, revenge, and reaping.” (Borrow Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay) That there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim - Note the first problem appears to be a Levite living outside of a Levitical town (cf Nu 35:7+, Josh 21:41+)! That is not a good start! And if you thought that the Jonathan in Judges 17-18 was a reprobate, then you'll probably conclude that this unnamed Levite was an scoundrel of the basest sort. He spent most of his time partying (Jdg 19:4, 6, 8, 22), walked in darkness and jeopardized his life and the lives of those with him (Jdg 19:9-14), treated his concubine in the most shocking manner while she was alive and after she was dead his actions and lie precipitated a civil war in Israel. Why a Levite in Jdg 17-18 and Jdg 19? One thought is that they were supposed to be teachers of the law, men set apart from the mundane, the profane, the corruption of the evil world. But the point these chapters make is that even these "holy" men were wholly unholy! That's how bad it had gotten in Israel because they failed to utterly destroy the pagans and their abominable idolatry and immorality and were seduced into the ever deepening vortex of sin's power. Who took a concubine (pilegesh) for himself from Bethlehem in Judah - A Levite was supposed to be a set apart man, a man who could teach Israel the word and by default who was called to give them an example of the holy Word lived out in a life of holiness. While having a concubine was not condemned by the Word of God, it clearly was not God's first choice and certainly not for one who was to be a living example to the lay people! But these were the days of if it feels good, then go ahead and do it. It is right in your own eyes, even if it is not pleasing in the eyes of God! A concubine was a lawful wife who was guaranteed only food, clothing, and marital privileges (Ex 21:7-11; Dt 21:10-14). If a man's wife was barren, he sometimes took a concubine so he could establish a family. And so one of her main functions was to bear children who would be considered legitimate offspring. However these children would not necessarily receive any inheritance (Ge 25:1-6). Though the law controlled concubinage the Lord did not approve or encourage it. Several of the patriarchs had children with concubines including Abraham with Hagar (Ge 16); Jacob with Bilhah and Zilpah (Ge 30:4-13) Others who had concubines included Gideon, Saul, David, and Solomon (who had 300! = 1Ki 11:3). It should be noted however that although a concubine was, in a sense, a legal mistress, we never see such a family life blessed by God! David Guzik makes an interesting comment on concubines - Significantly, we never see this kind of family life blessed by God. The New Testament makes it clear that from the beginning God’s plan was one man and one woman to be one flesh forever (Matthew 19:4–6), and each man is to be a “one-woman man” (1 Timothy 3:2).