One thing I find astounding about scripture is how it doesn’t spare details in some places. If the reading of Judges 19, 20, and 21 don’t cause you to stop and ponder ‘what in the HELL was going on?’ I don’t know how in touch with reality you are.

This week, I listened to the passage of Judges chapter 19, 20, and 21. The summary of the story is that a Levite man had a wife who was unfaithful to him, left him, and went to live with her father. Here’s where we get the first peak into a family, husband and wife, marked by depravity and sin. 

The Levite goes and finds his wife, stays with his father-in-law eating and drinking until the end of the fifth day (as a comment, the question I had was, if she was unfaithful to him and she went to her father’s house, what motivated him to go speak kindly to her and bring her back after four months?).

Proceeding with the story, the Levite then takes his “concubine” (wife) and ends up staying the night in Gibeah of Benjamin with an old man. At night, the Benjamin men come and ask for the Levite man from the old man that they might know him sexually. The old man pleads with them not to do such a horrible thing and offers instead his virgin daughter and the Levite’s wife that they might know the women sexually.

Now, let’s just pause this scene for a second. I’m incensed right now. This is the state of an “old man”. He is willing to protect the Levite man, but not his own daughter and the wife of the Levite. But the men of Gibeah won’t listen so the Levite forces his “concubine” out to the men of Gibeah. 

Let’s pause this also. So the Levite who went to speak kindly and bring her back, just turned on her and forced her out to be sexually raped and abused all night by multiple men? Isn’t this how contempt, murder, and idolatry happen in our hearts? He wanted her, but as soon as his life and sexuality were threatened, he looked on her with contempt. In anger and fear, he probably even said something like, “Well, you’re the one who slept with other men, so you’ll go out there.” Do you think his “concubine” was frightened and frozen with fear? The very man who came to get her and bring her back to himself, turned on her and betrayed her. He used his position of power and authority to abuse someone weaker and more vulnerable than he. 

Just let this scene sink in for a second. 

The author of the story starts this section of Judges chapter 19 with, “In those days, when there was no king in Israel….” The implication is that there was chaos and “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). And this story is a depiction of the state of depravity of Israel during that time.

Picking the story back up, the wife of the Levite is raped and abused all night. She dies at the door of the house. The Levite picks her up and takes her back to his home. And the story doesn’t stop there. 

This is the second part that incenses my anger for the wrongs done and confusion at God’s purpose in life. It was one incident of horror, terror, murder, abuse, and trauma. Wouldn’t it be enough for that only? Nope, it then goes from familial and community trauma to National and cultural trauma.

Long story short, the Levite cuts up his dead wife from being raped and calls Israel together. They all go to war with Gibeah after the Levite indicts them and conveniently leaves out the details that he forced her out to the men of Gibeah. All of Gibeah gets slaughtered and destroyed, except for a small remnant. 

Then they turn and have compassion on the men of Gibeah?! What?! Benjamin will be wiped out and no longer be part of Israel. So then there’s conspiracies to protect some women because of vows, and conspiracies to slaughter other people because they didn’t go to war.

So they slaughter the people of Jabesh-gilead since they didn’t come out to the battle against Gibeah. But, they save 400 virgins from Jabesh-gilead and give them to the Benjaminites. 

So, imagine having your whole community and family slaughtered and then being forced to marry another man. 

It’s insane and so so wrong!

But it doesn’t stop there! 400 virgins aren’t enoughas wives for the men of Benjamin. So the elders of the congregation of Israel conspire and entice the Benjaminites to kidnap virgin daughters of Shiloh when they dance for the Lord’s yearly feast. And they protect Benjamin by reminding the fathers from Shiloh that they would be guilty for not allowing their daughters to be taken as wives for the Benjaminites. These men would use guilt and shame as a tool of leverage to enact depravity and wickedness. Those in power and authority protected themselves, but made others suffer.

Do you see the depravity of man and how he struggles with lust and anger, murder and idolatry? 

And do you think it’s any different today? 

No. People are just as heinous and depraved today as they were back then.

This story is cause for pause and evaluation of your own heart’s struggle with lust and anger, idolatry and murder. Is the King ruling your heart to bring order, love, mercy, justice, and righteousness into how you act towards others and yourself?

Jesus allowed his body to be abused for you. Jesus protected you instead of casting you out for death. Jesus didn’t value his life more than yours or turn against you in anger and murder. His anger is for those destined for wrath – those committed to the work and delight of evil. But now is your opportunity to trust in Jesus to deliver you from certain death, physical and spiritual. God ordained that Jesus should suffer the wrath and punishment for your sins. Jesus is the King who will rule the earth and put everything into right order. 

And oh, what a contrasting glorious hope we cling to in light of this past story in Judges and the current events of our time. Ponder this scripture and cling to Jesus.

“then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.””

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭37:21-28‬ ‭ESV‬‬