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Judges 19:1 Now it came about in those days, when there
was no king in Israel, that 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. when
there (KJV): Jdg 17:6 18:1 21:25
mount (KJV): Jdg 17:1,8 Jos 24:30,33
a concubine (KJV): Heb. a woman
a concubine (KJV): or, a wife
a concubine (KJV): Ge 22:24 25:6 2Sa 3:7 5:13 16:22 19:5 20:3 1Ki 11:3 2Ch
11:21 Es 2:14 Song 6:8,9 Da 5:3 Mal 2:15,
Beth-lehem-judah, Jdg 17:8 Ge
35:19 Mt 2:6 A
C Gaebelein's Summary...
Israel 's Moral Condition and the War on Benjamin CHAPTER 19
The Levite and His Concubine
1. The Levite and the unfaithful woman
(Jdg 19:1-21)
2. The fate of the concubine (Jdg 19:22-30)
The results of departure from God are now
revealed in the awful corruption and violence so faithfully recorded in this
chapter. The moral condition of Israel has gone down to the same level of
the Canaanites; they sank even lower than the nations whom God had doomed to
destruction. We do not repeat the horrible details of this deed of lust and
violence. Apostasy from God, rejection of the truth is followed by moral
corruption. Ro1:26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 shows the vileness of the
Gentiles, who turned their backs to the light and did not glorify God. 2Ti
3:1, 2, 2Ti 3:3, 4, 5 contains the description of the moral corruption of
the last days of the present age, the conditions of those who claim to be
"religious" and yet are apostates. The days of Lot , with their vileness,
are to precede the coming of the Son of Man (Lk 17:28, 29, 30). Evidences
that such moral corruption and violence exist today throughout professing
Christendom are only too numerous. |
|
NOW IT CAME ABOUT
IN THOSE DAYS WHEN THERE WAS NO KING IN ISRAEL:
This section relates one of the most shocking episodes of Israel's
history. One commentator labels this chapter "The Death of Morality". This
event appears to have occurred early in the period of the judges, because Phinehas,
the grandson of Aaron, was still ministering as high priest (Jdg 20:28; cf.
Nu25:7, 11), and because the tribes were still able to function as a unit
(cf. Jos 22:9-34). There is also no mention of the Philistines, who would
have suppressed such action during the latter part of the judges’ period.
There is also a need for a long time span between the disgraceful behavior
of the tribe of Benjamin and the choice of a Benjamite as king in the 11th
century. Saul was in fact from the same town of Gibeah (cf.
1Sa10:26)!
Cundall (p193)
probably correctly observes that the reference from Dan even to Beer-sheba
(Jdg 20:1) was probably added later by an editor to explain the entirety of
the land.
When evil isn't dealt
with properly, it has a tendency to grow. Paul rhetorically asked
"Do you not know that a little leaven
leavens the whole lump of dough?" (1Co5:6).
Sin in the city of
Gibeah eventually infected the tribe of Benjamin and led to war in the land
of Israel. It would be wrong to think that morality is a stabilizing factor
only for the believer. Righteousness is something that “works” for the
believer and unbeliever alike.
The Book of
Proverbs has a few sage words reminding us that...
'“Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a disgrace to
any people” (Pr14:34).
There are many such observations in Proverbs.
“The
unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity” (Pr11:3).
“The wicked shall
fall by his own wickedness” (Pr11:5).
“The violence of the wicked will drag
them away, for they refuse to do what is right” (Pr21:7).
"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)
In a
moral universe, there are certain fixed moral laws which when violated bring
destruction as a natural consequence. Tragically, history is full of illustrations of
this fact.
THAT THERE WAS A CERTAIN LEVITE STAYING IN THE REMOTE PART OF THE HILL
COUNTRY OF EPHRAIM: 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 and
what he did to her precipitated a civil war in Israel.
As in the story of chap17-18, the major characters come from the hill
country of Ephraim and from Bethlehem Judah (v1). This time it was the
Levite who lived in Ephraim and had a concubine from Bethlehem. Evidently
she was unhappy with her status as a secondary wife; for she committed
adultery and then returned to the refuge of her father's home in Bethlehem
rather than face an angry husband (v2).
WHO TOOK A CONCUBINE FOR HIMSELF FROM BETHLEHEM IN JUDAH: A concubine
was a lawful wife who was guaranteed only food, clothing, and marital
privileges (Ex 21:7-11; Dt 21:10-14). Any children she bore would be
considered legitimate; but because of her second-class status, they wouldn't
necessarily share in the family inheritance (Ge25:1-6). If a man's wife was
barren, he sometimes took a concubine so he could establish a family. 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
(Ge16); Jacob with Bilhah and Zilpah (Ge 30:4-13) Several other OT men had
concubines, including Gideon, Saul, David, and Solomon. 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!
Evangelical Commentary:
"Chp17-18 relate the breakdown of religious life; chapters 19-21 show that
the breakdown of religious life may bring further disastrous consequences,
that the resulting immorality can threaten the very existence of a political
unit. Society is a unity; its depravity cannot be contained within narrow,
watertight compartments. Depravity and breakdown in one area of society, if
uncorrected, will lead to deterioration and breakdown in other areas and,
finally, even to the destruction of society itself The writer of Judges
maintains that these events occurred because there were no qualified leaders
to effect God’s purposes. Though the judges could engineer brief periods of
peace, there was no established godly leadership capable of permanently
halting the evils described in these chapters. “Israel had no king”
expresses both the writer’s diagnosis of the disease in Israel and his
indication of the cure." |
|
F B Meyer
Our Daily Homily
Judges 19:1
And it came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel.
It will be sufficient
to ponder these words, which occur four times in this book, without reading
further in this terrible chapter, which shows the depths of depravity to
which man may sink apart from the grace of God. Where Christ is not
enthroned as King, drunkenness, impurity, cruelty, selfishness, are supreme,
and pursue their ravages unchecked. How different where He reigns in
righteousness, and where his will is done as it is done in heaven!
The Book of Judges
depicts the state of the heart which has not admitted the Kingship of our
Savior. Where there is no recognition of this, and a man does as he likes,
then the heart breeds all manner of uncleanness; and sin when it is finished
bringeth forth death.
In connection with the
present marvellous movement afoot in our colleges, five hundred, Japanese
students met recently under the motto, “Make Jesus King.” Oh that this might
be our life-motto! We must crown Him lord of all.
Let young men and
women, who may read these words, specially ponder this suggestion. Perpetual
failure in life indicates failure in consecration. If you are continually
broken in upon by raids of evil, it is certain that you have never enthroned
the Son of God. He is never Savior in the fulness of his power till He is
acknowledged King. Directly the coronation has taken place, He assumes the
responsibility of putting down all rule, authority, and power; overcoming
the evils that had held sway; and bringing every thought into captivity.
Such are the warnings and appeals of this chapter and the next. “Make Jesus
King.” |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19–20. This account belongs to
the times immediately following the death of Joshua, as we may see form the
fact that Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the contemporary of Joshua, was high
priest at that time (Judg. 20:28). In Judg. 19 we have an account of the
infamous crime committed by the inhabitants of Gibeah, which occasioned the
war; in Judg. 20 the war itself; and in Judg. 21 an account of what was
afterwards done by the congregation to preserve the tribe of Benjamin, which
was almost annihilated by the war.
Judg. 19. Infamous Crime of the Inhabitants of Gibeah.—Jdg 19:1-14.
At the time when there was no king in Israel, a Levite, who sojourned (i.e.,
lived outside a Levitical town) in the more remote parts of the mountains of
Ephraim, took to himself a concubine out of Bethlehem in Judah, who proved
unfaithful to him, and then returned to her father’s house. יַרְכְּתֵי
הַר־אֶפְרַיִם, the hinder or outermost parts of the mountains of Ephraim,
are the northern extremity of these mountains; according to v. 18, probably
the neighbourhood of Shiloh. תִּזְנֶה עָלָיו, “she played the harlot out
beyond him,” i.e., was unfaithful to her husband, and then went away from
him,” back to her father’s house. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:2 But his concubine played the harlot against
him, and she went away from him to her father's house in Bethlehem in Judah,
and was there for a period of four months.
played (KJV): Lev 21:9 Dt 22:21 Eze 16:28
four whole months (KJV): or, a year and four months, Heb. days, four months |
|
BUT HIS CONCUBINE
PLAYED THE HARLOT AGAINST HIM: She should have been killed as the law
required and could have been if there was a devotion to holiness and
obedience to Scripture. Leviticus records that...
'If there is a man who commits adultery
with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife,
the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. (Lev 20:10).
A priest was not allowed to marry a
harlot...
"A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who
is profaned by harlotry, these he (the priest) may not take; but rather he
is to marry a virgin of his own people (Lev 21:14)
Clearly this Levite's ministry was greatly
compromised from the beginning. Not surprisingly (especially as you read the
following lines) that he made little
of her sin and separation and sought her back sympathetically as explained
in the next verse.
Preacher's Commentary writes
that...
The Levite and his girlfriend had already
dismissed God’s commandment against adultery, which reflects God’s
commitment in loving faithfulness to His people. That is not an arbitrary
restriction, but an expression of the nature of true love, which is grounded
in God’s own character. Because human beings are made in God’s image, we can
only function properly and find true fulfillment and security when we obey
His ground rules. Once these are set aside we become depersonalized and less
than truly human. All our sin is a self-inflicted attack on our true
humanness. It is, therefore, no surprise to find that in a society where
God’s moral law of love is rejected, the gift of sex—designed by Him to
enrich and deepen the exclusive relationship of one man and one woman as an
expression of their total self-giving to one another—is reduced to becoming
an end in itself. Love then becomes equated with sex. The physical dominates
everything, and human beings are reduced to pleasure machines. No wonder it
is easy to walk away from one “machine” when its attractions begin to pall,
and go on to the next. But human beings are not infinitely plastic. God has
not made us that way. No one can walk away from the deepest act of physical
union between two people totally unchanged by it. That is why we see so many
people, who drift in and out of relationships, who are ultimately unable to
give themselves to any lasting relationship of trust and commitment at all.
There is a price to pay for jettisoning God’s laws—emotionally,
psychologically, and physically. (Jackman, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. Vol. 7: The
Preacher's Commentary Series, Judges, Ruth. Page 276. Nashville, Tennessee:
Thomas Nelson Inc)
AND SHE WENT AWAY FROM HIM TO HER FATHER'S HOUSE IN BETHLEHEM IN JUDAH,
AND WAS THERE FOR A PERIOD OF FOUR MONTHS: This particular concubine was
unfaithful to her husband and fled to her father's house in Bethlehem. The
longer she was gone, the more the Levite apparently missed her; so he
traveled to Bethlehem. He and his father-in-law spent five days eating,
drinking, and making merry. |
|
Judges 19:3 Then her husband arose 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.
went (KJV): Jdg 15:1
speak (KJV): Ge 50:21 Lev 19:17 20:10 Ho 2:14 Mt 1:19 Jn 8:4,5,11 Ga 6:1
friendly unto her (KJV): Heb. to her heart, Ge 34:3
to bring (KJV): Jer 3:1
his servant (KJV): Nu 22:22 |
|
THEN HER HUSBAND
AROSE AND WENT AFTER HER TO SPEAK TENDERLY TO HER: LIke Shechem seeking to
comfort Dinah whom he wished to marry (after he had raped her)...
"And he was deeply attracted to Dinah the
daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her." (Genesis 34:3)
Joseph (Ge50:21) and Boaz (Ru2:13) also spoke words of encouragement.
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:
This Levite illustrates the
careless attitude of many believers today. They are children of the day, but
they act like children of the night (1Th 5:1-8). Judgment is around the
corner, but these people think of nothing but enjoying life. When his nation
was so far from God, how could this Levite waste his time eating, drinking,
and making merry?
"Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be
turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness" (Ja4:9).Yes, there's "a time
to laugh" (Ecclesiastes 3:4)
God wants us to enjoy His gifts, Paul
exhorting Timothy to...
"Instruct those who are rich in this
present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of
riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6:17)
Sadly for many Christians, the time to
enjoy is gifts is all the time! In too many churches, the laughter of
"religious entertainment" has replaced the holy hush of worship. The
sanctuary has become a veritable theater. When the saints get together, the
most important thing is to "have fun." In order to salve our consciences, we
have a "short devotional" before the fun time ends; and we piously thank God
that we've had such a good time. |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:3, 4. Some time afterwards,
namely at the end of four months (אַרְבָּעָה הֳדָשִׁים is in apposition
to יָמִים, and defines more precisely the יָמִים, or days), her husband went
after her, “to speak to her to the heart,” i.e., to talk to her in a
friendly manner (see Gen. 34:3), and to reconcile her to himself again, so
that she might return; taking with him his attendant and a couple of asses,
for himself and his wife to ride upon. The suffix attached to לַהֲשִׁיבֹו
refers to לִבָּה, “to bring back her heart,” to turn her to himself again.
The Keri הֲשִׁיבָהּ is a needless conjecture. “And she brought him into her
father’s house, and her father received his son-in-law with joy, and
constrained him (יַחֲזֶק־בֹּו, lit. held him fast) to remain there three
days.” It is evident from this that the Levite had succeeded in reconciling
his wife. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:4 And his father-in-law, the girl's father,
detained him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and
lodged there. |
|
AND HIS
FATHER-IN-LAW, THE GIRL'S FATHER, DETAINED HIM: Anxious to please his
son-in-law, the father insisted that the Levite stay in Bethlehem a few days
(v4). In the East such an offer of hospitality was a common occurrence (cf.
Ge24:55). As a matter of fact, the laws of hospitality play an extremely
important role as the story unfolds (cf. 4:17-23) |
|
Judges 19:5 Now it came about on the fourth day that they
got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go; and the girl's father
said to his son-in-law, "Sustain yourself with a piece of bread, and
afterward you may go."
Comfort (KJV): Heb. Srengthen, Jdg 19:8 Ge 18:5 1Sa 14:27-29 30:12 1Ki 13:7
Ps 104:15 Jn 4:34 Ac 9:19
with a morsel (KJV): Jdg 19:22 |
|
SUSTAIN YOURSELF:
literally "sustain your heart." |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:5ff. Also on the fourth day,
when he was about to depart in the morning, the Levite yielded to the
persuasion of his father-in-law, that he would first of all strengthen his
heart again with a bit of bread (סָעַד לֵב as in Gen. 18:5; the imperative
form with ŏ is unusual); and then afterwards, whilst they were eating and
drinking, he consented to stay another night.(Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:6 So both of them sat down and ate and drank
together; and the girl's father said to the man, "Please be willing to spend
the night, and let your heart be merry."
let thine heart (KJV): Jdg 19:9,21 9:27
16:25 Ru 3:7 1Sa 25:36 Es 1:10 Ps 104:15 Lk 12:19 1Th 5:3 Rev 11:10,13,
until afternoon, Heb. till the day declined, Merely that they might avoid
the heat of the day, which would have been very inconvenient in travelling. |
|
SO BOTH OF THEM SAT
DOWN AND ATE AND DRANK TOGETHER: The concubine was apparently not present
during the meals, for "the two of them" (vv. 6, 8) refers to the Levite and
the father. She is ignored through most of the narrative, and there is no
indication that she even wanted to rejoin her husband. |
|
Judges 19:7 Then the man arose to go, but his
father-in-law urged him so that he spent the night there again. |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:7. When he rose up to go, his
father-in-law pressed him; then he turned back (וַיָּשָׁב is quite in
place, and is not to be altered into וַיֵּשֶׁב, according to the LXX and one
Heb. Cod.), and remained there for the night. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:8 And on the fifth day he arose to go early in
the morning, and the girl's father said, "Please sustain yourself, and wait
until afternoon"; so both of them ate. |
|
AND ON THE FIFTH
DAY HE AROSE TO GO EARLY IN THE MORNING: The delay on the fifth day
proved to be as dangerous as Lot's hesitation in [Ge19:16].
AND THE GIRL'S FATHER SAID, "PLEASE SUSTAIN YOURSELF
AND WAIT UNTIL AFTERNOON: The father's speech is full of Bedouin
terminology. "Afternoon" is literally "the pitching [natah] of the day," as
one would pitch a tent for the night. In v9 he spoke of the "camping" (chanah)
of the day and described the Levite's home as a 'ohel = "tent". |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:8. And even in the morning of
the fifth day he suffered himself to be induced to remain till the
afternoon. הִתְמַהְמְהוּ is an imperative, “Tarry till the day turns,” i.e.,
till mid-day is past. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:9 When the man arose 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. Lo, the
day is coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry.
Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey so that you may go home."
the day (KJV): Lk 24:29
draweth (KJV): etc. Heb. is weak
the day groweth to an end (KJV): Heb. it is the pitching time of the day,
Jer 6:4. That is, it was near the time in which travellers ordinarily
pitched their tents, to take up their lodging for the night. In the latter
part of the afternoon, eastern travellers begin to look out for a place for
this purpose. So Dr. Shaw observes, "Our constant practice was to rise at
break of day, set forward with the sun, and travel to the middle of the
afternoon; at which time we began to look out for encampments of Arabs; who,
to prevent such parties as ours from living at free charges upon them, take
care to pitch in woods, valleys, or places the least conspicuous."
to morrow (KJV): Pr 27:1 Jas 4:13,14
home (KJV): Heb. to thy tent |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:9, 10. When at length he rose
up, with his concubine and his attendant, to go away, the father
entreated his daughter once more: “Behold the day has slackened to become
evening, spend the night here! Behold the declining of the day, spend the
night here,” etc. חֲנֹות inf. of חָנָה, to bend, incline. The interchange of
the plural and singular may be explained from the simple fact that the
Levite was about to depart with his wife and attendant, but that their
remaining or departing depended upon the decision of the man alone. But the
Levite did not consent to remain any longer, but set out upon the road, and
came with his companions to before Jebus, i.e., Jerusalem, which is only two
hours from Bethlehem (compare Rob. Pal. ii. 375 and 379). עַד־נֹכַח, to
before Jebus, for the road from Bethlehem to Shiloh went past Jerusalem. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:10 But the man was not willing to spend the
night, so he arose and departed and came to a place opposite Jebus (that is,
Jerusalem). And there were with him a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine
also was with him. over
against (KJV): Heb. to over against
Jebus (KJV): Jdg 1:8 Jos 15:8,63 18:28 2Sa 5:6 |
|
BUT THE MAN WAS NOT
WILLING TO SPEND THE NIGHT, SO HE AROSE AND DEPARTED AND CAME TO A PLACE
OPPOSITE JEBUS (THAT IS, JERUSALEM) (Jos15:63): See 1:21; Ge 10:16.
Jebus = early title for Jerusalem because of Jebusite control (Jdg1:21)
until David wrested it away to become his capital (2Sa5:6-9). Another early
name for the city was Salem (Ge14:18; cf. Ps76:2). |
|
Judges 19:11 When they were near Jebus, the day was
almost gone; and the servant said to his master, "Please come, and let us
turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it."
the Jebusites (KJV): Jdg 19:10 1:21 Ge
10:16 Jos 15:63 2Sa 5:6 |
|
WHEN THEY WERE NEAR
JEBUS, THE DAY WAS ALMOST GONE; AND THE SERVANT SAID TO HIS MASTER, "PLEASE
COME, AND LET US TURN ASIDE INTO THIS CITY OF THE JEBUSITES AND SPEND THE
NIGHT IN IT: During the period of the Judges, it was dangerous to travel
in the daytime (5:6) and even more so at night. The Levite didn't want to
stay in Jerusalem because it was in the hands of the pagan Jebusites. Thus
he pressed on four miles to Gibeah so he could be with his own people. But
the men of Gibeah turned out to be as wicked as the heathen around them! |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:11ff. But as the day had gone
far down when they were by Jebus (רַד, third pers. perf., either of
יָרַד with י dropped like תַּתָּה in 2 Sam. 22:41 for נָתַתָּה, or from
רָדַד in the sense of יָרַד), the attendant said to his master, “Come, let
us turn aside into this Jebusite city, and pass the night in it.” But his
master was unwilling to enter a city of the foreigners (נָכְרִי is a
genitive), where there were none of the sons of Israel, and would pass over
to Gibeah. “Come (לְךְ = לְכָה, Num. 23:13), we will draw near to one of the
places (which he immediately names), and pass the night in Gibeah or Ramah.”
These two towns, the present Jeba and er Râm, were not a full hour’s journey
apart, and stood opposite to one another, only about two and a half or three
hours from Jerusalem (see at Josh. 18:25, 28). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:12 However, his master said to him, "We will
not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of
Israel; but we will go on as far as Gibeah."
Gibeah (KJV): Gibeah, a city of Benjamin,
and the birth-place of Saul, was situated near Rama and Gibeon, according to
Josephus, thirty furlongs north from Jerusalem; or, according to Jerome,
about two leagues. Jdg 19:12 |
|
HOWEVER, HIS MASTER
SAID TO HIM, "WE WILL NOT TURN ASIDE INTO THE CITY OF FOREIGNERS WHO ARE NOT
OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL; BUT WE WILL GO ON AS FAR AS GIBEAH:
Bethlehem
their site of origin was about six miles south of ancient Jerusalem; and
Gibeah, their destination, about five miles north so they had made only
about a 10 mile journey that afternoon, indicating that their departure
could not have been much earlier than 3:00 P.M. Ramah, mentioned as an
alternate stop, was yet two miles further north. However, the little group
found no place to lodge in Gibeah, the city that would become the birthplace
and subsequent capital of Saul (1Sa10:26). |
|
Judges 19:13 And he said to his servant, "Come and let
us approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or
Ramah." Gibeah (KJV):
Jos 18:25,26,28 1Sa 10:26 Isa 10:29 Ho 5:8 |
|
AND HE SAID TO HIS
SERVANT, "COME AND LET US APPROACH ONE OF THESE PLACES; AND WE WILL SPEND
THE NIGHT IN GIBEAH OR RAMAH: The Levite didn't want to stay in
Jerusalem because it was in the hands of the pagan Jebusites. Thus he
pressed on four miles to Gibeah so he could be with his own people. But the
men of Gibeah turned out to be as wicked as the heathen around them! Up to that
time apparently the Benjamites' immorality was not well known, or else the
news simply had not reached the Levite's "remote" home area (cf. v1). |
|
Judges 19:14 So they passed along and went their way,
and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. |
|
Judges 19:15 And they turned aside there in order to
enter and lodge in Gibeah. When they entered, they sat down in the open
square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.
no man (KJV): There was probably no inn,
or house of public entertainment in this place; and therefore they could not
have a lodging unless furnished by mere hospitality. But these Benjamites
seem to have added to their other vices, avarice and inhospitality, like the
inhabitants of Akoura in mount Lebanon, mentioned by Burckhardt. Jdg 19:18
Ge 18:2-8 19:2,3 Mt 25:35,43 Heb 13:2 |
|
THEY
SAT DOWN IN THE OPEN SQUARE OF THE CITY: The city square was an open
area just inside the city gate, and it was the logical place for visitors to
wait. Since there were no "Holiday Inns" in the Middle East, travelers would
come into the square and could generally expect an invitation to stay the
night. But then these were the days of the Judges (lovers of self seems to
describe these days 2Ti3:1,2). They would have had to spend the night there
if no invitation was forthcoming. After the hospitality
of Bethlehem, it must have seemed strange that no one offered them lodging.
But it was too late to venture out onto the dark roads.
God commanded hospitality among the people of God writing...
'When a stranger resides with you in your
land, you shall not do him wrong. 'The stranger who resides with you shall
be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for
you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." (Lv19:33-34)
This should have been a warning that
something was wrong since hospitality was lacking. |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:15–30. And they turned aside
thither to pass the night in Gibeah; and he (the Levite) remained in the
market-place of the town, as no one received them into his house to pass the
night.(Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:16 Then behold, an old man was 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. his work (KJV):
Ge 3:19 Ps 104:23 128:2 Pr 13:11 14:23 24:27 Ec 1:13 5:12 Eph 4:28 1Th
4:11,12 2Th 3:10 |
|
THEN BEHOLD, AN OLD
MAN WAS COMING OUT OF THE FIELD FROM HIS WORK AT EVENING: In a culture
where inns or hostels were nonexistent, it was incredible that anyone would
refuse hospitality to a stranger. Yet the Levite and his party were ignored
till an old man from the same tribal area as the Levite came on the scene.
Instead of being received by the Benjamites of the city, the group was
offered lodging by another Ephraimite, also a stranger in the city. This
Ephraimite was residing in Gibeah on a temporary basis, somewhat as Lot had
been living in Sodom. Like Lot, the old man did not share the
morals of the townspeople.
Hospitality is one
of the sacred laws of the East, and no stranger was to be neglected; but
only one man in the city showed any concern, and he was an Ephraimite. He
not only took them into his home but also used his own provisions to feed
them and their animals.
|
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:16ff. Behold, there came an
old man from the field, who was of the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt
as a stranger in Gibeah, the inhabitants of which were Benjaminites (as is
observed here, as a preliminary introduction to the account which follows).
When he saw the traveller in the market-place of the town, he asked him
whither he was going and whence he came; and when he had heard the
particulars concerning his descent and his journey, he received him into his
house. וְאֶת־בֵּית י׳ אֲנִי הֹלֵךְ (v. 18), “and I walk at the house of
Jehovah, and no one receives me into his house” (Seb. Schm., etc.); not “I
am going to the house of Jehovah” (Ros., Berth., etc.), for הָלַךְ אֵת does
not signify to go to a place, for which the simple accusative is used either
with or without ה local. It either means “to go through a place” (Deut.
1:19, etc.), or “to go with a person,” or, when applied to things, “to go
about with anything” (see Job 31:5, and Ges. Thes. p. 378). Moreover, in
this instance the Levite was not going to the house of Jehovah (i.e., the
tabernacle), but, as he expressly told the old man, from Bethlehem to the
outermost sides of the mountains of Ephraim. The words in question explain
the reason why he was staying in the market-place. Because he served at the
house of Jehovah, no one in Gibeah would receive him into his house,
although, as he adds in v. 19, he had everything with him that was requisite
for his wants. “We have both straw and fodder for our asses, and bread and
wine for me and thy maid, and for the young man with thy servants. No want
of anything at all,” so as to cause him to be burdensome to his host. By the
words “thy maid” and “thy servants” he means himself and his concubine,
describing himself and his wife, according to the obsequious style of the
East in olden times, as servants of the man from whom he was expecting a
welcome. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:17 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?"
whither (KJV): Ge 16:8 32:17 |
|
X |
|
Judges 19:18 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 man will take me into his house.
I am now (KJV): The LXX. read, [eis ton
oikon mou ego poreuomai:] "I am going to my own house;" which is probably
the true reading, as we find (ver. 29) that he really went home; yet he
might have gone previously to Shiloh, or to "the house of the Lord," because
that was also in mount Ephraim.
the house (KJV): Jdg 18:31 20:18 Jos 18:1 1Sa 1:3,7
receiveth (KJV): Heb. gathereth, Jdg 19:5 Ps 26:9 Jn 15:6 |
|
I AM NOW GOING TO MY HOUSE (KJV = "to the house of the LORD"):
Several translations (including NIV & NKJV) have as in the Hebrew text
"house of the Lord" but meaning is unclear. One possibility is that the
Levite was going to visit the Tabernacle at Shiloh but we cannot be
definitive. |
|
Judges 19:19 "Yet there is both straw and fodder 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."
straw and provender (KJV): In those
countries principally devoted to pasturage, they made little or no hay: but
as they raised corn, they took great care of their straw for cattle, which
by their mode of threshing was chopped very small. See note on Ge 24:32. |
|
|
|
Judges 19:20 And the old man said, "Peace to you. Only
let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the
open square." Peace be
(KJV): Jdg 6:23 Ge 43:23,24 1Sa 25:6 1Ch 12:18 Lk 10:5,6 Jn 14:27 1Co 1:3
let all thy wants (KJV): Here was genuine hospitality: "Keep your bread and
wine for yourselves, and your straw and provender for your asses; you may
need them before you finish your journey: I will supply all your wants for
this night; only do not lodge in the street." Ro 12:13 Ga 6:6 Heb 13:2 Jas
2:15,16 1Pe 4:9 1Jn 3:18
lodge not (KJV): Ge 19:2,3 24:31-33 |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:20. The old man replied,
“Peace to thee,” assuring him of a welcome by this style of greeting;
“only all thy wants upon me,” i.e., let me provide for them. Thus the
friendly host declined the offer made by his guest to provide for himself.
“Only do not pass the night in the market-place.” (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:21 So he took him into his house and gave the
donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.
So he brought (KJV): Ge 24:32 43:24
they washed (KJV): Ge 18:4 1Sa 25:41 2Sa 11:8 Lk 7:44 Jn 13:4,5,14,15 1Ti
5:10 |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:21. He then took him into his
house, mixed fodder for his asses (יָבֹול from בָּלַל, a denom. verb
from בָּלִיל, to make a mixture, to give fodder to the beasts), and waited
upon his guest with washing of feet, food, and drink (see Gen. 18:4ff.,
19:2). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:22 While they were making merry, 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 came into your house that we may have relations with
him." they were (KJV):
Jdg 19:6,7 16:25
the men (KJV): Jdg 20:5 Ge 19:4 Ho 9:9 10:9
sons of Belial (KJV): Dt 13:13 1Sa 1:16 2:12 10:27 25:25 2Sa 23:6,7 2Co 6:15
Bring forth (KJV): Ge 19:5 Ro 1:26,27 1Co 6:9 Jude 1:7 |
|
CERTAIN WORTHLESS FELLOWS: The "wicked men" are literally "sons
of Belial" worthless scoundrels bent on evil. They were active homosexuals
engaging in practices plainly condemned in Scripture (Lv18:22; 20:13).
Ps18:4,v5 clearly implies a relationship between Belial and Sheol; thus, the
term was idiomatic for “sons of hell.”
"Belial" ="wicked" &
may mean "without profit." Later, this word (Belial in Hebrew) was used as a name for Satan
(2Co6:15), who is the personification of wickedness and lawlessness.
Elsewhere the expression is associated with idolatry (Dt13:13), drunkenness
(1Sa1:16) and rebellion (1Sa 2:12). Here the reference is to homosexuality.
POUNDING THE DOOR: verb form of
"pounding" on the door indicates that there was an increasingly loud
pounding on the door; this was in no way a polite or casual request.
"BRING OUT THE MAN WHO CAME INTO YOUR HOUSE: A similar request was made by the men
of Sodom wo ...
"called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." (Ge19:5)
The desire of these
worthless fellows is clear. Homosexuality was
common among the Canaanites but then these are not Canaanites but
Benjaminites! Israel God's peculiar, chosen
people had become as wicked and abominable as Sodom and Gomorrah!
If this story is indeed early in the period of Judges (as
allusion to Phinehas in Jdg20:28 suggests), it emphasizes how incredibly
quickly men who do not know God or the mighty deeds of God (Jdg 2:10) and who
fail to drive out the Canaanite enemies (Jdg1:21) of their flesh can plunge
to such moral depravity. This section of Scripture should cause us all to be
so wary of the power of the flesh when it is given full reign.
THAT WE MAY (yada in Hebrew = "may know him") HAVE RELATIONS WITH
HIM: same expression is found in [Ge19:5].
Gibeah had become like
Sodom, a city so wicked that God wiped it off the face of the earth (Ge19).
The men of the city were indulging in immoral practices that were contrary
to nature and the laws of God. The word "know" (Yada) means "to have
sexual experience with." These sinners were excited because a new man was in
town, and they wanted to enjoy him! It is
difficult to believe that the depravity of Gibeah is a complete secret.
Certainly the Ephraimite host knows that something is wrong. Likely there
have been hints all along; but the easy toleration of evil generally seen in
these chapters causes any such hints to be disregarded. An entire community
has chosen a congenial toleration of evil rather than confronting and
judging it.
Arthur Cundall comments on their conduct as follows:
In his concern for the accepted conventions of hospitality the old man was
willing to shatter a code which, to the modern reader, appears of infinitely
more importance, namely, the care and protection of the weak and helpless.
Womanhood was but lightly esteemed in the ancient world; indeed it is
largely due to the precepts of the Jewish faith, and particularly the
enlightenment which has come through the Christian faith, that women enjoy
their present position. The old man was willing to sacrifice his own virgin
daughter and the Levite’s concubine to the distorted lusts of the besiegers,
rather than allow any harm to befall his principal guest. |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:22. Whilst they were enjoying
themselves, some worthless men of the city surrounded the house,
knocking continuously at the door (הִתְדַּפֵּק, a form indicative of gradual
increase), and demanding of the master of the house that he would bring out
the man who had entered his house, that they might know him,—the very same
demand that the Sodomites had made of Lot (Gen. 19:6ff.). The construct
state אַנְשֵׁי בְנֵי־בְלִיַּעַל is used instead of אֲנָשִׁים בְּנֵי־בל׳
(Deut. 13:14, etc.), because בני בליעל is regarded as one idea: people of
worthless fellows. Other cases of the same kind are given by Ewald, Lehrb. §
289, c. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:23 Then the man, the owner of the house, went
out to them and said to them, "No, my fellows, please do not act so
wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of
folly. the man (KJV): Ge
19:6,7
do not this folly (KJV): Jdg 20:6 Ge 34:7 Jos 7:15 2Sa 13:12 |
|
DO NOT COMMIT THIS ACT OF FOLLY: An expression of outrage at the
willful perversion of what is right and natural
The host courageously and correctly described their desires as wickedness
and folly (v. 23) and a vile thing (v. 24), and he tried to prevent them
from raping his guest. |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:23ff. The old man sought, as
Lot had done, to defend his guests from such a shameful crime by
appealing to the sacred rights of hospitality, and by giving up his own
virgin daughter and the concubine of his guest (see the remarks on Gen.
19:7, 8). נְבָלָה, folly, used to denote shameful licentiousness and
whoredom, as in Gen. 34:7 and Deut. 22:21. עַנּוּ אֹותָם, “humble them.” The
masculine is used in אֹותָם and לָהֶם as the more general gender, instead of
the more definite feminine, as in Gen. 39:9, Ex. 1:21, etc. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:24 "Here is my virgin daughter and his
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." Behold (KJV): The
rites of hospitality are regarded as sacred and inviolable in the East: and
a man who has admitted a stranger under his roof, is bound to protect him
even at the expense of his life. On these high notions only, the influence
of which an Asiatic mind alone can appreciate, can the present transaction
be either excused or palliated.
them (KJV): Ge 19:8 Ro 3:8
humble ye (KJV): Ge 34:2 *marg: Dt 21:14
so vile a thing (KJV): Heb. the matter of this folly |
|
HERE IS MY VIRGIN
DAUGHTER AND HIS CONCUBINE: Lot had been willing to commit his daughters
to a similar fate (Ge19:8), but the angels had rescued them. In those days
the place of a woman was often very lowly, and the "disgraceful thing"
was to molest the man. Nevertheless, the Israelites normally considered the
rape of a woman disgraceful (Ge34:7), and women who were promiscuous were
also condemned to death for their behavior (Dt22:21). In each of these
passages the same word (nebalah = vile deed emanating from moral perversity)
is used.
Nevertheless, the fact that the Levite and his host would offer the women to the men in
lieu of a homosexual relationship was far from a godly choice. Either
sexual sin is equally wrong; however, the reaction of these spiritually
impoverished people shows that even in a time when sexual immorality was
prevalent, homosexuality was still regarded as the worst possible form of
sexual abuse! How a father could offer his own daughter as a sacrifice
to the lusts of a mob is difficult to understand. Yet many parents today
allow their sons' and daughters' minds and hearts to be violated by what
they see and hear in movies, on television, and at rock concerts. Chastity
of mind and heart is essential for chastity of the body.
AND DO TO THEM WHATEVER YOU WISH: The tragedy of this story lies not
only in the decadence of Gibeah, but also in the callous selfishness of men
who would betray defenseless women to be brutally violated for a whole
night. When there is no king (in Israel) LIFE BECOMES CHEAP!
The Preacher's
Commentary writes that...
A society that reduces love to lust will
not long have any residual respect for human life. Other people become mere
objects. Human life is expendable and cheap, so a baby in the womb becomes
“the fetus”; “it,” not he or she. And a woman has a right to choose to do
away with it if it is inconvenient. If old people increase in number and
become a drain on the state, then let the state’s medically approved agents
“put them out of their misery.” Abortions and euthanasia “on demand” are
symptoms of the same disease that surfaces in rape, crimes of violence, and
the mental cruelty, petty tyrannies, and personal violence that characterize
so many homes. We must not be surprised to find child abuse, incest, robbery
with violence, and murders increasing. “If God is dead,” said Nietzsche,
“then everything is permitted.” It’s all perfectly logical. So the Christian
response which simply wrings its hands in despair, or washes them in
resignation, is unworthy of followers of Christ. We have grown far too
sentimental about evil in our cozy Christian ghettoes. Cushioned from its
effects through the Christian heritage and capital on which the church in
the West has lived for decades, we have somehow imagined ourselves and our
churches to be immune from sin’s ravages. We have believed the liberal
humanists, who tell us that man is getting better and kinder, without
reminding us that all such advances have had Christian foundations and
impetus. We often seem surprised, if not overwhelmed, when we encounter evil
head-on, because we do not really believe the Bible’s teaching about human
depravity and about our own hearts. (Jackman, D., & Ogilvie, L. J. Vol. 7:
The Preacher's Commentary Series, Judges, Ruth. Formerly The Communicator's
Commentary. Page 277. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc) |
|
Judges 19:25 But the men would not listen to him, so the
man seized his concubine and brought her out to them. And they raped her and
abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn.
knew her (KJV): Ge 4:1
and abused (KJV): Jer 5:7,8 Ho 7:4-7 9:9 10:9 Eph 4:19 |
|
BUT THE MEN WOULD NOT LISTEN TO HIM, SO THE MAN SEIZED ("became
powerful" pix of taking by force) HIS CONCUBINE AND BROUGHT HER OUT TO
THEM: This
is unthinkable weakness and cowardice for any man, especially one who is to be
wholly given (Nu 8:16) to God. The Levite himself brought her forth unto them
and surrendered the concubine to their immoral sexual desires in an attempt
to protect himself! This is the very one he had "spoken tenderly to"!
Words are cheap when there is no king in authority. One can easily see why
the concubine had left her husband in the first place! She ended up being
essentially sacrificed to save his skin as the men sexually "abused" her all
night.
When bringing out the fullness of the original Hebrew, Adam Clarke, due to
modesty, will not even translate into English - he leaves it in Latin so
only the learned will be able to understand the full implications of their
crime |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:25ff. But as the people would
not listen to this proposal, the man (no doubt the master of the house,
according to v. 24) took his (the guest’s) concubine (of course with the
consent of his guest) and led her out to them, and they abused her the whole
night. It is not stated how it was that they were satisfied with this;
probably because they felt too weak to enforce their demand. הִתְעַלֵּל בְּ,
to exercise his power or wantonness upon a person (see Ex. 10:2). (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:26 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. her lord was
(KJV): Jdg 19:3,27 Ge 18:12 1Pe 3:6 |
|
The Levite had not anticipated the mass assault his concubine had succumbed
to, but his words in v28 seem callous nonetheless. Should he not have shown
concern for her long before daybreak? And did he really expect her to be in
any condition to travel? It is little wonder that he is called impersonally
her "master" rather than "husband" in v26, 27 (cf. v11). |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:26. When the morning drew on
(i.e., at the first dawn of day), the woman fell down before the door of the
house in which אֲדֹונֶיהָ, “her lord,” i.e., her husband, was, and lay there
till it was light, i.e., till sunrise. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:27 When her master arose in the morning 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. |
|
WHEN HER MASTER
AROSE IN THE MORNING: implying that he had slept that evening while she was
undergoing such a terrible fate. His attitude (he seems to have gotten a
"good night's sleep") and his actions (seemingly oblivious to the night of
horror & ready to go on his journey) speak of his selfishness, his
callousness ("Get up & let's go" v28!) and his disrespect for
human life. To this Levite the concubine seems to have been little more than
chattel, to be treated as one would a piece of property when in fact she was
a being created in the image of God. These were indeed dark days for God's
chosen people. How far might any of us slide down into the stench of the
corruption that is catalyzed by the lusts of our wicked flesh, if we did not
have the King reigning in our life!!? |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:27. There her husband found
her, when he opened the house-door to go his way (having given up all
thought of receiving her back again from the barbarous crowd), “lying before
the house-door, and her hands upon the threshold” (i.e., with outstretched
arms), and giving no answer to his word, having died, that is to say, in
consequence of the ill-treatment of the night. He then took the corpse upon
his ass to carry it to his place, i.e., to his home.(Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:28 And he said to her, "Get up and let us go,"
but there was no answer. Then he placed her on the donkey; and the man arose
and went to his home. But
none (KJV): Jdg 20:5 1Ki 18:29 |
|
The night of horror made
a powerful impact on the nation, and centuries later the prophet Hosea
recalled the depth of Gibeah's corruption centuries later writing...
They have gone deep in depravity As in
the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their
sins...9 From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; There they
stand! Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in
Gibeah? (Hosea 9:9; 10:9). |
|
Judges 19:29 When he entered his house, he took a knife
and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb,
and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.
divided her (KJV): It is probable, that
with the pieces he sent to each tribe a circumstantial account of the
barbarity of the men of Gibeah; and that they considered each of the pieces
as expressing an execration. That a similar custom prevailed in ancient
times is evident from 1 SA 11:7. It had an inhuman appearance, thus to
mangle the corpse of this unhappy woman; but it was intended to excite a
keener resentment against so horrible a crime, which called for a punishment
proportionally severe. Jdg 20:6,7 Ro 10:2
with her bones (KJV): Dt 21:22,23 |
|
AND CUT HER IN
TWELVE PIECES, LIMB BY LIMB: His concubine had been sacrificed to the
lust of the men of Gibeah. He cut up her body as one divides the carcass of
a sacrificial animal and then sent a part of her body to
each of the Twelve Tribes, including the leaders of the offending tribe,
Benjamin. It is ironic that the one who issued such a call was himself so
selfish and insensitive.
Apparently the
recipients of this gruesome parcel were expected to respond to the appeal or
else risk being struck with the sword themselves. The same
technique was used at Gibeah by King Saul, who cut up oxen and circulated
them throughout Israel to raise an army (1Sa11:7).
Had the Levite gone to Shiloh where the tabernacle stood (18:31), and had he
consulted with the high priest, he could have dealt with the matter
according to the Law of God and avoided causing a great deal of trouble.
Once tempers were heated in Israel, however, it was difficult to stop the
fire from spreading. |
Keil and Delitzsch
Commentary...
Judg. 19:29. As soon as he arrived
there, he cut up the body, according to its bones (as they cut
slaughtered animals in pieces: see at Lev. 1:6), into twelve pieces, and
sent them (the corpse in its pieces) into the whole of the territory of
Israel, i.e., to all the twelve tribes, in the hope that every one who saw
it would say: No such thing has happened or been seen since the coming up of
Israel out of Egypt until this day. Give ye heed to it (שִׁימוּ for שִׂימוּ
לֵב); make up your minds and say on, i.e., decide how this unparalleled
wickedness is to be punished. Sending the dissected pieces of the corpse to
the tribes was a symbolical act, by which the crime committed upon the
murdered woman was placed before the eyes of the whole nation, to summon it
to punish the crime, and was naturally associated with a verbal explanation
of the matter by the bearer of the pieces. See the analogous proceeding on
the part of Saul (1 Sam. 11:7), and the Scythian custom related by Lucian in
Toxaris, c. 48, that whoever was unable to procure satisfaction for an
injury that he had received, cut an ox in pieces and sent it round,
whereupon all who were willing to help him to obtain redress took a piece,
and swore that they would stand by him to the utmost of their strength. The
perfects וְהָיָה—וְאָמַר (v. 30) are not used for the imperfects c. vav
consec. וַיְהִי—וַיֹּאמֶר, as Hitzig supposes, but as simple perfects
(perfecta conseq.), expressing the result which the Levite expected from his
conduct; and we have simply to supply לֵאמֹר before וְהָיָה, which is often
omitted in lively narrative or animated conversation (compare, for example,
Ex. 8:5 with Judg. 7:2). The perfects are used by the historian instead of
imperfects with a simple vav, which are commonly employed in clauses
indicating intention, “because what he foresaw would certainly take place,
floated before his mind as a thing already done” (Rosenmüller). The moral
indignation, which the Levite expected on the part of all the tribes at such
a crime as this, and their resolution to avenge it, are thereby exhibited
not merely as an uncertain conjecture, but a fact that was sure to occur,
and concerning which, as Judg. 20 clearly shows, he had not deceived
himself. (Keil
and Delitzsch Commentary - Judges 19 - p442) |
|
Judges 19:30 And it came about that 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, take
counsel and speak up!"
consider (KJV): Jdg 20:7 Pr 11:14 13:10 15:22 20:18 24:6 |
|
AND IT CAME ABOUT
THAT ALL WHO SAW IT SAID: tribe of Benjamin was included in the summons,
but refused, thus identifying themselves with the action of the men of
Gibeah.
Valley Bible Church on Judges 19
This could be the most gruesome story
ever related in Scripture. Why is it here? The answer is here for us in Jdg
19:30: "And it came about that 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, take counsel and speak up." This
episode illustrates how low the children of Israel could go, even in the
treatment of their own people and was a call to clean up their act.
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: The shock of
seeing the girl’s dismembered body and undoubtedly hearing the story of this
undeniable outrage against the law of God caused Israel to consider this the
greatest atrocity of the nation’s early history. It brought a tremendous
reprisal.
CONSIDER IT, TAKE COUNSEL AND SPEAK UP: The verbs which close the
chapter are perfects of consequence, expressing the results which the Levite
expected from this action (see Keil and Delitzsch).
The response to this crime is typical. Men tend to disregard and tolerate
evil until it becomes so blatant that it can be tolerated no further. Then
they go to the opposite extreme and feel great surprise, horror, and shock
at the logical consequences of the very evils they have been complacently
tolerating. |
|
G Campbell
Morgan
Judges 19.30
Consider of it; take
counsel, and speak. Judges 19.30
This, and the next two chapters, tell the story of a Levite, and in them
again a clear mirror is held up to the times, revealing the most startling
moral conditions, and showing how good and evil conflicted during the
period. These particular words reveal the effect produced upon the people by
the terrible message conveyed by the portions of this dead woman. In the
story there are several things we do well to note. First, we must recognize
the imperfection of the times as revealed in the practice of polygamy and
concubinage among the chosen people. And yet, even in these matters, we see
how far they were in advance of the peoples of the land. There is evidenced
a moral sense, and an ideal of virtue which stands in striking contrast to
the practices of the other nations. The fact that a Levite took to himself a
concubine shows a low level of morality, but this must be considered in the
light of the times. When this is done, we notice the sacredness which
characterized his .thought of his relation to her. This was entirely
distinct from the loose conceptions of the Canaanitish people. Then again,
the terrible degeneracy of a section of the chosen people is seen in the
action of the men of Gibeah, which was nothing less than that of the men of
Sodom of long before. And once more, on the other hand, the method of the
Levite, drastic and terrible, by which he drew the attention of Israel to
the sin of these men, is a revelation of the conscience of the better part
of the people concerning purity. All this portrays the results of the loss
of the keen sense of the Kingship of God. (Morgan, G. C. Life Applications
from Every Chapter of the Bible). |
|
The Levite of Ephraim
Judges 19
Henri Rossi
Judges 17 and Judges
18 have shown us the religious condition of Israel and the influence
exercised over them by the pseudo‑sacerdotal class. This self‑styled
priesthood, religiously corrupted, kept up religious corruption among the
people. If the scenes with which chapter 17 commenced, belonged as we have
seen to the times preceding the Judges, their transmission was necessary in
order to set before us a picture of the solemn gradation of evil in Israel.
It is somewhat the line which the Spirit of God follows in Luke's gospel,
where the facts are grouped out of their chronological order, for the
purpose of giving effect as a whole to certain moral truths.
Samson, the last of the Judges, still invoked Jehovah on certain memorable
occasions of his life. The Levite of Judah only invoked Him over the head of
his images and seraphim. The Levite of Ephraim, whose history we are about
to consider, did not, alas! invoke Him at all. As far as he was concerned it
seemed as if Jehovah no longer existed, and yet this man belonged to a class
set apart to the service of Jehovah, for that of the priesthood, and of the
house of God.
In Judges 19, we have the Levite of Ephraim in his connection not with the
religious, but with the moral, state of the people. The latter was even
worse than the former. The woman that the Levite had taken, left him, after
being unfaithful to him. He went after her, following the bent of his own
heart, and united himself to this degraded women, doing just what pleased
himself. This satisfied the woman's father, who saw therein the
reinstatement of his daughter. Alas! this act was also, without his being
aware of it, the justification of the evil and a sanction to the defilement
- all the more serious, carrying with it, as it did, the weight of the
sacred position of this man. The father detained his son‑in‑law, for the
longer he remained, the more public and conspicuous did the reinstatement of
his daughter become. The kindness of the world is manifested toward us in
proportion as we serve its interests; it does not object to alliance with
the family of God. The Levite allowed himself to be belated on his way.
Having only his conscience, instead of God, as his guide, he yielded to the
influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
This man, who had allied himself to a prostitute, would not turn in to the
Jebusites. It is sometimes thus with Christians. They shrink from open
association with the world, whilst at the same time the hidden springs of
their own lives are impure. It is possible to be very strict as to one's
public walk and yet very lax as to personal holiness.
"We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of
the children of Israel" (Jdg 19:12). The Levite was more attached to his
people than to Jehovah, or rather, he did not take the latter into
consideration at all. Avoiding the Jebusites from national pride rather than
from piety, he seemed to imply that whatever came from Israel must
necessarily be all right, when Israel had already outrageously abandoned
Jehovah. These principles remain unchanged, and the ruin of our day is as
much characterized by them as that of God's ancient people. Every sect in
Christendom is boasted about in contrast with the heathen nations; when, as
to matter of fact, Christendom itself has become the haunt of every sort of
corruption, moral and religious.
The Levite soon perceived that he was not received in the midst of a people
whom God had expressly commanded not to forsake the Levite (Dt. 12:19).
Corrupted profession did not offer a shelter to the servant of Jehovah. (I
do not speak here of the moral character of this man). We see in Jdg 19:18
the feelings which such treatment produced in his heart: "I am now going to
the house of Jehovah; and there is no man that receiveth me to house." An
isolated stranger who sojourned amid the corruption of Gibeah, and like Lot
in Sodom, aware of it, for he said: "Only lodge not in the street" (Jdg
19:20), received the traveller into his house. A frightful thing ensued. The
impure passions of men who bore the name of Jehovah equalled in horror those
of the accursed city. Such things, taking place in Israel, were worse than
the history of Lot, for, as dead flies cause the ointment to stink, so the
corruption of the people of God is the worst of all. Moreover, we do not see
any intervention of angels to deliver the just. Like Lot, the host of the
Levite speaks at the door, accepting one evil to avoid a worse, and this is
necessarily the principle of action of believers who go on with the world.
God preserved this man from seeing his house defiled by these infamous
wretches, but for him there was no other way visible. The Levite gave up his
wife to dishonour. This issue might have been avoided by an appeal to God,
remembering His protection in former days. Could He not, as formerly, have
smitten the people with blindness? But no cry of anguish went up to Him;
from the heart of the Levite to Jehovah the passage was barred.
The wretched woman, recovered from her earlier course of prostitution,
without repentance or exercise of conscience, died from the dreadful
consequences of what she formerly hankered after. God allowed the evil to
run its full course, but, as the succeeding chapters will inform us, out of
this frightful evil He brought glory to Himself.
The word of God presents two great subjects to us. What God is on the one
hand; what man is on the other. God never attempts to cover up man's actual
state, for, if He did, He would not be the God who is light; and His word
would be false in both its presentations. As to man, God depicts him as
indifferent, amiable, or religious according to nature, violent or corrupt,
always selfish, hypocritical, ungodly, apostate; without law, under law,
under grace, and that in all circumstances and in every degree‑-while God
also shows us the work of His grace in the heart of man under all its forms
and in all its gradations. We obtain thus a divine picture of our state, and
are forced to the conclusion that we have no resource in ourselves, and that
our only resource is in the heart of God. |
|
L M Grant...
JUDGES 19
ANOTHER LEVITE'S DIVERSION
The history of a
different Levite was involved in the moral corruption that afflicted Israel
in the time of the Judges. We are reminded in verse 1 that there was no king
in Israel, but in spite of that a Levite should have been preserved from
evil by the Word of God. More than once in the Book of Numbers God insisted
"the Levites shall be mine" (Nu 3:12, 45). God claimed them in place of the
firstborn in Israel (Nu 3:41). Therefore they ought to have been examples to
the rest of the people. But instead we have seen a Levite involved in
spiritual corruption in Chapters 17 and 18, and now in moral corruption.
This Levite took a concubine. "Marriage is honorable among all" (Heb 13:4-note),
but co-habiting together apart from marriage is dishonorable. Often this is
done because the man does not want the responsibilities of marriage. In the
Old Testament various believers took concubines, but it was never with God's
approval, though God bore with it at the time.
If marriage had taken place, the woman may not have been guilty of sexual
relations with other men. She may have felt herself more or less free
because she was not married. Yet this was sad confusion. However, it seems
she did not give herself up to prostitution, but rather went back to her
father's house, being there four months (Jdg 19:2).
The Levite at least had concern enough for her to go to speak kindly to her
so that she would come back with him. If he had decided to forgive her, why
did he not then offer to marry her? The woman's father was glad to meet the
Levite, but even he did not suggest they should be married. How like the
laxity of our times!
The young woman had agreed to return with the Levite to his home, but her
father detained him for three days of social enjoyment (Jdg 19:4). When
Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:55,56), he would
not consent to being detained, but this Levite remained for the three days
and planned to leave early the fourth day. But the woman's father urged him
to stay another day (Jdg 19:7) and he gave in to this. Then on the fifth
day, instead of leaving early, he succumbed to the urging of remaining till
afternoon! Again the woman's father urged him to remain over night and go
the next morning (Jdg 19:9). But he felt, evidently, that he had given in
too much already, and they started their journey late in the day (Jdg
19:10). This wavering indecision is a sad comment on the character of the
Levite, one who had the place of the Lord's servant!
ALMOST LEFT WITHOUT
SHELTER
(JUDGES 19:11-21)
They could not travel
far, and when darkness was near they passed near to Jerusalem, named Jebus
at the time, for it was still in the hands of the Jebusites. The man had a
servant with him who suggested staying at Jebus (Jdg 19:11), but the Levite
did not favor staying in a Gentile city, and decided they should go to
Gibeah, a city of Benjamin (Jdg 19:12-13). By the time they arrived,
darkness had fallen (Jdg 19:14).
They evidently asked in Gibeah if they could find lodging, but no one was
willing to take them in, so they sat in the town square (Jdg 19:15). Such
was the coldness of Israelites toward Israelites at the time. They might
have fared better in the Jebusite city!
However, it happened that an old man came in just then from working in his
field. He was not a Benjamite, but came also from the mountains of Ephraim
(Jdg 19:16), and he was concerned to see people in the open without lodging.
Asking the Levite where they had come from and where they were going, he
found they belonged in Ephraim too, but that they could find no lodging in
Gibeah (vv.18-19). The old man kindly invited them to his house, giving food
for both themselves and their donkeys. He knew the danger of spending the
night in the open (Jdg 19:21).
GROSS WICKEDNESS IN
ISRAEL
(JUDGES 19:22-30)
Sadly, here in Israel
the wickedness of Sodom was repeated (Gen. 19:4, 5). Perverted men surrounded
the house and beat on the door, demanding that the visiting man would be
given to them so they could abuse him homosexually. Though the old man pled
with them, they were adamant, but they were given, not the Levite, but his
concubine, whom they abused sexually all night, then let her go (Jdg 19:24,
25). She was able only to get back to the door of the house before
collapsing and dying (Jdg 19:26).
How could the Levite's conscience be clear before God in giving up the woman
to this horrible violence? But we have seen there were previous steps of
disobedience to God and spiritual degradation, and God allowed this to
progress to this terrible point.
Surely the Levite ought to have been humbled to the dust before God, but
when finding the poor woman on the ground at the door, he said to her, "Get
up and let us be going" (v.28). He did not realize she was dead, but if she
had not been dead, he was still being heartlessly inconsiderate.
He took her dead body back to his home, but instead of stopping to consider
his own criminal responsibility in this whole matter, he decided to make a
public outcry against Gibeah. The means he took was gruesome. He cut the
woman's body into 12 pieces and sent them to the 12 tribes of Israel,
evidently with a report of what had happened (Jdg 19:29). The Levite wanted
revenge on a national scale, but we see no sign of self-judgment on his own
part.
However, this method of raising righteous indignation in Israel was
successful. All who received this kind of information accompanied by part of
a dead body, were greatly incensed against the perpetrators of the crime
(Jdg 19:30). Does this mean it was right to do it this way. No, indeed! The
case ought to have been addressed more locally, and settled in the courts
without becoming a national scandal. But where were the local authorities to
be appealed to? Thus is illustrated the great weakness of Israel at the time |
| F B
Meyer...
JUDGES 19
A TERRIBLE CRIME
This and the following
chapters hold up the mirror to human nature, and reveal what is in the heart
of man apart from the grace of God. The Bible not only tells us of the
remedy, but reveals to us the deadliness of the disease. We might wonder why
so much is said about the blood of the Son of God, if we had not been told
of the depravity and blackness of men's hearts. We must not suppose that
these were sinners apart from others. We have all one human heart, and the
same tendencies are in us each. Man is horrified when these reveal
themselves in their naked hideousness in the lives of others, but is
inclined to justify them in himself. But God justly brands with the same
guilt the thought and intention of the heart, which is only restrained from
breaking into open sin by the conventionalities of good society.
If you are standing
near Christ, with your hand locked in His, it will not harm you to look over
the jutting precipice into these seething depths. But if it be not so with
you, pass over this record until your soul has become pure with a purity
which turns from sin to Christ, with the shame that filled His holy soul in
the days of His flesh, and made Him stoop to the ground (John 8:6).
Many interesting
lessons are taught of the manners of the times. Unhappily, drunkenness was
already invading the homes of the people (Judges 19:5, 6, 7, 8, 9). The
surprise at the withholding of hospitality shows how general it was to
entertain strangers in those simple, old-world days (Judges 19:11, 12, 13,
14, 15). The conversation with the old man reminds us how often the most
generous feelings reveal themselves in the most unlikely quarters (Judges
19:16-21). In the subsequent assault upon his house, he was prepared to make
any sacrifice in order to save him whom he was sheltering under his roof. So
careful of the honor of the home, so careless of the honor of woman. One of
the divinest traits in the religion of Jesus Christ, is the sanctity with
which He has invested womanhood.
We are reminded of a
similar scene at the gates of Sodom; but there were no angels here to stay
the deeds of violence. Alas! that the redeemed people of the Lord had sunk
to so low a depth (1Cor. 6:9, 10, 11).
This incident is
spoken of afterwards as the beginning of Israel's corruption, and a pattern
of much after sin (Hos. 9:9; 10:9).
Josephus places this
narrative at the beginning of the Judges. Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron,
was living while these events took place (Judges 20:28). (F. B. Meyer.
CHOICE NOTES ON JOSHUA THROUGH 2 KINGS) |
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