SCRIPTURE: JUDGES 19
A LEVITE AND HIS CONCUBINE (vs. 1-30)
There was a Levite who lived in a remote area in Judah. He took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. She had been unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father’s house in Bethlehem Judah. After 4 months, her husband persuaded her to go with him together with his servant and 2 donkeys. The father-in-law welcomed him and told him to stay with them for 4 days. On the 5th day, he and his concubine together with the servant and donkey left. They stopped near Gibeah in Benjamin and sat in the city square.
That evening, an old man from the hill country of Ephraim who was living in Gibeah came in from his work in the fields. When he saw the travelers in the city square, he invited them to his house. Some wicked men of the city surrounded the house pounding on the door demanding him to bring out the man because they wanted to have sex with him. The owner of the house refused. Instead, he sent out his virgin daughter and his concubine. The concubine was raped and abused the whole night. At daybreak, the concubine was on the doorway. The master put her on his donkey and set out for home. When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb into 12 parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel.
THOUGHTS:
The Levites were supposed to obey God and set godly examples. But this man’s interest was eating, drinking and enjoying. His evil treatment to his concubine was inexcusable. When spiritual leaders fail to set godly influence on people, the church, the community and the nation suffer. God’s people must be the salt and light in this decaying and dark society.
The nation of Israel failed to establish a government based upon God’s moral principles. As a result, there were crime, sexual perversion and lawlessness. When we drift away from God and His Word, all sorts of evil will follow and affect the future generation.