They needed a King.

We left yesterday with a real mess.  The Levite was threatened by the people of the tribe of Benjamin.  The owner of the house offered up his daughter and the Levite’s concubine instead.  The people raped and killed the concubine.  The Levite took her body home, chopped it into twelve pieces, and sent a piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel.  They were officially as bad as (if not worse than) Sodom and Gomorrah right before fire rained down on them.

Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah. And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot that drew the sword. (Judges 20:1-2 ESV)

They asked the Levite what this was all about and he told them what had happened.  They committed to make Gibeah and Benjamin pay for what they had done that night, focusing on the people who committed the crime.

So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man. And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. (Judges 20:11-13 ESV)

Instead of giving up the perpetrators, the tribe of Benjamin protected them from prosecution and death.  They tried to keep the evil alive among them.  The other eleven tribes of Israel tried to fix this, but it just kept getting worse.

Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel. And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war. The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up first.” Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. (Judges 20:14-20 ESV)

By the time all was said and done, 50,000 Israelite warriors were dead.  In addition, over 25,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin were dead, along with the women and children.  Six hundred warriors from the tribe of Benjamin escaped and the remaining eleven tribes had compassion on them, so their inheritance among Israel would not be stomped out.

They had already made an oath not to give their daughters in marriage to the tribe of Benjamin because of what they had done.  So, they checked to see who did not show up at the meeting where 400,000 gathered together.  The clan of Jabesh-gilead did not show up, so the Israelites went and destroyed everyone in that clan (for not showing up at the meeting – talk about rough office politics!) and brought all the virgin daughters (400 in all) back to be wives for the remaining warriors from Benjamin. The remaining 200 warriors were instructed to kidnap 200 of the daughters from Shiloh, a part of Israel, when they had a big festival there.  That way, none of the Israelites “gave” their daughters in marriage to the Benjamites.  What a mess.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25 ESV)

There are two things that strike me about this summary statement from the book of Judges.  First, without a king we all run the risk of doing evil because it is right in our own eyes.  Second, Israel did have a King.  They just didn’t acknowledge God as their King.

We need a King as well.  Otherwise, we run the risk of doing evil because it is right in our own eyes as well.  Just because something is right from “my perspective” does not make it right.  It simply shows my perspective.  God designed us.  God created us.  God knows how we are supposed to function and work and live.  God has already defined what is right and wrong.  God’s perspective is the one that counts.  God, then, is our rightful King.

How about you?  Do you need a King?  Is God your King?

They were not safe.

Yesterday, we left the Levite and his concubine staying in a town controlled by Benjamites.  They were one of the twelve tribes of Israel, so they knew how to walk together with God.  A man from that town offered them a place to stay, so they were safe…until they were not.

As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. 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.” 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. 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.” (Judges 19:22-24 ESV)

I’m going to pause here just because I’ve been in too many Bible studies where the teacher/facilitator tried to justify the actions of the master of the house.  But we cannot.  His actions were just wrong.  He was trying to replace one sin for another sin.  What the men wanted to do was wrong.  What the master offered was also wrong.  They knew that, too, because they were Israelites.  They had the ten terms of the covenant (the ten commandments).  They had the Levitical law. They knew the proper name of the LORD.  They knew better.

But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 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. 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. 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. (Judges 19:25-28 ESV)

They were not safe.  She was dead.  The people of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin, in the town of Gibeah have fallen to the depths of Sodom and Gomorrah.  It is no better in Israel than in any place else.

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. 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.” (Judges 19:29-30 ESV)

How about you?  What would you do if you lived in a land like this?  What do you do when you see evil around you? Do you help people be safe?

They were safe.

Yesterday, we left a Levite travelling back home after going on a trip to win his concubine back.  When it was getting late, they purposefully did not stay in the town of Jebus (now Jerusalem) because it was inhabited by the Jebusites at the time and would not be safe.  So, he continued on to the town Gibeah, which belonged to the people of Benjamin – one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

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. 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?” (Judges 19:16-17 ESV)

Have you ever encountered a people or group that seem to have a “language” of their own, even though they were speaking the same language that you were? I grew up in an area where people would get to know others they did not know by asking the question, “What High School did you go to?”  What they were trying to find out was simply, “Did you go to a Roman Catholic school or not?”  If you did, their next question was, “What parish are you in?”  After that, they might ask about the specific priest, or some people they know from that parish.  The right answer to these questions helped the person asking feel comfortable and safe with you.  You were “in.”

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. 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.” (Judges 19:18-19 ESV)

The same kind of thing is happening here.  The old man asked where the traveler was from and where he was going.  This question, though, was intended to find out how the traveler named the places.  This Levite used Israelite names for the towns.  He even dropped another name: the LORD.  This was the proper name for God given to the Israelites.  After this answer, the townsman felt safe and comfortable with the traveler.  He was in.

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.” So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank. (Judges 19:20-21 ESV)

How about you?  Do you have individual people or groups that you feel more safe with?  How do you find out if they are safe people?  When are they “in” with you?

They were family.

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. 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. 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. (Judges 19:1-3 ESV)

This final story from our survey of Judges doesn’t look to bad.  The Levite is having marriage problems.  But, nowadays, who isn’t?  His wife goes home to her parents and, after four months, he goes to try and win her back.

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. 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.” 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.” And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him, till he spent the night there again. 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. 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.” (Judges 19:4-9 ESV)

Clearly his father-in-law didn’t want his family to leave.  They were family, after all.  The Levite wanted to go back home, though, where they would be their own family.

But the man would not spend the night. 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. 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.” 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.” (Judges 19:10-12 ESV)

Family was so important to him that he would not stop in a town that was filled with strangers.  They travelled a little further to Gibeah because that town had family.

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.” So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, 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. 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. (Judges 19:13-16 ESV)

How about you?  Is family important to you?