In our day and age, the term “trigger warning” gets used when someone is about to say something that might bring bad memories of a situation back to someone; the topic triggers the memory and the person relives that event. It’s gotten to a place in our society where “rigger warning” is used for any little thing that might create some sort of anxiety in a person. For the most part, I don’t think we need trigger warnings when talking about most problems in the world, but I do think that when we speak of things such as abuse, we need to be as gentle as can be.
In the topic we are going to cover today, this is one of those cases where we need to be gentle. We are going to cover a case of extreme sexual abuse. We are not going to be graphic, nor are we going to dwell on it, but the Scriptures deal with it and so, we must as well. This is a PG-13 to NC-17 rated sermon, so we move forward as true to Scripture and as gentle as we can be.
We come back to our summer series where we will be picking it back up in chapter 19 of the book of Judges. And as we open to Judges 19:1, let’s look at where we are from last week.
We’ve come to the final section of the book of Judges, which is two stories that span the last five chapters of the book. The first of these two stories, was about Micah, an unnamed Levite, and the Danites. What we saw from this story was a desire to make a kingdom for one’s self separate from the prescribed boundaries that God had laid out. Each of the three groups in the story turned away from God’s allotted boundaries and decided to search for their own place in the world. By taking this one step of disobedience, it leads to eventual destruction of entire tribes of people.
We walked away from last week with the understanding that, God created boundaries for us so that we may thrive, because outside of those boundaries, we descend into sinful practices. Those boundaries are found in God’s word, that’s one reason why we should be studying it.
With the understanding of staying in God’s setup boundaries, we move on to the last story of the book of Judges. We’re going to divide this story into two parts. The first part is the instigating situation, whereas the second part is the ramifications of that situation.
In addition, because the instigating situation covers so many verses, we’re going to look at the core of the passage, and so your homework is to read the entire chapter on your own.
So let’s read chapter 19, starting in verse 1.
“1 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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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.”
These first four verses set the stage for the rest of the instigating situation. Like the previous story, we’re following a Levite. A similar, but probably not the same Levite, because no where in the story is there a connection made. But this Levite, like the one in Micah’s story, is not living in a Levitical town, so that already tells us something about him. He’s not living in God’s boundaries and his actions will eventually show where his heart is.
We also see that he has a concubine. What’s interesting about him having a concubine is that his wife is never mentioned. So that opens up two possibilities: either he is married and therefore has gone outside of God’s prescribed marital boundary of one man and one woman, or he doesn’t have a wife, and he is treating this woman poorly by not taking her his a full wife, because a concubine has less legal status than a full wife. However you slice it, this Levite is not being a godly man.
But the question should arise in our mind, why is it that all the judges come from various tribes, but the last two stories focus on Levites? Most likely this is because the Levites were the priests of God and by giving us stories about them at the end, it tells us just how bad Israel’s rejection of God has gone. It’s not just those who are a part of the covenant people who area descending into sin, it’s also those who’s specific task is to implement the covenant and be an example for the rest of God’s people; these are also descending into sinful rejection of God.
Now that we’ve established the Levite, let’s take a quick glance at the concubine. Like I just said, she’s not a full wife and therefore not privy to certain protections under the law. But we’re told that she is “unfaithful” to her husband. Now, what’s funny is that that the unfaithfulness most likely doesn’t mean she’s committed any act of adultery, but rather hasn’t fulfilled her role as a concubine. The way the passage sets it up, she is more likely angry with her husband and so has left their arrangement, going back to her father’s house. She is unfaithful to the situation she finds herself in. Why is she angry, my guess would be because she’s not a full wife. Maybe the full wife died and this concubine wasn’t elevated. Maybe the Levite is a straight up jerk, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility because of the callousness he shows later on. Whatever the reason, she’s left him and now he’s come to woo her back, as it says in verse 3 he goes to, “speak kindly to her…”
But as he convinces her to return, we get some travel information from verses 5-21. It’s starts out with the father keeping them from leaving his house for a few days. After this they start their journey, but because they get such a late start on the day they leave, they don’t make it as far as the Levite would have liked. Instead they have the choice of staying at the city called Jebus, which is home to unfriendly Jebusites, or the town of Gibeah (gib-e-ah), which is home to their fellow Israelites from the tribe of Benjamin. They choose Gibeah.
Yet when they arrive no one will take them in, so they decide to make camp in the town square. Already somethings off about the town. The normal practice in dealing with travelers, would be to offer then lodging in your house, but this common practice isn’t extended to the Levite’s party. That is until an old man, who is not a Benjaminite, but rather from the Ephraim area returns from his job in the fields and invites the party to stay with him. It’s here that we pick the story back up in verse 22, and we see the most heinous and gruesome act in all of the book of Judges.
“22 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.’ 23 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. 24 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.’ 25 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. 26 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.
27 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. 28 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. 29 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. 30 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.’”
We’re almost at the bottom of that downward spiral that we have seen descend further and further down throughout the book of Judges.
In this horrible situation, we’re told that these mean are worthless fellows in verse 22. This sounds like the worthless men from Abimelek’s and Jephthah’s story, but those guys were better than these. Where they were void of morals and out for their own good, these mean are perverted and the language here is taken directly from Deuteronomy 13 (v.13) and 15 (v.9). It means they are destructive in wickedness, we would say, they are pure evil. These guys not only have no morals, they are ravenous wolves, ferocious in their sexual debauchery.
We know its sexual desire that motivates them, because we’re also told in verse 22, that they desire to “know him.” This language is used thought the Bible to indicate intimate knowledge of a subject. It’s used of God to help us understand how he knows every thought and desire of a person, and it’s used of humans to let us know that people have had a sexual encounter. These men are seeking a forced sexual encounter with this Levite.
When the old man, who let the party stay at his house speaks of the men’s actions, he uses the word “ra’a’ (raw-ah), which means evil, and connects this situation directly to Genesis 19 and the story of Sodom. In that story we’re told a pair of angels, disguised as men, stayed at a man’s houses. The men of that town came and demanded that those guests be sent out, just like the Levite in this story, and that they may sexually abuse them, like these are seeking to do to the Levite. It’s as if we are being told, how the act of the wicked city of Sodom, whom God judged, has taken root in the people of God.
In verse 24 we’re that the old man offered his daughter and the concubine instead of the Levite. This might sound horrible to us, but in his society the act of sex between men, was the greater sin. So when put between a rock and a hard place, this old man chose the lesser of the two sins in his mind. We’re not justifying his actions, but we’re trying to understand them. But it’s here that the old man uses the word vile, in Hebrew this word (nebalah [neb-aw-law’]) means disgraceful and senseless according to the the Law of God. This is another connection the story is making to early Scripture, this time in the book of Leviticus chapters 18 and 20.
One of the questions that should arise in our minds, is, where is God in all this? This word choice is to let us know where God is. God set up boundaries, but these men, both the Levite and the ravenous mob, have gone outside those boundaries. In addition, these men are being confronted by the law of God that tells them what they are doing is against God. But even when confronted with the knowledge that their acts go against the law of God, they proceed anyway. It’s almost like the old man is putting up a no stealing sign, or no gun sign and hoping the criminals would respect it and turn away. What’s happening in this story is the result of a society who has turned their back of God. A society where God has removed his hand of protection, because the people have chosen to follow themselves. Something we’ll talk more about in the coming weeks.
What happens next is horrific. The Levite throws his concubine out to the group of men; they sexually and physically abuse her for the rest of the night. After they are done with her, she collapses at the front door and dies. When the Levite goes to leave the next day, the callousness of his call for her to get up, shows just how horrible a person he is. She left him for some reason, and his actions here show she should’ve never went back, because with him, only meant her death. His actions show he isn’t a godly man, he should have fought for her, he should have protected her, instead, to save his own skin, he sacrificed her.
Then he uses her to stir the entire nation of Israel into a frenzy. He mutilates her body and sends out the pieces to the other tribes to show the horrors that just took place. But he is at the center of blame. And it’s the ramifications of these actions, which we’ll talk about in a few weeks.
What are we to walk away from this with? Sin is a ferocious beast that devours whatever it can. The sexual sin of these men devoured this woman. The ungodliness of this husband devoured his wife. The blame is squarely on both; on the group of men for the actions taken to mutilate the woman and on the Levite for not standing between those men and her.
This is why standing against sin is so important in the believer’s life. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 6, “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…(v.10-18)”
We are in a battle, personal and communal. That battle is against that beast of sin and it’s insatiable hunger for destruction. The Levite chose to not fight, but to sacrifice another in his place. But God has called us to stand between those things which seek to destroy, and we do this by putting on the armor of God.
It starts with truth; the word of God is truth, and we need to know it and live it. It’s living in righteousness, that means we seek the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives to remove sin’s footholds and we live in the commands of Jesus. It’s being ready to share the Gospel, that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect standard, but there is forgiveness in Jesus given as a free gift to all those who would accept it (Romans 3:23-24). It’s holding faith and trust in the work of God, that he will work all things out for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28). It’s being secured in our salvation, we know we have it because we accepted Jesus as Savior, and no attack on it to sway us from that truth, will work. It’s wielding the word of God, speaking God’s word and not our own to the enemies of God. And finally it’s praying; speaking to God so that we may seek him, seeking that we may be transformed into the image of the Son, and interceding on behalf of others as they too fight in this battle; either being devoured by sin or standing against it, they need prayers.
Brothers and sisters, this story, as horrific as it is, is to be a wake up call for us. Sin is real, the effects of sin are devastating to say the least, and can lead to even more tragedy as we’ll see in the coming weeks. Let us therefore stand against sin, both in our own lives and in the world around us. We’re either in the battle standing against sin’s ferocious appetite, or we’re placating it, throwing others to destruction, hoping it eats us last.
My challenge for you this week is to read the whole story, I know it can be stomach turning, but we need to know the reality. Then read Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18, seeking the Holy Spirit to move in you that you may wear the armor of God, not just today, but every day. Finally, in the bulletin and on the Welcome table, there are armor of God book marks, I want to challenge you to place it somewhere where you’ll see it every day. When you see it, ask God to strengthen you to stand against sin, doing so in the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God, and the salvation of man.
Let us be the warriors that God saved us to be, on the front lines fighting the battle for the souls of the people around us. Amen.
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