This is a part of a sermon series on the book of Judges. You can watch more here.
I want to tell you on the front end we are going to look at one of the most graphic passages in God’s Word this morning. Welcome to North Village Church!
We love God’s Word. We teach God’s Word. We go through books of the bible and we try to go verse by verse chapter by chapter, so that sometimes you get to parts of God’s Word that are really uncomfortable.
It’s possible you might be thinking to yourself, “Michael, it’s so close to Christmas?” Let’s talk about Jesus’ birth! Let’s talk about the shepherds being in awe of God’s glory! Yes!
Those parts of the Bible are true and good and sometimes we need to see the really dark parts of humanity so that we are reminded of why Christmas is so glorious! Amen?
It’s possible the celebration of God taking on flesh could get washed up in shopping, wrapping, and decorating, so that sometimes we need really dark parts of God’s Word to remind us of the dark parts of our soul, so that we see the glorious light made known in Jesus.
So, if we have little ones in the room we might need to do earmuffs / eye-muffs but I will try to give you heads up on when those verses are coming. Let’s start with Judges 19:1-2:
Judges 19:1-2, “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. 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.”
Okay, so we got a little marital conflict, not so bad! For those who are new we are finishing up our study in the book of Judges. Throughout the book of Judges, we have seen key deliverers or rescuers as Israel went through this cycle over and over. You remember?
Israel sins, Israel is judged, Israel cries out in repentance, so that the Lord raises up a judge / deliverer and for a period of time there is peace in the land until it all starts over again. However, last Sunday and this Sunday we see there are no more deliverers to rescue Israel.
In fact, in our last two sermons we don’t see a deliverer showing up to bring rescue but instead we zoom in on the lives of ordinary people. Last Sunday we learned about Micah, his mom and a priest. This morning we learning about a different priest but similar patterns to last Sunday. Look at verses 1-2 again:
Judges 19:1-2, “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. 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.”
This Levite should be at the temple serving the people in worship of the Lord but in verse 1 we see this Levite is wandering in the “remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim” and even more uncommon we see this Levite has taken a concubine as his wife.
A concubine is a woman who has been living a sexual life outside of marriage and this would have been really dangerous for a woman at this point in history.
We think of women today having all this agency and power but at this point in history a woman’s survival would have been solely on the protection of her husband or her father, so that this concubine being unfaithful before marriage and during marriage is really risky. Look at verses 3-4:
Judges 19:3-4, “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. 4 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.”
In verses 3-4 we see the wife makes her way to her father’s house and the Levite chases after her, speaking tenderly to her, so that at first glance it looks like there is hope for reconciliation.
In verses 5-21 we see this pattern where the Levite is wanting to leave the father-in-law’s house but the father-in-law keeps detaining his son-in-law with food, wine and merriment, so that you see this exchange of “I really must go, baby it’s cold outside, just stay for one more night” until eventually the Levite insists on leaving.
Now when you read this passage on your own, and you should, you need to remember the civility that we have in our culture today is not present in Judges 19. They didn’t have street lights for safety. They didn’t have smartphones. They didn’t have police. They didn’t have the luxurious Holiday Inn.
This is a violent time in history and the hospitality of others would have been critical. They had their strength, they had family, they had the kindness of others and outside of those resources a person would have been very vulnerable.
In verses 5-21 the Levite takes the incredible risk to set out on his journey to a place called Gibeah that was inhabited by other Israelite people, which only adds to the tension of our passage this morning, because once they arrive in Gibeah they can’t find any place to stay. They are in the open square. They are vulnerable. Jump down to verses 20-22, because it starts to get rocky:
Judges 19:20-22, “20 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.” 21 So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank. 22 While they were celebrating, 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.”
God’s Word is trying to be gentle but when you see the phrase “have relations with him” it means they want to sexually rape him, so that when you read this passage on your own, and you should, you are supposed to feel the intensity of the passage building throughout Judges 19.
The unfaithful concubine taking risks. The Levitical priests traveling at night taking risks. The men pounding at the door. It’s intense.
In verse 20 the old man makes it clear that you don’t want to stay in the open square, because it was dangerous, so that the violence of these worthless fellows would have been common knowledge in the community. Does that make sense? Earmuffs! Look at verses 23-24:
Judges 19:23-24, “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. 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.”
Obviously our 2024 eyes and ears take in verses 23-24 and we say to ourselves, “Why is the old man offering the women?” Does this mean women had little to no value in this day? Yes.
God’s Word teaches men and women are incredibly valuable. God’s Word teaches us men and women are made in His image of God but the pattern throughout the book of Judges is that we see people doing what is right in their own eyes, which means this is bad for men and women.
The Levite is supposed to be at the temple, he’s not. The Levite shouldn’t be taking a concubine as a wife, he does. The wife shouldn’t play the harlot, she does. The Levite shouldn’t be traveling at night and taking such risks, he does. The women shouldn’t be offered. The Levite should speak up and object, he doesn’t. None of this is what God wants!
Judges 19 isn’t describing what it looks like to be people who follow the Lord. Judges 19 is describing what happens when people don’t follow the Lord and do what is right in their own eyes and you need to know there are still dark layers of humanity in the world today.
It’s possible some of us read Judges 19 and it reminds us of Genesis 19. The similarity is intentional. In Genesis 19 we see Canaanite people in Sodom and Gomorrah, dragging travelers out of their homes to sexually rape them and now we see Israelite people dragging Israelite people out of their homes to sexually rape them, so that we see dark layers of humanity go across all ethnicities and all points in history.
In the same way, we see sexual immorality flaunted in our culture today. In the same way, we see greed and gluttony embraced in our culture today. In the same way, we see the slaughter of unborn children celebrated in our culture today, so that sometimes we need to open God’s Word, like a mirror to our soul, as a reminder that there are dark layers exist in every human being.
Just six months ago did you notice every corporation was flaunting girly men and rainbows. Every ad, every artist, everything was about making men soft and gooey and then Trump sweeps the nation and within two weeks the comedian Shane Gillis is in every Bud Light commercial.
Shane Gillis was canceled a few years ago, fired from SNL for racist and homophobic remarks, toxic masculinity, nobody wanted anything to do with him and now he’s in every Bud Light commercial! Target was all about girly men 6 months ago and last week they introduced hot Santa known as Kris K. In six months, they flipped!
These are corporations flip-flopping huge agendas and acting like nothing happened. What’s next? P. Diddy running a daycare? Please don’t read Judges 19 and think we are more educated today and this is just a description of barbaric people in the ancient world.
Judges 19 is a condition of humanity being put on display, so that the dark layers of our soul are exposed and our eyes are lifted to the glorious hope of a Savior to come. That’s why we celebrate Christmas! Look at verses 25-26. Earmuffs! It’s going to get worse:
Judges 19:25-26, “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. 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.”
Can you imagine how her husband might have responded? Can you imagine how helpless he might have felt? Can you imagine the shame and the grief? Look at verses 27-28:
Judges 19:27-28, “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. 28 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.”
Arose in the morning? Has he been sleeping while all of this is taking place? I need to tell you the passage is only going to get more graphic. You must remember, this isn’t what God wants. Throughout the book of Judges, the God of Scripture has been bringing discipline and judgment on Israel. Right? Remember our cycle?
It’s possible that you felt sorry for Israel when you read about those judgments. It’s possible that you thought God was being too harsh or too mean but then you read Judges 19 and you start to feel sorry for God. Earmuffs. Look at verses 29-30:
Judges 19:29-30, “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. 30 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 is graphic but the man is using this act as a way to bring shame upon the people of Gibeah. The husband didn’t have to do this. He could have honored the body of his wife. He could have gone to the other tribes of Israel to seek justice verbally but the intent of the passage is to show how Israel has spiritually devolved to this place.
The intent of the violence in verses 29 and 30 is to show the outrage at what has taken place, so that as we finish Judges 19 we would be asking ourselves, “What is Israel as a nation going to do? How is Israel going to respond?” Look at Judges 20, verses 1-2:
Judges 20:1-2, “1 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah. 2 The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers who drew the sword.”
In Judges 20 we see the people of Israel respond to fight against this horrific act of violence. You can read Judges 20 on your own, and you should, because we see the tribes of Israel go against the people of Gibeah and it leads to a civil war that goes back and forth until the people who committed this wicked act are defeated. Jump down to verse 48.
Judges 20:48, “48 The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found.”
At the end of Judges 20 we see the acts of the wicked people are defeated, so that just when you think you might start to see some of these horrible events come to a close it gets even more uncomfortable.
Don’t you want to see a silver lining? Aren’t you longing for the someone to come in and make things right? In Judges 21 it just goes sideways again. Even when Israel is trying to do the right thing it is still layered in darkness.
In Judges 20 Israel is about to wipe out the tribe of Benjamin to hold them accountable for the horrific event but someone says, “We can’t do that! We can’t wipe out a tribe of our own nation!” The tribe of Benjamin has to continue! So, in Judges 21 Israel takes 400 virgins to repopulate the tribe of Benjamin. Look at Judges 21, verses 11-12:
Judges 21:11, “11 This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every man and every woman who has lain with a man.” 12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.”
This is the last chapter of Judges. You are supposed to read these chapters and feel overwhelmed. You are supposed to see this is what happens when we turn from the Lord, so that sin multiplies to a place of confusion.
In our lives today, every single person in this room has dark layers of our soul, so that sometimes those dark layers come to the surface.
It might be road rage. It might be a comment online. It might be a thought we have about someone but at the right time, right place the worse parts of our soul come to the surface and the majority of the time we don’t see immediate consequences from the Lord. Have you noticed this?
We say something, we do something, we think these things about people that contradict God’s Word and nothing happens. Perhaps we even start to think, “Maybe God doesn’t care?” Maybe God isn’t real? Maybe this isn’t a big deal? Maybe, like the book of Judges, maybe I will just do what is right in my own my eyes?
And the book of Judges is written as a warning and a reminder that sin multiplies. Isn’t that what we see happening in our life? A husband and wife refuse to humble themselves and reconcile in conflict. It’s just a small offense but overtime it multiplies until the relationship grows cold and they start to drift apart until one of them begins a sexual relationship with someone outside their marriage, so that overtime life gets more complicated.
It all started with this little idol of worship in darkness that didn’t seem like it was that big of a deal but overtime our thinking gets cloudier, our appetite for darkness grows and it starts to ripple into other relationships at the personal level, church level, city level. Sin and darkness multiply.
One day a little kid will ask his family, “How come we don’t talk to that aunt or uncle in our family?” The adults say, “Oh, I don’t know, someone said something or did something” so that sin and darkness is like little snowflakes that build up and snowball, so that you finish the book of Judges wondering, “Where’s the hope?” Is life just going to be this cycle of pain over and over? Will humanity ever be different?
Merry Christmas! This is why Jesus is so important. It is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that we see the ultimate deliverer who steps into our world of pain and darkness and brings hope. It’s been His plan all along!
In Genesis 3, do you know Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve eat from the tree and turn from God to do what is right in their own eyes, so that Adam is confronted with the failures of humanity and do you remember how Adam responds? Adam throws Eve under the bus, right? Adam blames Eve!
Just like Judges 19. The Levitical priest. The person who is supposed to be walking with the Lord, the mediator between God and man and yet the Levitical priest throws his bride out the door and goes to bed.
Adam fails, the Levite fails, we fail, humanity fails, so that we are all deserving of God’s judgment until one day there is another mob who comes banging at the door and Jesus says, “Whom do you seek?” (Matthew 26)
This time Jesus wasn’t sleeping but instead Jesus is praying, “My Father, not my will but Your will be done” so that in that moment Jesus doesn’t throw His bride out the door but instead offers Himself in the place of His bride.
Jesus says to the mob, “Do what you have come for” not to someone else but offers Himself to stand in our place. The ultimate deliverer. Jesus takes our death at the cross. Jesus takes our offenses, our shame, our guilt, our lies, our failures, our inconsistencies to the point of death at the cross and He conquers them in the resurrection, so that when we believe in Jesus He not only takes our shame but gives us His life, His forgiveness, His grace, His power to live out His life. That’s why we celebrate Christmas!
In some ways, it is good for us to read Judges 19-21 and whence at the pain being described so that we see those same dark layers in our soul today.
Don’t look away. Don’t minimize it to make it easier. Instead become convinced that our soul is just as dark and just as desperate for a deliverer that is made known in Jesus, so that our we would erupt with praise at His name!
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
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