Judges 19:22 Perverted Men

 ”As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city, perverted men, surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally!”“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Surrounded the house and beat on the door: The verb form of the term beat on the doorindicates that there was an increasingly loud pounding on the door. This was in no way a polite or casual request.

b. Bring out the man who came to your house, that we may know him carnally: Their request was the same made by the homosexuals who surrounded the house of Lot in Sodom (Genesis 19:5). The picture is clear: During the time of the Judges, Israel was as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah. (Guzik)

When I first read this, Lot in Sodom came to mind! Sex crimes today are more prolific and after searching a sex offender database for your area you’ll be shocked! 

God judged Sodom, He judged Israel during the period of Judges and I believe He is judging our country right now. We need to turn from our sin, ask for forgiveness and turn back to Him before it’s too late. 

Please pray for a revival.

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for a revival in our country to turn back to You. Please give us godly leaders and expose the wicked. Restore families to You and to Your Son. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Blessings 

Judges 19:16-21 Hospitable

 ”Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Who also was from the mountains of Ephraim: The only person to extend hospitality to the Levite and his concubine was a man from their own region. None of the native people of Gibeah cared for the strangers in their midst.” (Guzik)

”And when he raised his eyes, he 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 ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”So he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; now I am going to the house of the Lord. But there is no one who will take me into his house,“ Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“We remember that the house of the LORD was not at Jerusalem, but at Shiloh (Judges 18:31).” (Guzik)

”although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man who is with your servant; there is no lack of anything.”“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”And the old man said, “Peace be with you! However, let all your needs be my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.”“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We recently traveled downstate for a get together with my brother and sister and in-laws. Traveling isn’t what it used to be, it’s faster in a fast paced world. People aren’t as hospitable as they used to be and some are down right rude. 

Would anyone feel safe at night stopping in a major city square looking for a place to spend the night? Would we even offer a stranger logging in our home?

The Bible tells us we should have discernment.

Matthew 10:16 (ESV)

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

“Christians are to be loving, merciful, and self-sacrificing. As we see the needs of people all around us, our hearts should be full of compassion just as our Heavenly Father has compassion towards all people.”

Compassion with discernment is biblical, being hospitable, loving, merciful and self sacrificing should be our motto as Christians.

Blessings 

Judges 19:11-15 Choices

 ”They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.”“ Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners: The Levite and his concubine considered a pagan town too dangerous. They therefore went on to Gibeah, a city of Israel, because they thought they would be safer there.” (Guzik)

”So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.”“ Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.“ Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

b. No one would take them into his house to spend the night: The Levite and his concubine found no hospitality in Gibeah. This reflects poorly on the people of Gibeah because God commanded such hospitality among the people of God (Leviticus 19:33-34, Leviticus 25:35, Matthew 25:35, Hebrews 13:2). There is something wrong when there is no such hospitality among God’s people.

One dark rainy night while traveling in the mountains Colorado in our van my eyes were heavy and I pulled into a dirt parking area and went to sleep. Shortly later there was a banging on the window that woke me up with someone yelling, “hey man, you going to Pueblo?” NO I replied! I tried in vain to go back to sleep and finally gave up and drove down to road. I didn’t know who it was outside and I would not let him in the van to spend the night because I needed to keep my family safe but I suspect he wasn’t an Angel.

Was the Levite regretting his choices?

Blessings 

Judges 19:5-10 Common Sense!

 ”Then it came to pass on the fourth day that they arose early in the morning, and he stood to depart; but the young woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.”“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“It came to pass on the fourth day: This portion explains why the Levite and his concubine were delayed in Bethlehem at the home of the concubine’s father. He intended to leave on the fourth daybut was persuaded to stay one more night.” (Guzik)

”So they sat down, and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the young woman’s father said to the man, “Please be content to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.”“ Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”And when the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him; so he lodged there again.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”Then he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart, but the young woman’s father said, “Please refresh your heart.” So they delayed until afternoon; and both of them ate.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”And when the man stood to depart—he and his concubine and his servant—his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is now drawing toward evening; please spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end; lodge here, that your heart may be merry. Tomorrow go your way early, so that you may get home.”“ Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“So they delayed until afternoon: This explains why they left late in the day instead of early in the morning, which would normally be a more sensible time to depart for a long journey.” (Guzik)

Common Sense

Have you ever noticed that some very smart and learned people have no common sense? This man had wealth because he had two donkeys and a servant but he had a long journey and left late in the day instead of early in the morning! 

We will soon study his error!

The other day we made our bimonthly trip to the big city to shop and It was very cold 🥶 in the single digits and the roads were very icy. While shopping I noticed a father wearing a tee shirt carrying a child without a jacket! What would happen if his vehicle broke down or they were in an accident? We also witnessed a driver turning on a county road as if it was dry, slid over into the opposite side of the road, ran over the stop sign, missed the electric pole by two feet and high centered his truck on the snowbank! It was a good thing no one was waiting at the stop sign to turn onto the roadway!

Have you ever experienced a moment without common sense? I have!

Blessings 

Judges 19:2-4 Harlot

 ”But his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there four whole months.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Here the Levite was an example of how an offended spouse should act when there is adultery. Though she broke the bond between them, he worked hard to bring the relationship back together and succeeded.”

“Jesus told us that divorce is never commanded when there is adultery (Matthew 19:8). If a partner in marriage is sinned against by adultery, they should still work to make the marriage survive and succeed, up to the best of their ability.” (Guzik)

”He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father’s house; and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him.“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Perhaps the father was glad to see the Levite and his daughter back together or perhaps the father was simply glad to have his daughter out of his house again.” (Guzik)

”Now his father-in-law, the young woman’s father, detained him; and he stayed with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

harlot /här′lət/ noun, A woman prostitute.

Whatever the reason the Levite was trying to reconcile the situation. Notice what Jesus said: “because of the hardness of your hearts”. 

It’s apparent from these verses the Levite didn’t have a hard heart.

Would we have a hard heart with similar circumstances?

Blessings 

Judges 19:1 Not Reading It!

 ”And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. There was no king in Israel: This set the stage for the terrible story in the following chapters. No king in Israel meant more than the absence of a political monarch; it also meant that they refused to recognize God’s leadership over them.

i. What unfolds in the rest of this chapter is so distasteful that the commentator F.B. Meyer recommended not reading it. Commenting on this first verse, he wrote: “It will be sufficient to ponder these words, which occur four times in the book, without reading further in this terrible chapter, which shows the depths of the depravity to which may sink apart from the grace of God.”

b. He took for himself a concubine: The Levite’s concubine was recognized as his legal partner, but she did not have the same status in the home or in society as a wife.

i. In this sense a concubine was a legal mistress. Many prominent men in the Old Testament had concubines. Examples include Abraham (Genesis 25:6), Jacob (Genesis 35:22), Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:46), Saul (2 Samuel 3:7), David (2 Samuel 5:13), Solomon (1 Kings 11:3 - 300 concubines), and Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:21). Significantly, we never see this kind of family life blessed by God. (Guzik)

Not Reading It!

Distasteful or not, the Lord had this recorded for us as a lesson and it’s up to us to study and learn from it, this is why I study the Bible from cover to cover.

Some will say as F.B. Meyer recommended, “not reading it” and if you do you’ll miss what the Lord is trying to teach you!

What will we learn from the Levite and the concubine?

Blessings 

Judges 18:30-31 “until the day of the captivity of the land”

 ”Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭18‬:‭30‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“This was the beginning of established idolatry in Israel in the Promised Land. There was individualidolatry in Israel long before this, but this is official idolatry.”

“Through a strange chain of events, this began with a son stealing 1,100 shekels from his mother (Judges 17:1-2). It ended with an entire tribe of Israel led into established idolatry.” (Guzik)

”So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.“

‭‭Judges‬ ‭18‬:‭31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“We can suppose that Micah had no idea how far-reaching the effects of his sin would become. His personal idolatry became the idolatry of an entire tribe, setting up a rival center of worship to the house of God... in Shiloh.”

“Whether intentionally on the part of the writer or no, there is a touch of satire in this declaration. There, at Shiloh, was the true centre of the national life, the house of God... Nevertheless, at Dan they gathered about the false, and rendered a worship which was destructive.” (Morgan)

“until the day of the captivity of the land”

Don’t let this small verse escape you! A sin of theft begat another sin which begat a bigger sin with a whole tribe and the Lord brought them into captivity because of it! 

I am reminded by this saying:

Blessings