Judges 19:22-30
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.”
Judges 21:25
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
This is a sad, sick story. A bunch of men demand to have sex with a visitor (reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah); he offers his concubine instead and they rape and kill her; in response the man cuts up the body to show to the other tribes, and civil war ensues. The last verse of Judges (21:25) is the key to understanding how such a thing could happen: "everyone did as he saw fit". There was no king, and no moral authority that people obeyed. Left to their own desires, the people chose to do evil. The idea of being free to do whatever we want is tempting. None of us likes being under authority. For many addicts, the acting out is a form of rebellion against authority. But God's authority is not there to deprive us of fun, rather it is to protect and guide us. Because of our fallen state, if left to our choices we will end up choosing sin. Thus we need to humbly submit ourselves, in order to gain true freedom, freedom from sin that enslaves us.
Lord, I confess to not liking authority and restrictions. Forgive me for my rebellion, and help me to accept your authority in my life.
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.”
Judges 21:25
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
This is a sad, sick story. A bunch of men demand to have sex with a visitor (reminiscent of Sodom and Gomorrah); he offers his concubine instead and they rape and kill her; in response the man cuts up the body to show to the other tribes, and civil war ensues. The last verse of Judges (21:25) is the key to understanding how such a thing could happen: "everyone did as he saw fit". There was no king, and no moral authority that people obeyed. Left to their own desires, the people chose to do evil. The idea of being free to do whatever we want is tempting. None of us likes being under authority. For many addicts, the acting out is a form of rebellion against authority. But God's authority is not there to deprive us of fun, rather it is to protect and guide us. Because of our fallen state, if left to our choices we will end up choosing sin. Thus we need to humbly submit ourselves, in order to gain true freedom, freedom from sin that enslaves us.
Lord, I confess to not liking authority and restrictions. Forgive me for my rebellion, and help me to accept your authority in my life.