Judges 19-21
Judges 19-21
Often writers wish to save their most telling ideas for the end of their composition; the author of Judges seems to have followed suit. By this point in the narrative things had gotten so bad that “Everyone who saw it said, ‘Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen since the day the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt to this day’” (19.30). Jdgs 19-21 reveals that while Israel finally united to address the covenant decay that had characterized the nation since the death of Joshua, even their best efforts at justice were little more than each man doing “whatever he wanted” (21.25).
The description of the Levite and his concubine displays the depth of depravity in Israel (ch 19). Although they had the law, and the Promised Land, their behavior was indistinguishable from that in Sodom (cf. Gen 19). Having a concubine was allowed under the law (cf. Ex 21.7-11; Jdg 8.31)—as long as the man provided for her needs. When the Levite’s concubine left him and returned to her father’s house, that the Levite went after her leads the reader to believe that he had genuine affection for her (vv. 1-4). The Levite even endured a number of delays imposed by her father (vv. 4-9). Finally the Levite was able to take his concubine and depart for his home, far to the north in the hill country of Ephraim (v. 1). The distance being great, the travelers needed to stop for the night—but the Levite insisted that they “not stop at a foreign city where there are no Israelites” (v. 12). Their hopes for hospitality were delayed until an old man vigorously took them in (vv. 13-21). The ethical scum of Israel was realized when “all of a sudden, perverted men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door” (v. 22). They wanted to violate the Levite and his servant. Sadly, the reader discovers that the host was no more noble than the rabble at his door, offering his virgin daughter and the concubine to these sexual predators (vv. 22-24)! To allow the peace of the meal to continue, the Levite casually tossed his concubine to the mongrels; it would be her last night. The Levite’s command to her limp body, “Get up…let’s go” (v. 28), confirmed that despite earlier hints of genuine affection for the woman, his ethics were on par with the men of the Gibeah who had violated her all night long. Yet, he eventually realized that such a thing should not be done among God’s people, and sought a response from the tribes of Israel (vv. 29-30).
In ch 20 the tribes responded to the Levite’s inquiry. The text is marked by Israel’s coherent response, “all the people stood united” (v. 8), and they “went to Bethel, and inquired of God” (v. 18). This is a rare instance of such devotion in the account of Judges, and—while the LORD answered their inquiry—Israel was routed by the smaller Benjamite forces and lost 22,000 men (vv. 17-21). The Israelites responded with weeping and again inquired of the LORD if they should fight against their brothers (v. 23). After being defeated once again, they responded with even further measures of penitence: “The whole Israelite army went to Bethel where they wept and sat before the LORD. They fasted that day until evening and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the LORD” (v. 26). Upon the LORD’s assurance that He would hand the Benjamites over to them, Israel set up an intricate ambush against Gibeah (vv. 29-45), and “The LORD defeated Benjamin in the presence of Israel, and on that day the Israelites slaughtered 25,100 men of Benjamin” (v. 35). Israel spared none of the inhabitants of Gibeah (vv. 46-48).
The excessive slaughter had produced an unexpected result: an entire tribe had been nearly destroyed, and the people cried out to the LORD, “Why, LORD God of Israel, has it occurred that one tribe is missing in Israel today?” (21.3). The matter was complicated by the fact that at Mizpah the Israelites vowed to restrict the men of Benjamin from taking a wife from outside of his own tribe (21.1, 18). The united tribes of Israel made two attempts to fix the problem:
- Provide the surviving Benjamite men with the virgins of Jabesh-gilead (vv. 6-14). The Israelites had made another vow at Mizpah: to destroy any city who did not participate with them in the discipline of Benjamin (21.5). Finding out that Jabesh-gilead did not hold true to their commitment, the congregation sent warriors to destroy the city and bring back the virgins—who would be given as wives to the remaining Benjamites. Yet, even this violent scheme proved ineffective as 200 of the 600 Benjamite fugitives (cf. 20.47) remained bachelors
- Encourage the 200 to take hostage the women of Shiloh and make wives of them (vv. 15-23). The extreme insensitivity of Israel’s elders can be deduced from the fact that they were highly concerned about the reaction of the men of Shiloh, while displaying no regard for how the women of Shiloh would feel about being made sport for the men of Benjamin.
The book of Judges fades to black as “each of the Israelites returned…to his own tribe and family…to his own inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted” (vv. 24-25). Israel had the land, but they were unable to keep the law. In the storyline of Scripture, the book of Judges is the initial fulfillment of the prophecies of both Moses and Joshua; on the plains of Moab the former warned, “If your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow down to other gods and worship them, I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not live long in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan” (Deut 30.17-18), and the latter said:
“The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and no one has been able to stand against you to this day….So be very diligent to love the LORD your God for your own well-being. For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry or associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the LORD your God has given you” (Josh 23.9, 11-13).
In short Israel failed during the days of the Judges because the time had not yet come when the LORD would change their hearts. Just before Moses’ prophecy quoted above, he predicted that Israel’s failure would be so great that they would be dispossessed from the land—and when they cried out for mercy—the LORD would restore them and circumcise their heart; then they would love Him with all their heart and all their soul, and live (cf. Deut 30.1-6). The prophecies of Moses and Joshua, and the failure of the Judges, are part of the days of preparation for the Messiah. After Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension this change of heart is said to be wrought by the Holy Spirit; Paul wrote to the Romans, “a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter (of the law)” (2.29). God provides the means for keeping His standards.
*For a complete list of references, please see scripturestoryline.com