Judges

Judges 19: The holy LORD exposes Israel's sin

Begin in prayer

Before we read how the holy LORD exposes the wickedness of people without His righteous rule, let us come to Him together. Ask Him to help us face sin honestly and to help us see Christ, who suffered violence and shared none of its evil.

There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.

Hosea 4:2

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Please show us the evil of sin and the mercy of Jesus. Give us humble hearts as we hear this terrible account. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

A Levite seeks his unfaithful concubine at her father's home, then leaves late after repeated delays. He passes foreign Jebus and chooses Israelite Gibeah, where an old man welcomes the travelers. Wicked men demand the Levite for sexual assault, and the host offers his daughter and the concubine. The Levite takes hold of his concubine and brings her out to them, and they rape and abuse her throughout the night. She collapses at the door, and he takes her home, divides her body into twelve pieces, and sends them through Israel. Those who see are horrified and call for counsel and an answer.

As you read Judges 19, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The holy LORD exposes the wickedness of people living without His righteous rule.

“In those days, when there was no king in Israel,” a Levite goes to Bethlehem for his concubine, a wife of lower rank. Late in the day he will not stay in Jebus, the city later called Jerusalem, because it belongs to foreigners (verse 12). He chooses Gibeah of Benjamin, a town of God's own people, yet no one takes them in until an old man from Ephraim does. Then the men of the city surround the house with a demand like the one the men of Sodom made (Genesis 19 verse 5). God's own people now act like Sodom, and the host offers his daughter and the concubine instead of protecting them (verse 24). The Levite takes hold of his concubine and brings her out to them, and they abuse her all night (verse 25). In the morning he finds her fallen at the door and says only, “Get up, and let us be going!” He sends the parts of her body through Israel, and all who see say nothing like it has happened since Egypt (verse 30). No one protects the helpless woman, and God's law calls such an attack a crime like murder (Deuteronomy 22 verses 25 to 27).

How does Judges 19 show us that the holy LORD exposes the wickedness of people living without His righteous rule?

Belonging to Israel gives no safety from its wickedness.

The Levite avoids Jebus because it belongs to foreigners and continues to Gibeah in Benjamin. No resident initially takes them in, until an old man from Ephraim offers hospitality (verses 12 to 21). The danger then comes from wicked men of this Israelite city.

The men of Gibeah commit a dreadful evil.

The men demand the Levite for sexual assault, and the host offers his daughter and the concubine instead. The Levite takes hold of his concubine and brings her out, and they rape and abuse her all night (verse 25). Their evil leaves her collapsed at the door by morning.

Israel must face the horror within its own people.

The Levite finds the woman unresponsive, takes her home and divides her body into twelve pieces. He sends them throughout Israel, and those who see call for counsel and a response (verses 28 to 30). This horror exposes the ruin of people living without righteous rule.

Memorise

Such a deed has not been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day!

Judges 19:30

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what wrong do I need God's Word to expose in me?

The witnesses are horrified and say, “Consider it, take counsel, and speak.” The violence in Gibeah exposes the evil of a people who need righteous rule. The holy God records what these men do, and His judgment gives no shelter to their cruelty.

Jesus Christ came into a sinful world and suffered violence without sharing its evil. He let wicked men nail Him to a cross, and there He died for His people under God's judgment. By His death He has done everything needed to bring guilty people to God. God raised Him to life, and He will judge every hidden wrong with righteousness.

Turn from your sins and come to Jesus in faith. However shameful your sins, Christ will forgive you when you seek His mercy in faith. If someone has harmed you, their violence is their guilt. Jesus suffered violence Himself, and He is a refuge for the hurt and a Savior for the guilty who come to Him.

Parent's note

Tell your children that being raised in a Christian home cannot save anyone. Explain the threatened assault, the woman's rape and abuse, and the dividing of her body in your own careful words. Let children who have been hurt know they should seek help from a trustworthy adult. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for His holy judgment and the mercy offered through Jesus, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

who his own self bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.

1 Peter 2:24

Holy God, this evil is dreadful before You. Please protect those who are being harmed and bring the guilty to repentance. Give each of us faith in Jesus, and teach us to love what is right in Your sight. Amen.