Judges 19

Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning we are at Judges chapter 19, one of the most difficult chapters of the Bible. Like the story in here is Deborah, do you know what I mean? But it ain't a fun story. So let's have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll find out what's so bad about this story.
I have coffee. I got tea. There's still sign and stuff going on. Do you want some? No? Okay. That's fine. That's fine. Oh, that's a good point. Yeah. All right. Let's go ahead and pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for the time you've given us to be in your word. We pray that you would please help us to read and understand. Lord, teach us. You don't just give us fairy tale stories. You give us real stories that are horrible. Father, we pray that we've learned the lessons that we need to from in Jesus' name. Amen.
Here we are at Judges chapter 19. Why don't we just go, here's what we'll do. We'll go, I'll read a paragraph, you'll read a paragraph, back and forth, back and forth. We'll just talk about it as we go, okay? All right. And it came to pass. One, two, three. No, we're gonna read the whole chapter. Yep.
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. 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 full months.
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 he brought, 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. 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.
All right, so who's this story about and what's going on here? Made my work. Should I have some of my tea? Okay, so there's a Levite. Notice at the very beginning, there was no king in Israel, but there was a certain Levite, right? And he's staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. Well, that's, you weren't in here for Micah and his whole idolatry, but so it's in a similar area.
Takes for himself a concubine. And where's she from? Bethlehem. Okay, but what's the concubine do? But his concubine plays the harlot against him. What's that mean? She goes to sleep with other men. So she goes, plays the harlot against him, and went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem. So she plays the harlot and she leaves. She goes back to her dad's house.
And how long she go there? Four months. So what's her husband do? Come back here wifey wifey. Yeah, right, so he goes to her dad's house, right? And what's her dad do? He say, get out of here dude. No. No, what's he do? Sleep. Yeah, right, so they stay for three days. All right, you want to read verse five?
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 afterwards bring your bread. 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. When the man stood to depart, his father-in-law urged him.
So he lodged there again. 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 the afternoon. And both of them ate. 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. Watch here that your heart will be good. Tomorrow, go your way early, that you may get home. All right, so what's going on? His dad is not the guy to go. Yeah, right. He's clear. He just went, hey, just come on. Why don't you just move here, man? We could just hang out all the time. Don't take my daughter. Okay. However, the man was not willing to spend the night, so he rose and departed and came opposite Jebus. That is Jerusalem. With him were the two saddle donkeys. His concubine was also with him. 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 the city of the Jebusites and lodge in it. But the 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 to Geba. So he said to his servant, Come, let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night in Geba or in Ramal.
They passed by and went their way, and the sun went down on them near Geba, which belongs to Benjamin. They turned aside there to go in to lodge in the jiva. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city for no one would take them into his house. So they're going along the way, and they go by jivas.
And the servant's like, dude, hey, master, we're really tired. Can we just sleep here? And what's he say? No. Why not? Because they're gents. Yeah, right? No, no, no. We're gonna go to someplace where it's a city of my people, right? They'll receive him well, have a place to stay, he'll be safe. But when they get to Geba, what happens? Nobody accepts him.
I thought he was a Levite, though. I thought part of the culture of being a Levite, or a culture of part of being Israel, is that you would show hospitality to people if they came by. Yeah, well just then an old man came from his work in the field that evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim. He was staying in Geba, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites. And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the man said, Where are you going? And where do you come from? So he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehem into Judah. to the remote mountains of Ethiopia. I am from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and now I'm going to Bethlehem.
But there is no one who will take me into his house. Though we have both strong fodder for our doggies, bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, for the young man who is your servant, there is no lack of anything. 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. So he brought him into his house and gave him fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet and ate and drank. All right, so old guy walks into the city square. He's done a hard day's work out in the field. And he looks up and, oh, there's somebody.
And, what's he ask? Who I am. And, where you come from? And what's this Levite say? He's like, uh, about... going. That's why I am to the mountain Ephraim, but I can't say. Well, interesting. He says, though, I am going to... bait Jehovah. I'm going to the house of the Lord. But the House of Lords in Shiloh, it's not up in the mountains of Utrecht. I think he's going to where the idols were.
Yeah. Yeah, I don't think he's going to the tabernacle where God's supposed to be worshipped. I think this is just showing that even early on in Israel's history, people aren't actually going and worshipping like they should at the tabernacle where God had set up, where he had commanded Moses, but instead the people are already covenant breaking. Yeah. Okay. Well, they stay with him. This guy's pretty hospitable, right? Yeah, right, this guy gives fodder to the donkeys, he washes their feet, he gives them food, he gives them drink, right? This is a good scenario.
Well, 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. But the man, master of the house, went out to them and said to them, No, my brethren, I beg you, do not act so wickedly. Seeing this man come into my house, do not commit this outrage. Look, here is my virgin daughter and the man's concubine. Let me bring them out now.
Humble them and do with them as you please, but to this man do not do such a vile thing. But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning. And when the day began to break, they left to go.
It's an ugly story. It's a really ugly story, right? So these perverted men, these men of their own bones, right? Falling after their own flesh. They come and they pound at the door and whatever they want to do. No, they want to have sex with them So, yeah men are women do they are they so they're gonna do it in the wrong place These are Israelites doing this disgusting thing and They're demanding this and it's like they're so after their own lusts, after their own passions, after their own like just desire for whatever pleasure they're seeking. But the old man says, no, no, no, no. And it's a horrible story. What does he do? He says his daughter is going to... How wicked.
And when it says that the men took his concubine and brought her out to them, and they knew her and abused her all night until morning. And when the day began to break, they let her go. They gang raped her. There were no men should ever treat any woman.
This is wicked and violent. Everything about this scenario is saying this is horrible. Wrong gods, wrong place, wrong desires. Everything about this, not treating women with respect and dignity. That's what happens when a world is hooked on a feeling, chasing after its desires, going after pleasure. It's horrible. It's horrible that this man, this old man would do this. It would have been more valiant if he had fought for his life, for people. Everything about this is just wrong.
Then the woman came as the day was dawning and fell at the door of the old man's house where her master was, till it was late. When her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house, he went out to go his way. There was his concubine, falling at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold. And he said to her, get up, let us be going. There was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey, and the man got up and went to his place. Absolutely horrible.
He went to Gibeah to go to a place of Israelites because he thought he would find safety. He thought he would find hospitality. And instead of fighting for the woman that he went down to Bethlehem to go speak with this woman kindly, gently, this is how he's treated her. And this is how Israelites have treated her.
People who say that they're the people of God. And yet behave like this. It's wicked. There's no other word for it, it's evil. Does this sound like the people that were at Mount Sinai saying that whatever God commanded them, they would do? There's no king in Israel and they don't even care about God being there. They're just chasing after their desires, after their pleasure, after their fear. Cruel. Murderous. The story doesn't get better. This poor woman. Do I read verse 29 in that paragraph?
When he entered into his house, he took a knife, and held up his comb in his hand. He divided the food into twelve pieces, one by one, and sent it to the people. And so it was that all who saw it, saw it. No such deed has been done or seen to any children of Israel, except from the people of Egypt.
Consider it, O people, and speak up. What does he do, Deborah? Makes me want to throw up. That's right. It's disgusting. He has like a butcher and cuts up this woman from her dead body and he sends it to the different tribes of Israel. How would he do that?
Yeah, this is what these people give you have done He blames them I'm I'm sitting there going this guy's flipping Goon and a coward himself And like even the idea like I've butchered deer like I've cut apart animals before But to do that with somebody who has made an image of God Like, it's a scene out of horror movies. There's a reason why we don't watch horror movies in the house, right? Because it's not natural to see the types of things people portray.
And this idea should make us want to vomit. This is atrocious and ugly and gross and wrong. Every type of heinous and hideous word that we could describe, that's what this is. And that's where He said, Israelites, these are God's people. So you're going to talk to your mom later. She's going to ask what you're going to make off in devotions. What would you answer? What's this about? the unyesness of people when they decide to follow their own desires. Okay. So that may be a lesson to pull from it. But what is it historically, right? So if you have to summarize what this chapter actually says, what would you summarize? The brutal life of a Muslim. The brutal life of a Levite concubine. The brutal life and death. Man, it's just, it's ugly. Let's go ahead and skip over best verse and just talk about C column. How does this show us anything about Jesus Christ? How does this show us anything about what we're called to do as we live in the covenant of grace?
Should Levi ever have a concubine? No. Should the concubine, and this is not to place any type of blame on her, should the concubine have been playing the harlot against her husband? No. Should the people of the city have refused hospitality? Should the men of Gibeah have been going after their own passionate desires? Is the gang rape in any way acceptable? No, every single one of those men who participated in this by God's law should have been put to death, capital punishment. Should the old man have offered up his virgin daughter for this man's concubine? No. I'm sure that Levi had walked out and seen his concubine laying on the floor and just essentially kicked her in the rib and said, come on, get up.
We got to go. What a cruel and evil and wicked heart. It's me going to talk to you as my daughter right now, right? Deborah. There are people who treat women like this. will treat, will try to treat you like a commodity. Like you're just some type of object for their personal satisfaction, desire, and they will abuse and try to take advantage of you. Don't go with or after me. Stay away from the scenarios, right? It's sadly, sadly, sadly, There are all sorts of girls who get wrapped into and around guys who treat girls this way.
And so we live in this cruel, ugly world. It's one of the things I actually like about the Bible is that it doesn't give us a fairy tale. This is a nightmare. I can't imagine a story that's much more nightmarish than this chapter of the Bible. But this is exactly what happens even when the people of God turn away from the Lord. They don't follow their king. They don't listen to his laws. Their evil is not restrained. They're just doing what they want to do.
This is why Jesus died for our sins and sent his spirit into our hearts to cry out on the father So we actually turn from our sin that we repent of desires and actions We start to seek what he desires and he loves and so This is an ugly chapter But this is actually why we need this, right? I'm no better. Jesus says that if you have looked at a woman lustfully with your eyes, you've already committed adultery in your heart. Jesus is saying you're no better.
Be on guard, be on watch of your own heart for the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Right? They need to step up and be men, especially Christian men. Men need to step up and be protectors and not just those going after their own desires. Right? So, this is a hard chapter. You ready to pray?
God, we plead with you that you would protect your daughters in the kingdom. Lord, we pray for men, that they would turn away from their abusive and using way of women, that they would lead and protect, love and care for. Lord, we pray that you would help us put away our sinful passions and desires. Lord, these things ruin lives, ruin families. Please, God, Purge your church of these types of sins. God, we pray that you would please even let Jesus come quickly. Please stop our society who seems to go into the depths of these types of ugly things as well. Care for us, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. May the Lord bless you. May he protect you. May you follow your King of Kings and your Lord of Lords. May you walk in his ways all your life and we'll see you next time.