(Judges 19:1-30) Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But his concubine found him repugnant, and she left him and went to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and remained there for a period of four months. 3 Then her husband set out and went after her to speak gently to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house, and when the girl’s father saw him, he was glad to meet him. 4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, prevailed upon him, and he remained with him for three days. So they ate and drank and stayed there. 5 Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and he prepared to go; but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go.” 6 So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl’s father said to the man, “Please be so kind as to spend the night, and let your heart be cheerful.” 7 However, the man got up to go; but his father-in-law urged him, and he spent the night there again. 8 Now on the fifth day he got up to go early in the morning, but the girl’s father said, “Please strengthen yourself, and wait until late afternoon”; so both of them ate. 9 When the man got up to go, along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Behold now, the day has drawn to a close; please spend the night. Behold, the day is coming to an end; spend the night here so that your heart may be cheerful. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey and go home.”
10 But the man was unwilling to spend the night, so he got up and left, and came to a place opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). And with him was a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him. 11 When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and the servant said to his master, “Please come, and let’s turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it.” 12 However, his master said to him, “We will not turn aside into a city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; instead, we will go on as far as Gibeah.” 13 And he said to his servant, “Come, and let’s approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah.” 14 So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. 15 They turned aside there to enter and spend the night in Gibeah. When they entered, they sat down in the public square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.
16 Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjaminites. 17 And he raised his eyes and saw the traveler in the public square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no one will take me into his house. 19 Yet there is both straw and feed for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, and your female slave, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.” 20 Then the old man said, “Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the public square.” 21 So he took him into his house and fed the donkeys, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.
22 While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless men, surrounded the house, pushing one another at the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who entered your house that we may have relations with him.” 23 Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, please do not act so wickedly. Since this man has come into my house, do not commit this vile sin. 24 Here is my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine. Please let me bring them out, then rape them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit this act of vile sin against this man.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her outside to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. 26 As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.
27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. 28 And he said to her, “Get up and let’s go,” but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his home. 29 When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb. Then he sent her throughout the territory of Israel. 30 All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, make a plan, and speak up!”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
This is all very upsetting to read, as they should be. First of all, the Bible tells us that committing adultery and having more than one wife is wrong. Therefore, we can see the lack of integrity in this Levite. Add to that, he was "repugnant" towards his woman (or women). We know that a husband is to love his wife. And towards people in general, we are to treat others as we want to be treated, and consider others more important than ourselves, being kind, gentle, patient, etc.
So why do women fall for misogynists in the first place? Actually, let me rephrase, because men also fall for women who are abusive. It is all unhealthy and dangerous. So - why does someone fall for an abusive person? I believe the main downfall is when someone is emotionally driven. They'll make themselves vulnerable by looking for those "butterflies" - but if you do not listen to your cues correctly - those "butterflies" could be your "gut" telling you that there is danger and you need to run away! NOW!!!
Misogynists are typically very good at sweet talking, and making grand promises (especially if and when there are witnesses), as we see the Levite doing in verse 3. One might think, aw, he travelled such a long distance and wants her back because he loves her. No! If he loved her, he wouldn't have selfishly and unlovingly pushed her outside to be abused and killed by those men! He forced her to take his place in that criminal act! And the next morning, when he saw her laying there, he didn't even ask if she was okay. He didn't care. He just wanted to get going.
Typical attitudes of a misogynist, is to think that they are justified in mistreating their "loved ones". At the root of it, they believe people to be more like objects to be possessed, manipulated and controlled. And if the person makes the misogynist angry, that person is "asking for it". It will always be the other person's fault! Even if and when they apologize, they might say things like, "You just do things that make me go crazy," or "I love you so much that when you do that, I get very jealous..." Apologies can be spun many different ways in order to blame the other person. And if it does come across as sincere, how long will that "peace" last?
There will be heightened feelings of jealousy, frustration and/or anger when things don't go the misogynist's way. As soon as that happens, and it will, it's just a matter of time, they will once again feel justified in mistreating the other person, whether spiritually, emotionally, financially or physically.
If you find yourself in a relationship like this (man or woman)... get counseling. Even if a man is stronger than the woman, a woman might throw something which could cause serious injury and/or death. Or if she attacks with "weak" punches or slapping, and the man tries to even gently push her away from him, she could fall backwards and hit her head. No matter what - if there is any physical injury or death - the man will find himself in prison! Protect yourself and everyone involved!
If you are already married, try to get marriage counseling. But before even getting married - get marriage counseling! This goes for every couple!!! But IF you are ever hit, or you feel physically threatened, safely get away - get out of there! Preferably without them knowing about it. Saying anything which could provoke the situation is very unwise and could become very dangerous. Actually, the most violent acts happen when the abused person is trying to leave or has left. But once you have left - THEN - do not go back to them UNLESS AND UNTIL they get help and they actually show and prove over time that they have changed.
The message is simple - avoid dating and marrying misogynists. Another message is - don't be a misogynist. If you think you are one - the Lord is able to change a person, from the inside out, but there will still be a need to get professional help! Look, I've known "solid Christian people" - theologians, pastors and elders in churches - who are abusive. So when dating, as you meet people, really get to know their heart before committing.
If and when you meet a person, and you think, "This is just too good to be true" - it probably is!!! Pray! Ask God to protect you from yourself, and from evil. Use your brain to think through things. Christians are to date and marry other Christians, but just because someone is a Christian - or says they are a Christian - doesn't mean that they are "good" or are "good for you".
Saving yourself for marriage is valuable for so many reasons. One of them is that sex is an emotional marriage. As soon as you give yourself to someone sexually - objectivity will be gone. If a person doesn't want to save themselves and pressures you to sleep with them, then they are not the one for you! Of course when you love someone, you will desire to be with that person sexually, but if both of you cannot control yourself, that means one is more apt to cheat!!! As well, it shows that the person doesn't really trust in what God says, and doesn't want to follow God's will.
Now, regarding the YOUNG girl's father, I'm sure he wanted to be the best possible host to the Levite in order to win his favor. Maybe he had hopes that the Levite would no longer abuse his daughter, but start treating her better. Or perhaps he thought, the longer he kept the Levite there, the longer his daughter would be safe! We cannot blame him for not wanting his daughter to leave with such a man.
Regarding the old man, he was not even a local in that town, but he showed great hospitality with his generosity and in his efforts of trying to protect his guest. BUT... he offered up his virgin daughter and the Levite's concubine to the worthless men!!! Maybe this is why he and the Levite hit it off so well, they both shared a common bad attitude towards women? Obviously very wrong, because from the Bible, we know that God is a great advocate for women!!! So I wonder, where was this old man's sacrificial love? Not that it would have been a good thing to offer up himself. The best possible action to take in that circumstance would have been to start praying and asking God to protect everyone in the house!!! God is more than able to answer that prayer!!!
And now let's talk about the biggest issue. Obviously these worthless vile men were very much in the wrong, and this wouldn't have been their first infraction. So why had the city not dealt with them??? Right at the end we see the slogan - "Consider it, make a plan, and speak up!!!" Kind of like the slogan we have now, "If you see something, say something." We do need to open our eyes to the crimes that are committed in the areas that we live. Wisely, we need to have a plan in place to deal with this. And then, people in general need to take ownership of their neighborhoods. NOT to take vengeance or become vigilantes, but we can bravely cooperate with those in authority, whether as victims or as witnesses. Not only will it keep people safe/r, but it can be a deterrent to those tempted to commit crimes.
And finally, not only as mature members of society, but as Christians who desire to love our neighbors as ourselves, as we are able, we can be generous and helpful towards those in need. Here too, we can "consider it, make a plan, and serve!" This doesn't mean that as one person we have to do it all. Just think if we were all (wisely) helping out, when and as we are called... how much more could we accomplish, in God's strength, guidance and provisions!
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