20140311 Tuesday, March 11 2014
Judges 19: The Bethlehem Concubine

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"It came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah"

Many regard the era of the Judges (see the entire Israel history series from Israel In History and Prophecy: The Judges) to be a time of extreme violence and savagery, but there is nothing recorded in that historical record that can't be found in the modern-day news. Both are the inevitable result of what happens when people claim the "rights" to do whatever seems right in their own eyes - regardless of the Word of God (see Deuteronomy 12: They Aren't Rights If The LORD Says They're Wrongs and the Fact Finder question below).

The barbaric incident at Gibeah was a prime object lesson of "freedom" taken to a lawless, psychotic extreme. It resulted in the near-total destruction of the tribe of Benjamin (see Joshua 18: The Land Of Benjamin) during that time.

The incident began in "Bethlehemjudah" i.e. Bethlehem in Judea (see also Bethlehem In History And Prophecy).

"19:1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim [see Mount Ephraim], who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah. 19:2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months. 19:3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him." (Judges 19:1-3 KJV)

The Levite (see Numbers 3: When Were The Levites Set Apart? and Numbers 18: The Inheritance Of The Levites) traveled down from the tribal territory of Ephraim, north of Jerusalem, to Bethlehem, which is south of Jerusalem. After a few days spent with her father, he managed to convince his concubine to return with him. The journey could not be done in a day, so they stopped for the night at Gibeah, north of Jerusalem (note that Jerusalem, at that time called Jebus, the "city of the Jebusites," was still regarded as a foreign city to the Israelites; see A History Of Jerusalem: Jebus Of Canaan).

"19:10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him. 19:11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it. 19:12 And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah." (Judges 19:10-12 KJV)

Gibeah was a lawless, perverted town, very similar to Sodom at the time that it was destroyed. When the wildmen of the town surrounded the house, rather than defending his concubine and himself from them, the cowardly Levite surrendered her to them.

"19:25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 19:26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light." (Judges 19:25-26 KJV)

The next morning, they left. Upon arriving home, another atrocity - the Levite cut the woman into pieces and sent them throughout Israel (it doesn't say that she died back in Gibeah; the Levite may well have killed her himself).

"19:28 And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. 19:29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

19:30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. " (Judges 19:28-29 KJV)

Fact Finder: What is the Constitution of the Kingdom of God?
See The Constitution Of The Kingdom Of God and The Church: Mission Accomplished