Judges 19:1-30 Part 1

     The Central Idea of the Text is that a Levite—in order to save himself—sacrificed his concubine to worthless men who gang raped and killed her.

     A Levite left Ephraim to persuade his runaway concubine to return home (Judg. 19:1-3).  His father-in-law was glad to see him and entertained him for three days (Judg. 19:4-7).  The Levite eventually left and traveled homeward with his wife, servant, and two donkeys (Judg. 19:8-10).  They could have stayed in Jebus, but traveled on to Gibeah in the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 19:11-14).  The only display of hospitality in Gibeah was by an old man who brought them into his home and cared for them (Judg. 19:15-21).  Like the story of Sodom, several wicked men came searching for the visitor to sexually assault him, and the old man sought to protect his visitor (Judg. 19:22-23).  However, the old man was willing to throw his daughter and the concubine out to the attackers to save himself and the Levite (Judg. 19:24; cf. Gen. 19:4-8).  The wicked men refused, so the cowardly Levite forced his wife out of the house and into their hands to be raped and abused all night (Judg. 19:25-26).  The next morning the callous Levite gathered his concubine’s body and took her home, then cut her into twelve pieces and sent a portion to the twelve tribes of Israel (Judg. 19:27-29).  “Clearly he did not really love this woman or he would have defended her and even offered himself in her place. His actions speak volumes about his views of women, himself, and God’s will.”^[1]  The final verse is a question posed by the Israelites concerning how they would respond to this evil act (Judg. 19:30).

     A husband’s love is to be based on the character of God.  For the Christian, he is to love his wife as Christ loves the church and gave Himself for her (Eph. 5:23-29).  The husband is to provide for his wife physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  He is to protect her at all costs, even with his own life if necessary.  The husband is to build his wife up in the Lord, seeking her best at all times.  He is to make his wife feel safe so that she can love him without fear (1 John 4:18).  These values and actions do not guarantee the wife will respond positively.  However, there can be no healthy marital relationship if the husband is not leading with these values and actions. 

 

^[1] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible, Jdg 19:22.