April 8, 2025 • 17 mins
In this Bible Story, some men from the tribe of Benjamin brutally rape the concubine of a Levite. As a message to the people of Israel, the Levite tore his concubine into pieces, and spread her limbs to all the twelve tribes of Israel. This story is inspired by Judges 19. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is Judges 19:24 from the King James Version.
Episode 71: Israel continues its fall into depravity and even the holiest of people did whatever they wanted. A Levite, a minister of God, took on a concubine, who eventually left him. After a while, he left his home in Ephraim to go to Bethlehem and fetch his concubine. But whenever he arrived, the woman's father kept finding ways to keep him there at their house. When they were finally able to escape, the Levite decided to press on until the land of Benjamin. But little did he know, that Gibeah had become the new Sodom.
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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard
Producer: Ben Gammon
Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham
Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith
Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray. Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden,
and his concubine them. I will bring out now and
humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good
unto you, but unto this man. Do not so vile
a thing. Judge is nineteen twenty four. Lord, I can't
(00:22):
thank you enough for the spirit of discernment. Like the Leevite,
give me the intuition and instincts necessary to know when
to stay at a place and when to leave the
company of people who would seek to distract me from
my mission or cause me harm in any way. From
(00:42):
this moment on, I have decided to follow your blueprint
from my life, Lord, and not deviate from the layout
or directions that you have given me. Help me to
realize that when I try to forge my own path
like the Leevite, I'll end up killing the very thing
that I have sacrificed time, effort, and energy to obtain. Therefore,
(01:06):
I declare that my ears are open to hear your voice. Lord.
I declare that my feet are firmly planted on your path. God,
And when others try to come and pry my promise
from my hands, I will stand boldly and confront my opponents,
(01:26):
knowing that you will give me strength to stand and fight.
Quicken my feet, Heavenly Father when I stray, so that
I can make it back to the place where the
wings of your grace can comfort and protect me. In
Jesus Name, Amen, Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your
(01:49):
relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by listening
to today's Bible in a Year, brought to you by
Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
The wickedness of the Benjamin tribe. In our last story,
we learned about the tribe of Dan stealing idols from
the house of Micah and their violent siege over an
innocent village. The tribe of Dan found a home at
the expense of others, and Israel continued to sin before God.
Now we learn about the journey of a young Levite
(02:28):
and his concubine. As they seek their own path away
from God, they fall victim to all sorts of dark evils,
as inspired by the Book of Judges.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
the Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode,
we heard the story of Micah's spiritual confusion and how
the tribe of Dan stole idols from the House of
Micah to place in their own places of worship in
a city they stole from innocent people. It was a
sign of Israel's moral bankruptcy in a time when each
(03:03):
person did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Yet
as God's people continued to drift further away from him,
God continued to wait for a time to rescue his children. Today,
we'll see that Israel continues its descent into wickedness, and
we'll hear another story of a man straying from God
to seek his own path, a leviede who will leave
(03:25):
his wife and journey with his concubine into dangerous territory,
both physically and spiritually. It's a story that's destined to
end in tragedy, of course, but let us not miss
the lesson that there is for all who will listen
and learn so less Here today's reading.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Israel continued its fall from the favor of God. The
days of parted seas and Mana falling from heaven were
long forgotten, and even the holiest of people did what
was right in their own eyes. Pursuing peace, blessing, and
kindness was a distant virtue. Now people wandered the land
without purpose. In those days, there was a certain levite
(04:08):
who was sojouring in the wilderness of Ephrium. This levite,
called to be a man who serves the people of God,
left his wife and took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem.
Together they traveled, but the woman was unfaithful to him
and traveled back to Bethlehem. Heart broken and love sick,
the levite traveled back to Bethlehem to win back his
(04:31):
concubine's affection. He brought gifts and wrote poems, and outside
her father's house he sought to serenade her. Her father
opened the door, overjoyed to see that the levite returned
for his daughter, He invited the levite to stay with
him for three days. The levite gladly accepted the invitation,
Yet there was a strangeness in the father's smile. A
(04:54):
lingering wickedness that was too subtle to spot clearly hovered
over the house. The levite ignored it, wanting only to
win back as concubine's heart, so he entered the father's
house and stayed for three days. The two men ate
drank in exchanged tales of their travels and exploits. The
wine continued to pour and the food continued to be cooked.
(05:18):
Time moved quickly, and on the fourth day, the levied
and his woman arose to leave. The father put his
hand on the levited's shoulder and smiled, Why don't you
stay for one last meal before you go? He said,
so the two of them ate together once again. Their
meal and conversation lasted hours, and the morning quickly turned
(05:39):
into dusk. The levit opened the door to depart and
looked at the horizon. He was surprised to see that
the night had come so quickly. The skies turned into
a deep red as the sun set against the bare sky.
It was an uneasy sunset, and it sent chills down
the levite's neck. Ah, what do you know, father said
(06:00):
from behind him. It is already sunset. You might as
well stay one more night. The levite was uneasy about
spending another night, but the father insisted, so he stayed
another night. On the fifth morning, the levite gathered as
things his woman and his servant, and the three of
them prepared to depart from the father's house. It was
(06:23):
still dark, but the girl's father had already been awake
tending to the fields. He shouted from a distance, saying,
strengthen your hearts. Stay and I will make you breakfast
until the sun arises. So the three of them remained.
Time seemed to move at a different pace. In that
dining room. Drinks flowed like a river into the Levite's cup,
(06:44):
and he found himself lost in a drunken stupor that
lasted all day. Slapping himself awake, the levite thanked the
girl's father and finally went off to depart, But the
sun had already begun its descent and day was almost over. Well,
there's no harm in spending the night again, the father said,
(07:04):
with a jolly grin. His rotted teeth could barely be
spotted underneath his white beard. First thing tomorrow morning, you
can all start your journey, he said. The levite peered
into his eyes, the uneasy chills overcame him again. The
levite nodded politely, and the woman's father left the room
to go prepare the beds. Then he took his concubine
(07:26):
and servant, and they made a mad dash for the door.
They saddled their donkeys and rode off. He would not
spend the night again, for he feared that it could
very well be his last if he did. The treer
traveled to Jibbes, which is now Jerusalem. The day was
nearly over and the sun was half way below the horizon.
The levite's servant said to him, let us descend into
(07:49):
the city of the Gebasites and spend the night. It
may become dangerous soon. The levite looked uneasy. He had
heard rumors of the Gebasites and was not sure if
he wanted to stay in their city, so they turned
away to Gibea as the sun set behind them. Gibea
belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and the Levite was
sure they could find lodging among God's people. However, they
(08:12):
had no such luck. The three of them knocked on
every door in the city, seeking a place to rest
their heads, yet each one turned them away. So the Levite,
his concubine, and his servant huddled in the courtyard in
the middle of the city. Alone and cold. They slept
without blankets or food to warm them. It was still
(08:32):
night and the Levite had finally fallen into a deep sleep.
His snores were interrupted by an old man poking at
him and his companions. The levite jolted awake and rose
to his feet. The old man backed away and gave
a nervous smile. What are you doing out here in
the middle of the night, he said, This place is
dangerous at night. We are traveling back to Ephriam, but
(08:56):
no one has taken us in to spend the night.
We have donkeys in need of straw and water, and
we are in need of food. The levite responded, hoping
desperately that the man.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Could help them.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Of course, the man said, I can care for all
your needs, just please do not spend the night out here.
There would be trouble awaiting you. The old man seemed
nervous as he led them back to his home. He
was constantly shining his torch into the alleys and peering
over his shoulder. Another uneasy feeling came over the levite,
and the four of them entered the house safely. The
(09:30):
four of them were warming themselves by the fire, laughing
and eating warm food. The old man's family came out
to join them, and they ate, drank and laughed with
one another. Their laughter was interrupted by a violent banging
on the man's door. The Levite looked towards the man,
and his face turned ghostly white. The man arose to
(09:50):
go answer the door and behold the men from the
city surrounded the entire house. The Levite could catch a
small glimpse of the men through the door. An ancient
wickedness could be seen in their eyes, the same wickedness
that tormented the hearts of Sodom and Gomorah long ago.
One of them stood at the entrance of the home
and pointed straight to the Levite. Bring out your petty, little,
(10:13):
levied old man. The words slithered out of his grinning mouth.
We would like to have our way with him, he said.
The Levite jumped to his feet and pressed his back
up against the wall. His eyes widened as he watched
the old man squirm near the door. Please, my brothers,
the old man trembled, do not do such a wicked thing.
(10:33):
These people are guests in my home. But the men
of the city craved the satisfaction of forcing themselves on
a young man. They had no regard for politeness or honor.
They wanted what they wanted, and they would take it forcibly.
For this was the state of Israel's heart. After they
turned away from God. The men began to enter the home,
(10:54):
but the old man stopped them, saying, no, no, behold,
here is my daughter. She is a virgin. And here
is the levite's concubine. She is very beautiful. Take them
and spare the Levite. The men seized the concubine and
drug her into the darkness. Violent screams and evil laughs
could be heard from the distance as the men have
(11:16):
used and raped her. It was truly a dark time
for Israel. What began as idle worship slowly transitioned into
a corruption that rivaled the wicked kingdoms of old. Dawn
began to break. The woman crawled out of the alleyway.
Her face was swollen from being beaten, and her clothes
were torn apart. Early alive, she slept on the doorstep
(11:38):
of the old man, waiting for the Levite to come
to her. The sun had fully risen, and the Levit
opened the door slowly to see if the coast was clear.
He found the woman on the floor and said, quick,
let us be going before they return. The woman was
silent and still. He shook her and said, there is
no time for delay. Get up and let's go, but
(12:00):
she still lay there, so the levite picked her up
and lay her on his donkey. The levite had finally
made it back to his home. He came to wake
up as concubine, only to realize that she was dead.
There she laid lifeless. The leevite boiled with anger and
blamed the men for killing her, even though it was
(12:20):
not just the men that slew her. His own cowardice
is what killed her. In a heart broken and shameful fury,
the levited took a knife and began tearing the woman's
body apart, limb by limb. He fillaied her and separated
her body. He tore her into twelve pieces and sent
her body throughout all the territory of Israel. Pieces of
(12:41):
her body hung for all of Israel to behold. Her
bloodied and hanging limbs represented the divided and corrupt hearts
of Israel. The land trembled, and God wept over their wickedness.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
We begin to day reading in the wilderness of Ephraim
with a nameless levite who is wandering with his concubine.
Concubines were considered legal wives of their husband, but were
afforded second class status, something that will be shown to
be true in a dramatic way. In this story. This Levite,
a man meant to be set apart to serve God
(13:21):
and his people, had departed from his wife and from
God's law and was living in darkness. It is a
darkness we see throughout this story. The fact that our
main character is not named seems fitting, as he represents
in many ways the wandering nation of Israel, who are
unrecognizable as God's chosen people. It's not long before the
(13:43):
Levite has a taste of betrayal himself, as his concubine
is unfaithful to him and returns to her father's home.
After he spent some time licking his wounds, the levite
went to win her back. He succeeds, and he and
his father in law begin to eat and drink together.
For three days, they did nothing but eat and drink
(14:03):
and be merry. His father in law kept insisting that
he stays, so he did another two nights. Then on
the fifth day, he took his servant and concubine, and finally,
late in the day departed. When it was nearly nighttime,
they found themselves near a city of foreigners Jebus, which
would later become Jerusalem. The Levite did not want to
(14:26):
stay there for fear of what the foreigners might do
to him, so he chose to go instead to Gibeath,
a city of the tribe of Benjamin. Sadly, the wickedness
he found there was even greater. Unable to find lodging
for the evening, his party set up camp in the
center of town, but an elderly man of the tribe
of Ephraim came to their aid, pleading for them to
(14:47):
stay in his home. He knew the evil that lurked
in the streets, and he feared for their lives. But
the evil in the streets soon came knocking. Judges nineteen,
verse twenty two says this worthless fellows surrounded the house,
beating on the door, and they said to the old man,
the master of the house, bring out the man who
came into your house, that we may know him. Worthless fellows,
(15:12):
for sure, how low could Israel go? As the sin
of Sodom ran rampant in the hearts of these Benjamin
night men. Rather than deliver the Levite, their host offered
his virgin daughter and the concubine. The Levite fearing for
his own safety and caring nothing for that of the
women he had sought out just five days before, gave
(15:32):
over the concubine to be beaten and rape brutally in
the streets. Meanwhile, he slept seemingly without a care in
the world. This story obviously shows us how deceitful and
wicked the human heart is. The Levite in these townspeople
paint a gruesome and awful picture of the evil that
people are capable of. The next morning, when the Levite
(15:55):
found the woman dead outside the door, he did not
mourn or offer her a proper burial. He carried her home,
desecrated her body, and sent pieces of her to each
of the twelve tribes. He wanted to rally the people
to deal with the men of Gibea. Instead, he would
set off a war in Israel. And that's what we'll
(16:16):
hear about the next time. Dear God, we know that
the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
That's clear in the scripture and is clear in experience. Lord,
we ask for repentance, that our nation would repent, that
we personally would repent of our sins, confessing our sins
(16:37):
that you might forgive us and pardon us. We praise
you that your son, Jesus Christ came to us to
die on the cross for our sins and to give
us eternal life. May we guard our hearts that we
might not turn back to sin in any way. In Jesus' name, Amen,
(16:57):
thank you for listening to today's Bible Year podcast. I'm
Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas, and you can download the
prey dot com app and make prayer the priority of
your life. It is our prayer that you would know
Jesus Christ in a personal way. Jesus and knowing him
is the key to understanding the Bible. Jesus is on
(17:19):
every page in the pathway of Scripture, so I pray
that you would know him and look to him for
eternal life. As we see all of these stories, some
of them very sordid, we realize just how desperately we
all need the Lord. So invite Christ into your life
and receive him as your Lord and savior. I would
(17:39):
also encourage you to download the pray dot com app
and let others know about this podcast and if you
want more resources on how to know God and experience
his presence in your life. Be sure to visit Jack
Graham dot org. God bless you
Let us pray. Behold, here is my daughter, a maiden,
and his concubine them. I will bring out now and
humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good
unto you, but unto this man. Do not so vile
a thing. Judge is nineteen twenty four. Lord, I can't
(00:22):
thank you enough for the spirit of discernment. Like the Leevite,
give me the intuition and instincts necessary to know when
to stay at a place and when to leave the
company of people who would seek to distract me from
my mission or cause me harm in any way. From
(00:42):
this moment on, I have decided to follow your blueprint
from my life, Lord, and not deviate from the layout
or directions that you have given me. Help me to
realize that when I try to forge my own path
like the Leevite, I'll end up killing the very thing
that I have sacrificed time, effort, and energy to obtain. Therefore,
(01:06):
I declare that my ears are open to hear your voice. Lord.
I declare that my feet are firmly planted on your path. God,
And when others try to come and pry my promise
from my hands, I will stand boldly and confront my opponents,
(01:26):
knowing that you will give me strength to stand and fight.
Quicken my feet, Heavenly Father when I stray, so that
I can make it back to the place where the
wings of your grace can comfort and protect me. In
Jesus Name, Amen, Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your
(01:49):
relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by listening
to today's Bible in a Year, brought to you by
Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
The wickedness of the Benjamin tribe. In our last story,
we learned about the tribe of Dan stealing idols from
the house of Micah and their violent siege over an
innocent village. The tribe of Dan found a home at
the expense of others, and Israel continued to sin before God.
Now we learn about the journey of a young Levite
(02:28):
and his concubine. As they seek their own path away
from God, they fall victim to all sorts of dark evils,
as inspired by the Book of Judges.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Hello, this is Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of
the Bible in a Year podcast. In our last episode,
we heard the story of Micah's spiritual confusion and how
the tribe of Dan stole idols from the House of
Micah to place in their own places of worship in
a city they stole from innocent people. It was a
sign of Israel's moral bankruptcy in a time when each
(03:03):
person did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Yet
as God's people continued to drift further away from him,
God continued to wait for a time to rescue his children. Today,
we'll see that Israel continues its descent into wickedness, and
we'll hear another story of a man straying from God
to seek his own path, a leviede who will leave
(03:25):
his wife and journey with his concubine into dangerous territory,
both physically and spiritually. It's a story that's destined to
end in tragedy, of course, but let us not miss
the lesson that there is for all who will listen
and learn so less Here today's reading.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Israel continued its fall from the favor of God. The
days of parted seas and Mana falling from heaven were
long forgotten, and even the holiest of people did what
was right in their own eyes. Pursuing peace, blessing, and
kindness was a distant virtue. Now people wandered the land
without purpose. In those days, there was a certain levite
(04:08):
who was sojouring in the wilderness of Ephrium. This levite,
called to be a man who serves the people of God,
left his wife and took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem.
Together they traveled, but the woman was unfaithful to him
and traveled back to Bethlehem. Heart broken and love sick,
the levite traveled back to Bethlehem to win back his
(04:31):
concubine's affection. He brought gifts and wrote poems, and outside
her father's house he sought to serenade her. Her father
opened the door, overjoyed to see that the levite returned
for his daughter, He invited the levite to stay with
him for three days. The levite gladly accepted the invitation,
Yet there was a strangeness in the father's smile. A
(04:54):
lingering wickedness that was too subtle to spot clearly hovered
over the house. The levite ignored it, wanting only to
win back as concubine's heart, so he entered the father's
house and stayed for three days. The two men ate
drank in exchanged tales of their travels and exploits. The
wine continued to pour and the food continued to be cooked.
(05:18):
Time moved quickly, and on the fourth day, the levied
and his woman arose to leave. The father put his
hand on the levited's shoulder and smiled, Why don't you
stay for one last meal before you go? He said,
so the two of them ate together once again. Their
meal and conversation lasted hours, and the morning quickly turned
(05:39):
into dusk. The levit opened the door to depart and
looked at the horizon. He was surprised to see that
the night had come so quickly. The skies turned into
a deep red as the sun set against the bare sky.
It was an uneasy sunset, and it sent chills down
the levite's neck. Ah, what do you know, father said
(06:00):
from behind him. It is already sunset. You might as
well stay one more night. The levite was uneasy about
spending another night, but the father insisted, so he stayed
another night. On the fifth morning, the levite gathered as
things his woman and his servant, and the three of
them prepared to depart from the father's house. It was
(06:23):
still dark, but the girl's father had already been awake
tending to the fields. He shouted from a distance, saying,
strengthen your hearts. Stay and I will make you breakfast
until the sun arises. So the three of them remained.
Time seemed to move at a different pace. In that
dining room. Drinks flowed like a river into the Levite's cup,
(06:44):
and he found himself lost in a drunken stupor that
lasted all day. Slapping himself awake, the levite thanked the
girl's father and finally went off to depart, But the
sun had already begun its descent and day was almost over. Well,
there's no harm in spending the night again, the father said,
(07:04):
with a jolly grin. His rotted teeth could barely be
spotted underneath his white beard. First thing tomorrow morning, you
can all start your journey, he said. The levite peered
into his eyes, the uneasy chills overcame him again. The
levite nodded politely, and the woman's father left the room
to go prepare the beds. Then he took his concubine
(07:26):
and servant, and they made a mad dash for the door.
They saddled their donkeys and rode off. He would not
spend the night again, for he feared that it could
very well be his last if he did. The treer
traveled to Jibbes, which is now Jerusalem. The day was
nearly over and the sun was half way below the horizon.
The levite's servant said to him, let us descend into
(07:49):
the city of the Gebasites and spend the night. It
may become dangerous soon. The levite looked uneasy. He had
heard rumors of the Gebasites and was not sure if
he wanted to stay in their city, so they turned
away to Gibea as the sun set behind them. Gibea
belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and the Levite was
sure they could find lodging among God's people. However, they
(08:12):
had no such luck. The three of them knocked on
every door in the city, seeking a place to rest
their heads, yet each one turned them away. So the Levite,
his concubine, and his servant huddled in the courtyard in
the middle of the city. Alone and cold. They slept
without blankets or food to warm them. It was still
(08:32):
night and the Levite had finally fallen into a deep sleep.
His snores were interrupted by an old man poking at
him and his companions. The levite jolted awake and rose
to his feet. The old man backed away and gave
a nervous smile. What are you doing out here in
the middle of the night, he said, This place is
dangerous at night. We are traveling back to Ephriam, but
(08:56):
no one has taken us in to spend the night.
We have donkeys in need of straw and water, and
we are in need of food. The levite responded, hoping
desperately that the man.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Could help them.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Of course, the man said, I can care for all
your needs, just please do not spend the night out here.
There would be trouble awaiting you. The old man seemed
nervous as he led them back to his home. He
was constantly shining his torch into the alleys and peering
over his shoulder. Another uneasy feeling came over the levite,
and the four of them entered the house safely. The
(09:30):
four of them were warming themselves by the fire, laughing
and eating warm food. The old man's family came out
to join them, and they ate, drank and laughed with
one another. Their laughter was interrupted by a violent banging
on the man's door. The Levite looked towards the man,
and his face turned ghostly white. The man arose to
(09:50):
go answer the door and behold the men from the
city surrounded the entire house. The Levite could catch a
small glimpse of the men through the door. An ancient
wickedness could be seen in their eyes, the same wickedness
that tormented the hearts of Sodom and Gomorah long ago.
One of them stood at the entrance of the home
and pointed straight to the Levite. Bring out your petty, little,
(10:13):
levied old man. The words slithered out of his grinning mouth.
We would like to have our way with him, he said.
The Levite jumped to his feet and pressed his back
up against the wall. His eyes widened as he watched
the old man squirm near the door. Please, my brothers,
the old man trembled, do not do such a wicked thing.
(10:33):
These people are guests in my home. But the men
of the city craved the satisfaction of forcing themselves on
a young man. They had no regard for politeness or honor.
They wanted what they wanted, and they would take it forcibly.
For this was the state of Israel's heart. After they
turned away from God. The men began to enter the home,
(10:54):
but the old man stopped them, saying, no, no, behold,
here is my daughter. She is a virgin. And here
is the levite's concubine. She is very beautiful. Take them
and spare the Levite. The men seized the concubine and
drug her into the darkness. Violent screams and evil laughs
could be heard from the distance as the men have
(11:16):
used and raped her. It was truly a dark time
for Israel. What began as idle worship slowly transitioned into
a corruption that rivaled the wicked kingdoms of old. Dawn
began to break. The woman crawled out of the alleyway.
Her face was swollen from being beaten, and her clothes
were torn apart. Early alive, she slept on the doorstep
(11:38):
of the old man, waiting for the Levite to come
to her. The sun had fully risen, and the Levit
opened the door slowly to see if the coast was clear.
He found the woman on the floor and said, quick,
let us be going before they return. The woman was
silent and still. He shook her and said, there is
no time for delay. Get up and let's go, but
(12:00):
she still lay there, so the levite picked her up
and lay her on his donkey. The levite had finally
made it back to his home. He came to wake
up as concubine, only to realize that she was dead.
There she laid lifeless. The leevite boiled with anger and
blamed the men for killing her, even though it was
(12:20):
not just the men that slew her. His own cowardice
is what killed her. In a heart broken and shameful fury,
the levited took a knife and began tearing the woman's
body apart, limb by limb. He fillaied her and separated
her body. He tore her into twelve pieces and sent
her body throughout all the territory of Israel. Pieces of
(12:41):
her body hung for all of Israel to behold. Her
bloodied and hanging limbs represented the divided and corrupt hearts
of Israel. The land trembled, and God wept over their wickedness.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
We begin to day reading in the wilderness of Ephraim
with a nameless levite who is wandering with his concubine.
Concubines were considered legal wives of their husband, but were
afforded second class status, something that will be shown to
be true in a dramatic way. In this story. This Levite,
a man meant to be set apart to serve God
(13:21):
and his people, had departed from his wife and from
God's law and was living in darkness. It is a
darkness we see throughout this story. The fact that our
main character is not named seems fitting, as he represents
in many ways the wandering nation of Israel, who are
unrecognizable as God's chosen people. It's not long before the
(13:43):
Levite has a taste of betrayal himself, as his concubine
is unfaithful to him and returns to her father's home.
After he spent some time licking his wounds, the levite
went to win her back. He succeeds, and he and
his father in law begin to eat and drink together.
For three days, they did nothing but eat and drink
(14:03):
and be merry. His father in law kept insisting that
he stays, so he did another two nights. Then on
the fifth day, he took his servant and concubine, and finally,
late in the day departed. When it was nearly nighttime,
they found themselves near a city of foreigners Jebus, which
would later become Jerusalem. The Levite did not want to
(14:26):
stay there for fear of what the foreigners might do
to him, so he chose to go instead to Gibeath,
a city of the tribe of Benjamin. Sadly, the wickedness
he found there was even greater. Unable to find lodging
for the evening, his party set up camp in the
center of town, but an elderly man of the tribe
of Ephraim came to their aid, pleading for them to
(14:47):
stay in his home. He knew the evil that lurked
in the streets, and he feared for their lives. But
the evil in the streets soon came knocking. Judges nineteen,
verse twenty two says this worthless fellows surrounded the house,
beating on the door, and they said to the old man,
the master of the house, bring out the man who
came into your house, that we may know him. Worthless fellows,
(15:12):
for sure, how low could Israel go? As the sin
of Sodom ran rampant in the hearts of these Benjamin
night men. Rather than deliver the Levite, their host offered
his virgin daughter and the concubine. The Levite fearing for
his own safety and caring nothing for that of the
women he had sought out just five days before, gave
(15:32):
over the concubine to be beaten and rape brutally in
the streets. Meanwhile, he slept seemingly without a care in
the world. This story obviously shows us how deceitful and
wicked the human heart is. The Levite in these townspeople
paint a gruesome and awful picture of the evil that
people are capable of. The next morning, when the Levite
(15:55):
found the woman dead outside the door, he did not
mourn or offer her a proper burial. He carried her home,
desecrated her body, and sent pieces of her to each
of the twelve tribes. He wanted to rally the people
to deal with the men of Gibea. Instead, he would
set off a war in Israel. And that's what we'll
(16:16):
hear about the next time. Dear God, we know that
the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
That's clear in the scripture and is clear in experience. Lord,
we ask for repentance, that our nation would repent, that
we personally would repent of our sins, confessing our sins
(16:37):
that you might forgive us and pardon us. We praise
you that your son, Jesus Christ came to us to
die on the cross for our sins and to give
us eternal life. May we guard our hearts that we
might not turn back to sin in any way. In Jesus' name, Amen,
(16:57):
thank you for listening to today's Bible Year podcast. I'm
Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas, and you can download the
prey dot com app and make prayer the priority of
your life. It is our prayer that you would know
Jesus Christ in a personal way. Jesus and knowing him
is the key to understanding the Bible. Jesus is on
(17:19):
every page in the pathway of Scripture, so I pray
that you would know him and look to him for
eternal life. As we see all of these stories, some
of them very sordid, we realize just how desperately we
all need the Lord. So invite Christ into your life
and receive him as your Lord and savior. I would
(17:39):
also encourage you to download the pray dot com app
and let others know about this podcast and if you
want more resources on how to know God and experience
his presence in your life. Be sure to visit Jack
Graham dot org. God bless you
Host
Jack Graham
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