Judges 19-21- The Moral and Final Downfall of a Nation

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

When a nation turns away from God, how can that nation prosper? Judges 19-21 serves as a grave warning today.

Introduction

In Judges 19, we will continue to see Israel fall deeper into corruption.  Once a nation begins to move away from the Lord, the next step to its downfall is inevitable–the loss of morality.  Let’s keep in mind that the events recorded in Judges 17-21 occurred not long after Joshua’s death and were part of the summary of Judges 1-2.

There are a few things that we will focus on as we conclude this study: 1.  Not consenting to and conforming to sinful living.  2. Being earnest in rebuke of sin, rather than trying to appease a sinner.  3. The spiritual leadership that is needed today.

Judges 19:1 – Sketchy Spiritual Leadership

This chapter of Judges follows another Levite who was staying in the mountains of Ephraim.  Judges 19:1 tells us that this Levite was staying in the mountains of Ephraim, where he had taken for himself a concubine, or a mistress.

So, right away, the opening of this chapter sets a questioning tone for us.  In our study of Judges 17-18, we saw a young Levite who had also made his way to the mountains of Ephraim, where he ended up living in a house of idolatry and conformed to sin.

If you’re wondering why those two Levites ended up in the mountains of Ephraim, I will remind you that the Levites didn’t have their own allotted land as they were set aside to serve the Lord in the tabernacle, and later in the temple.  However, in Numbers 35:1-8, Moses instructed the other tribes of Israel to give 48 cities to the Levites, for which the Levites could dwell.  

Joshua 21 lists the names of the Levitical cities, including Shechem with its common-land in the mountains of Ephraim, as a place the Levites could settle.  To be clear, those 48 Levitical cities were not cities that only the Levites could possess, but could dwell in amongst their brothers.

So, unlike the young Levite of Judges 17-18, this Levite had a place to dwell in.  However, Judges 19:1 did tell us that he had taken for himself a concubine, a mistress, who was from Bethlehem.  

Now, the Levite taking a concubine for himself could mean one or two things.  This Levite could have been married and had taken for himself a mistress.  Or, this Levite could have tried to take this mistress to be his wife.  Now, one would be considered lawful to do by the Mosaic Law, while the other wouldn’t have been lawful for a priest to do.

In Leviticus 21:7, God instructed that priests were not supposed to marry a harlot, or a defiled woman, nor were they supposed to marry a woman divorced from her husband.  While the scripture does not tell us that this Levite was a priest, he was of the priestly tribe where priests were chosen.  So if he had taken the concubine in marriage, this marriage would be considered unlawful.

Now, had he taken her as a mistress, Exodus 21:10 shows that concubines (or mistresses) had certain rights of protection within Mosaic Law.  However, concubines were not equal to wives.  So, if this Levite had simply taken the concubine as she was, to be his mistress, by law, he would have done what was lawful.   

In ancient times, men would take a concubine to guarantee there would be an heir to their possessions.  Wives would give their husbands a concubine in those times when they struggled with having children of their own.  So, concubines were essentially used as surrogates.

For example, in Abraham’s case, Sarah was considered barren until she was 90 years old.  She gave Hagar, her handmaiden, as a concubine to Abraham so that he would have an heir.  In their case, Sarah eventually regretted doing such a thing because she did give birth to Isaac, the son of promise, at an old age.

Jacob is another example of having concubines, though his was not exactly for the same reason as it was for Abraham.  Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel; his desire was to marry Rachel, but his father-in-law tricked him into marrying Leah first (Gen. 29:15-30).   

Leah was able to have children, but Rachel struggled to conceive.  Leah used being able to conceive a child against Rachel, which led to Rachel giving her maid as a concubine to Jacob.  Leah eventually did the same, and by the time Rachel did conceive and give Abraham sons, they were sons 11 and 12.

Now, there are certainly other cases shown to us in scripture where concubines weren’t used in such a manner, but rather, were treated unlawfully.  Take, for example, Solomon, who had 700 wives, with many of them being foreign.  Adding to the hundreds of wives, Solomon also had 300 concubines!  He certainly didn’t need that many wives or concubines to have an heir.  1 Kings 11:1-3 makes it clear that Solomon loved women and just had to have that many wives and concubines for himself.

Now, this Levite could have had a concubine because his wife may have struggled with conceiving and giving birth, but the scripture does not mention anything about a wife or her struggles.  So, we can only really look at the Levite having a concubine for what it is – awfully strange.  

As spiritual leaders, the last thing that ought to be said in judgment of our actions is that–awfully strange.  We can’t put others in a position to where they are questioning whether something we are doing is lawful or unlawful.  We are to present what one can clearly define as being obedient.

Personally, I believe that this Levite is doing something strange, conforming to the sin that others likely participated in, when he needed to be walking circumspectly.  When a spiritual is seen to be consenting and conforming to questionable activities, it only invites others to do likewise.  

Judges 19:2-21 – Chasing After Sin

Now, be sure to read the entirety of this passage because the concubine eventually went and did concubine things, playing the harlot, as we’re told in Judges 19:2.  

For his part, the Levite could and should have let the concubine go on her way, yet the Levite was infatuated with her.  Rather than letting his unlawful relationship go, as one should do when it comes to sin, the Levite chased after her.  Their story ends up with them, in Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, temporarily staying overnight in the home of an old man.

There are two choices one can make when it comes to sin: fight and flee from it, or make friends with it.  Should we make friends with sin?  Absolutely not.  One who chases after sin is doing nothing but opening up the door to a mighty fall.

James wrote that one should submit to God and resist the devil, stating, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded (Jas. 4:7-8).”

Judges 19:22-30 – Gibeah’s Immoral Wickedness

This passage of scripture just might be the most graphic scripture you will find in the Bible, outside of the crucifixion of Christ.  As the Levite and his concubine were lodged in the house of an old man in Gibeah, an event straight out of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah took place, as we will see that the Benjamite men had totally corrupted themselves.

In Sodom and Gomorrah, when the angels had come to Lot’s house, scripture tells us that the men of the city came beating on Lot’s doors, desiring to know them sexually (Gen. 19:1-11).  It was that kind of immorality that led to the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Well, in Gibeah, that same kind of spirit was found within the Benjamite men.  The men came beating on the door of the old man’s house with a desire to sexually know the Levite.  Instead of giving himself over to the immoral Benjamites, he gives his concubine, whom the Benjamites raped and sexually assaulted all night long while he slept until morning.  

Now, when the Levite woke the next morning to get her and go back home, he found her lying dead at the front door.  Then, in another graphic scene, he returned home, chopped the concubine into 12 pieces, and sent the pieces of her throughout Israel so that each tribe could see what the Benjamites had done.  

The people of Israel remarked, “No such deed has been done or seen from the day that the children of Israel came up from the land of Egypt until this day. Consider it, confer, and speak up (Judg. 19:30)!”

The Benjamites were spiritually bankrupt, and when one is spiritually bankrupt, they have no morals, no principles.  In Romans 1:28, Paul wrote that when one does not retain God’s way, the Lord will give them over to a debased (corrupt) mind to live immorally.  One who lives in such a manner make themselves enmity against God, and they will face judgment.

Seeing the immorality of the Benjamites, if I’m being honest, is rather sad.  Benjamin, if you don’t know or don’t remember, was the youngest son of Jacob (Israel).  Along with Joseph, Benjamin was very precious to Jacob.  Judah told Jacob that he would give his life to protect Benjamin when he and Benjamin went to Egypt to see Joseph, whom they didn’t recognize at that time (Gen. 43.1-9).

This honestly reminds me of how I felt about seeing the Ephraimites raise themselves to fight against the Gileadites, as the Gileadites were of Manasseh.  Seeing the house of Joseph fight is sad to see because Joseph was such a man of great faith – the man of dreams.  

That being said, we ourselves ought to live giving honor to Christ because He laid down His life for us.  We have to consider our ways and whether or not our way gives honor to Him.  I will always say of myself that I can and must do better, especially so that I do not fall back into that which Christ saved me from.

Judges 20 – Israel’s War With Benjamin

The wickedness in Gibeah stirred up all of Israel to stand and move against the Bejamites.  Judges 20:2 shows us that the eleven tribes combined together to amass a number of 400,000 foot soldiers to move against Benjamin, after listening to the Levite’s report of Benjamin’s wickedness.  The scripture even points out that the Danites, in their apostasy, even came down from the northernmost region to move against Benjamin.  So, you’ve really lost your way when the spiritually bankrupt Danites are moved to move against you.

On their part, the Benjamites put together an army of 26,000 men from their cities to add to the 700 inhabitants of Gibeah (Judg. 20:15-16).  The passage of scripture covers the three-day war, and for two days, the Benjamites held their own, killing 40,000 men of Israel. 

We should note that after each of those days, Israel would weep before the Lord, saying,  “Shall I again draw near for battle against the children of my brother Benjamin?”  There’s a reluctance Israel has for moving against its brother that was born out of love, so it seems.  However, the Lord would answer, saying, “Go up against him,” and on the final day, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”

There is a person of interest that I do want to point out, just to show you how close these people were to the generation of Joshua and Moses.  In Judges 1:28, the son of Eleazar, Phinehas, is mentioned.  Eleazar was Aaron’s son, the brother of Moses, which means Phinehas is the grandson of Aaron, and served as the high priest in those days.  So, these events, you should understand, happened in the earlier years of Israel’s stay in the Promised Land.

Now, on that final day of battle, 25,000 Benjamites fell, 600 fled, and then Israel struck down the children of Benjamin (Judg. 20:46).  Moreover, the other tribes set fire to all the cities of Bejmain, utterly destroying them.  So, later on in scripture, when we see Saul, a Benjamite, speak of how small his tribe and clan were, this is the reason why.

Some may wonder why God didn’t show the Benjamites any mercy.  Well, let me ask you this:  Did God show Sodom and Gomorrah any mercy?

Moreover, I want to reference Joshua’s warning to the people in his later days, which is found in Joshua 24:20.  Joshua warned, saying to them, “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.”

To this, the people responded to Joshua, saying, “No, but we will serve the Lord (Josh. 24:21)!”  They agreed to be a witness to their vow, and made a covenant with Joshua that day in Shechem to be faithful.  At the same time, they had made a vow to be faithful and serve God as well!  When one makes a vow, they better be faithful to keep that vow, as God does not suffer fools (Eccl. 5:4-5).

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, ‘Pastor, what about the Danites?  They were the ones living in apostasy, but God had not destroyed them?’  Well, their destruction was certain and would come in the form of the Assyrians, who ended up conquering the northern kingdom.

Now, to be clear, the Benjamites weren’t totally destroyed.  As mentioned, the first king of Israel, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.  The Benjamites would dwell along with Judah and the Levites, and would eventually endure the Babylonian captivity.  The apostle Paul was a Benjamite!  

Judges 21 – Corruption of Appeasing Sinners

As we move into the last chapter of Judges, we’ve seen that there was spiritual apostasy forming in the land.  We have seen moral corruption that was so grave that it caused brothers to move against and nearly wipe out another brother.

Judges 21 opens with the other tribes feeling remorse for having nearly wiped out the Benjamites.  Judges 21:2-3 tells us that Israel wept bitterly, asking the Lord, “Why has this come to pass in Israel, that today there should be one tribe missing in Israel?”

In their remorse, Israel sees a problem that it feels it must fix, rather than letting God resolve the matter (Judg. 21:4-7).  Keep in mind, God had instructed Israel to move against Benjamin.  God would have resolved this matter, but that is the problem with mankind – we desire to be in God’s role.  

For example, today, man believes he can bring peace to the world, when God has already given the world His only begotten Son and instructions for mankind to live by to flourish and prosper.  The Lord instructs us to repent from our sin and to in holiness–we should love and help uplift one another.  However, we refuse to keep God’s instructions, choosing to do our own thing, and in doing that, we make a mess of things.

Before you and I walked the earth, we have studied how Israel failed to take total possession of the Lord.  In their failure, God permitted the peoples of the land to remain, for the purpose of being a thorn to Israel (Judg. 2:1-4).  Today, wars are still fought in that land by a people who shouldn’t be confused with biblical/ancient Israel, as they try to claim to fulfil a promise that ancient Israel failed to keep.  When mankind moves in such a manner, the only thing we do is make a mess of things.  

In this chapter, we’ll see that Israel regrets nearly wiping out the Benjamites and sets out to get them wives so that the Benjamites could procreate.  The problem with wanting to get wives for the Benjamites is that all the tribes had agreed not to give their women in marriage to the Benjamites.  

So, to get wives for the Benjamites, we’ll see that Israel sent 12,000 valiant men to Jabesh Gilead to strike the people, including the women and children, because they had not come to Mizpah with all the tribes (Judg. 21:7-11).  This was violence for no reason, other than to appease themselves for the sins of Benjamin!  They then took 400 virgins they found in Jabesh Gilead and brought them to the camp at Shiloh (Judg. 21:12).

I do want to note that they were doing this wickedness outside of the Promised Land.  If you remember our studies of Jephthah, Jabesh Gilead was on the east side of Jordan, not in the Promised Land.  Does that make these events better?  No.  In fact, it makes it worse because it shows they knew what they were doing was wicked, and it worked perfectly for them, in their minds, that Jabesh Gilead was outside of the Promised Land. 

Then, after killing the people in Jabesh Gilead, Israel permitted the Benjaminites to wait in the vineyards of Shiloh to literally snatch up and take wives for themselves (Judg. 21:16-23).  They played politics to appease themselves for a wrong they had not done, but a wrong that Benjamin had done.  Think about this:  they appeased themselves by killing innocent people who chose not to take part in their get-together.

Spiritual apathy, moral corruption, and political corruption are how a nation falls.  These events are what eventually led to the roller coaster that is the Book of Judges, which eventually gave way to the people desiring a king.  While they did have a few prominent years under kings like David and Solomon, it didn’t work out for Israel.

Book of Judges in Retrospect

Throughout the Book of Judges, we have seen this cycle repeat itself for Israel:  Israel serves the Lord and is blessed; Israel does evil in the sight of God by turning from Him; Israel is enslaved/lives in oppression for an amount of time; Israel cries to God for help; God raises a judge to deliver Israel from enslavement/oppression; Israel returns to God and serves Him; the cycle repeats itself again.

There are many who like to view all of the judges as heroes of Israel, yet, we have seen otherwise.  Here is the list of all the judges recorded in the Book of Judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson.  (Shamgar I didn’t cover within this series of studies, but Judges 3:21 notes that he delivered Israel from the Philistines after killing 600 Philistines.) 

Of all of the judges of Israel, when I look at that list, I would say that five of them truly were ‘heroes’.  I would add Gideon to that list as well for his efforts against Midian, however, it was what he did afterwards that really hurts his case, in my eyes.  Other than that, many of those judges were self-serving and did little to nothing for Israel.  For example, Samson, with his anointed strength from God, served himself rather than deliver Israel from the Philistines.

What does that mean for all of us today?  Whether you realize it or not, the believer shares a great deal in common with the judges, in that we are supposed to be spiritual leaders.  Christ not only commissioned us with the assignment of ministering the good news of His salvation, He also encouraged us to be lights in the world.  In Mattehw 5:14-16, He encouraged us to be as a city that sits on a hill whose light cannot be hidden.

We are to set examples of godliness, and in that example, encourage others to live in a manner that uplifts.  When we heed God’s instructions, it can help others do the same, and rather than living in a land that drifts further away from God, we would dwell in a land that draws nearer to Him and flourishes.

The Book of Judges is to be studied today, to show us how to move as a spiritual leader, and what happens if we choose not to do so.  We’re living in a time of spiritual urgency, not a time to vacate the role of spiritual leadership to those who aren’t in fellowship with the Lord.  When that happens, we fail, and all of those around us fail as well.