Journey Thru The Bible! (Judges 19-21)

Click on the Scripture above to read today's text!

One of the saddest commentaries on the life of Israel is the story you read in today's text! God was right! He told the Israelites explicitly that if they didn't completely wipe out the entire land of the pagan people (who had gone completely wild and wicked in their sinfulness), that these same pagan people would eventually infuse their doctrine and lifestyle upon them. And, that's exactly what happened to the Benjamities in the hill country of Gibeah!

A number of the Benjamite men had turned into vicious homosexuals! They were rabid in their thinking! They not only wanted to have sex with the visiting Levite, but they wanted to abuse him completely. Since they couldn't get him, they abused his wife to death.

To gain the attention of other Israelites (and it worked!), he cut up his wife into pieces and sent them to the leaders of the other tribes. This crazy act of mutilation grabbed the attention it needed and stirred the Israelite army to descend upon the Benjamites.

This sad story brings several things to mind:

1) Without leadership, people tend to be unrestrained! It says at the beginning of chapter 19 and at the end of chapter 21 that the Israelites had no leadership or king, and they simply resorted to doing "what was right in their own eyes." That's never a good thing! People tend to become unrestrained without some form of leadership. Jesus knew this fact! In Matthew 9, He says that He looked upon Israel "as a sheep having no shepherd." In other words, there was no one who could provide them with accountability, focus, direction, and boundaries! Everyone needs to be held accountable. Everyone needs direction and focus. That's what leaders do! They provide that for people.

2) We're often suprised by how cruel our Christian brothers and sisters can be! It's interesting to note that the Levite's servant suggested they stay in the city of Jebus (Jerusalem), which at that time was occupied by the Jebusites - a group of people the Israelites could not force out due to an alleged pre-arranged document that Abraham made with the elders of the city when he was purchasing the Cave of Machpelah for the burial of Sarah, his wife. But the Levite was afraid to do so! He felt safer to keep going until they got to Gibeah - after all, the people of Gibeah were his kin, the children of Benjamin! They would certainly love him and take them in for the night.

Oh...if only they had stayed at Jebus! Little did he know how wicked the Benjamite men had become! They ended up killing his wife, and nearly killed him!

How often we are surprised by our fellow Christians who do things that hurt us! We anticipate love, and we get rejection. We expect hospitality, and we receive pain. And, especially today, we see many Christians compromising their walk with God with a stroll with the world!

There are many who call themselves "believers", yet live just like the world. So much so, that if you could ask their friends about their love for God, many would be surprised.

3) Something MUST be done against sins that pollute the land! The Bible says that "righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is reproach to any people." God told the Israelites BEFORE they went into the Promised Land to wipe out all the pagan people who willingly refused to leave lest they eventually infuse their wicked lifestyle upon them and spiritually corrupt the entire nation of Israel! God warned them of "polluting" the land with sin! Now, it's happened! The Benjamites, while not all of them were homosexuals, protected those who practiced homosexuality. What Israel did was right! They needed to cleanse the land of defilement before the eyes of the Lord!

We must do the same thing today! That's why it's so important that we Christians GET INVOLVED in attacking sinful institutions, sinful laws, injustices, wicked practices, and corruption at every level! If we don't do it, no one will!

Well, those are my thoughts for today. What are yours? May the Lord give you a wonderful day!