November 27
Judges 19
Today's Reading
Judges 19
Reflection
Pray: "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."
- 1
What do you learn about God (the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) from this chapter? His thoughts, ways, or actions toward us, as His creation? How can you respond to God in prayer and praise?
- 2
The events in this chapter will spark the civil war that appears in the next chapter. In verse 1, we see the same phrase that began chapter 18. What is the phrase? When Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land, the Lord designated cities for the Levites to dwell since they would not have a territory for their own. In verses 1-9, where do we find the Levite living? What did he take for himself? How long did it take for the Levite to go after his concubine? Note: The girl's father was displaying generous hospitality, which was customary for the culture.
- 3
According to verses 10-15, when the Levite, concubine, and his entourage left, why did they not stop at the city of Jebus? Note: The Jebusites were part of the native Canaanite tribes. When they arrived at Gibeah, why did they end up at the city square?
- 4
According to verse 16, we meet a man from Ephraim who was temporarily staying in Gibeah. We also learned that the city of Gibeah was a Benjamite city, one of the tribes of Israel. In verses 17-21, why does the man invite the Levite and his entourage to come to his home?
- 5
In verses 22-26, who came to the man's home, what are they called, and what did they want? How does the master of the house describe what the men of the city want to do? What does the master of the house offer? How do the men of the city end up with the Levite's concubine, and how do they treat her?
- 6
In verses 27-30, what happened to the Levite's concubine? How did this impact all who saw it?
- 7
Ponder: This chapter was hard to read. The level of depravity on display sickens the soul. We see the sin of abuse, homosexuality, lust, torture, and an utter disregard for God's laws. This is the second time we see the men of a city act this way. In Genesis 19:1-11, we see an eerily similar situation where Lot offered his virgin daughters to the men of Sodom who wanted to have relations with the men Lot was protecting. However, the men of Sodom were most likely Canaanites who did not know the Lord, while the men of Gibeah were Israelites of the tribe of Benjamin. This chapter highlights the level of depravity Israel had fallen into. Not only did they not have a human king like the nations around them, but they had rejected the all-powerful and perfect God-King who loved them. This solemn chapter sadly reminds me a lot of our culture today. If you have time, read Romans 1:18-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. We need Jesus! How does this lead you to pray for our culture?