Judges 19:1-15. Now we come to a second story about everyday life during the time of the Judges. Though I hope this isn’t every day. First of all, although this story involves a Levite who is living in Ephraimite territory (you know where Micah lived with his Levite), and although this Levite sends to Bethlehem for a wife (You know the same place Micah’s Levite was from), this is probably not the same guy. Although this story is included at the end of the book of Judges there is some evidence that it ocurred at the beginning of the period of time when the Judges ruled. Later in the story a priest is involved who’s name is Phinehas. He is identified as Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron who was Moses brother. In Joshua 22 and 24 there is a Phinehas who is described the same way. He lived in the generation after Joshua, the time of the beginning of the book of Judges. These could be two different Phinehas’s and one of the references to “son of” could mean something other than the next generation but the book of Judges is not a timeline it’s about people turning away from God. Also in the story we finished yesterday worship of God was in a town called Shiloh. When Phinehas is mentioned worship is in Bethel. Theses towns are about 9 miles apart. So the two Levites are probably not the same guy.
The first thing that came to mind when I read this story was how it sounded like the story of Rebekak in Genesis 24 or maybe Jacob in Genesis 29-30 (See “The Old Testament Connection”). Those stories were about the beginnings of the nation of Israel and may have should have brought good memories to mind. On the surface the story has a sort of happy plot. Man gets a wife. Wife gets mad (Although most translations say she “played the harlot” a very old Greek translation in use in the time of Jesus says she was angry. The difference in Hebrew is one dot like a period which easily could have been obscure on the manuscript leading to the mistranslation of prostitution. Also if she had cheated on him the action in the story seems unlikely. A concubine was a secondary and second class wife so he probably would not have followed her and brought her back, especially the way he did.) So she was mad and left and went home to daddy. Four months later husband goes looking for her and “speaks from his heart” to her. son-in-law meets Dad-in law. Three day party. Dad doesn’t want them to leave. A fourth party day. A fifth party day but this time the Levite insist on leaving and they got as far as Jebus (Jerusalem). Night begins to fall but the Levite does not want to stay in a city with foreigners so they press on until they come to an Israelite city. Gibeah in Benjamin’s territory. They stop for the night in the city square.
The reading today ends on sort of an ominous note. It would be customary for the Israeiltes to show hospitality to someone who was traveling through (In fact verses like Deuteronomy 10:19; Leviticus 19:3-34 kind of demand that you take in travelers. See also Hebrews 13:2). Verses 15 even has this tone, “for no one took them into their house to spend the night.” Even the fact that night was falling can start to turn the tone of the story. It’s usually not good in the Bible when night falls. So a reader familiar with the Old Testament might have hope as the story starts out but slowly begin to feel doubt as the reading continues. tomorrow our fears will be realized in the worst possible ways.
The story has darkness even before the darkness falls though. First of all we have a Levite In the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim. In the context of Judges the last Levite in E[hraimite territory didn’t do so good spiritually. And Levites were supposed to be serving the nation not hiding out in the hills. Second he has a concubine. That term usually refers to a second wife who isn’t really a wife, she is sort of a mistress, a girlfriend besides the wife. Concubines were not treated as well as wives and usually had no inheritance. Not to mention that the relationship amounted to adultery. We have no mention of another wife in this story and it seems the Levite may not have had one which makes calling the girl a concubine even worse. s I said above she was a secondary wife and second class too. Then there is the cheating. Although there is a possibility that she was just mad she may have cheated on him too (although how you cheat on someone who is using you to cheat on their wife I don’t know). In either case it seems she is mad and lashing out, the original “Desperate Housewife”. I guess “Big Love” is a myth. Polygamy doesn’t work. One man, one woman, God’s way works best (See “The Old Testament Connection” and “What’s in a Name”). And of course it ends with them siting in the town of their fellow countrymen with no one inviting them in for the night. If you think it’s bad wait till tomorrow.
Today though we need to think about what we have read. Do we look at relationships for what we can get out of them? Are we running around doing things our own way? Are we avoiding the things God wants us to do? Are our lives all about the things that make us happy and feel good? We need to be careful to see what God want us to do, where God wants us to go. We certainly don’t want to be out in the dark without God. Lord keep me in touch with you. Help me see what you want me to do. Help me be faithful to that. Help me not be driven by my pleasures. And help me not look out just for my own self but for others too.