Study the Word

Guest (Male): Things are bad today, but can it get any worse? Maybe you've wondered that. Join us as we study the word with Pastor Tom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Writes Charles Dickens, nearly over 150 years ago. You know, the same things could be written of our day. We've made tremendous advances on many fronts, to quote Thoreau, they are but improved means to an unimproved end.

Today on Study the Word, we visit the book of Judges. We're nearing the end of the book, and it'll serve as a necessary challenge to our sensibilities, moving us to action. We pick things up in chapter 19. And here's Pastor Thom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: We are in Judges chapter 19 this morning. And as you're turning to that, just an opening comment. Whenever I hear people say, and when I say whenever, I mean whenever. Whenever I hear people say, it can't get any worse, I think of this chapter in the Bible. It's been that way for years. I think of this chapter in the Bible because it can get worse. It can get worse. It can get like this. It can get like what we're going to read in chapter 19.

But I don't think it can get worse than that. So the question is as we read this story today, is how far behind are we as a society from where they fell to in chapter 19?

Pastor Thom Keller: This is an absolute low point in one of the absolute low points in the Bible. To me it is the low point. We have from Genesis to Noah, and you remember that the people were living in such sin at that point that God said that it was time to, he was sorry that he even made man, and he started over with the flood.

We then pick up after that with Abraham and that journey goes on all the way to Moses, and then Joshua, Joshua coming to the Promised Land, the beginning of that journey is a by Joshua is a very faithful journey.

Pastor Thom Keller: But we are at the end of Joshua's conquest. We're now at the end of Judges. And again, this represents to me one of the three low points in in in the Old Testament. The third then is when we pick up in First Samuel and that continues on until they're taken away into the Babylonian captivity. But this is a a low point.

Pastor Thom Keller: Let's pick up Judges 19 verse one. "Now in those days Israel had no king. There was a man from the tribe of Levi, living in a remote area of the hill country of Ephraim. One day he brought home a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine. But she was unfaithful to him and returned to her father's home in Bethlehem."

Pastor Thom Keller: We want to park here to just give a little bit of background on this. Again it says Israel had no king. That's important. We've made this point last week, but there's a distinction between what had been set up until chapter about 17, where it said that that Israel did did that which was evil in the eyes of God. And in chapter 17 and on, that changes to where it says there was no king in Israel and each man did that which was right in his own eyes. The idea again being that up until the end of Judges, they broke the laws, but they agreed that the laws they were breaking were being broken. From this point on, they now rewrite the laws and they do not subject themselves to the laws. It's a it's a very important distinction. As we look at where they were and where where cultures have been since that time.

Pastor Thom Keller: Also it says that he was a Levite. A Levite was a member of the priestly tribe of Levi. There were 12 tribes and Levi was one of those tribes. And out of that tribe, those those men were assigned the duties of caring for the temple. Some served as priests, some served as caretakers of the temple, but that tribe was assigned priestly duties in conjunction with the maintenance and care of the temple.

Pastor Thom Keller: Now it says that he's from the hill country of Ephraim. This is where this man lives. He takes a wife, a concubine, we'll talk about that, from Bethlehem. Now it says that she was a concubine. This woman was his concubine. A concubine was recognized as a man's legal partner, although she did not enjoy the same status as a wife, either in the home or by society. She did not enjoy the same status as a as a full wife would have enjoyed.

Pastor Thom Keller: In this sense, she was of sorts a legal a legal mistress. Abraham, Jacob, Caleb, Saul, David, Solomon had concubines. As you know, Solomon had over 300 concubines. And interesting, for those that have some background on this, a concubine was only betrothed. She was not married.

Pastor Thom Keller: And if you remember Jesus, when Jesus was born to Mary, when when Joseph put her away, they had not consummated the marriage. What happened is, when in Jewish marriage, you were engaged. Once you were engaged, you were then betrothed. And when you were betrothed, it was a legal contract. You were technically married, but you did not live together. And that went on for a year. You never consummated the marriage. After the year, they would then come together and live in the same house and consummate the marriage.

Pastor Thom Keller: But that's why it says that that Joseph was going to put her away, that he was going to give her a letter, a letter of divorce. People say, well, if if they then have sexual relationships, why would he have to give her a divorce? Because they were just in that first stage, they were betrothed. Technically they were married, but they had not consummated the marriage. That's the status that a concubine enjoyed. She was betrothed, but the second part of that, that that complete marriage, the completion of that marriage, legally never occurred. Obviously, it occurred through the act of sex, they consummated that, but legally, they were only in the first stage of that marriage.

Pastor Thom Keller: Also, as a result of this, she brought no dowry with her. And again, the way it worked in Jewish culture was that when a when a man took a wife, the man would have to give a large sum of money. It was almost equal to the price of a house to the girl's father. And it was really, it was an amount of money paid in advance in the event that he ever left her or divorced her, that there was a sum of money there that she could live off of. That the father could look to for the provision of his daughter who's now returned home.

Pastor Thom Keller: But in in the case of a concubine, there was no dowry paid. That was called a Ketuba, a marriage settlement. That was not in place with a concubine. She had no share in the government of the family. She could be repudiated or be sent away with a gift by her husband and her children. And if you remember, that actually happened with Abraham. Remember with Hagar and Ishmael, he sent them away into the wilderness. They could be sent away. He couldn't do that with children of a full wife, but he could with the children of a concubine.

Pastor Thom Keller: Concubines were generally taken by tribal chiefs, kings and other wealthy men. That's normally the the group that they fell to. And one other major other major difference between a concubine and a wife was that she did not need a bill of divorce to send her away because again, the marriage had never been completely consummated legally by the second stage of that marriage. So she could be sent away without a bill of divorce, as was Hagar. She was just simply sent away into the wilderness.

Pastor Thom Keller: And a concubine would generally be either one of the following: either a Hebrew girl sold by her father, probably through the process of debt. If you remember Jesus in Matthew 18 tells a story about a man who who owed a great debt. And the king brought him in and it says that he and his wife and children were put into debtors' prison until every cent could be paid. So in that story, it's obvious that the man and his wife and his children were sold into debtors' prison to pay for the debt that they owed.

Pastor Thom Keller: So a concubine could be a Hebrew girl that was sold into was indentured through the debt. That this man now bought her out of that debt and took her as a concubine. It could be a Gentile captive taken in war. It could be a foreign slave which was purchased, which would be unrecognized by the Jews, or a Canaanite woman, slave or free, which again was prohibited, completely prohibited.

Pastor Thom Keller: So, she was a, this woman that he took was a concubine. Also, one little aside, if you ever wonder about this, in general, early age was advocated by the Jewish leaders. The Talmud says that the the ideal age for a male to be married was 18. That a male should be married by the time he's 18. For a female, it was 12 and a half.

Pastor Thom Keller: 12 and a half. That was the ideal age. And also of interest, just keep this in your in your mind as you you read the other stories in the Bible, great differences in ages was was seen as a big no-no. It was not suggested that there would be great differences in ages of men and women when they married. There are stories, of course, where that happened. Ruth and Boaz, we're going there. That's one of those instances, but generally, it was seen as kind of an evil thing to do to a woman to marry her off to an older man, a much older man.

Pastor Thom Keller: And then one other piece in with this is the Talmud law said that should a woman should a woman commit adultery, it's said the law said that the woman must be divorced. That's what the law said, that she must be divorced. Now, of course, you know, people didn't always do what the law said. But I'm glad that we live under a different code today, where in any instance, we're to offer forgiveness and work to be reconciled.

Pastor Thom Keller: So, they're they're living up in this area in the hill country of Ephraim. She commits adultery, she flees down to Bethlehem, and she's living there with her father. And this man wants her back. Her husband wants to bring her back.

Pastor Thom Keller: So, let's let's pick up there in the middle part of verse two. "After about four months, her husband took a servant and an extra donkey to Bethlehem to persuade her to come back. When he arrived at her father's house, she took him inside, and her father welcomed him." They're they're reconciling as you can see. "Her father urged him to stay a while, so he stayed three days, eating, drinking and sleeping there. On the fourth day, the man was up early, ready to leave, but the woman's father said, 'Have something to eat before you go.' So the two of them sat down together and had something to eat and drink. Then the woman's father said, 'Please stay the night and enjoy yourself.'"

Pastor Thom Keller: "The man got up to leave, but his father-in-law kept urging him to say, 'Stay,' so finally he gave in and stayed the night. On the morning of the fifth day, he was up early again, ready to leave. And again, the woman's father said, 'Have something to eat. Then you can leave sometime this afternoon.' So they had another day of feasting." This father-in-law did not want to let go of his daughter is the way it would appear.

Pastor Thom Keller: "That afternoon, as he and his concubine and servant were preparing to leave, his father-in-law said, 'Look, it's getting late. Stay the night and enjoy yourself. Tomorrow you can get up early and be on your way.' Verse 10, but this time the man was determined to leave. So he took his two saddle donkeys and his concubine and headed in the direction of Jebus, that is Jerusalem. It was late in the day when they reached Jebus, or Jerusalem, and the man's servant said to him, 'It's getting too late to travel. Let's stay in this Jebusite city tonight.'"

Pastor Thom Keller: He goes to persuade her to come back. The Hebrew says that he speaks kindly to her to her heart. So he spoke kind words to her heart to convince her to come back with him. They go on the fourth day, he plans, he wants to leave on the third day, he doesn't, they extended to the fourth day, he doesn't, they extended to the fifth day. He wants to be up early. The father-in-law continues the festivities and later on in the fifth day, they actually begin their journey.

Pastor Thom Keller: Verse 12. "He says, 'Let's stay in this Jebusite city tonight.' No, the master said, 'We can't stay in this foreign city. There are no Israelites.'" And again, at this point, Jerusalem is not a Jewish settlement. They haven't taken this city. So he's saying, "We can't stay in a foreign city. We can't stay in an ungodly city. We will go to Gibeah. We will find a place to spend the night in either Gibeah or Rama."

Pastor Thom Keller: "So they went on. The sun was setting as they came to Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin. So they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in the town square, but no one took them in for the night." Gibeah is a Levitical city, a city of the priests. Verse 16.

Pastor Thom Keller: "That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was in the hill country, he was from the hill country of Ephraim." Where was this man from? The man who had the concubine? From the hill country of Ephraim, right? He's from this area, and so this man and his wife are in this town. They're resting in the town square. No one took them in. They come into the city. They wanted to stop in Jerusalem, but he says, "We can't go there because it's a it's it's a godless city. Let's go to a city where it's it's a Jewish settlement, where we can feel safe and protected because it's it's our people."

Pastor Thom Keller: "Let's go on to Gibeah and we'll stay there." They go into Gibeah, no one no one takes them in. They go into the city. No one greets them, no one affords them any hospitality. And as a result, they go into the town square, and they plan to spend the night there at in the town square.

Pastor Thom Keller: So, in the evening an old man comes in from the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. When he saw the travelers sitting in the town square, he asked them where they were going and where they where they were from and where they were going. "We've been in Bethlehem in Judah," the man replied. "We are on our way home to the hill country of Ephraim. And we are going to the tabernacle of the Lord." They're going to Shiloh.

Pastor Thom Keller: "But no one has taken us in for the night. Even though we have everything we need. We have straw and fodder for our donkeys and plenty of bread and wine for ourselves. 'You are welcome to stay with me,' the old man said. 'I'll give you anything you want, anything you might need. But whatever you do,' this is prophetic, 'but whatever you do, don't spend the night in the square.' So he took them home with him and fed their donkeys. After they washed their feet, they had supper together."

Pastor Thom Keller: Verse 22. "While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and shouting to the old man, 'Bring the man who is staying with you. Bring out the man who is staying with you so that we can have sex with him.'"

Pastor Thom Keller: Now, in the in the Hebrew here it's referred to as sons of Belial. Sons of Belial, these men of the city are referred to as sons of Belial. And the term is used as a proper name. When you see sons of Belial, it's sons of sons of Belial or daughters of Belial, it signifies a very, very wicked person. In the New Testament, it is identified when the word Belial is used in the New Testament. It is identified with a very personification of all evil, even synonymous with Satan.

Pastor Thom Keller: So, when it says sons of Belial came upon them in the city, these were incredibly wicked, vile men, even reflecting the nature of Satan. That bad. It says that they beat at the door. The verb used for to beat at the door indicates that there was an increasingly loud pounding on the door.

Pastor Thom Keller: G.R. Driver the translator says, translates it this way. "The ruffians were dashing themselves against, hurling themselves against the door in an attempt to break it down." It describes their reason for wanting to break the door down as the exact same reason that is given in Genesis 19, the story of Lot and it's Sodomy. That they wanted to sodomize this man. They wanted to rape him, the men of the city.

Pastor Thom Keller: But don't miss a point. And this is a huge point. In case you think this is just another story like the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, remember Sodom and Gomorrah was a godless city. It had nothing to do with people trying to live under the code of God's law. This is a Jewish settlement. This would be like that this happens within the Christian community.

Pastor Thom Keller: It's a very, very different story than the story of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the underlying uh uh supposedly belief system of the people of this city and what an incredible betrayal it is. This is happening within the community of faith.

Pastor Thom Keller: So the old man, the servant, the woman, the concubine, his wife, they're in this house. These men of the city are beating on the door. They're pounding on the door, making demands. They want this man. Verse 23. "The old man stepped outside to talk to them, 'No, my brothers, don't do such an evil thing. For this man is my guest, and such a thing would be shameful. Here, take my virgin daughter and this man's concubine. I will bring them out to you. You can do whatever you like to them. But don't do such a shameful thing to this man.'"

Pastor Thom Keller: "But they wouldn't listen to him. Then the Levite took his concubine and pushed her out the door. The men of the town abused her all night, taking turns raping her until morning. Finally at dawn they let her go. At daybreak, the woman returned to the house where her husband was staying. She collapsed at the door of the house and lay there until it was light."

Pastor Thom Keller: This old man pleads with them. "Please don't do this wicked deed." He offers his virgin daughter and this man's concubine. Isn't it interesting when you think about it, that this man in this community, that this daughter would not have ever been raped by these men? When these men are so insistent to have this man. He's a guest one night. They see him in the in the corner. Can you imagine what this man and his and his concubine and the slave felt like being in in that town square, as these men of the city walked by them looking at them?

Pastor Thom Keller: Don't you think those looks would have been evident to them as they were in the square? Those kind of evil looks from people? As the sun's going down. Have you ever been in a place where you felt safe at daylight, but you knew as the sun went down, you had better get out of there? How many ever been in a setting like that? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. And I think that's what they were sensing. In this town square, the looks were just evil. How could they not be with men with these kinds of things in their heart, to such a degree of violence?

Pastor Thom Keller: Now this man offers his virgin daughter, and he also offers this man's concubine. He has no right to prostitute his daughter or this man's wife. There's no legal precedence. There's there's there's no there's not a single thing you can turn to and say, well, because of this, he did that. In all probability, he was he was terrified, he was scared, and he's trying to come up with something to spare this man's life.

Pastor Thom Keller: Women held less of a standing in in in culture and society, and it was to some degree to this man, a lesser crime to have his daughter violated. And he offers them, but it was not what should have been done, obviously.

Pastor Thom Keller: You know, one can see why this concubine may have left her husband in the first place. Think about it. He sacrificed her to save his own skin. He pushes her out the door. And these men of the city, almost I think as just a way of showing disgust and hatred and anger at this man's refusal to give them the male guest. They abuse this woman until she dies.

Pastor Thom Keller: Also, it appears through the Hebrew that the men of the city were involved, were not just a lewd minority. It would look like it was the men of the city. The term that they knew her and in the Bible to know someone means many times to have sex. Where Adam knew his wife, they had they had sexual relationships. They knew her and they abused her in a shockingly vile manner, one after another, all night long until morning appeared. One translation says that the break of day when light dawned, they let her go.

Pastor Thom Keller: Commentator Gill says, there's being works of darkness, it would not bear the light. And when the light came to the day, they left her go.

Pastor Thom Keller: Her husband opens the door to find his wife at the threshold of the door, dead. One translation says that her fingernails were dug into the threshold of the door and she lay there dead.

Guest (Male): What a horrifying and heartbreaking experience the poor woman endured. It's shocking to us and yet these kinds of crimes still occur today. How can this be? How long will God bear with it? Will he not judge? How shall we respond?

Guest (Male): Well, with broken hearts, we'll explore those issues as we conclude the book of Judges next time on Study the Word with Pastor Tom Keller. And until then, let's keep studying the word. You can hear this study again by going to CCLEB.com. Visit CCLEB.com and have a look under resources. There you'll find our teaching archives.

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