Judges 19-20

These two chapters flow together, so I have journaled them in that pattern.  The story of Israel has been consistent throughout the book of Judges.  There is no king, meaning there is no leader, no mission and no purpose.  The nation of Israel was left to wander into what was right to each individual.  The decisions of this nation were horrible, sometimes disgusting.

Chapter 19 begins with a marital separation.  A concubine relationship was a marriage with less rights that a wife, which seems strange to me.  Marriage is best inside God’s design, one man and one woman.  Other types of marriage bring sin and chaos into homes and families.  The situation of chapter 19 is no different.  The Levite travels to his in-law’s home to make the relationship right.  He is met with days of resistance but finally leaves with his concubine.  After they ride off in the sunset, the account takes a horrible turn for the worse.

They find a town to rest overnight and are invited into an old man’s home.  Sin and evil prevail for the rest of the chapter.  Turning over a person that will knowingly be assaulted.  There is rape.  There is murder.  There is revenge.  There is tragedy over and over.  Chapter 19 ends with the concubine’s remains cut into twelve pieces and send to the tribes of Israel.

Chapter 20 begins with 400,000 armed men who might fix the situation through battle.  The attempt at eradicating a situation turned into a destructive disaster.  Thousands of people were killed over several days.  Towns were burned.  Relationships were severed.  Families were destroyed.

How do these chapters matter in our lives?

Remain faithful to your spouse.  The whole situation began from a marriage relationship that needed work and they separated.  The disaster that will follow because you chose not to remain faithful to your spouse will be very difficult to recover from.  In many cases, sin spirals and ripples into the rest of their lives.

Protect yourself and your family from intentional sin.  Many people died because one man chose not to protect his family from the effects of intentional sin.  You don’t know where sin will take you.  We think we can stop the effects, but we can’t.  Sin always takes us further than we intended.  Protect yourself and the ones you love.

Revenge is not the answer.  As I read chapter 20, I was reminded of the recent events in our country.  An election that was mocked.  An attack on our capital.  An impeachment.  It is always better to accept the natural results of sin and move on the best we are able than attempt to drag other people down a bad road.  I encourage you to press forward into the future instead of remaining angry about events in the past.

Your mission and purpose come from the king.  Personally, this has been a large theme.  When there was no king, people decided what was best for themselves.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

I don’t trust what I think is best for myself, nor should I.  My core is deceitful and so is yours.  

Our mission must come from one who is not deceitful and can be trusted.  That one is the King of kings, Jesus Christ.

Press forward into your relationship with Jesus Christ and press into the mission he has for you.