Who Will We Follow?

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judg. 21:25 CSB)

Some passages in the Bible are difficult to read. Laws that seem to justify slavery and stories of daughters who sleep with their fathers (Gen. 19:30-38) aren’t my favorite, but the story in Judges 19-20 is rarely preached on. Nevertheless, I believe we can learn some important lessons from the bad choices in stories like this one.

One thing to note about this story is that we never learn anyone’s name. In Judges 19-21, we simply read about how the choices of an unidentified Levite caused the death of his concubine and started a civil war.

The Levites were the tribe God set apart as priests in Numbers 3. The Levite in Judges 19 took a concubine rather than a wife. Because the Old Testament is translated from Hebrew, there are times when the translation loses some context if we fail to consider the culture. Judges 19:2 is one of those sections to study more deeply, and it’s important to get a picture of the Levite’s character, which is explained well by Kim Dickson:

The Hebrew word indicating why she ran away has to do with prostitution or harlotry. However, the ancient Greek translation omits any reference to prostitution, saying she left angry or repulsed by the Levite. Pamela Tamarkin Reis bridges this difference by arguing that the Hebrew text is most naturally translated to say that the Levite was prostituting her. This understanding is consistent with the biblical documentation of ancient leadership and priestly involvement with temple prostitution. Examples can be found in the story of Judah, who assumed he had slept with a temple prostitute rather than his daughter-in-law Tamar (Gen. 38), as well as in the story of Eli’s priestly sons’ sexual use of women who served at the tent of meeting (1 Sam. 2:22–25). The Greek translation “repulsion” would be sympathetic to a young girl with the status of a slave rather than a wife; taken to be prostituted, she runs away in anger or disgust to her father’s house (emphasis mine).

The rest of the story seems to support Reis’s translation argument. First, the Levite took months to go to the concubine and then bought off her father to get her back. Second, the concubine isn’t eager to resume her life with the Levite. Every time he attempts to leave, she and her father try to persuade him to stay.

As the story continues, the Levite is referred to as the concubine’s master, and finally, we see that he is unconcerned about the mob who has taken his concubine to rape her.

Judges 19: 25-29 says,

But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her outside to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her Master was, until full daylight.

When her Master got up in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. And he said to her, “Get up and let’s go,” but there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey; and the man set out and went to his home.When he entered his house, he took a knife and seized his concubine, and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb. Then he sent her throughout the territory of Israel. (CSB)

The Levite finally shows some emotion after the concubine’s death—after the end of his income. So he cuts up her body and sends it to the twelve tribes, and in Judges 20, this vulgar action provides him with an opportunity to ask the tribes of Israel to help him seek revenge.

Judges 20:3-7 says,

And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?”So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.But the citizens of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night, threatening me. They intended to kill me; instead, they raped my concubine so that she died. And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed an outrageous sin and vile act in Israel.Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your response and advice here.” (CSB)

A Few Important Points to Note:

God has not been mentioned in the story or consulted during the decision-making process so far.
This is the first time the concubine is referred to as the “wife” of the Levite, and it is not by him.
The Levite’s summary in Judges 20 is very different from what we read in Judges 19.
Notice that the Levite doesn’t mention his role in causing her death, but puts the blame on everyone else for their poor choices, saying, “Behold all you sons of Israel.”
The sons of Benjamin prepared for battle while the other tribes gathered to discuss the Levite’s story (Judg. 20:3).

As civil war among the tribes begins, we finally see the Israelites pray, but let’s take a look at the prayer. Judges 20: 17-18 says, “The Israelites, apart from Benjamin, mobilized four hundred thousand armed men, every one an experienced warrior. They set out, went to Bethel, and inquired of God. The Israelites asked, “Who is to go first to fight for us against the Benjaminites?” (CSB).

The Israelites decided they were going to fight, and then they asked God who should start the battle. I wonder what would have happened if they inquired of God before going to war as David often did.

Sadly, the lessons learned from the poor choices as “everyone does what was right in his own eyes” don’t end here.

In Judges 21, the Israelites’ hearts elevate money over people as they regret holding the tribe of Benjamin responsible for defiling the concubine. Judges 21:17 says, “And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin so that a tribe will not be wiped out from Israel.”

The Israelites come up with a workaround to their decree. Two hundred Shiloh women suffer a fate similar to that of the concubine when they tell the men of Benjamin to abduct and rape them during the feast of the Lord.

It’s easy to read a story like this and suggest that nothing like this would ever happen today, yet I only need to spend ten minutes scrolling social media to find examples of men prioritizing money over women.

This story begins with a priest prostituting a woman rather than marrying her. He seeks revenge for his personal loss by lying to thousands of people. Do they believe him because of his position of authority? And likewise, do we unquestioningly believe leaders who mislead us today?

The Levite’s lie caused thousands to die, hundreds of additional women were defiled, and there is not a happy ending, just a final statement: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25 CSB).

The most important lesson we can learn from this story is that every day we have the choice to follow any king we choose. Will we follow money, power, personal preference, or the one true king, Jesus?

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.