“And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.” Judges 19:1 (NKJV)
Remember that the Levites were to be the priests for the nation of Israel. Yet this Levite in direct disobedience to the commandments of God took a concubine – mistress, someone who provided sexual favors for someone important.
Through deceptive trickery the woman and her father delayed the Levite from traveling to his intended destination for five days and nights. Late in the afternoon of the 5th day the Levite and his concubine and a servant set out. They didn’t reach a safe location before nightfall. When they got to Gibeah they could find no place to stay for the night.
An older gentleman saw them at the town square and invited them to come to his home. Perverted men of the city pounded on the door of the old man’s house and demanded that the Levite be brought out to them for impure sexual acts. The old man offered instead that the old man’s virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine be sent out to them.
The men didn’t agree with the old man’s plan. So the Levite sent out his concubine and the men abused her all night long. She died at the doorstep of the house where the Levite was staying. When the Levite saw her and realized that she was dead, he took her on his donkey to his home and then took a knife and cut her up into 12 pieces and sent the pieces throughout Israel.
What a gruesome story! What can I learn from the woman – the concubine? She was powerless in this story. The men in the story had all of the power and used it against her. There are times when each of us may feel powerless against wrongs being done to us or our loved ones. This story doesn’t have a happy ending, but our story can have a very happy ending. You see, in my life there are lots of times when situations arise where I can’t achieve a good ending on my own. But I have a God who is all powerful, all knowing, and all forgiving. All I need to do is to choose to let God do for me what I can’t do for myself.
Listen as Unspoken sings “God Help Me“
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 1/30/25, 5:00 pm