The Chapter-A-Day thread. (2)

[brinny]

Re: Chapter 18:

Where to start? The Danites didn't claim their inheritance as they were admonished to by God, so now they're looking for a land to "invade"? (They didn't "believe" God, that He had ALREADY conquered and given their land to them, so they did not obey Him or fear Him) That's outrageous enough, but now, later, they're going to "invade" a city?

Then they come to the house of Micah, and in essence, threaten Micah's "hired" priest (he was a priest-for-hire, and willing to go with the highest bidder) and threaten this priest to keep quiet and come with them, and he gladly did, because it would "benefit" him monetarily and in "status" to be a priest over the 600 men and their households...

Soooooo the "priest" and the 600 take Micah's idols and graven images and Micah confronts them, but then backs down, and returns to his house in defeat.

What a sad and tragic this whole scenerio is.....the Danites invade and smite a city and burn it and set up a whole system of idolatry in the "promised land".

 

[BlessedDisciple]

The Book of Judges is such a sad testimony of the chaos, darkness and destruction that are released in our lives when we take the wheel back from God and think we can drive better than He can.

 

[brinny]

An excellent comparison, brother....

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

The Book of Judges is such a sad testimony of the chaos, darkness and destruction that are released in our lives when we take the wheel back from God and think we can drive better than He can.

Sondog if your think that Judges 18 was a dark chapter in the history of the Israelis. then just wait till you read the next chapter it will take your breath away with its darkness.

Judges 19

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Judges 19

A man is entertaining some visitors when the Benjamites knocked on his front door. Bring out that man that we might know him they say. The man refused and offered his virgin daugher instead.

The Benjaminits were not at all interested in the daughter. So the visitor pushed out his concubine into the mob and they had rough sex with her all night. The ordeal killed the woman. The Benjamites left her dead body on the doorstep.

The next day the man took his dead concubine home. He then cut his concubine up into 12 pieces. He sent a piece of her body to each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and told them the story of what the Benjamites had done to his concubine.

Was the man right to push his concubine out into that rampant mob of Benjamites ?

 

[Shiny247]

Good Afternoon everyone.

 

[Shiny247]

A Levite and His Concubine

I am looking at A Levite Priest and his Concubine which is recorded in Judges chapter 19, verses 1-30. You can listen to a dramatised narration of A Levite and his Concubine, and read along as you listen, by clicking on the links at the bottom of the this post.

The Levite Priest's concubine had been unfaithful to him, and she returned home to her family. The Priest went to her family's home and persuaded her to give their relationship another go.

The Priest left with his concubine, on his way to the House of the LORD, to the hill country in Ephraim. When they reached Gibeah, an old man offered them board for the night.

All seemed well, until some wicked men pounded on their door, demanding the old man allow them to have sex with the Priest. The old man refused and said for them to take his virgin daughter, but they did not listen.

So the Priest gave them his concubine, and they raped her until dawn and she died.

We read in verse 12: "When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it was saying to one another: 'Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!'"

Listen to a dramatised narration of A Levite and his concubine here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/d...ed/niv/Judg.19

Read along from Judges Chapter 19 verses 1-30 as you listen to the narration:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage...6version=NIV

This story shows how some men behave, and it is hard to comprehend, if we are not presented with the evidence, that such acts of depravity, have, and still go on today.

 

[brinny]

Re: Chapter 19:

This is the most bizarre chapter i've ever read....

first, a certain Levite "takes a concubine" (isn't this a sin?) Later this woman is referred to as his wife, and it is said that she "played the harlot against him" and went away to her father's house and stayed 4 months....what is bogglin' my mind is....it could not mean that by simply going to her father's house, it meant she "played the harlot against him"...there must have been some occurrence that caused her to be defined as "whoring" BEFORE she went to her father's house and stayed 4 months:

verse 2: And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

So here in verse 3, this Levite is referred to as the concubine's "husband"...is she his wife or concubine?....is there a difference?:

verse 3: And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Later, this Levite has his wife/concubine with him and he is traveling, it gets late, and he's ready to "lodge" in the street, and an old man sees him, offers him his house for lodging. THEN lo and behold, there's a knock on his door.....does this sound familiar?:

verse 22: Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

And what about this?:

verse 23: And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

verse 24: Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.

Now here, it's the Levite who gave these men his concubine? (is it his concubine or his wife?) He KNEW what was gonna happen. Now look at the following verses...at daybreak, she's lying there, barely breathing, he tells her to just "get up" as she draws her last breath, and he puts her dead body on one of his asses, and leaves...THEN what happens is beyond description...he CUTS her into TWELVE pieces??!!! And then sends one of each piece to the twelve tribes? Was this done because she was seen as "property", and he is saying to the twelve tribes 'look what they did to my property'?

verse 25: But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

verse 26: Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.

verse 27: And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

verse 28: And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

verse 29: And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

Just a final thought or two....Jerusalem was being compared to Sodom and Gomorrah...this is how FAR from God they were and it highlights the depravity of the state they were in. In essence, Jerusalem had become another Sodom and Gomorrah.

Did'ja also notice a complete and utter absence of something in this entire chapter?

There was a complete and utter absence of God.

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Thank you Brinny for your comments.
You have worked very hard on this chapter 19

 

[brinny]

^ yer welcome, and thank you...i think i was sitting open-mouthed (speechless) and eyes big as saucers as i read all of it.....

i was floored......still am

 

[Shiny247]

Brinny, thank you for all the hard work you have put into sharing Judges 19 with us. I really do appreciate your efforts. What is really scary is: here in the UK our Government have sanctioned a depraved education for very small children, where they have to be taught about things which are totally against our Lord's word. It is becoming just like you have described, no mention of God. The Government want the very tiny children to be taught all about sex, and not the sanctity of marriage. We learn from this example in Judges just what happens to a nation that turns its back on the LORD.

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Re: Chapter 19:

This is the most bizarre chapter i've ever read....

first, a certain Levite "takes a concubine" (isn't this a sin?) Later this woman is referred to as his wife, and it is said that she "played the harlot against him" and went away to her father's house and stayed 4 months....what is bogglin' my mind is....it could not mean that by simply going to her father's house, it meant she "played the harlot against him"...there must have been some occurrence that caused her to be defined as "whoring" BEFORE she went to her father's house and stayed 4 months:

verse 2: And his concubine played the harlot against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

So here in verse 3, this Levite is referred to as the concubine's "husband"...is she his wife or concubine?....is there a difference?:

verse 3: And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

Later, this Levite has his wife/concubine with him and he is traveling, it gets late, and he's ready to "lodge" in the street, and an old man sees him, offers him his house for lodging. THEN lo and behold, there's a knock on his door.....does this sound familiar?:

verse 22: Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

And what about this?:

verse 23: And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

verse 24: Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.

Now here, it's the Levite who gave these men his concubine? (is it his concubine or his wife?) He KNEW what was gonna happen. Now look at the following verses...at daybreak, she's lying there, barely breathing, he tells her to just "get up" as she draws her last breath, and he puts her dead body on one of his asses, and leaves...THEN what happens is beyond description...he CUTS her into TWELVE pieces??!!! And then sends one of each piece to the twelve tribes? Was this done because she was seen as "property", and he is saying to the twelve tribes 'look what they did to my property'?

verse 25: But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

verse 26: Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.

verse 27: And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

verse 28: And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

verse 29: And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

Just a final thought or two....Jerusalem was being compared to Sodom and Gomorrah...this is how FAR from God they were and it highlights the depravity of the state they were in. In essence, Jerusalem had become another Sodom and Gomorrah.

Did'ja also notice a complete and utter absence of something in this entire chapter?

There was a complete and utter absence of God.

Judges Chapter 20

The Benjamites are punished for their evil deeds in Judges 20 and 21. The Benjamite army is destroyed and all their cities burnt. The tribe of Benjamin is almost wiped out. Only a very few soldiers escaped and hid in the hills. In order to keep the tribe of Benjamin from extinction, they had to be found new wives from elsewhere. None of the Benjamite women and children survived the ferocious slaughter.

This was the punishment that resulted from the violent sex attack on the concubine of the Levite. The mass sex attack on the concubine was so violent that it ended in her death.

Why do you think they thought it important that the tribe of Benjamin was not wiped out ?

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Judges 20

Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belail, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the chilren of Benjamin would not harken to their brethren the children of Isreal.

Judges 20 verse 13

Why did the children of Benjamin refuse to hand over the guilty men?

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Judges 20 verse 21 (First Attack on the Benjamites)

And the children of Benjamin came forth out Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day 22,000 men.

Judges 20 verse 25 (Second Attack on the Benjamites)

And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel 18,000 men.

Judges 20 verse 35 (Third Attack on the Benjamites)

And the Lord smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed the Benjamites that day 25,100 men.

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Judges 20

There were three attacks on the Benjamites. The first two attacks failed. In the two failed attacks the Israelites lost 40,000 men. Success came only in the third attack. It was during the third attack that success came to the children of Israel, and they won their victory over the Benjamites.

 

[agamemnonoftroy]

Judges 20

But 600 men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.

Judges 20 verse 47

The 600 men mentioned above that hid in rock Rimmon were all that remained of the tribe of Benjamin.

 

[brinny]

Brinny, thank you for all the hard work you have put into sharing Judges 19 with us. I really do appreciate your efforts. What is really scary is: here in the UK our Government have sanctioned a depraved education for very small children, where they have to be taught about things which are totally against our Lord's word. It is becoming just like you have described, no mention of God. The Government want the very tiny children to be taught all about sex, and not the sanctity of marriage. We learn from this example in Judges just what happens to a nation that turns its back on the LORD.

You are sooo welcome...i was sorta thinkin' out loud as i wrote my reactions to the bizarre-ness of it all.....it floored me....

it was like watching a movie where you sit on the edge of yer seat the entire time....

 

[brinny]

Judges Chapter 20

The Benjamites are punished for their evil deeds in Judges 20 and 21. The Benjamite army is destroyed and all their cities burnt. The tribe of Benjamin is almost wiped out. Only a very few soldiers escaped and hid in the hills. In order to keep the tribe of Benjamin from extinction, they had to be found new wives from elsewhere. None of the Benjamite women and children survived the ferocious slaughter.

This was the punishment that resulted from the violent sex attack on the concubine of the Levite. The mass sex attack on the concubine was so violent that it ended in her death.

Why do you think they thought it important that the tribe of Benjamin was not wiped out ?

The whole scenario was like a repeat of Sodom and Gomorrah with the bizarre twist of the woman being cut up in 12 pieces after she died from the multiple assaults on her.....gah!!!!

As far as why the entire tribe of Benjamin not being wiped out, it possibly was because God always preserves a remnant, and that's possibly what He was doing with this tribe.

 

[brinny]

Judges 20

Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belail, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the chilren of Benjamin would not harken to their brethren the children of Isreal.

Judges 20 verse 13

Why did the children of Benjamin refuse to hand over the guilty men?

Because they were just as evil as the guilty men?

 

[brinny]

Re: Judges 20:

Here we have it said again that the Levite was the husband of the woman who was killed, but he called her his concubine?

verse 4:

And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.

When the children of Israel went to the house of God, who spoke to God? All of them?

verse 18:

And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the Lord said, Judah shall go up first.

To be honest, i'm surprised that ANYONE communicated with God and that God responded.