The Levite from Ephraim
The Levite traveled from Ephraim to Bethlehem and convinced his concubine to come with him. They stopped for the night in Gibeah, a lawless town. The Levite was a coward, and when wildmen surrounded the house, rather than fighting, he offered his concubine. The next morning, they left. Then the Levite cut the woman into pieces and sent them throughout Israel.
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A LEVITE AND HIS CONCUBINE
The first sentence is a reminder that Israel had no king during this time.
A Levite took a concubine from Bethlehem but she was unfaithful and went back home. The Levite pursued her to her father's home. Her father liked him and pursuaded him to spend 5 nights in his home. On his way back home they passed Jerusalem. His servant wanted to stay there but the Levite indicated that staying in a non-Israelite town was out of the question.
They made it to an Israelite town named Gibeah, couldn't find a place to stay so they were going to spend the night in the town square. An old man from the Levites home town (but was living in Gibeah) saw him and invited him into his home for the evening. Well, we then see a replay of the scene from Sodom. "Wicked" men from the town surrounded the house and banged on the door and demanded that the old man turn the guest over to them for sex for the evening. The Levite offered his concubine to them and they raped her all night. Afterward she died on the old man's doorstep. He took her home, cut her into 12 pieces and sent them to the 12 tribes.
Notes indicate, again, that the Law had left Israel and everyone was doing as they pleased. There was only enough of their heritage to identify them as being Israelite but the traditions and practices of their faith was gone. This story shows that Israel behaved as any Canaanite town. It's ironic that the Levite wouldn't stay in a non-Israelite town since they were really all the same. It's also ironic that a man who wouldn't commit to marriage would take the interest in the nation to call them to alarm by sending the 12 dismembered pieces to the other tribes.
The point of this story is "shock value" to show how morally low Israel was at this time. I can see how this could happen today. Some of our churches and people who are Christian (in name only) are so far from God's Truth that a similar event could happen today. I know personally and have several friends who refuse to go to a church because of the hipocracy they see there (of course, the guilt of their own sin is surely another reason). We can be called to alarm by this story that we, our churches, and our faith be revived to a strong foundation God's written instructions, history, and heritage. That God would use this foundation to transform us to be an example of holiness and purity to those around us.
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