Immorality in Israel

 

1)      The 19^th chapter of Judges opens with these words:  “Now in those days Israel had no king.”

a)      In these few words the writer tells us quite a bit about what Israel was like during this time period.

b)      There was no centralized authority (the government was in a shambles).

c)      Anarchy and injustice described the state of the nation.

d)     This chapter gives us a very specific example about how bad things were.

e)      Today we want to study this example.

 

2)      By this time the nation of Israel had been divided into the various tribes.

3)      In the latter part of verse 1 we find there was a man from the tribe of Levi living in some hill country.

4)      The end of this verse says he took a “concubine” from Bethlehem.

5)      “Concubine” can be explained pretty well by dividing the word into its various parts.

a)      The first part of the word comes from the Latin prefix (com) which means “with.”

b)      The remaining part of the term comes from “a Latin word (cubara ) meaning “lie down.”.

c)      A concubine was a woman who lived with a man in a relationship similar to marriage.

d)     She would not, however, have the “full status” of a wife.

e)      She would have a “lesser status” in the household.

f)       Men often took concubines to show their wealth and social status.

g)      Today a man might show off by the number of cars he has.

h)      He might point to how many trophies he has received, or appeal to a special collection.

i)        In the past men did this same type of thing with women.  In some countries it still happens.

j)        China is one example.

 

6)      The concubine described in this chapter became dissatisfied and left – verse 2 – READ

7)      This lady was away for a long time – about 120 days.  She went back to her parents’ home.

8)      Finally the man who I am going to refer to as the husband went to see his companion.

a)      In verses 3-4 we learn the woman’s father was glad to see him.

b)      In fact, the woman’s father invited the husband to stay for a few days.

 

9)      After a little time the wife was ready to go back to her husband.

10)  Her father delayed the trip a bit, encouraging them to stay, but finally everyone was ready to go.

11)  The husband and his wife left later than they should have – verse 9 – READ

a)      Notice what the woman’s father said.  “The day draweth nigh” (night will be here soon).

b)      The woman’s father encouraged everyone to stay just one more night.

c)      He said they could leave “early” the next morning – just stay the night and then leave.

 

12)  The husband wanted to, as some say today, “get on the road.”  Verse 10 – READ

13)  In our time we do not have too many difficulties travelling at night.

14)  At this time in history, night travel would have been hazardous for a number of reasons.

15)  This couple did begin their trip and they had to finally stop somewhere.

a)      They got to the city of Jerusalem – verses 10-11.

b)      A servant was with the husband and wife and he suggested everyone stay in Jerusalem.

 

16)  When we think about Jerusalem, we may think it was always a great place.

17)  At this time it was not a safe city.

18)  Verses 12-13 – READ

a)      The couple, just like many travelers today, decided to keep going for a while.

b)      They came to another place and decided to spend the night there – verse 15 – READ

 

19)  An interesting statement is in this verse:  “no man took them into his house to lodge.”

a)      In some of the adult classes we recently discussed the opening verses in Heb. 13.

b)      There we saw how Christians are encouraged to show hospitality.

c)      The point was made that in ancient times hospitality was a very important quality.

d)     Travelers did not have access to the types of temporary lodging we have now.

e)      In the past many places were unsafe and very immoral.  Strangers were often in danger.

f)       An excellent example of why hospitality was so important is found in this chapter.

g)      Staying in Jerusalem was not safe.

h)      Even in other cities things were not all that great.

 

20)  This couple was finally approached by an old man – verse 16 – READ

a)      This man asked these strangers where they were from – verse 17 – READ

b)      At the end of verse 18 our travelers said to this fellow they had no place to stay.

c)      Stated another way, they needed the type of hospitality described in Heb. 13.

 

21)  These traveling were not trying to be freeloaders.  Verse 19 says they had all the supplies they needed.

22)  All they lacked was a place to stay.

23)  The old man said he would give these people all they needed; he said it was too dangerous to stay on the street.

24)  We sometimes hear, read about, or see, “street people.”  This is not new – we find it in the Bible.

25)  Verse 20 – READ

a)      The group made it to the old man’s house and the old fellow was taking care of them.

b)      After a time some people from the town came to visit.

c)      One paraphrase refers to this group of visitors as “perverts.”

d)     That is not too far off from what is recorded in this chapter.

 

26)  An event happened that was similar to the event involving Lot and the area of Sodom.

27)  People from the town in Judg. 19 wanted the male visitor to be brought outside.

28)  They had some plans for him that were vile – verse 22 – READ

29)  The old man was a lot like Lot – he wanted to protect his house guests.

30)  He tried to plead with the people and turn them away – verse 23 – READ

a)      We remember from the story of Lot that he made an alternative to the men of Sodom.

b)      This man made that same type of offer (this is described in verse 24).

c)      Notice what we are told in 25a:  READ

 

31)  The rest of verse 25 says the wife (concubine) finally ended up outside the house.

32)  When people find themselves in the midst of a mob, the outcome is generally not going to be too good.

33)  This woman was treated very badly and finally killed.

34)  The husband took her back home but there was not a burial in the traditional sense of the word.

a)      Verse 29 tells us the corpse of this wife was, in a sense, put forward for public viewing.

b)      You can read the text for the specific details.

 

35)  A key verse in this chapter is the last one – verse 30 – READ 

a)      People in Israel became aware of what had happened to this man’s wife.

b)      When the Hebrews saw what happened to the man’s wife, they said something had to be done.

c)      Seeing the body of this woman stirred practically the entire nation to action.

36)  Judg. 20:1-2 says 450,000 soldiers got together because of what happened with the man’s wife.

a)      People came to the husband (Judg. 20:3) and said, “Tell us what happened.”

b)      The man did embellish his story to a certain degree.

c)      He left out some details, but a great wrong had still been committed by some of the Hebrew people.

d)     In Judg. 20 we have describes the details of a military battle for vengeance.

e)      People in Israel became aware of a very immoral act and they swung into action.

 

37)  When we look at this account we find some practical lessons:

38)  We find that immorality existed, and the action that is described in some detail is shocking.

a)      First, there was a great act of immorality in Judg. 19.

b)      Today it is sometimes difficult to delicately describe the immorality in our day.

c)      Some practices are so vile and corrupt it is impossible to get very specific on some points.

d)     We can, however, still deal with immorality from a Biblical perspective.

e)      We will not help our world or ourselves by keeping quiet about sin.

f)       The man in Judg. 19 got a first hand look at immorality; it affected his own family.

g)      Today this point is still true.  We do not need to look very far to find immorality.

h)      If we are not looking for it, it sometimes comes right to us as adults and as children.

i)        Immorality personally affected the man in Judg. 19 and it still affects people today.

39)  In the case of Judge. 19, the act that was done brought great sadness to a husband and death to his wife.

40)  It is very possible that the man could have stood up for his wife and protected her.

41)  Even if this were the case, that does not excuse what happened to this lady.

a)      There was an outrageous wrong in Judg. 19 and in our day and time little has changed.

b)      Immoral acts still exist and they often bring great sadness to people.

c)      Immorality in some cases causes serious injury as well as loss of life.

 

42)  In Judg. 19, however, is this:  God’s people responded to immorality.

43)  The man put his “spin” on some of the details, but he die not lie.

44)  Men in the nation of Israel believed that what had been done required a response.

45)  In this case they reacted with a military response.  That is not the way we operate today.

46)  Paul said the “weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Cor. 10:4).

a)      God does, however, want His people to stand side against immorality.

b)      If we refuse to do that, who will act in our place?

 

47)  We cannot depend upon our society to oppose immorality.

48)  If a person has a child out of wedlock, that is usually not regarded as immoral.  There is no shame.

49)  Rather, a person may be told:  “Here is a welfare check.  We want to help and support you.”

50)  If a person leaves their spouse after many years of marriage, what are they often told?

51)  “Go with your heart.  You need to do what you feel is right.”

52)  Another person engages in an activity and is told, “You have chosen an alternative lifestyle.”

53)  “You were born that way and cannot help it.”
Our world time and time again says immorality is fine; it is something to accept and tolerate.

54)  God says immoral acts are not fine; they ruin a person’s relationship with God and bar a person from heaven.

55)  Many have essentially erased sin from their vocabulary.

56)  We need to go back to the Bible and see how God defines sin.

a)      We need to be the people who stand up in society and talk about immorality.

b)      We need to call people back to God’s moral standard.

c)      God is the ethical judge of all people; He does not allow morality to be judged by a poll.

d)     It is not determined by a government, or from one generation to the next.

 

57)  God does not change.  What is morally right now will be morally right until the end of time.

58)  If we do not know what is morally right, we cannot teach it to others.

59)  If know but do not speak about morality, the world will remain in darkness.

a)      Talking about what is moral and immoral will anger some people.

b)      Men need to hear the truth on every subject, even if some find it offensive.

 

60)  God calls on His people to be moral and to help others know what true morality is.

61)  In the coming lessons we plan to deal with specific moral issues.

62)  From Judg. 19 we see that immorality is a very serious matter.

63)  Choosing immorality damages and destroys lives.

64)  God’s way is always the best way.  Is this the way we have chosen?