“Here’s my daughter, who’s a virgin, and his concubine. I’ll bring them out. Mistreat them, do what you want to them, but don’t do such a degrading thing to this man.”-Judges 19:24
Okay, so here’s an ugly truth about about the ancient Middle East we need to come to terms with.
Women were considered much less valuable than men.
In some cases, they were considered of less value than even farm animals.
In fact, even in some Eastern societies today such as in some extreme sects of Islam, women are nothing more than a man’s personal property.
Now here’s another shocking statement that’s gonna blow a common misconception outta the water.
In the history of mankind, the first teachings to value women equally with men…
The first teachings to insist on the compassionate treatment of women…
And the first teachings to give women far more rights than they could ever have imagined possible were…
…the Laws of Moses.
That’s right!
Yeah, I know a lot of folks view the Bible, especially the “Old” Testament as some outdated ancient book that has zero relevance to our times, but the truth is women today would be far worse off without the light of God’s Word tempering the sinful desires of men.
Having said that, understand there is still an established hierarchy in the Scriptures that makes man the head of the household over his wife and children.
But he is supposed to exercise authority over them in love and NOT abusive arrogance.
So if that’s the case, you may be wondering then, why did this old man here in Judges chapter 19 act as he did?
Why did he offer to hand over his daughter and the Levite’s concubine to a gang of rapists in order to satisfy their sexual lusts?
Well again, this just goes to show how far Israel had fallen in such a short time after Joshua had passed away.
It’s also a perfect example of how the pagan customs and traditions of the day still held sway over a male-dominated Hebrew society.
So let’s not for a second think this old man’s behavior was acceptable to God.
It most certainly wasn’t.
Plus, you wanna know what else makes this story extraordinarily shocking?
This group of perverts who insisted on having homosexual sex with the old man’s guests were Hebrews!
Unlike the perverts in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah who were heathens and didn’t know God, the same could not be said of the men here in Judges 19.
They were Israelites of the tribe of Benjamin.
They had been given the Torah.
Their parents and grandparents had been part of the Exodus.
This lust-filled horde were part of God’s chosen people.
Yet within one generation of Moses passing away, look at what had become of them…
Which brings me to a another profound takeaway that just came to me.
I just told you that this mob who wanted to rape the old man’s guests were part of the chosen people who had been given God’s Words at Sinai, right?
Yet in spite of that, look at how far they had fallen from God’s ideal standard and original vision for their lives.
So the thought that came to my mind is while God’s Word is indeed divine and powerful and useful for training the believer up in righteousness, is it enough to bring him into full compliance with the Lord’s commands?
Think about it for a minute.
The Israelites had received the very words of God directly from His mouth on Mount Sinai.
They had also been given Godly leaders in the form of Moses and Joshua…
And now in our day and age Yeshua too.
Yet in spite of that, why the huge gap between what is WRITTEN in the Scriptures and what is ACTED out?
The only conclusion I can draw is that since God’s Word is spiritual it can only be obeyed when one is under the influence of the Spirit.
Trying to obey God’s Word in the flesh is like trying to paddle a canoe uphill AGAINST the flowing waters.
But when you’re filled with the Spirit, you automatically obey God’s Word and it’s like riding a canoe on a downward slope with no paddling necessary.
Whaddaya think?
You may be thinking duh…
Nothing revolutionary there bro…
Maybe…
But it’s a revolutionary fresh thought for me.
Anyways, would love to get your thoughts.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“So I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify
the desires of the flesh.”
-Galatians 5:16
Completely and totally agree. Read the Bible everyday with Holy Spirit. Asking Him questions. He will answer. I’ve been reading Numbers and Leviticus. He sheds new light on everything. Especially the compassion of God all the way through for His people. Bloodlines are very important.
Amen Veronica!
God is spirit and he is holy. God is one. He is is not two or three.
Amen!
The only thing that will bring a person into obedience is the person.
Salvation, as a nice Jewish boy from Nazareth once said, is a narrow pathway, and God’s word is the roadmap that tells us how to stay in that narrow pathway.
But it is up to each of us, individually, to want to walk that pathway.
Look at how many people today are knowledgable about the Bible, but their knowledge is based on a perverted and misconstrued understanding of the Bible, taught to them by people who were taught by people who were taught by those who purposefully, for their own desires, interpreted passages in order to make the Bible say what they wanted it to say, instead of what it actually says.
(Wow- that was a somewhat convoluted sentence!)
In other words, God tells us what he wants from us and what he will do for us, or to us, depending on how well we obey him, and that is found only in the Torah. Everything else in the Bible is just commentary.
God has no religion- religion is the creation of men who wanted to have power over other men, so they decided to pick and choose which Torah commands they thought would work to their advantage, and then totally misinterpreted the confusing letters from Shaul (Paul) to reinforce their man-made religious ideas.
Modern Christianity (not to mention Judaic Halacha) is man-made, not God ordained. Like it or not, that is a fact.
So, the word of God is important to know, and being in the company of faithfully obedient (to God) Believers is encouraging and edifying, but the path to salvation is one that the person, alone, must decide to travel, and nothing outside of that person’s desire to obey God will be of significant use.
Thanks. I’m not talking about choice though. We all choose to run the race, but what to do at the 23rd mile when things get tough? I’d love some supernatural help at that point. As Paul said..”I can do all things THROUGH MESSIAH who strengthens me”
First, I would say, You have not because you ask not or you ask amiss. The next thing is He says that He is talking to us all day long but if you don’t recognize his still small voice, you can’t receive any help. He did tell us to renew our mind to the mind of Christ which means the love of Christ also. Faith works by love. Next, He did say to get our flesh under control. It’s like getting a new puppy. If you don’t train it, it will make a mess and tear up your home. I see it a lot. People come to the cross and sing hymns and worship but they wont go through the door and live the life that God has called them too. Jesus said that I am the door. Coming to the cross is close but you need more. Let Him in so He can lead and guide you in all your ways!
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Rom 8/14