Judges chapter 19.
I don't like this chapter cuz I don't like what happened in it. We learn a lot about the heart of people.
- We learn that wicked men especially with no value system will do whatever they wish to meet there selfish desires. As a result, someone is going to get hurt badly.
- The old man was very caring to the visitors and invited them to stay at his house. He knew the city square was a breeding ground for evil. But when wicked men came to his door demanding the Levite come out, we learn the heart of the old man. I'm sure he was very afraid of the situation but he obviously did not value a female's life since he was quick to be willing to give away two women so the Levite would be saved. When in fear he gave the concubine. He could have given his own life.
- The Levite, was upset that she died, but he did not sacrifice his own life and allowed her to go out with the wicked men. I'm sure he didn't sleep all night because of what was happening to her. He was angered by their wickedness and that she died. So he wanted to get revenge and sent 12 pieces of her body to the 12 tribes of Israel.
Great wickedness came knocking at the door. Fear followed. Fear generated a response that was disastrous. There was no good response. I feel like no matter what, someone was going to die or be horribly abused.
If they stayed in the house and sent no one out, was it inevitable that the wicked men would have broke in and overtook them all? I hope I would have said let's pray and stay together but if they try to break in I'll go out myself. I'll do whatever I have to to make sure nothing happens to my wife.
A noble answer! Perhaps there are some who would applaud my response. But I have to ask myself these questions. How do I treat my wife everyday? Do I make her feel valued everyday? Am I so selfish that I put my desires over hers? Am I willing to compromise on issues? Am I even happy to put my desires aside so I can pursue her desires?
Yes, I am not happy with how the man treated his lady, but I fear I fail the test with my wife on given situation during given certain settings.
Lord help me make the decisions that make my wife feel valued over everybody else.
Judges chapter 19 reminds me of Genesis chapter 19 in many ways as Lot had also offered his two daughters to the wicked people who were outside instead of giving them who they were really after. These two chapters made me think about our homes and how they should be used as a shelter from the weather and various temperatures as well as a place of protection from anything on the outside such as wild animals and dangerous people. We read in John 14:2 that there are many rooms in our Father’s house. Our houses on earth should be places of safety, but how much of the world do we allow into them? There are so many negative influences from the media and other sources that can harm our families and it seems like it can just enter right into our homes if we aren’t careful and allow it to. Do we just act the same way as what we read in verse 24? “…Violate them and do with them what seems good to you…” What a terrible master! We go on to see that this resulted in the death of his concubine and how gruesome it was for him to cut her up into twelve pieces and send her dead body throughout Israel.
Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25 both tell us “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” What seems good or right to us isn’t always what is good or right for us. The only right way is Jesus. We read this in John 14:6. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
May we not do what only seems right in our own eyes, but may we do what is really right in God’s eyes by following Jesus.
The ApologetiX song that I chose for today is Show Us the Way, a parody of Go All the Way. Here’s the link to the video:
https://youtu.be/sKK0p-xyrd4