Yesterday, I cut my Bible reading short. I was coming up on Judges 19. I knew what lay in there.
The time of the Judges was an unstable and scary world. When God’s people forgot Him, they did whatever was right in their own eyes. To me, Judges 19 is the epitome of all that is despicable, senseless, perverse and wrenching.
To me, it is even worse than Sodom and Gomorrah.
In short, a Levite’s concubine cheats on him. She returns to her father’s house. After 4 months, the Levite goes to her to take her home. On the way, violent men want to have sex with the Levite. Instead, he gives them his concubine. They gang rape her and she dies. In the end, civil war and the near annihilation of one of Israel’s tribes ensues.
Because the Bible tells about real people, real human beings, I try very hard not to be judge and jury and executioner. I avoided the chapter yesterday. Today I read it.
I must stop for a moment and thank Holy Spirit. He breathed life into this passage and showed me something I never saw. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for teaching Father’s love even here.
19 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.
2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
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.
4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
For whatever reason, the woman zanah, “played the whore against him.” She had lived with him on the side of Mt. Ephraim but then fled to her father’s home in Bethlehem.
The Levite saw the woman as his concubine. He later referred to her as a maidservant. But get this! When she was in her father’s home, he saw her as a damsel!
Before I delve into the word study, let me tell you that this Levite did love her. He went all the way back to Bethlehem to find her. The trip wouldn’t take 4 months, but let’s allow him time to heal and forgive her. Or maybe it took that long to find her.
He went to her to dabar leb to her. He went to speak his heart. Do you know who else dabar leb-ed? Boaz dabar leb-ed Ruth.
Ok, back to the concubine, `ishshah piylegesh. In Bible times, a concubine was a second wife who was often viewed as a servant. To her, the Levite was a combination of husband-master.
Ah, but to her father, she was na`arah. This term refers to a girl, from infancy to adolescence: a damsel, maiden, young woman.*
She was still his little girl.
My friends, please grab hold of this. No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, you can return to your heavenly Father’s house. You may return to Bethlehem, literally “the House of Bread.” Come back to Father. He doesn’t see you the way the world does. You are His little girl, His little boy and He loves you. Come back to the House of Bread, to your Father’s house.
* as opposed to `almah, a virgin
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