Observation:
(1) Repeated phrases:a. "stay another night" v.4, 6,7, and 9. The Levite man did not want to stay another night and therefore he started traveling late in the day.
b. "no one invited them to spend the night" in their home v.15, 18. The old man told the Levite not to spend the night in the town square v.20. Why?
(2) The similarity between Gibeah and Sodom and Gomorrah v.22-24, Genesis 19:1-11.
v.22b suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door.
(NET) “the men of the city, men, the sons of wickedness.” The phrases are in apposition; the last phrase specifies what type of men they were.
The 2 angels saved the family of Lot from the mob, because of Abraham. However, no one saved the Levite and the old men now.
The Levite made the wrong decision to start his journey late because of his father-in-law. Therefore, he thought he made a better choice out of this dangerous situation and chose to go to Gibeah because it was a city where Israelites live and it was in the territory of Benjamin v.12, 14. He thought he would have avoided the dangers of travelling in the dark. Now the men of the city were unhospitalable and wicked as the Gentiles whom God had totally wiped out.
(3) The unpresential event in the history of Israel
a. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah Lot did offered his daughters to the mob, but he did not really push them out. Now, the Levite pushed her concubine out.
19:25b the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside.
b. 19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel.
No one would carved up the corpse of their loved one.
19:30 Everyone who saw the sight said, “Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since the Israelites left the land of Egypt! Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!”
Reflections:
a. Israelites were surprisingly wicked. Not only the people in Gibeah were wicked, but the Levite did things unheard of. He did not love and protect his family.
Do we abuse the trust others have for us? Do we just act like unbelievers?
Do you want to ask God to help you to overcome 1 particular sin by the end of this year?
b. The book of Judges started with the invasion from the Gentiles when Israel worshiped idols. Now their sins were like a disease and spread all over their bodies. Not only they worshiped the idols, but they were violent to each other. And worst, they did violence to their own family.
How about us? Do we see the ugliness of sin? We feel disguishing to see other's sin. How does God see us?
Do our sins spread from our mind to our speech and even to our action? Do we do violence to others and to our family?
Audrey
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