Bible Verse: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” (Judges 21:25)
Scripture Reading: Judges 19:1–21:25
We are going to preface this with a content warning:
Today’s Bible reading contains accounts of rape, abuse, murder, and mutilation.
It is with a bit of a sigh of relief that we come to the end of our time in Judges. It has been a dark and heavy week of reading about the failures of Israel. The exploration of the human condition, even among God’s chosen people, has been taxing.
And the end is much, much worse than the beginning.
In the end, we hit rock bottom. The picture painted is one of near hopelessness. Israel has descended to the moral quality of Sodom and Gomorrah. Yes, you read that right. Israel is as bad as Sodom. Let’s consider the texts.
Take some time to compare Genesis 19 with Judges 19. The stories are shockingly similar.
Here are the elements that are the same:
- Travelers come to a town to spend the night.
- They are taken into a resident’s home from the town square.
- The men of the town come to the house and demand that the man be sent out so they can have sex with him.
- The homeowner tries to dissuade the crowd by offering his virgin daughter(s) for the men to rape instead.
The connections between the two accounts are clearly meant to entice the reader of Judges to recall Sodom. The obvious connotation is that Israel is no better than Sodom.
But whereas in Sodom, the women were kept safe, in Judges, the woman is sent out to be raped, assaulted, and murdered.
Remember, in Genesis 19, the angels visiting Sodom were there to see if there were ten righteous people in the town, and if so, they would be spared judgment. Ten righteous people were not found.
We, the readers of Judges, are asked to wonder the same question: are there even ten righteous people to be found in all of Israel?
But for all the darkness and horror that the book of Judges portrays, in the end, it does point us forward to our need for a Deliverer. One that God graciously provides in the coming King, whose lineage is further unpacked in the next biblical book (Ruth).
Humanity is failing and floundering, but God is not done working.
Prayer: God, we are left nearly speechless at the depths to which Israel plummeted in her few years following entry into the Promised Land. Judges is a tale of caution to not be lax in our commitment to You. What may start as small allowances can quickly lead us away from You. Help me to walk carefully and be watchful for the things that may entice me to compromise my faith. Amen.
Reflection: How do these stories from Judges help you understand your own life, and the faithfulness and working of God?
Copyright © 2024 Impactus. All rights reserved.
About
