The Desertion of the Levite Concubine
August 17, 2021
Commentary
When religious restraints are removed, we find the moral conditions of a country going down. This fact just shows the basic wickedness of man when he is apart from God. Here we find a religious leader of Israel whose life should have been a shining example of purity taking to himself a concubine (v. 1). In ancient Israel, a concubine was a wife of low estate and a practice that was never divinely approved. He allowed his lust to exceed his loyalty to God! Soon his concubine became angry with him, and she ran home to her father who lived in Bethlehem of Judah (v. 2). Four months later wanting to persuade her to return he traveled to Judah where he stayed with her father several days feasting and drinking (v. 3).
He was gladly welcomed by her father who apparently was seeking to establish good treatment of his daughter in the future (v. 4). A three-day visit would have been normal but when the Levite attempted to return home on the fourth day the father insisted that he stay an extra two days (vv. 5-9 In fact he wanted him to stay another night but in the middle of the afternoon of the fifth day the Levite decided he could stay no longer. He took his servant, his two donkeys and his concubine and traveled north to Jerusalem (v. 10).
Application
What religious restraints can I think of that have been removed from our society today and what are some of the results? For example, Bible reading and prayer in the public schools. Discuss this with my family the seriousness of removing Godly principles from our lives.
Judges 19:1– 10 (NET)
1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 However, she got angry at him and went home to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 3 her husband came after her, hoping he could convince her to return. He brought with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father’s house and the girl’s father saw him, he greeted him warmly. 4 His father-in-law, the girl’s father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there. 5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. But the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, “Have a bite to eat for some energy, then you can go.” 6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Why not stay another night and have a good time?” 7 When the man got ready to leave, his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. 8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl’s father said, “Get some energy! Wait until later in the day to leave.” So they ate a meal together. 9 When the man got ready to leave with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look! The day is almost over. Stay another night! Since the day is over, stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home.” 10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left and traveled as far as Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.
Illustration: Rogers The Great Wall of China did not keep the enemy out
The Great Wall of China was built over many hundreds of years to keep China’s northern enemies from invading. The Great Wall is so wide that chariots could ride across the top. It is one of the few manmade objects that astronauts can see from outer space as they look back on the earth. But the Great Wall did not keep the enemy out. Do you know why? All the enemy had to do was bribe a gatekeeper. Despite the massive wall, there was an enemy on the inside that let the enemy on the outside in. So, it is in our lives. The gatekeeper of our hearts must be faithful or the walls of restraint, the laws of God’s Word, will do us no good. (Adrian Rogers, Ten Secrets for a Successful Family (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1996, 116).