Human Depravity

Intro

• In preparation for this week, I stumbled across a frankly jarring story
• To preface this, some scholars actually recommend against reading these chapters because they’re really summed up in “we are a depraved flesh” and “don’t do as you desire, let God rule your life”

HOWEVER

• We should consider Pauls words that ALL scripture is God breathed and profitiable for teaching, reproof, correction, and for training in righteousness so that we can be proved adequate (2 Tim 3:16-17). That includes the ugly stuff
• This is a good reminder to our depravity passed down from Adam (Rom 5:12). We can choose to water the seeds of desctruction or Choose life
• Paul reminds us that Israel’s past failures were done so that we can have an example. They are in the bible that we might not crave evil as they did. Now that we have these examples, we should not be imoral as some of them were (1 Cor 10:1, Num 25:1-9)

Judges 19

Context

• In chapters 17-18, we follow the story of a man named Micah who steals silver and builds himself a little mini cult. The tribe of Dan eventually comes across him and steals out his priest and his idols so that they can “carry the gods” with them while they invaded a territory near by to settle in
• Judges 19 settles into a store of immorality rather than idolitry
• This entire section underscores the depraved nature of our flesh and exactly what the world would look like if we had no God to rule us
• These chapters come after Moses delivers the law so these highlight Israel’s indifference toward God and his law, preferring independence instead
• Recall that the book of Judges shows us the consequences for these behaviors as well, and later God establishes a physical king as a response to the people cold heartedness. These passages are not meant to encourage this behavior

The passage

• Judges 19

  1 In those days Israel had no king.

  Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 2 But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months, 3 her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her parents’ home, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him. 4 His father-in-law, the woman’s father, prevailed on him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.

  5 On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the woman’s father said to his son-in-law, “Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go.” […] 10 But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.

  11 When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let’s stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.”

  12 His master replied, “No. We won’t go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” 13 He added, “Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.” 14 So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. 15 There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them in for the night.

  16 That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the inhabitants of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. 17 When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”

  18 He answered, “We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the Lord.[a] No one has taken me in for the night. 19 We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants—me, the woman and the young man with us. We don’t need anything.”

  20 “You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. “Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.” 21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.

  22 While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him.”

  23 The owner of the house went outside and said to them, “No, my friends, don’t be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don’t do this outrageous thing. 24 Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But as for this man, don’t do such an outrageous thing.”

  25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go. 26 At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.

  27 When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up; let’s go.” But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.

  29 When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. 30 Everyone who saw it was saying to one another, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!”

• Well then

Important

Questions: 1. Why is that in the bible?2. What does this have to do with us?3. Did this really happen?

• Note that the names are never really provided, while Judges 17-18 repeats Micah’s name to the point that you get tired of reading it. As such, many posit that this was a sample or conglomerate story that represented the spirit of the times versus a true example
• The last sentence indicates that everyone noticed how bad things were, that times were worse than when in Egypt - something Joseph’s brothers seemed to consider only a slight step up from death
• Note that the phrase “in those days there was no king” is used to set the stage. We see this same phrase in the previous sections as well, indicating that God’s rule was not recognized by his children
• One of the main lessons from Judges 18-19 is that when evil is not dealt with promptly and properly, it has a tendency to grow
  • Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? (1Co 5:6)
  • Based on scriptures immediately following (Judges 20) we see that Aaron’s grandson’s are still leading the children of Israel, so we’ve not even made it 100 years after leaving Egypt!
• These passages, therefore, remind us to live according to God’s truth and law. That is the only way to have a righteous society
  • Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. - 2 Tim 2:21
• To contrast 1 Cor 10:1 (that these were our examples), take 1 Cor 15:45-49 (see also 1 Cor 15:21-22, Rom 5:12-19)
  • “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being;’ the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven__. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man__.”
  • The passages here in Judges remind us of what we’re capable of on our own - nothing good - but also that we are called to become a new creation, one born not of Adam but of Jesus. One not of flesh, but of spirituality. One not of corruption but one of righteousness
• What does this mean for us? Really it just serves as a reminder of where we would be without Christ and, therefore, a reminder of the gift we’ve recieved through salvation
• Commonly today, we hear “to each his own” or “follow your heart” messages but this passage clearly demonstrates just how wicked that can be. Choose life! (Deut 30:19)
  • Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!