In Judges 19 and 20, we face the culmination of the book and it’s commentary on the human condition. A Levite (a priest) takes a concubine from Bethlehem. She leaves him and returns home. He follows her and stays several days, finally heading home in the afternoon one day. He presses toward Jerusalem and stops off in a city within Benjamin. That night, the men of the city bang on the door of the house he stayed in and demanded that he be turned over for sodomy. His host denies them and sends out his own, virgin daughter, and the concubine of the man. The concubine is then raped to death and the Levite finds her at the door the next morning. When he returns home, he cuts her into 12 and sends one of each of her body parts to the tribes. They respond by an attack against Benjamin for this behavior.
Benjamin presses them for two days and finally is nearly destroyed in battle on the third day. God had punished sins.
This story reminds us of how depraved, vile, and full of malice we are as humans. We are capable of the worst behavior and will remain unapologetic and proud until we are forced into humility. God had offered us more! He calls us to deny ourselves daily and cling to righteousness. Choose life!
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