The Bible Recap - Day 096 (Judges 19-21) - Year 6
Episode Date: April 5, 2024SHOW NOTES: - Head to our Start Page for all you need to begin! - Join the RECAPtains - Check out the TBR Store - Show credits - Interview–He’s Where the Joy Is FROM TODAY’S RECAP: - Genesis ...19:4-9 - Video: Ruth Overview - TBR in ASL BIBLE READING & LISTENING: Follow along on the Bible App, or to listen to the Bible, try Dwell! SOCIALS: The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X | TikTok D-Group: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter/X TLC: Instagram | Facebook D-GROUP: D-Group is brought to you by the same team that brings you The Bible Recap. TBR is where we read the Bible, and D-Group is where we study the Bible. D-Group is an international network of Bible study groups that meet weekly in homes, churches, and online. Find or start one near you today! DISCLAIMER: The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact.
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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.
We finished our eighth book of the Bible today.
And since we're reading an entire book tomorrow, that means we're about to be at nine books
total.
Don't worry, the book we're reading tomorrow is super short, just four chapters.
Also, I mentioned this at the beginning of the book of Judges, and hopefully you've
already read the text from today and know this is a tough section, but just a heads
up that if there are little ears nearby, you may want to listen later.
This is one of my least favorite sections in all of Scripture, but there are still things
to be learned about God in these chapters, even though he seems mostly absent.
We opened with a reminder that Israel is living in anarchy
at this point, which sets us up for everything that happens
in today's reading.
We start with a Levite, the tribe appointed to work for God,
who had a concubine, which is basically a household servant
with fewer rights and less permanency than a wife,
and whose main job is to sleep with the boss
and have his babies.
She decides she wants to leave this arrangement,
but he goes after her to win her back.
He meets with her dad and things are going smoothly.
Her father keeps inviting them to stay day after day with him, but on the fifth day,
the Levite is ready to move on, so they head out for the long journey home.
His servants suggest they spend the night in a Canaanite area, but the Levite really
prefers to keep moving until they hit an Israelite area.
They stop in the city of Gebaia, which is in the land allotted to the Benjamites. They're planning to sleep in the town square,
but an old man comes by and urges them to stay at his place instead.
Not long after that, the Benjamite men of the town show up and demand to have sex with the Levite.
If this is starting to remind you of Genesis 19 and what happened with the two angels who visited
Lot in Sodom, you're not far off. And the old man responds just like Lot did when Lot offered his two virgin daughters.
The old man offers his virgin daughter and the Levites' concubine instead.
The Benjamites didn't like this offer, but the Levites saved himself by sending his concubine out to them.
And let me say this in case it isn't obvious.
God doesn't endorse this.
These things are the result of God's people turning away from God, And let me say this in case it isn't obvious. God doesn't endorse this.
These things are the result
of God's people turning away from God,
which ultimately means they have no regard for his laws either
since they have no regard for him.
The men brutally assault her and rape her
and beat her to death.
And the Levite doesn't even seem to be moved
by her condition.
It's heartbreaking and infuriating all at once.
And I don't know whether to be more angry
at him or at the men of the town, because they're all pretty terrible. He takes her back home and
dismembers her. Then he sends a piece of her body throughout Israel, probably one piece to each of
the tribes. Most commentators seem to think he did this so the people would have proof that his story
was true, and there'd be no denying that the Benjamites were guilty.
And by the way, we find out in chapter 20 verse 5 that the men who did this to the concubine
were the leaders among the Benjamites in that city.
In response to this, the men of fighting age from all the tribes except for Benjamin gather
together.
Anytime you see the phrase, from Dan to Beersheba in Scripture, that's basically saying from
north to south
because the new cities that the tribe of Dan just conquered
and took over was about as far north
as you could go in Israel.
And the city of Beersheba was about as far south
as you could go.
And this passage even tells us that the tribes in Gilead,
those 2.5 Transjordan tribes, they come too.
So 400,000 men from 11 of the tribes gather to talk about what the Benjamites have done to the concubine.
The Levite tells them the story, conveniently leaving out the role he played in it,
and asks them what should happen in response to this abomination.
They decide to confront the city of Gebea in Benjamin.
First, they try to reason with the people of the city.
They ask them to bring out the men responsible for the crime so they can enforce the death
penalty since they had murdered someone.
But the city won't give them up.
They protect their wicked leaders and refuse to hold them accountable.
Then the whole tribe of Benjamin gets their backs.
As a result, the Benjamites end up going to war against the rest of the country in Israel's
first civil war.
They fight for three days. And every day Israel asks God for guidance.
He gives it, and they obey.
They can't figure out what they're losing if they're being obedient to God.
But on days one and two, God doesn't promise them victory.
He just tells them what they should do.
Obedience doesn't always guarantee our desired outcome.
Sometimes its purpose is to teach us faithfulness
to God, not to our desires. But on day three, God does tell them that they'll win. And
through the clever combo of an ambush and the bat signal, they pull it off. They defeat
all the men of Benjamin except for 600 who go into hiding. The men of Israel burn the
town and treat it like they would a Canaanite city. God never commands this, but they do it.
And while they're all gathered and mourning what happened and offering sacrifices to God,
two things happen almost simultaneously.
First, they're trying to figure out how to keep the tribe of Benjamin from disappearing
altogether.
And second, they realize there's a clan who didn't respond to the call to come fight
with them.
One thing I can tell you for sure is that it wasn't the Ephraimites. They love a fight. It was the clan of Jabesh-gilead, a city in east Manasseh
across the Jordan River. Without consulting God, Israel puts together their best, most efficient
plan. They send 12,000 men over to go kill everyone except the female virgins. Then they bring back
400 virgins to give to the 600 surviving men of the tribe of Benjamin.
But oh no, there's still 200 women short. So they hatch a plan for the Benjamites to kidnap some
women while they're dancing at a festival. Problem solved. I'm really thankful this passage is
descriptive, not prescriptive. This was man's wicked plan to fix the circumstances they were
in because of sin. When we fail to consult God and lean on our own
understanding, we almost always make a bigger mess. And I just want to pause to point out that all of
this can be traced back to the uncontrolled lust of a handful of so-called leaders and the
self-protective measures of a Levite. Thousands upon thousands died as a result. There wasn't much
joy in today's reading, was there? And do you know why? Because
there wasn't much God. The last line of our reading reminds us again, everyone did what
was right in his own eyes, and the whole book ends with their wickedness increasing. So
that's actually my God shot for today. Where God isn't regarded and feared and honored,
where people do as they please and follow their own desires, there may be a temporary solution or a fulfillment of desires, but there isn't
deep, lasting, sustaining joy.
Because that isn't found in following every longing of our hearts.
It's found in Him.
He's where the joy is.
Tomorrow we'll be reading the Book of Ruth.
We're linking to a short video overview in the
show notes, so check that out if you've got a few minutes to spare. And just a reminder,
if you're using our plan in the Bible app, this video will also be linked for you tomorrow in the
devotional portion above the chapters we're reading. We love the members of our TBR family
who are our ASL Bible Recappers.
We're so happy to offer the Bible Recap in American Sign Language.
The full 365 days of Recap videos are in a playlist on our YouTube channel.
If you have friends or family members who would benefit from this, let them know!
For more info, visit the ASL page on TheBibleRecap.com
under the Languages tab or click the link in today's show notes.
He's Where the Joy Is has become the true catchphrase
of the Bible Recap family.
You guys know it and love it.
And if you're curious to know where this phrase comes from
and how my life has changed because of it,
click the link in the show notes
to hear a recent interview I did
on Wayfm's Mid-Days with Joy.