Jdg 19:22-30 Since This Man has Come into My House, do not do This Folly

Jdg 19:22  Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
Jdg 19:23  And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.
Jdg 19:24  Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
Jdg 19:25  But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go. 
Jdg 19:26  Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light. 
Jdg 19:27  And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold. 
Jdg 19:28  And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. 
Jdg 19:29  And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. 
Jdg 19:30  And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. 

The first part of Judges chapter 19 ended with the following:

Jdg 19:21 So he [the old man] brought him into his house and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet and did eat and drink.

Bringing the Levite home is the same as coming to abide in Christ. When we abide in Christ, we end up washing our feet, eating and drinking. Washing our feet means removing all the dirt or anything unclean that we have gathered in our walk. Eating and drinking here signify the opening of our eyes to see and our ears to hear the word of the Lord.

Mat 13:11  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Mat 13:12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:16  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17  For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Today’s study focuses on the fiery trials we face in our walk with Christ who is represented here by the old man.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

These fiery trials we go through are about the raising of the storm in our lives which bring us to our wits’ end.

Psa 107:25  For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea.
Psa 107:26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight;
Psa 107:27  they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.
Psa 107:29  He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Psa 107:30  Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

Jdg 19:22  Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.

As we are learning to know our Lord through the opening of our eyes to see and our ears to hear (Making their hearts merry), we must be aware that there will be persecutions and tribulation which will come to us because of the word we are receiving.

Mat 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Mat 13:21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

In this instance, God made use of certain sons of Belial to judge us. According to Strong, Belial means wicked or evil and so the sons of Belial here represent wicked men whom our Lord uses as His sword to judge us.

Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

These men requested the old man, in whose house the Levite and his concubine have taken residence, to bring out of his house the Levite so that they may sexually assault him. Verse 22 here gives us insight into the fact that all the chaos and evil that are increasing in measure as this age draws closer and closer is all part of the counsel of God.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

In the word of God, whenever homosexuality rises to the fore as we see all around us, then it gives us an indication that judgment is at the corner, as we will see later in this story the destructive judgment of God.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

These verses show us the chronological order of the deterioration of our relationship with Christ and how we are to know that His judgment is at the door. We start by not being grateful to God and so we take the next step of being vain in our thinking and our minds become darkened.

Being darkened in our minds leads us to change the glory of God into an image made of corruptible man. In other words, we worship men rather than God. This brings us to a situation where we change the truth of God for a lie. The final stage is that we are given over to vile affection – homosexuality. So, the spiritual significance of homosexuality is that it shows us the final stage of our rebellion against God. It also indicates that judgment is at the door. The fact that we see this all over the world is to let us know that the end of this age is just around the corner.

Mat 24:32  Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Mat 24:33  So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Mat 24:34  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
Mat 24:35  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

An example to underscore the point being made that the spiritual significance of homosexuality is that our rebellion against God is complete and therefore our judgment is at the door is when an angel went to Sodom to rescue Lot and his people.

Gen 19:4  But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
Gen 19:5  And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Whereare the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
Gen 19:6  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
Gen 19:7  And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Gen 19:12  And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

Gen 19:13  For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

Jdg 19:23  And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.

The master of the house is our Lord Jesus Christ. When we abide in Him, nothing can touch us. Yes, we will go through the fire, but it will not burn us.

Isa 43:1  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Isa 43:2  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Isa 43:3  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Isa 43:4  Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

Jdg 19:24  Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.

What the Master of the house was telling the wicked men, which are His sword, is that they cannot touch the Levite which refers to us but can touch the Levite’s concubine and his daughter. What we are being told here is that our fiery trials are to destroy Babylon within us (represented by the concubine and the daughter).

Rev 16:17  The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”
Rev 16:18  And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.
Rev 16:19  The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.

The encounter here of the master of the house with the wicked men is similar to when our Lord instructed Satan to deal with Job but not touch him. Here the Levite is being spared, but all that he holds dear (His concubine) is being taken away.

Job 1:12  And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Jdg 19:25  But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

As indicated earlier, our fiery trials are to destroy all of Babylon within us, represented by the concubine. We are all going through different phases of the destruction of Babylon within each one of us.  This will precede the outward destruction of Babylon (the religions of this world) which will take place before the millennial rule by the Lord and His Christs.

Rev 18:7  As she glorified herself and lived in luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see.’
Rev 18:8  For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”
Rev 18:9  And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.
Rev 18:10  They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.

The woman was abused all night until the morning. The morning here outwardly is when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christs.

Rev 11:15  Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Internally, the morning here refers to the rising of the day star in our hearts.

2Pe 1:19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

In verse 25, it is stated that the men would not hearken to the old man but grabbed the concubine and messed her up. When we look critically at what the old man said in verse 24, we can see that the wicked men did not flout his suggestion. This is to let us know that our Lord is in perfect control of our situations and will always provide a way of escape so that we may be able to bear it.

1Co 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Jdg 19:26  Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.
Jdg 19:27  And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.

It is in the morning when the daystar rises in our hearts that we come to realize the work that the Lord has accomplished through the destruction of Babylon within us.

Rev 18:16  “Alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls!
Rev 18:17  For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off
Rev 18:18  and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”
Rev 18:19  And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.
Rev 18:20  Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!”
Rev 18:21  Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;

Jdg 19:28  And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.

During this period of the night that we are being judged, we do not see what God is accomplishing within us. After our fiery trials, we think Babylon within us is still alive, but the truth is that it has commenced its death process. We only see the death of Babylon within us in the morning when the daystar rises in our hearts.

Rev 18:21  Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more;
Rev 18:22  and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more,
Rev 18:23  and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.

Jdg 19:29  And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

This Levite did not take kindly to the death of his concubine. Instead of giving her concubine a befitting burial, he rather chose to cut her body up and distribute it to all the tribes of Israel. In other words, this Levite who represents us, was disannulling God’s judgment just as Job did when he was judged. We all resist the judgment of God in our time, and in doing so try to suggest that we are more righteous than our Lord.

Job 40:6  Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
Job 40:7  Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Job 40:8  Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Jdg 19:30  And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

When the children of Israel saw what has been done, they unanimously agreed that the sin that has been committed against the Levite was unprecedented and demanded an action from the tribes. We usually see the sins of others, but do not take to heart that, given the opportunity, we would also commit such heinous crimes since we are all operating under the same beast.

Mat 7:3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Mat 7:5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

In the final analysis, the Lord will use the occasion to come and judge us, and it is through this judgment that we learn to walk in a way that pleases the Lord.

Jdg 14:4  But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.

May the Lord grant us the grace not to disannual His judgements but to submit to Him in every way so that He can make us into another vessel fit for His purpose. Amen!!