Judges 19 "Dismembered and Re-membered" (part 3: Disgrace in the Ministry, and Discarding Others)

Into the Night Country: Judges 19-21

Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash

In the last post we considered saw how God’s light unmasks monsters that would prefer to remain hidden, and how God’s Spirit gives a kind of Litmus test for a evaluating a community’s fruit to discern if Christ is the ruler of a community, or if a community is trying to disguise itself as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). The first two evils were: 1) Devaluing the weak, and endangering the vulnerable, and 2) Division among God’s people (Tribalism). The trigger warning for this essay is that it contains spousal abuse, clergy abuse, sexual abuse and rape, along with outrageous callousness throughout. As always, I encourage you to read the Judges passage considered so that this post might be of most service to you. No we identify the third and fourth evils in thie Spiritual Litmus Test given in Judges 19: Disgrace in the Ministry, and Discarding Others.

1. Evil #3: Disgrace and Deceit in Ministry (“The Levite”)

Disgrace and deceit in the ministry are uncovered in the Levite/husband’s behavior. Many people have commented on the fact that this concubine may be presented as the most helpless and voiceless figure in the Hebrew Bible: She doesn’t get a word in. She’s not eating and drinking, even with her father and the Levite. But later, I want to argue that her silent suffering speaks the loudest word in the passage. For now, we are given a little bit of information about her husband--but not his name. In other words, the Holy Spirit wants you to know him by his office. He’s a Levite. He’s a priest. He’s a priest who is taking up a secondary kind of wife. He’s a priest who has gone after his wife.

A) “Leaving Angry”

It’s a difficult translation here in terms of verse 2. The ESV says that the concubine was “unfaithful” to him. This is because Hebrew word “Zanah” (זָנָה) is often translated “to prostitute” indicating that the concubine prostituted herself. Nevertheless, it is a bit vague, and so the ESV softens slightly to “unfaithful.” However, when translating this same word in this verse, the Septuagint (early Greek translation of the Old Testament) renders it as “angry with” or simply “to depart.” In other words, the concubine left her husband’s home, not necessarily for sexual immorality, because she was angry. Having read this chapter, surely you can at least imagine a scenario in which she might have been angry with the Levite! The context helps us out.

B) “Safe in Her Father’s House”

She goes home. The concubine leaves. The daughter returns. She goes to dad’s house, says, “I’m going to hang out here.” After several months (v2) her husband finally decides to go to her “to speak kindly to her and bring her back” (v3). The reader is inclined to think that the initial issue was something that he had done, because we’re told that when he comes, she receives him into her father’s house, then the father receives him joyfully. Again, if she had been prostituting herself, you know that that would have been a different kind of visit, that would have been a visit of stoning, where she would be then left on the threshold of her father’s house (Deut 22:20-21). Sadly, this woman, this concubine, this daughter, will be left on a threshold before the end of this chapter. It’s possible that she was being sexually immoral, but the context seems to indicate no.

C) Not a Story about Restoring the Relationship?

This Levite, this shepherd of God’s people, will now show us how he is going to care for his concubine. This Levite may very well have another woman, a primary “wife,” with whom has become “one flesh” (Gen 2:24) we do not know. But the question at hand is how will he care for this flesh that he’s been joined with in his wife…his own flesh? Will he love her selflessly? We’ll see. But he is a man on a mission: To speak to her heart (that is a more wooden rendering of “speak kindly”). At first it seems like a beautiful reconciliation story, right? Just like some horror movies start off, and everything is fine. Sure, there was a little bit of a hiccup, but they love each other, and they’re going to reconcile. Thank God, whatever else, at least their union is saved. God is happy. Everything is going to be ok! That’s what we hope. Sometimes we want this story so bad we cover over our ears so that we will not hear the music change (ever mute a horror movie and feel your fear relax?). The music in Judges 19 changes and tells you things are not what they seem, and everything is about to go terribly wrong.

D) Relationship over Personal Safety?

This music change is indicated first literarily: We never hear the Levite speak to his concubine. With a little imagination we assume he did speak to her, and here in lies a far-to-familiar course of events. A self-centered abuser finally feels some of the effects of his behavior and comes back promising to make everything all better without any substantial change. In response, the concubine is only too eager to believe that this time will be different, and to return to him. She is quick to go back to the very place she ran. Her father seems to know this tune and displays anxiety by desperately trying to keep her man in their home where there is plenty of provision, joy and peace—where his daughter will be safe under his watch. Nevertheless, she is an adult and free to make her own decision. She leaves and returns to the Levite to be loved and cherished by him.

E) Using Words and Ministerial Office to Mask Intention and Behavior

Disgrace in the ministry is displayed not simply that a priest takes a concubine to himself as many people had done in that day, but also in the Levite’s lies – he’s a very conniving guy. I am sure he loved the Word of God—it was His job! But does He love God who’s Word he studies and teaches (see Jn 5:39)? He is willing to lie to appear better than he is. When he speaks to the older Ephraimite, in verse 18, the old man says, “Where are you coming from, where do you go Cotton Eye Joe?” The priest says, “I’m going to God’s house.” Where did he go after these events? Did he go to God’s house? Did he go to God with his problem? Did he go to God with his travesty like Hezekiah did when the Assyrians were threatening him? No, he didn’t go to God’s house. He’s a liar, but he tells a lie that the very nature of his ministerial office inclines a listener to believe. We want to believe that ministers are always going to God when evil is being done. We do not want to question their integrity! In fact, he covers the truth again when he divides up his concubine in that grotesque episode.

By simply sending the pieces around and saying – sending them out, leaving people to come to a conclusion themselves. Why wouldn’t he explain what happened? Well, to explain the story would be to implicate himself, because who kicked her out the door? Better to leave it unsaid. After all, who would suspect a minister. Who would even want their own comfort disrupted by allowing for the possibility that a minister would do something so heinous?

In Ezekiel 34 the Holy Spirit indicates, not only how seriously God is about condemning such ministers, nor simply God’s intent to send the Good Shepherd in Jesus (John 10), but also to shepherd us to see that while church offices are indeed a blessing given by the risen Christ to His church (Eph 4:7-12) that some persons will sneak into such offices are imposters and ravage the sheep (Acts 20:29). Amongst a people where Jesus is Lord of the heart, the laity itself will be able to evaluate good and bad shepherds by how they handle the sheep—feeding or feeding upon. Amongst a people where Jesus is Lord of the heart the officers will not only preach, they will lay down their own lives for the sheep. Shepherds after their Lord’s heart will be known pursue and protect sheep, not persecute and prosecute—such that they even have a good reputation outside the people of God (1 Tim 3:7).

2. Evil #4: Discarding others after they’ve been used for our purposes (“Worthless Fellows”)

I’m not going to go into that very deeply but read again vv. 22-30. A picture is worth a thousand words. You see this use, abuse, and discarding committed by the men of Benjamin. Stop for a moment and recognize those are men of the circumcision. In New Testament times we would say, these are men of sacred Baptism. These are covenant men, part of the visible people of God. Doubtless some of these men had tremendous gifts in different areas of life—but the Spirit calls them “Worthless”—of no value to God’s kingdom. This is why, also, we make a distinction between the visible and the invisible church. By not acting according to the faith that they confess, all of this is coming about. Why? Because God’s people rejected their God as king—these are wolves among sheep, these are tears amongst the wheat. God has given His church power from on high to combat such abuses, but where unfaithfulness is rampant, such life-sapping seeds are allowed to grow into bloom! Similarly, after the Levite has used his concubine as a human shield, he shows no compassion for her, but treats her like a burden to be carried, and in the end disposes of her in an attempt to avenge himself (but this is the story of chapter 20). I mentioned commentators are quick to point out how voiceless the concubine is, but what would she have said? To say anything would be too much—everyone can see or hear what is being done to her and they do not value her enough to stop or do anything—for her to use words would simply affirm her lack of inherent value. She goes in silence, and while actions are louder than words, her silence is loudest of all.

Do you see? What I’m trying to show you in brief form and without being too explicit is, do you see how dangerous it is to toy with sin? To toy with faithlessness? To risk God saying, “Okay I will cease to restrain the evil that I’ve been holding back, for I will not allow this to continue being done by those carrying my name in vain.” Do you see the danger of it? Let me quote another puritan, John Owen, “You are to be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” And not only that but through you, sin will kill others as well.