July 25 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 86—Judges 19:1–15

¹In those days, when there was no king in Israel, a certain Levite was sojourning in the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, who took to himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. ²And his concubine was unfaithful to him, and she went away from him to her father’s house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there some four months. ³Then her husband arose and went after her, to speak kindly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. And she brought him into her father’s house. And when the girl’s father saw him, he came with joy to meet him. ⁴And his father-in-law, the girl’s father, made him stay, and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and spent the night there. ⁵And on the fourth day they arose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the girl’s father said to his son-in-law, "Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and after that you may go." ⁶So the two of them sat and ate and drank together. And the girl’s father said to the man, "Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry." ⁷And when the man rose up to go, his father-in-law pressed him, till he spent the night there again. ⁸And on the fifth day he arose early in the morning to depart. And the girl’s father said, "Strengthen your heart and wait until the day declines." So they ate, both of them. ⁹And when the man and his concubine and his servant rose up to depart, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, "Behold, now the day has waned toward evening. Please, spend the night. Behold, the day draws to its close. Lodge here and let your heart be merry, and tomorrow you shall arise early in the morning for your journey, and go home."

¹⁰But the man would not spend the night. He rose up and departed and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a couple of saddled donkeys, and his concubine was with him. ¹¹When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, "Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it." ¹²And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah." ¹³And he said to his young man, "Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah." ¹⁴So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin, ¹⁵and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.

Devotional:

With chapter 19 we enter the second part of the author's epilogue, this one dealing with Israel's moral defection. The story begins with a concubine running away from her Levite husband over some marital crisis. She heads south to her father's house in Bethlehem, where, after four months, her husband finds her and convinces her to return to their home in Ephraim.

At this point the plot thickens. We must realize that the first part of chapter 19 hinges on the question of hospitality. The text introduces two kinds of hospitality, namely, an exaggerated and an undeveloped one. The father's hospitality is oppressive. Oriental hospitality has always been extraordinary, but here the father of the concubine all but forces the couple to stay, and stay, and stay. He probably meant well, but he was oblivious to the fact that husband and wife had some things to work out and get on with their lives. There may be a good deal of concern for his own well-being and entertainment present in the father. He wants to have his family around. When reading through this scene one cannot help but notice the agonizingly repetitive nature of the father's words, as he keeps saying, "Come on now, stay a little, and after that you may go on." The dialogue tests the reader's patience, and it is designed to create in us the same sense of frustration and tension that the Levite must have felt, when the host kept detaining him for yet another round of beers. The father simply won't consider the interests of others. His hospitality is monstrous, and it becomes a burden, because he acts as though he owned his guests.

But this hospitality gone awry is the foil for the complete lack of hospitality in Gibeah. "No one took them into his house to spend the night" (19:15). This comment would have been extremely shocking in the Ancient Near East, and especially in Israel. "People refuse to open their doors to Israelites passing through? This is unheard-of!

Hospitality is not merely a societal convention. It is a biblical command that applies to us today just as well. According to the NT, extending hospitality to strangers can be an opportunity to encounter God. "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it" (Heb. 13:1-2).

There is another reason why God demands hospitality and to include or take in outsiders. "You know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt" (Ex. 23:9). The words to Israel resonate with Paul's address to us Gentiles: "Remember that you were formerly separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus" (Eph. 2:12-13). When we tend to the stranger and outsider we affirm the gospel. God wants us to overcome and break down barriers in family, church, and society because he has.

The author of these devotionals, the Rev. Martin Emmrich, is an ordained OPC minister (Westminster OPC, Corvallis, Oregon) as well as the author of Pneumatological Concepts in the Epistle to the Hebrews, a book on the teaching of Hebrews on the Holy Spirit. We are happy to make these devotionals on Ecclesiastes and other passages of Scripture available to you.