19:4-10 - The hospitality of the concubine's dad stands in stark contrast to the anti-hospitality that the Levite is going to experience when he gets to Gibeah. It really stands out when God's people are not living as a reflection of Him.
19:16 - It is interesting when you look at it...the old man is a traveler/foreigner/non-Israelite and he is the only non-corrupt person in Gibeah - doesn't really speak well of the spiritual condition of God's people.
19:20 - The old man knowing how corrupt the people of the city are, begs the Levite to stay with him that night. He can't stand by and do nothing as this man and his entourage are abused...again, it is the non-Israelite who is the only heroic person in this story.
19:22 - "Worthless fellows" is translated literally as "sons of Belial" a horrifying deity of the near east. Basically the author is calling these men the sons of Satan. Their lives and actions mark them as followers of the evil one - not God. What do our lives tell people?
19:25ff - The priestly Levite "man of God" then forces his concubine out to the men to be raped until she dies...really high quality guy. How have the men of Israel sunk so far? In verse 28, we see that he basically steps over her dead body the next morning and orders her to get up so they can go. He is callous and uncaring - nothing like a representative of Gd should be.
19:29 - Again, we see how this man is actually an anti-priest...how sick is this? He couldn't just send a message to the people? He had to cut her up and send her body parts out?
20:9 - Throughout the bible God is always in control of the lots, but in this situation, H is not mentioned at all. They have taken the casting of the lots into their own hands and we see that God is not with them as they get their butts kicked by the Benjaminites.
20:16 - The left-handed slingers are menacing, because they throw at an angle warriors are unused to dealing with - very deadly. It is also ironic that the tribe of Benjamin has left-handed warriors, because Benjamin literally means "son of the right hand" - a little brevity in an otherwise sick chapter.
20:26-27 - Finally the Israelites turn to God fasting and praying and sacrificing (all which were rare in this time period in Israel). They humble themselves before God and go back to their covenant and He becomes their protector again. God is the judge in this chapter and He would have been their king and judge for all time, if they had sopped breaking their covenant!
20:47 - These 600 men are the core that rebuilds the tribe of Benjamin.
21:10 - Again, we see that they immediately ditch God to pursue their own plans. They slaughter their own brothers to find wives for the Benjaminites.
21:20-21 - How twisted s the leadership of Israel? They allow the men of Benjamin to get wives by stealing daughters from their fellow Israelites.
21:25 - The book of Judges is depressing and ends with a picture of Israel in total spiritual and relational depravity. They have turned their backs on God and are heaping judgement upon themselves. The reader is left longing for a godly king. And me? I am longing for a God-king...a man named Jesus who will show us all what true living looks like.
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