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When Jesus Christ is not ruling among His people, chaos inevitably becomes the order of the day—among brothers, in marriages, and in both church and state. No period of redemptive history demonstrates this fact more clearly than that of the judges.
The last episode in Judges concludes with a reiteration of the theme of the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25). Sit back for a moment and let the story tell itself.
A certain priest in Israel takes a concubine from Bethlehem (Judg. 19:1). This consecrated priest of God does not take a proper wife to himself, which would have been perfectly appropriate. Instead, he takes her as a concubine. Concubinage is assumed and provided for in the Law of Moses, which aims to prevent its excesses (Ex. 21:7–11; Deut. 21:10–14). A woman in such a relationship is lawfully married, but she and the children from the relationship are given inferior rights.
THEOLOGY IN JUDGES
Unhappy with the arrangement, this concubine deserts the priest to play the harlot. The priest goes after his concubine (likely leaving a “proper” family behind), and persuades the woman’s father to send his daughter back with him.
Darkness begins to settle in as they travel. The priest’s servant urges him to stop in Jebus, but the priest cannot bring himself to spend the night in a Canaanite town. The party presses on to Gibeah, which is inhabited by members of the tribe of Benjamin. They feel confident that they can settle in safely for the evening among their brother Israelites.
But the people of Gibeah will not even show common hospitality. They will let the priest and his wife sleep in the streets. The situation is saved only by an old man who is himself a stranger to Gibeah.
In the middle of the night, certain base fellows begin banging at the old man’s door. They want to “know” this stranger. In other words, these men intend to force this Israelite into homosexual acts.
See the chaos with no king! Though these men are counted among God’s people, they have sunk to the deepest depravity.
The old man also shows his confusion, offering his own daughter and the concubine of his guest to the unruly mob. “Use them,” he says. “Do whatever pleases you.” Eventually, only the concubine ends up among the lustful men. The next morning, the priest discovers her dead at the door of the house, with her hands stretched toward its threshold.
The madness of a community without Christ as King is not over. The priest hacks the woman’s body into 12 pieces and sends one portion to each of the tribes. The tribes assemble four hundred thousand men, who demand that the Benjamites surrender the offenders. Instead, the Benjamites commission twenty-six thousand warriors to resist the collective troops of the nation. In the process of three bloody battles, forty thousand from the various tribes of Israel are slain, along with twenty-five thousand Benjamites. After that extensive carnage, only six hundred males remain to the whole tribe of Benjamin, and they are left desolate without wives or families.
Yet still the chaos continues. Israel must now punish the draft-dodgers of Jabesh Gilead. A representative troop from the various tribes is dispatched with explicit orders: “Destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately.” When Israel’s “special forces” have completed their mission, only four hundred unmarried maidens of the town of Jabesh Gilead survive.
But chaotic madness still prevails. The Israelites do not want the whole tribe of Benjamin to perish. Yet each of the tribes of Israel has vowed that they never will give any of their daughters to the rebellious tribe of Benjamin. So the tribes of Israel determine to make a massive “marriage match.” They will give the four hundred surviving maidens of Jabesh Gilead to the six hundred men of Benjamin as their wives.
Yet a problem remains. What about the two hundred Benjamites without wives? A festival is coming. Let the Benjamite bachelors hide in the bushes. While the maidens of Israel perform their dance, let each single men jump out, grab a woman, and drag her away to be his wife! If everyone will pretend they don’t know what is happening, no one will be guilty of breaking his vow. No one will have “given” his daughter to the Benjamites!
And so it is! As Judges concludes, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” So shall it ever be when Jesus Christ is not King among His people. Chaos and madness will rule instead of a gracious Savior.
Gracious indeed! Some years after this madness has run its course, the restoring grace of God shows how supremely it reigns. A direct descendant of one of these strangely arranged marriages is named Saul of Gibeah. This same Saul is anointed as the first king of Israel.
But an even greater testimony to God’s grace comes centuries later. The greatest missionary of the church of Jesus Christ is another Benjamite, and his name also is Saul—Saul of Tarsus.
With these clear indicators of the gracious character of the rule of King Jesus, why should anyone resist His sovereignty? Let us then with gladsome mind hail Him as our sovereign, gracious Lord, the exalted King of heaven and earth.