Then the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has occurred among you? Now therefore, deliver up the men, the perverted men who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove the evil from Israel!” But the children of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brethren, the children of Israel. Instead, the children of Benjamin gathered together from their cities to Gibeah, to go to battle against the children of Israel. (Judges 20:12-14)

Refusing To Punish Evil

In the closing days of the judges who ruled the people of God, a disturbing story emerges that rivals that of Lot and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A certain Levite is passing through the land of the Benjamites and decides to spend the night in the city of Gibeah. His servant had suggested they spend the night in a city of the Jebusites, but the Levite did not want to stay in a city that did not belong to the children of Israel. Coming to Gibeah as the sun was setting, the Levite, along with his servant and concubine, decided to lodge there. They sit in the open square looking for someone to take them into their homes for the night, but no one extends the cultural courtesy.

An old man comes in from the fields, finds the Levite in the open square, and takes him into his home. As they were enjoying themselves, certain men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. Like the perverted men of Sodom, they demanded that the old man bring out the Levite so that the men of the city could rape him. Instead, the Levite brought out his concubine for the men to ravish, which they did all night until morning. The concubine crawls back to the old man’s home, where she dies at the threshold of the house.

Returning home, the Levite takes a knife and cuts up the concubine into twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sends her body parts throughout all the territory of Israel. He warns the people of God to consider it, confer, and speak up. Four-hundred-thousand-foot soldiers of Israel gather against the people of Benjamin, demanding justice for the crimes of the city of Gibeah. They demand that the city of Gibeah deliver the men who raped the concubine to the point of death. The children of Benjamin would not listen and prepare to go to war with their brethren. Instead of delivering the wicked men of Gibeah, the Benjamites decided to protect the perverted men, leading to the death of more than one hundred thousand people.

It is difficult to understand the cultural nuances of the times when a man is willing to give his virgin daughter or another woman to a mob of perverted men to do with as they please. This is done to honor the guests who come into a home. In the story of Lot, God delivered his family without offering his two daughters. In the story of the Levite, the concubine is given to the men of the city and ravaged until she dies. What makes the story more heinous is that when the people of God are shown the seditious nature of the men of Gibeah to rape a woman to death, they decide to go to war rather than deliver the wicked men. One point that must not be lost in the story is that the Levite did not want to stay in the city of foreigners but in a city belonging to the children of God. The results were catastrophic for the concubine.

Sin cannot be hidden or excused. Paul challenged the church at Corinth for allowing a member to have his father’s wife. This was something even the Gentiles would not allow. Yet, people of God excuse the acts of someone who is clearly in sin and, for whatever reason, accept them and even protect them. What the church people of Corinth were doing was no less than the Benjamites protecting the vile, wicked men of Gibeah. God’s justice came to those men and the city of Gibeah as the vengeance of the Lord had them killed. The church member in Corinth repented to the glory of God.

Ignoring sin does not answer sin. When someone is in sin, their souls stand in jeopardy before the judgment of the Lord. Allowing sinful actions to continue is a greater sin. Turning a “blind eye” is not seeing how terrible sin is. It is easy to suggest that sin is a “lifestyle” or to refuse to rebuke a man because of his wealth, position, or power, or whatever the cause not to address sin. God is not a respecter of persons and will judge sin on the merits of what that sin is, regardless of what the world says and does. Sex before marriage is a sin and will condemn a soul to torment. Drunkenness is not acceptable. Pornography can and will destroy the soul. Marital infidelity is serious. Being in an unlawful marriage is condemned by Jesus.

The story of the Levite and his concubine has many layers that are difficult to understand. One lesson stands clear: the Benjamites agreed to accept the actions of the men of Gibeah rather than deliver them for the sin they committed. Thousands of people died because of that decision. When the church refuses to deal with sin as the Bible demands, a gathering of judgment will occur, with many serious consequences.