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This is a terrible story, to say the least. In fact, you will be hard-pressed to find a more shocking chapter in the Bible. In a horrifying scene of events, we get a picture of just how bad it has gotten within Israel. It would not be as surprising to witness such events within the pagan tribes surrounding Israel, but here we have a Levite priest who willingly gives his concubine over to men to rape and eventually kill.
There is almost a ho-hum, ordinary nature of these events. A perfect illustration is how easily the Levite man sleeps at night (knowing she is outside the door being raped and abused), and then wakes up, walks out to find her, and tells her to “get up” because he’s ready to go. There is no remorse for her suffering. We can conclude that when he attempts to get her back by going to her father’s house and speaking kindly to her, it wasn’t because he loved her but because it was to his own benefit.
Then the Levite man cuts up her body and sends the pieces to each of the 12 tribes! What is going on here???
First and foremost, this chapter illustrates the severe moral decline of God’s people. Gibeah offered no hospitality which was a breach of God’s law (Leviticus 25:35). The old man who finally offers lodging to the couple is actually from their same region (the mountains of Ephraim). This is a serious condemnation for the town of Gibeah. This earned Gibeah a reputation that would continue throughout Scripture.
They are hopelessly evil in what they do, just as they were at Gibeah. God will remember their sin and punish them for it.
Hosea 9:9 GNB
The LORD says, “The people of Israel have not stopped sinning against me since the time of their sin at Gibeah. So at Gibeah war will catch up with them.
Hosea 10:9 GNB
The suggestion of these perverted men to rape the Levite is bad enough but the fact that the Levite willingly offers his concubine for their pleasure is horrendous and disgusting. The old man is equally guilty for being willing to offer his own daughter!
The cutting of the concubine into pieces and sending her parts to the 12 tribes was most likely a wake-up call of sorts. It was drawing attention to the grotesque sin that had overtaken the nation.
I have referred to it many times but this is what happens when we “do what is right in our own eyes.” The worst part about this chapter is that there’s no redemptive quality to any of the characters. All of them, to some degree, have made appalling compromises to the truth of God. The greatest compromise in all this is the Levite priest who was supposed to be held to a higher standard as a teacher of the Lord.
When we engage in sin repeatedly, our hearts become calloused. We no longer feel the heartbeat of God. Evil becomes ordinary. The frightening part about this story is that these same things are happening in our nation this very day! Gibeah had become as evil as Sodom and Gomorrah and I would say our culture today is not much different.
Oh how we all need more of Jesus in this life!