In Judges 19:1-30 there is the story about the minor wife of a Levite. This woman returns to her father’s house, and the Levite eventually goes to redeem her. However, the return journey is similar to the disturbing final night of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). The Levite lodges at a Benjamite city, rather than a heathen city, and the wicked men of the city come to sexually molest the visitors. So, it comes to pass that the recently redeemed minor wife is thrown out to these men and by morning is dead. To which the Levite, in the morning, cuts up her dead body and sends the pieces to the whole of distressed Israel. This evokes a response of civil war and divine judgment, finally wrapping up the last 3 chapters of the book of Judges in a twisted way.
Now, every single time I read this story I am thoroughly disgusted. Let me clarify, this is not normal. Ever.
How can people be so vile? Especially God’s alleged chosen people?
When reading stories that are just weird, I always remember what a friend told me once, they are a description NOT a prescription.
Throughout the Bible there is a record of people, individuals and groups, making full circles. They have a good start but a terrible finish. Such as Lot’s good intentions of settling in a good land but being corrupted by bad company (Genesis 13; 19). Or what about the cycles of the Israelites. They obey God for a bit, turn away, fall into slavery, call out to God asking why it happened, only to repent… a few years later doing the same thing again. Over and over this happens in human history, reaching us, in everyday life.
Sounds hopeless right? But the good news is this: Jesus Christ, our redeemer and hope, is with us every step of the way. Just as Hebrews 4:15 tells us,
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
How’s this; when we or others experience horrible things, we can turn to Jesus. To a God who hasn’t just experienced it, but has gone through it, and helped multitudes to become victors over pain rather than victims of circumstance.
Going back to our story in Judges, I have heard numerous sermons, studies, and thoughts on this event. However, it finally clicked for me one day in class. In the midst of a secular university, my lecturer, casually teaching the class is completely oblivious to the fact that what she is teaching is increasing my understanding of God. I’ll describe what she taught of the human body that day.
Looking at the human body, when it’s first exposed to unfriendly foreign particles (e.g. a virus, or cat fur) it begins an immune response.
Cell 1 stumbles across this abnormality, destroys it, but takes the broken, cut up pieces and puts it on itself.
Now covered in this issue, cell 1 then goes to show some bigger management cells (cell 2).
Cell 1 presents the issue, showing what has happened, anxious for a solution.
Cell 2, starts the response, recruiting further assistance to deal with this issue (let’s say the armed forces of Israel).
These go, find the original issue and deals with it accordingly.
All the while, this event is recorded in their memory to know how to survive future events (e.g. an antibody).
This is the fundamental picture of the body’s immune response in fighting against a foreign bug.
This reminds me of the biblical story because it takes a team effort (cells or the civil response & divine judgement) to deal with a major issue. It reminds me that even when the circumstances of life are absolutely absurd,
God is looking out for us.
Ready to defend us.
Ready to avenge us.
Crying with us.
Showing us that we have a God that is fighting for us, as Hosea 2:19-20 describes;
“I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the LORD.”
In the midst of our struggles God is asking us, ‘can we join forces to fight this together?’.
WRITER: Kate Dorman, is a student in the science field, she is constantly fascinated by the revelations of a Creating God in the human body.