Judges 19-21

“We won’t go into any city whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah” (19:12). Concerned for safety, the Levite urged his group to avoid Philistine cities and continue to the Israelite town, Gibeah. But in Gibeah they encountered horrific violence, and the Levite himself was revealed to be cruel toward the woman in his care. The author shows us Israelite society at its worst, while they still imagined they were more righteous than the Philistines.

“Why has this happened to Israel?” (21:3). The Israelites saw themselves as special, yet they worshipped idols and lived like pagans (2:12). Jesus said that culture and identity can’t save us; we must die to our sinful natures and be born again.