Judges 19:28-29 — And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

Myra and I read this ugly story again this morning. Now let me remind you “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) So this story is in the Bible for a reason. What could it be?
If you read all the way through Judges 19, I’m not sure you’ll find a single person to like. There’s the Levite, who fore some reason has wandered far from his family … and turns out to have a really dark side. There’s his concubine (maybe the most sympathetic of the cast) who is, at least, unreliable. The concubine’s father — well, maybe the worst that can be said about him is that he was too attached to a party life style. And then we come to Gibeah …
“And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.” (Judges 19:12). Talk about a bad decision! There was something bad about Gibeah. Maybe the Levite should have known something was up when none of the townspeople was willing to offer hospitality. The only offer came from the “old man” who basically said “I’m a stranger here myself, but don’t stay in the square.” it turns out that it didn’t matter. The men of the town came knocking — and the Levite and his host gave up their women folk to protect themselves!
So really, how is this horrible story “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works?” At least two things come to mind.
Firstly, this report of the dreadful state of Israel when “there was no King in Israel, every man did that which was right in his own eyes” adds to the credibility of the Bible. There’s no sugar-coating, no hiding the ugly stuff.
Secondly, there is a warning. This is not a tale about wicked Canaanites. The townspeople are the Lord’s people — of the tribe of Benjamin. This is what happens when the people of God have no governing moral authority.
The warning carries a question. If we are Christians, what would happen if the Levite rode into our town? Are we sure we would do so well? How solid is the Christian history? Do we have any ugly stories in our past?