What is the meaning of the disturbing story of the Levite's concubine in Judges 19?
A viewer asks Robert to explain the bizarre story in Judges 19 of the Levite and his concubine, who was raped to death and then cut into twelve pieces.
Answer
It is one of the most bizarre stories in the Old Testament, and it made Israel stink upon the whole land. It illustrates what I was describing earlier: you can think you are so high and mighty as a nation, because God has chosen and blessed you, that you end up doing things you never thought yourself capable of. Once the sword is in your hand it entices you to bloodthirstiness; even hunters describe how killing can become a kind of blood lust, and in your mind you can become a different person when you imagine you are specially favored by God and hold prerogatives others do not. You make excuses and think you can get away with what normal people cannot. That is what was happening in Judges 19, and it shows how easily a people boasting in their own nationality can become a different kind of people without even recognizing what they have become, because we are so sinful. It is a terrible story of greed, lust, and death, everything gone haywire.