And it came to pass on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart; and the damsel's father said to his son-in-law, Refresh thy heart with a morsel of bread, and afterwards ye may go your way.
The Levite — a man set apart for God's service — is leaving with the woman who had left him, and her father asks him to stay for one more bite of bread. Commentators trace one of the darkest chapters in Israel's history back to that small delay, and ask why this servant of God could not say no.
These closing chapters of Judges stand outside the nation's running history.
The chapters that follow (Judges 17-21) do not belong to the historical order of this book. They lift the veil and show us scenes from the inner life of this people, whom God bore with so patiently for so long... They did as they pleased, and with no king there was nothing to hold them back, so every kind of loose behaviour had room to grow.
One writer starts with the man himself, and with the God he never called on.
The Levite of Ephraim, whose history we are about to consider, did not call on Him at all. As far as he was concerned it was as if the LORD no longer existed, and yet this man belonged to a class set apart for the service of the LORD, for the priesthood and the house of God... He let himself be delayed on his journey. Having only his conscience, instead of God, as his guide, he gave in to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
There is a reason behind the father's warm hospitality. It has to do with how other people see his daughter.
This satisfied the woman's father, who saw in it the reinstatement of his daughter... So the father kept his son-in-law there. The longer he stayed, the more public and open his daughter's restored standing became. The world shows us kindness in proportion as we serve its interests; it does not object to an alliance with the family of God.
Given what had happened, the mood in that house is the problem.
There is not a shadow of encouragement in the attitude of the girl's father. In such circumstances the only fitting thing was a broken and contrite spirit before God, and a deeply humble and quiet soul. Instead he is quite indifferent to the shame of it all, and covers it over with merry-making and false fellowship. The Levite too gives himself fully to this mere social vanity, until he could stand it no longer (vv. 4-10).
He does not refuse this invitation, and it will not be the last one. Another servant, sent on an errand in Genesis, met the same pressure and answered it differently.
The young woman had agreed to return with the Levite to his home, but her father kept him there for three days of social enjoyment (v. 4). When Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:55-56), he would not consent to being detained, but this Levite remained for the three days and planned to leave early the fourth day. But the woman's father urged him to stay another day (v. 7) and he gave in to this. Then on the fifth day, instead of leaving early, he gave in to the urging of remaining till afternoon!... This wavering indecision is a sad comment on the character of the Levite, one who had the place of the Lord's servant!
The same writer sets this verse beside a man in Luke's Gospel. That man asked only for a short goodbye before following Jesus.
He was following what he considered a natural social courtesy... Compare the indecision of the Levite in Judges 19:5-10 and the sad consequences... Social courtesy can rob us of much valuable time in the Lord's service.
One writer traces the whole disaster back to the loose state of soul on show at these meals.
Here you see a Levite pulling the people apart, when his blessed work was to knit them together and hold them. In a very telling way, he is a man who should have served others, and instead had others serving him, ruled by his own corrupt desires. Trace the whole history, and you find that what marks it is self-indulgence and a slack, unready life. All the way through, a careless, unguarded state of soul makes room for the occasion that gives rise to the awful crime.
- Delay begins small. A bite of bread, then one more night: the ask is small, and a man guided by his own conscience instead of God says yes.
- Delay flatters. The father's pressing is warm, but it served his own interest. The world shows kindness in proportion as we serve its aims.
- Delay numbs. Grief and self-judgment belonged in that house. Instead there was merry-making, and the Levite joined in until he could stand it no longer.
- Delay repeats. Abraham's servant met the same pressure and refused to stay. This man gave in on the fourth day, the fifth, and again by afternoon — wavering indecision in one who held the place of the Lord's servant.
- Delay costs. Social courtesy can rob us of valuable time in service. Here a careless, unguarded soul made room for the crime that followed.
And they sat down, and ate and drank, both of them together. And the damsel's father said to the man, Be content, I pray thee, and pass the night, and let thy heart be glad.
The Levite has come to Bethlehem to bring back the woman who left him. Instead of a reckoning there is a meal, a drink, and a father urging him to stay one more night — the first step, commentators say, in a chain that ends in an awful crime.
These closing chapters of Judges do not follow the order of history. They show what a people become when nothing holds them back.
The chapters that follow (Judges 17-21) do not stand in the historical order of this book. They lift the veil to show us scenes from the inner life of this people, whom the patience of God bore with for so long... If they had been obedient while Jehovah was their King, their prosperity would have been secure. But they were self-willed, and the lack of restraint — when they had no king — gave room to every kind of loose living.
The moment called for sorrow. Instead the father tells the Levite to let his heart be merry, and one commentator sees that good cheer as a cover-up.
There is not a shadow of encouragement in the attitude of the girl's father. He shows no broken and sorrowful spirit before God, and none of the humble, quiet soul that alone would have suited such a moment. He does not care about the shame of it all, and smugly covers it over with merry-making and false fellowship. The Levite too goes along fully with this empty social show, until he can stand it no longer (vv. 4-10). May we never get used to indulging in such idle social pleasure — and how much more disgusting it is when the occasion is this serious!
The invitation to stay was not simple generosity. The father had something to gain from every extra night.
The father kept his son-in-law there, because the longer he stayed, the more public and obvious his daughter's restoration became. The world shows us kindness in the measure that we serve its interests; it has no objection to a partnership with the family of God. The Levite let himself be delayed on his journey. With only his conscience, and not God, as his guide, he gave in to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
This ask is not a one-off. It sits in the middle of a run of small surrenders, each going a little further than the last.
The young woman had agreed to go back with the Levite to his home, but her father kept him there for three days of social enjoyment (v. 4). When Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:55-56), he refused to be held back; but this Levite stayed the three days and planned to leave early on the fourth. Then the woman's father urged him to stay one more day (v. 7), and he gave in. On the fifth day, instead of leaving early, he gave in again and stayed till the afternoon!... This wavering indecision says something sad about the character of the Levite, a man who held the place of the Lord's servant!
The days of feasting are not filler in the story. They set the clock that decides where the travellers will spend the night.
The five days of eating and drinking at Bethlehem have their moral meaning: then the departure, made too late; then the mention of Jerusalem as a Jebusite city... It is now a city of foreigners; but no more foreign than Gibeah of Benjamin, with its unsettling lack of ordinary hospitality.
A Levite was meant to hold the people together in the service of God. This one sits and lets others wait on him.
Here you see a Levite who, instead of doing the blessed work of knitting the people together and holding them, is pulling them apart. At the very least, in a way that tells us much, he is a man who was not serving others but being served, with his own corrupt desires in control of him. Trace the whole history, and you find that what marks it is self-indulgence and no readiness for service. All the way through, a careless, unguarded state of soul opens the door to the occasion that gives rise to the awful crime.
- Welcome. The father meets a shameful situation with food, drink and good cheer. A comfortable evening takes the place of a broken and sorrowful spirit.
- Motive. His urging is not pure kindness. Every extra night makes his daughter's restoration more public. The world is kind to us as long as we serve its interests.
- Drift. Three days, then one more day, then till afternoon. The Levite takes his conscience, not God, as his guide. He gives in to others and misses his moment.
- Delay. The five days of eating and drinking decide the journey. The travellers leave too late and must stop for the night in Gibeah.
- Root. Self-indulgence and no readiness for service, in the very man set apart to serve. A careless, unguarded soul makes room for the crime that follows.
And the man rose up to depart, but his father-in-law urged him, and he lodged there again.
The Levite has gone to fetch back the concubine who left him. Now he is on his feet, ready to travel — and his father-in-law talks him into one more night. It is one small concession. Commentators treat it as the turn that leads to the horror filling the rest of the chapter.
These closing chapters of Judges are not placed in time order. They exist to expose what Israel was like underneath.
The chapters that follow (Judges 17-21) are not part of the historical order of this book. They pull back the curtain and show some scenes from the inner life of this people, whom God patiently bore with for so long... They were set on their own will, and with no restraint — they had no king — there was room for loose living of every sort.
He rose up to go, so the intention was right. But verse 7 is not a one-off slip. One writer counts the days of delay, and sets the Levite beside a traveller who refused every delay: the servant Abraham sent to find a wife for his son Isaac.
The young woman had agreed to return with the Levite to his home. But her father kept him there for three days of social enjoyment (v. 4). When Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:55-56), he would not let them keep him back. But this Levite stayed the three days and planned to leave early on the fourth day. Then the woman's father urged him to stay another day (v. 7) and he gave in. Then on the fifth day, instead of leaving early, he gave in to the urging to remain till afternoon! Again the woman's father urged him to stay overnight and go the next morning (v. 9)... This wavering indecision is a sad comment on the character of the Levite. He held the place of the Lord's servant!
Why did the father press so hard? One writer finds a motive in it, and a rule about how the world treats the people of God.
The father kept his son-in-law there. The longer he stayed, the more public and obvious his daughter's restoration became. The world shows us kindness to the degree that we serve its interests; it does not object to an alliance with the family of God. The Levite let others hold him up on his journey. His guide was only his conscience, not God. So he gave way to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
That last line names what was missing. A determined host can talk a conscience round. He cannot move a man whom God is guiding.
A shameful matter had brought the two men together. See what filled the days instead.
There is not a shadow of encouragement in the attitude of the girl's father. Such circumstances called for one thing only: a broken and contrite spirit before God, and a deeply humble and quiet state of soul. He shows none of it. He is quite indifferent to the shame of it all, and covers it over, untroubled, with merry-making and false fellowship. The Levite too gives himself wholly to this mere social vanity until he could stand it no longer (vv. 4-10)... how much more disgusting when the occasion is so serious!
Because he stayed, he left late in the day. One writer sees the falling light as a picture of the nation's own hour.
He goes to get her, and gives himself up to carousing, and passes day after day in eating and drinking. Then, as the evening shadows begin to fall, he leaves all at once, as if on a whim. He is going back to his place — his place of service, we assume. Despite all the father-in-law's requests to stay another day, he goes off with the shadows already falling. It was evening indeed — for her, for him, and for the nation too. Evening was closing in.
- Delay. One more night, granted to a host who kept pressing. The Levite had given in before, and he gave in again.
- Drift. Conscience alone is not a guide. The Levite gave way to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil. Abraham's servant refused every delay.
- Dulling. The matter called for a broken and contrite spirit. It got merry-making and false fellowship. They covered the wrong over instead of judging it.
- Darkness. The lost days pushed his departure into the evening shadows. Evening was closing in on him, on her, and on Israel.
- Disclosure. These chapters pull back the curtain on a people with no restraint. Where no one judges evil, loose living has room to grow.
And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; but the damsel's father said, Refresh thy heart, I pray thee. And they lingered until the afternoon, and they did eat both of them.
On the fifth morning the Levite is up early and ready to travel, until his father-in-law asks him to strengthen his heart with one more meal. Commentators ask why Scripture counts these days, and what a lost afternoon has to do with the horror that follows at Gibeah.
This verse is one step in a longer sequence, and one writer counts the steps. He sets the Levite beside Abraham's servant, who refused to be kept back.
The young woman had agreed to return with the Levite to his home, but her father kept him back for three days of social enjoyment (v. 4). When Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:55-56), he refused to be kept back, but this Levite stayed the three days and planned to leave early on the fourth day. But the woman's father urged him to stay another day (v. 7) and he gave in to this. Then on the fifth day, instead of leaving early, he gave in to the urging to remain till afternoon! Again the woman's father urged him to stay overnight and go the next morning (v. 9). But he clearly felt that he had given in too much already, and they started their journey late in the day (v. 10). This wavering indecision is a sad comment on the character of the Levite, one who had the place of the Lord's servant!
The father's pressing looks like warmth. One writer asks what each extra day was worth to the father, and what it cost the Levite.
The father kept his son-in-law back, for the longer he remained, the more public and obvious his daughter's reinstatement became. The world shows us kindness in proportion as we serve its interests. It has no objection to an alliance with the family of God. The Levite let himself be held up on his journey. His guide was only his conscience and not God, so he yielded to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
There was real shame in this household, and shame calls for sorrow. Instead the table is spread, and the Levite goes along with it.
Nor is there a shadow of encouragement in the attitude of the girl's father. He should have shown a broken and contrite spirit before God. In such circumstances only a deeply humble and quiet state of soul was fitting. Instead he is quite indifferent to the shame of it all, and with a self-satisfied air he covers it over with merry-making and false fellowship. The Levite too gives in completely to this empty social vanity, until he could stand it no longer (vv. 4-10). God forbid that we should ever get used to such idle social pleasure. It is far more distasteful at a time of serious importance! Yet this is not an uncommon thing.
The story counts the days, and one writer takes that count as deliberate.
The Levite and his concubine are clearly meant to convey to us the general laxity. The woman is hardly lighter than the man. The five days of eating and drinking at Bethlehem have their moral significance: then the departure, when too late.
A Levite's calling was to serve others. Here he is the one who gets served.
Here you see a Levite pulling the people apart. His blessed work was to knit them together and hold them together. In a very telling way, he is a man who was served by others instead of serving them, and his own corrupt desires had control of him. Trace the whole history, and what marks it is self-indulgence and a man never ready for action. All the way through, a careless, unguarded soul opens the door to the occasion that gives rise to the awful crime.
The afternoon went on the meal, so the journey starts in fading light. The same writer sees more than one evening closing in.
Then, as the evening shadows begin to fall, he leaves all at once, as if on a whim. He is going back to his own place again — his place of service, it seems. The father-in-law asks him again and again to stay another day, but he goes off with the shadows already falling. Surely it was evening indeed, for her, for him, and for the nation too. Evening was closing in.
- Urged — The father's pressing was not simple warmth. Every extra day made his daughter's restored standing more public.
- Yielded — Three days, then a fourth, then an afternoon. Each surrender came easier than the last, in a man who held the place of the Lord's servant.
- Feasted — Shame called for a contrite spirit. Merry-making and false fellowship covered it over instead, and the Levite went along.
- Delayed — The counted days of eating and drinking carry meaning. They end in a departure that came too late.
- Overtaken — Self-indulgence leaves a soul unguarded. The shadows were already falling when the road to Gibeah began.
And the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant; and his father-in-law, the damsel's father, said to him, Behold now, the day draws toward evening -- I pray you stay all night; behold, the day is declining, lodge here, and let thy heart be merry; and to-morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go to thy tent.
The scene is a doorway at Bethlehem: a man has got up to leave, and his father-in-law talks him into staying one more night. The invitation sounds harmless: food, rest, an early start in the morning. Yet this one delay opens onto one of the darkest chapters in Israel's history.
The traveller is a Levite, one of the men whose calling was to hold God's people together. Commentators read his whole story as a reversal of that calling.
Here you see a Levite. His blessed work was to knit the people together and keep them united. Instead, he is pulling them apart. At the very least, the picture is telling: a man who should have served others is the one being served, with his own corrupt desires in control of him. Trace the whole history, and what marks it is self-indulgence and a life left slack instead of ready for service. All the way through, a careless, unguarded soul makes room for the occasion that gives rise to the awful crime.
The father calls for a merry heart. Yet the household has just patched up a broken relationship, and no one there seems troubled by it.
There is not a shadow of encouragement in the attitude of the girl's father. In such circumstances the only fitting thing was a broken and contrite spirit before God, with a humble and quiet soul that took the matter seriously. Instead, he is completely unbothered by the shame of it all, and smugly covers it over with merry-making and false fellowship. The Levite too gives in fully to this mere social vanity, until he could stand it no longer. God forbid that we should ever get used to indulging in such idle social pleasure; but how much more disgusting on an occasion of serious importance!
One commentator finds a motive behind the father's welcome.
This satisfied the woman's father, who saw in it his daughter's position restored. Yet the act, though he did not realise it, also justified the evil and gave approval to the defilement — all the more serious because of the weight of this man's sacred position. So the father kept his son-in-law there. The longer he stayed, the more public and open his daughter's restored position became. The world shows us kindness in proportion as we serve its interests. It has no objection to being linked with the family of God. The Levite allowed himself to be delayed on his way. Having only his conscience, instead of God, as his guide, he yielded to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
This request is not the first one. Counting the days shows a man who never quite says no.
The young woman had agreed to return with the Levite to his home. But her father kept him there for three days of social enjoyment. When Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac, he refused to be held back. This Levite stayed the three days and planned to leave early on the fourth day. But the woman's father urged him to stay another day and he gave in to this. Then on the fifth day, instead of leaving early, he gave in to the urging to remain till afternoon! Again the woman's father urged him to stay overnight and go the next morning. It seems he felt he had given in too much already, and they started their journey late in the day. This wavering indecision says something sad about the Levite — a man who held the place of the Lord's servant!
The father points to the fading light. One commentator sees more than the hour of the day in it.
Then, as the evening shadows begin to fall, he leaves suddenly, as if on a whim, to return to his place again — his place of service, we may suppose. Despite all the father-in-law's appeals to stay another day, he goes off with the shadows already falling. It was evening indeed — for her, for him, and for the nation too. Evening was closing in.
These closing chapters stand outside the book's running history. One commentator explains why.
The chapters that follow are not included in the historical order of this book. They lift the veil on some scenes from the inner life of this people, whom God in His patience bore with so long... Self-willed as they were, the absence of restraint — when they had no king — gave room to all kinds of licence. The last event in this book shows how high disorder had risen in Israel, and how they fell away from God at once.
- Delay. Three days became four, four became five, and the last request kept a man from the road he had already risen to take.
- Dulled. Feasting papers over a serious matter. Merry-making hides the shame instead of facing it.
- Detained. The world stays warm as long as you serve its interests. A conscience without God as its guide gives way to the people around it.
- Dark. The Levite leaves with the shadows already falling. It was evening for him, for the woman, and for the nation.
- Disclosed. The chapter stands apart from the running history on purpose. It lifts the veil on what a people with no restraint had become.
But the man would not tarry the night; and he rose up and departed, and came opposite to Jebus, that is, Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, and his concubine was with him.
A Levite has spent five days in his father-in-law's house at Bethlehem, and now he refuses one more night. Commentators read that late start as the hinge of the whole story — the move of a man who never asked God.
One writer sets the Levite beside Abraham's servant, then counts off the days he gave away:
When Abraham's servant went to find a wife for Isaac (Gen. 24:55-56), he refused to be held back. But this Levite stayed the three days, and planned to leave early on the fourth day. Then the woman's father urged him to stay another day (v. 7), and he gave in. Then on the fifth day, instead of leaving early, he gave in to the urging to remain till afternoon! Again the woman's father urged him to stay overnight and go the next morning (v. 9). But he felt, evidently, that he had given in too much already, and they started their journey late in the day (v. 10). This wavering indecision is a sad comment on the character of the Levite, one who had the place of the Lord's servant!
His refusal comes too late. He is a man steered by other people, and one writer names what he was missing:
The Levite let himself be delayed on his journey. Having only his conscience, instead of God, as his guide, he yielded to the influence of others, missed his opportunity, and fell into evil.
The same writer sets this Levite at the end of a descending line. Levites were the tribe set apart for the service of God's house:
Samson, the last of the Judges, still called on Jehovah at certain memorable moments of his life. The Levite of Judah only called on Him over the head of his images and household gods. The Levite of Ephraim, whose history we are about to consider, did not, alas, call on Him at all. As far as he was concerned, it was as if Jehovah no longer existed. And yet this man belonged to a class set apart for the service of Jehovah, for the priesthood, and for the house of God.
The verse stops to explain the name: Jebus is Jerusalem. One writer reads the couple, the feasting, the late hour and the foreign city as a single moral picture. That city turns out to be no worse than the Israelite town up the road:
The Levite and his concubine are clearly meant to show us the general laxity. The woman is hardly lighter than the man. The five days of eating and drinking at Bethlehem have their moral significance. Then came the departure, when it was too late. Then the notice of Jerusalem as a Jebusite city… It is now a city of the stranger, but no more strange than Gibeah of Benjamin, with its ominous lack of ordinary hospitality.
Another writer traces that Canaanite name back to Benjamin's own weakness:
But though Judah had clearly weakened, Benjamin was already weaker still. Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, so they remained among Benjamin in the same city (Judges 1:21). In fact, it seems clear that the Jebusites controlled the city until David and his men drove them out years later (2 Sam. 5:5-9).
The chapter ends in an atrocity. One writer warns against skipping the ordinary-looking verses that lead up to it:
But note carefully the matters that led up to the awful event. These are the things that show the careless, unprofitable state of soul that marked the whole nation… Evil had been allowed to creep in gradually, unchallenged, and senses had become dulled to it. Then came a sudden, shocking exposure, and we learn the real results of the laxity that leaves the roots of evil unjudged.
- Delay. Five days of eating and drinking in Bethlehem ended in a departure made too late in the day.
- Drift. His own conscience guided him, not God. So he gave way to whoever pressed him hardest.
- Silence. He was set apart for the service of God's house, yet he never calls on the Lord.
- Jebus. The name records an old failure. Benjamin left the Jebusites in place, and they held the city until David took it.
- Exposure. The small, careless things before the horror reveal the nation's state. Evil left unchallenged breaks into the open.