The story of the Levite and his concubine and the subsequent near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin is one of the more gruesome stories in the Bible. How did the Children of Israel, those born of such promise, the promise to Abraham, come to this ignoble end. It was not just because they had no king as these chapters keep mentioning. A king would not have kept the people from the wrong choices. It was because the people lost sight of their God and their inheritance. It had all become a here and now philosophy. See the stranger in the square? Let's take him and abuse him for our own pleasure. If we can't do that, then let's take his concubine instead. There were few who would stand up to prevent everything that was evil from taking place.
When the results of this madness ran it's course, and the Levite sent the concubine's body parts to the remaining tribes, the people of Israel were incensed. How could this have happened? How did it get to this point? We must have revenge. Madness upon madness ensued with the tribe of Benjamin being almost completely obliterated. Did these events all take place because there was no king or was there a self-righteous, every man for himself mentality, that had never been dealt with? Self-indulgence always meets a gruesome end.
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