What is the meaning of Judges 19:1? Now in those days, “Now in those days” (Judges 19:1) roots the account in Israel’s era of the Judges. • It reminds us that the events are historical, not allegorical—real people and real places (Judges 2:10-19). • The phrase links back to earlier cycles of disobedience and deliverance (Judges 3:7-11), setting the scene for another example of societal breakdown. • Similar wording in Judges 17:6 and 18:1 signals repeated moral decline. when there was no king in Israel, This statement underscores Israel’s lack of centralized, godly leadership. • Without a king, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). • The line anticipates the righteous monarchy God would eventually provide through David (1 Samuel 16:1-13). • It also highlights the people’s failure to submit to God as their true King (1 Samuel 8:7; Deuteronomy 33:5). • The absence of authority explains why shocking events can unfold unchecked in the chapters that follow. a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim A Levite should have modeled covenant faithfulness (Deuteronomy 10:8-9). • His residence in “remote” Ephraim suggests distance from the tabernacle at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), hinting at spiritual drift. • Earlier Levites in Judges—Micah’s hired priest (Judges 17:7-13) and Phinehas (Judges 20:27-28)—show the tribe’s mixed record during this period. • The man’s anonymity stresses that even clergy were caught in the moral confusion of the age. took for himself a concubine Concubinage, though culturally tolerated, fell short of God’s Genesis 2:24 ideal for one-flesh marriage. • Abraham (Genesis 16:1-4) and Jacob (Genesis 30:3-9) show earlier examples, yet each story reveals heartache that follows such arrangements. • God’s Word records, but never endorses, polygamy; later prophets condemn faithlessness in marriage (Malachi 2:14-16). • The Levite’s choice hints at compromised values that will contribute to tragedy (Judges 19:25-30). from Bethlehem in Judah Bethlehem (“House of Bread”) lies south of Jerusalem. • Judges 17–18 previously spotlight Micah’s shrine and a wandering Levite from Bethlehem, suggesting spiritual disarray both north and south. • Bethlehem later becomes the birthplace of David (1 Samuel 17:12) and, ultimately, the Messiah (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-7), showing God can redeem even dark settings. • The contrast between Bethlehem’s future glory and its present sorrow accents God’s sovereignty over history. summary Judges 19:1 sets the stage for one of Scripture’s starkest accounts of moral collapse. The verse introduces a time without righteous leadership, a Levite who neglects God’s design for marriage, and a setting already marred by spiritual compromise. Each phrase reveals why the ensuing narrative unfolds as it does and challenges readers to honor God’s authority, pursue covenant faithfulness, and trust that He can bring redemption even out of the darkest chapters of human history. |
    |