What is the meaning of Judges 19:24? Look • The old man opens with “Look” (Judges 19:24), a word that grabs attention and signals urgency, much like Abraham’s “Please, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing” in Genesis 19:7. • Scripture records events exactly as they happened, exposing Israel’s moral decay “when there was no king” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). • The narrator offers no approval, only an unflinching report that warns, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Let me bring out my virgin daughter • The host proposes sacrificing his own child to protect a guest—an appalling echo of Lot offering his daughters (Genesis 19:8). • In God’s design, parents protect children (Deuteronomy 6:6-7), so this offer signals how distorted values had become. • The virgin status underscores innocence; violating her would compound the evil (Deuteronomy 22:25-27). And the man’s concubine • A concubine held legal standing below a wife yet remained under a man’s duty of care (Genesis 35:22; Judges 8:30-31). • The Levite should have defended her; instead she is treated as expendable, exposing hypocrisy among Israel’s spiritual leaders (Malachi 2:13-16). • Her presence reminds us that multiplying women always brings sorrow (Deuteronomy 17:17). And you can use them and do with them as you wish • The phrase lays bare a mindset that reduces people to objects, contradicting God’s image in every person (Genesis 1:26-27). • Scripture never condones this; it merely records it. Later prophets decry such brutality: “They have deeply corrupted themselves” (Hosea 9:9). • Romans 1:24-26 shows that when society rejects God, He “gave them over” to degrading passions—exactly what we see here. But do not do such a vile thing to this man • Ancient Near-Eastern hospitality demanded protection of guests (Genesis 19:7; Matthew 25:35). • The host wrongly ranks the Levite’s safety above female life, revealing disordered priorities. • “Such a vile thing” echoes Leviticus 18:22 and marks the men’s intent as abomination, yet one evil cannot be solved by another (Isaiah 5:20; Romans 3:8). summary Judges 19:24 reports, not recommends. The old man’s shocking proposal exposes how far Israel had drifted from God’s law: parental duty inverted, women devalued, hospitality perverted. The verse stands as a mirror, warning that without God-given authority and hearts submitted to His Word, even His people can plunge into Sodom-like depravity. |
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