Monday, November 22, 2004 Nativity Fast
Hieromartyr Sisinios
Kellia: Judges 19:27-20:11 Epistle: 1 Timothy 1:1-7 Gospel: St. Luke 14:12-15
Judges 19:27-20 11 LXX, especially vss. 8, 9: "And all the people
rose up as one man, saying, No one of us shall return to his tent, and no one of us shall return to
his house. And now this is the thing which shall be done in Gibeah: we will go up against it by
lot." When the Lord God gave the Law of His Covenant through Moses to the People of Israel at
Sinai, He ratified His commitment to the covenant with them by declaring to Moses: "And thou
shalt serve the Lord thy God, and I will bless thy bread and thy wine and thy water and I will turn
away sickness from you" (Ex. 23:25). "And Moses went in and related to the people all the
words of God and the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, saying, 'All the
words which the Lord has spoken we will do and be obedient'" (Ex. 24:3). This covenanting
between God and His People was solemnly ratified by God by "the appearance of the glory of the
Lord was as a burning fire on the top of the mountain before the children of Israel" (Ex. 24:17).
Among the statutes found in the Old Covenant applicable to the barbaric events at Gibeah of
Benjamin are those obvious ones from the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not commit
adultery" (Ex. 20:13) and "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:15). In addition, we ought also to note
these additional specific ordinances: "If [a female slave] be not pleasing to her master, after she
has betrothed herself to him [as in the case of the concubine], he shall let her go free." (Ex. 21:7).
"Thou shalt not associate with the multitude for evil" (Ex. 23:2), "Thou shalt abstain from every
unjust thing: thou shalt not slay the innocent and just" (Ex. 23:7). "And ye shall not afflict a
stranger, for ye know the heart of a stranger; for ye were yourselves strangers in the land of
Egypt" (Ex. 23:9). This extract from the Law makes perfectly obvious the reason for the violent
grief of the Levite and the outrage of the people of Israel against the men of Gibeah of Benjamin.
The present reading calls what happened "wickedness" (Jdgs. 20:3), "lewdness" and
"abomination" (vs. 20:6). "Abomination" is appropriate because the actions of the mob in Gibeah
against the home and guests of the old man from "the hill country of Ephraim" (Jdgs. 19:16-18)
were direct violations of the Divine Covenant. In essence the mob acted without regard to the
universal law of God the Lord which applies to all men at all times everywhere. Their behavior is
aptly called "wickedness" because the men of Gibeah intended to act and behaved in "a manner
likely to cause harm, distress, trouble, and loss of life" - the language of the dictionary definition
of "wickedness." "Lewdness" applies especially since the gang rape intended against the Levite
(Jdgs 19:22) and carried out against the concubine (Jdgs 19:25) was sexually unchaste and
grossly obscene.
All Israel heard the facts of this case which breached the brotherhood of the people of God (Jdgs.
20:3-6), took counsel before the Lord (vs. 20:2), and laid a plan to deal with the perpetrators (vss.
20:8-10). Let us note that they were unanimous in their response and judgment (vss. 20:1,11).
What is more, their plan was formed squarely within the boundaries of the Divine Law given
through Moses: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning,
wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (Ex. 21:24). While for Christians interpersonally (Mt. 5:38)
the later, higher standard raised by our Lord Jesus Christ eschews this earlier standard, societies
world-wide, including Orthodox nations, still consider such acts worthy of punishment in kind, as
the Orthodox Study Bible notes: "This teaching [of the Lord] does not...contradict a state's right
to protect its citizens and to punish criminals."
Almighty God, bless all human courts of justice and give unto them the spirit of wisdom and
understanding to discern truth and impartially administer the law in the fear of Thee alone.