Judges 19: Why Does the Bible Record Such Inhumane Actions?

“Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up!” -Judges 19:30

Judges 19 is so dark and sinister I can hardly write about it. Worse than the most graphic horror film, the chapter chronicles the unspeakable crimes that took place during the days of Israel’s judges. When I ask myself why this account is even in the Bible, a couple of observations come to mind.

First, this record of brutality reveals the consequences of sinful living. If a person or even a community or nation turns from the Lord, we can anticipate evil to escalate.

Second, these words serve as a warning to pursue to Lord and urge others to join us.

It’s easy to complain about the problems in our world today, just as it’s easy to question the negative parts of biblical history we don’t like. It’s much more difficult to do something to change the problems in our lives, communities, and nations.

God has called us to pursue him above all. This is the foundation. However, he has also called us to love our neighbor as ourselves. If enough of us take this command seriously, we can anticipate God will bless us with brighter days.

Let’s talk about it on Facebook! Share your thoughts, pictures, or videos on handwriting Scripture.

+++

Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.