Injustice in Twelve Pieces: Sexual Violence in the Bible | Harrison & Lake Errock Campuses

Hear now the word of God.

As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door, and they said to the old man, the master of the house, bring out the man who came into your house that we may know him.

And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, no, my brothers, do not act so wickedly since this man has come into my house.

Do not do this vile thing.

Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine.

Let me bring them out now, violate them and do with them what seems good to you.

But against this man, do not do this outrageous thing.

But the man would not listen to him.

So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them.

And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning.

And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.

And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was until it was light.

And her master rose up in the morning.

And when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house with her hands on the threshold." He said to her, get up, let us be going.

But there was no answer.

Then he put her on the donkey and the man rose up and went away to his home.

And when he entered his house, he took a knife and taking hold of his concubine, he divided her limb by limb into 12 pieces and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

And all who saw it said, such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day.

Consider it, take counsel and speak.

This is the word of God.

You may be seated.

This story happens at the end of the book of Judges, and it's here for a reason.

When the people of Israel entered the Promised Land shortly after Joshua was gone, they started turning their backs on God and following their own sinful desires.

And the book of Judges shows us how that downward spiral of sin affected the nation more and more.

Their sin would bring judgment in the shape of oppression from other nations, calamity, famine.