Judges 19:10–15

However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine was also with him. They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”

But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who are not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.” So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.” And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into his house to spend the night.

Jerusalem is called Jebus because it’s inhabited by the Jebusites, who are not Israelites. Gibeah is a Benjamite town a few miles north of Jebus. As we’ll see in 1 Samuel, Gibeah is Saul’s hometown.

So, the Levite and his family have to travel about another hour into the evening to avoid spending the night amongst foreigners. The day was already far spent when he made this call, and the sun went down on them near Gibeah.

The words “on them” are foreboding. Obviously, the sun didn’t literally go down on them. It went down on their plans, their hope to arrive before dark.

The first clue that this city isn’t the refuge they thought it would be is that no one will grant them lodging. The Levite thought that his people would treat them well. That turns out to be a bust, so he sat down in the open square of the city.

They’re in a safer city (or so they think) but now they’re stuck outside, in a place where they’re not safe from anything—the elements, marauders, even wild animals.

The Levite’s insistence on lodging in an Israelite city is a mistake born of either hubris, or chauvinism, or both. He simply refuses to even lodge in a city populated by Gentiles. He may be right to be skeptical of the Jebusites, but he’s not skeptical enough of the folks in Gibeah.

He obviously doesn’t understand the doctrine of total depravity.

In the 1980’s Ronald Reagan famously coined the phrase, “Trust, but verify.” He was using it with respect to the Soviet Union.

But that rule doesn’t apply to just international relations; it applies to everyone. The cold, hard truth is that trusting someone to the point of making yourself vulnerable is rarely advisable.

The prime exception is marriage, which is why that covenant should never be entered into on a whim.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.