13 March | EVERYONE
"And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote mountains of Ephraim." Judges 19:1
In the remotest part of the mountains of Ephraim, the Levite of our story is feeling sad and gazed at the horizon. His woman, after being unfaithful to him, had gone to her parents' house. His heart pounded loudly, the bitter saliva unnerved him, and the pain lacerated his soul.
There are shameful stories in the Bible. Chapters that, from a human perspective, should never have been recorded. But the Holy Scriptures present a faithful portrait of human beings with their experiences, good or bad, without hiding anything for the purpose of imparting teachings based on the successes and errors of the people of the past.
Israelite society was so corrupt that one night men abused the Levite's wife until she died. The Levite, however, was not an innocent victim. He was the head of the family and should have given his own life to defend his wife, but he did not. In fact, he cowardly handed her over. Then when he saw her dead, he tore her into twelve pieces and sent each piece to each of the twelve tribes of Israel to make known what the Benjaminites had done. The result was the almost destruction of the tribe of Benjamin.
This abominable episode is typical of an age about which we read: “In those days […] everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Can you imagine the state of society when everyone does what they think is right? The moral degradation of a people begins with the estrangement from God.
The wickedness of a people who abandon God knows no bounds. That is why the Lord calls, invites, and insists that human beings return to Him. The greatest blessing an individual, a family, a church, a society, or a nation can have is to accept divine leadership and allow the Lord to be the center and reason for their existence and activities.
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Insecurity can make us commit the worst cowardice. It is crucial that today you decide to strengthen your trust in God to prevent your decision from one day being the result of fear and not of faith in God’s power.