The Spirit in narrating the gruesome incident of the 'certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim' and his concubine serves us with an allegory on which we shall focus here. She like Israel went whoring after other gods."And his concubine played the whore against him(v.2)."
The Levite recalls God who commands Prophet Hosea, " Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from theLord.(Ho.1:2)". In v.11 the servant tells the Levite,"Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it." He refuses to stay-over for the night in any other place,"We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah(v.12)". Significant is the mention of the city of Jebusites that shall later on play a great role in the history of Israel as the city of King David.."And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin."
The concubine was from Bethelehem-Judah geographically it is nonexistent but made up of two names.This is what we need examine closely in order understand the lesson the allegory holds for us.
The hyphenated Bethlehem-Judah recalls another name man-child referring to Jesus Christ. Thus the Spirit establishes a frame of reference to the unfolding of events where the concubine shall be cut up by the Levite ('he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces,') and in sending 12 parts to the 12 tribes the Spirit is instructing us that each tribe was equally guilty of departing from the commandments of God.. Also significant is the expression,'unto this day' in v.30 "There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day."
The Spirit in narrating the gruesome incident of the 'certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim' and his concubine serves us with an allegory on which we shall focus here. She like Israel went whoring after other gods."And his concubine played the whore against him(v.2)."
The Levite recalls God who commands Prophet Hosea, " Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from theLord.(Ho.1:2)". In v.11 the servant tells the Levite,"Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it." He refuses to stay-over for the night in any other place,"We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah(v.12)". Significant is the mention of the city of Jebusites that shall later on play a great role in the history of Israel as the city of King David.."And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin."
The concubine was from Bethelehem-Judah geographically it is nonexistent but made up of two names.This is what we need examine closely in order understand the lesson the allegory holds for us.
The hyphenated Bethlehem-Judah recalls another name man-child referring to Jesus Christ. Thus the Spirit establishes a frame of reference to the unfolding of events where the concubine shall be cut up by the Levite ('he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces,') and in sending 12 parts to the 12 tribes the Spirit is instructing us that each tribe was equally guilty of departing from the commandments of God.. Also significant is the expression,'unto this day' in v.30 "There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day."
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