Immorality in the Land

Thanks, Alistair. Can I just add my welcome this evening? I'm Tim. I'm one of the interns here at Brunsfield.

And my job just at this moment is just to give you three minutes of introduction of where we've been.

In chapter one of Judges, way back at the start of the summer, we began with such hope for the fledgling nation of Israel.

Israel seemed to be living up to its high calling as a light among the nations.

Remember how God, we've been singing and reading about how God took them from Egypt and brought them into this land to give it to them.

And in the first chapter, there was teamwork and collaboration.

The people were inhabiting the land and all seemed well.

But even as we looked at that first chapter, there were issues bubbling beneath the surface.

And as we've gone through the whole cycle of the Judges, we've seen time and time again that Israel did not match up to what it was meant to be.

And as we've seen God striving for His people, bringing them to their senses through hostile neighbours and then raising up from among them deliverers.

At this stage in the cycle, I am just awestruck that God has continued to have dealings with these people.

Even though it seems that every chance they get, they err.

Yet God still follows them, pursues them, looks after them, cares for them, longs to draw them back to Himself.

But even in our wonder of God's faithfulness, we ought to be perturbed with where Judges has been leading us.

From the flawed Gideon to Jephthah to Samson, the last few Judges that we've looked at in the book,

they're given a lot of space and a great deal of material is taken up with the stories of their flawed manners.

And so as we round off our studies in the book tonight,

we find that our subject matter for this evening is harrowing.

It's difficult.

It is not comfortable.

Much of what is described in our passage may well be distressing for many of us and painful.

There is little light or joy in the narrative that we're going to study.

But in all that, I am utterly convinced and I believe that we are utterly convinced

that all of Scripture is God-breathed and that it is profitable to us.

And so as we think and as we pray and as we read,

would God be made glorious among us even tonight,

even in the dirty, hard, troubling parts of the Word of God that we have to deal with.

I'm just going to hand back to Alistair now.

Can we come and pray to begin with and ask God to help us to engage with this challenging portion of God's Word this evening?

Let's pray.

Father God, we come before you this evening and we come as those who are your children,

as those who know you as Savior.

And we long that you would come and meet with us here this evening.

That you would give us humility as we deal with your Word.

That you would give us love and honour and honesty.

Father, would you help me?

Would you take my words?

And would you ensure that nothing that is against your glory would be said?

And would you help all of us as we hear your Word?

That we would understand.

That we would apply it to our lives.

And that we would go away changed men and women.

Father, help us, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to read tonight.

We're not going to read the whole passage as we've done most of the other weeks.

We're just going to read a scattering of verses through the few chapters.

So we're starting in Judges chapter 19.

Judges 19 · chapter mention

And we're just going to take out a scattering of verses.

Before us, we have three chapters that form three acts in a story.

In chapter 19, we find act 1.

That is the spark that starts a war.

Then in chapter 20, we find that civil war itself and how it plays out.

Finally, in act 3 in chapter 21, we find something of a reconciliation narrative.

And so that's where we're reading from this evening.

So chapter 19, and just the first kind of half line there, begins,

In those days, Israel had no king.

And then we'll skip down to verse 29, down to the end of the chapter.

And it says,

When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine limb by limb into 12 parts

and sent them into all the areas of Israel.

Everyone who saw it was saying to one another,

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.

Then all Israel and from Dan to Beersheba

and from the land of Gilead came together as one

and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah.

The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel

took their places in the assembly of God's people.

400,000 armed men with swords.

The Benjamites had heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.

Then the Israelites said,

Tell us how this awful thing happened.

So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said,

I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.

During the night, the men of Gibeah came after me

and surrounded the house intending to kill me.

They raped my concubine and she died.

I took my concubine, cut her into pieces

and sent one piece into each region of Israel's inheritance

because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel.

Now all you Israelites, speak up

and tell me what you have decided to do.

Skipping down to verse 12.

The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin

saying,

What about this awful crime that was committed among you?

Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us

so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from the land.

But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.

From their towns, they came together at Gibeah

to fight against the Israelites.

Down again to verse 17.

Israel, apart from Benjamin,

mustered 400,000 swordsmen,

all of them fit for battle.

The Israelites went up to Bethel

and inquired of God.

They said,

Who of us is to go up first

to fight against the Benjamites?

The Lord replied,

Judah shall go first.

Down to verse 26 then.

Then all the Israelites,

the whole army,

went up to Bethel

and there they sat weeping

before the Lord.

They fasted that day until evening

and presented burnt offerings

and fellowship offerings to the Lord.

And the Israelites inquired of the Lord.

In those days,

the Ark of the Covenant was there

with Phinehas,

son of Eleazar,

son of Aaron,

ministering before it.

They asked,

Shall we go up again

to fight against the Benjamites,

our fellow Israelites,

or not?

The Lord responded,

Go,

for tomorrow I will give them

into your hands.

Skipping down to verse 46,

the end of the chapter.

On that day,

25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell,

all of them valiant fighters.

But 600 of them turned

and fled into the wilderness

to the Rock of Rimmon,

where they stayed for four months.

The men of Israel

went back into Benjamin

and put all the towns

to the sword,

including the animals

and everything else

they found.

All the towns

they came across,

they set on fire.

The men of Israel

had taken an oath

at Mizpah.

Not one of us

will give his daughter

in marriage

to a Benjaminite.

The people went

to Bethel,

where they sat

before God

until evening,

raising their voices

and weeping bitterly,

Lord God of Israel,

they cried.

Why has this happened

to Israel?

Why should one tribe

be missing

from Israel today?

And finally,

just down to the end

of the chapter again,

down to 23.

So that is what

the Benjamites did.

While the young women

were dancing,

each man caught one

and carried her off

to be his wife.

Then they returned

to their inheritance

and rebuilt the towns

and settled in them.

At that time,

the Israelites

left that place

and went home

to their tribes

and clans,

each to his own inheritance.

In those days,

Israel had no king.

Everyone did

as they saw fit.

Apologies for skipping

through the reading.

It's one of the longest readings

in the whole of Judges

and it would have taken

an awfully long time

to have gone through

the whole section.

We begin our passage

in Act 1,

the spark of the Civil War.

And we began our passage

this evening

with the return

of a motif

that turned up

last time

when Ian was taking us

through.

There was no king

in Israel.

And that ought to be

something of a warning sign

to us

as we have read

about Israel's idolatry

over the past

couple of chapters

and here

no less than before.

As the curtain

comes up

on the stage,

we're met again

with a nameless Levite.

We should note

that only one character

in all three chapters

is given an identity

and that he merely

helps us

to date the events.

It's early

in the Judges period

and he concretes

this whole narrative

as real,

true history.

The rest of the characters

have no identity,

no names,

no lineages,

nothing.

The writer,

it's as if he's

generalizing them,

dehumanizing them.

It's a ploy

to pull us in.

Another Levite,

just like the last story

which Ian led us through.

We're introduced

to one of these men

who should have been

leading the people

of Israel

in covenant

obedience

towards God.

This man should have

known the law

and he should have

been doing it.

but his initial action

in the chapter

is startling.

He takes a concubine

to himself,

a second class wife.

It isn't overtly stated,

very little is

in these chapters

because we're meant

to infer from the story

what is going on

and this ought to be

a second warning sign

that something is going

badly wrong.

And then she leaves

and there's a

four month gap

before our friend

the Levite

goes off

in search of her

and we see

no motivation

in this.

Perhaps this is

honorable.

Perhaps he is doing

the right thing

and we find him

greeted by his wife

and welcomed

into his father-in-law's

house

in Bethlehem.

All seems well.

Celebrations

are had

and everyone

seems to be

enjoying themselves.

The father-in-law,

notice,

is a lavish host.

But notice again

that the son-in-law

wants to get home.

Down in verse 8

and beforehand even.

He tries to leave

on day 4

only to be coerced

into another day

of his father-in-law's

feasting.

On day 5

he gets up to go

but again

isn't treated

by his father-in-law's

generosity.

But as the day

drags on

on day 5

the Levite

decides he'll

stay no more

and he leaves.

I wonder

can you almost

feel for the Levite

detained and coerced

by his father-in-law

just wanting

to get home.

Perhaps you've

been to some

Christmases like

that.

I can sympathize

with this

and perhaps

in our British

mindset

we might wonder

if there's some

ulterior motives

in the father-in-law's

generosity

and his constant

desire to keep him.

Oh maybe

he'll move closer.

Maybe we can

build a house

next door

as an add-on.

But don't be

too quick

to jump

to those

conclusions.

They leave

Bethlehem

and we have

the Levite

and his concubine

and a servant

and a couple

of donkeys

and within

a couple

of hours

they approach

Jebus

the city

that we will

come to be

very familiar

with as

Jerusalem

but it's

still in the

hands of the

Canaanites.

It's still

enemy territory

and it seems

like too much

of a risk

to seek

hospitality there.

Goodness only

knows what

might befall

a good Israelite

among those

pagans.

It would be

like if some

of us east

coast folk

were driving

across the

M8 and

you saw

the Hilton

for Glasgow

and you

thought well

I don't know

Glasgow

can any good

thing happen

in Glasgow

to an

Edinburgh

man.

We'll keep

on going

until we

reach more

hospitable

territory.

And so

they keep

on going

until they

reach

Gibeah.

It's

Benjamite

territory.

It's a

walled

city so

it should

be safe

and secure

and it

should be

filled with

Israelites

who will

be friendly

to this

little band

of weary

travellers.

Worth a

late walk

surely.

They come

through the

gate into

the square

and they

wait for

someone to

offer

hospitality.

This would

have been

the normal

custom and

it would

have been

an absolute

shame on

the city

if they

didn't

offer

hospitality

to

strangers.

In any

of the

nations

never mind

Israel

and in

the context

of the

father-in-law's

lavish

generosity

in Bethlehem

this is

meant to

scream

volumes

to us

that there's

something

awfully

wrong to

us

in

Gibeah.

And then

a new

character is

brought into

the story

this sojourner

late from

his work

and he

notices these

strangers in

the square

and it

turns out

that they're

from the

same clan

and he

invites them

in and

it seems

to make the

point that

it wouldn't

be wise

for them

to stay

in the

square.

Isn't it

odd that

in this

city it

takes an

outsider to

do the

decent

thing?

And they

go and

they join

him and

soon they're

comfortable and

the party is

off to a

great start

but soon

there is a

noise and

the party is

interrupted.

Not a

group of

well-wishing

neighbours

bringing pots

of food

but a

mob.

They throw

themselves

against the

door of

the house

that the

word used

in the

NIV is

weak.

They throw

themselves

against the

door of

the house

and they

demand that

this traveller

be given

into their

hands.

We've heard

what the

Levite said

they wanted

to do

with him

and this

is a

horrendous

request

and our

minds ought

to instantly

recognise this

as what

happened to

the visitors

that came to

Lot in

Genesis 19

in Sodom

and Gomorrah

and notice

the host

tries to

bargain

with them.

He offers

them his

own daughter

as well as

the Levite's

concubine.

It does

exactly what

Lot did

or very

very similar.

But the

men of

this city

are insatiable

in their

evil desire

and they

are utterly

depraved.

And do

you notice

that we

see here

the characters

are tested.

We see

what makes

up these

people and

what we

discover is

dark.

The host

is so

twisted in

thinking that

he's willing

to offer

even his

own daughter

and the

concubine

to save

himself and

his guest.

But then

up steps

the Levite

and without

any hint

of love

or anything

that drove

him to

go and

win back

his concubine

he takes

her and

he throws

her out

to this

mob.

Out to

this pack

of ravenous

wolves.

And she

is taken

and she

is tortured.

And meanwhile

he goes to

bed.

And after

the horror

of what

you see

in those

verses

26,

25,

26,

in 27

we ought

to be

utterly

staggered

because it

seems that

the Levite

has lost

no sleep

whatsoever.

He seems

to have

gone to

bed

and slept

soundly

and risen

again in

the morning

without a

second thought.

And he

rises and

opens the

door and

finds the

concubine

lying

basically

across the

threshold.

She's lying

on the

welcome

mat

grasping

for

shelter

and for

protection.

temptation.

But as

he steps

over her

body,

the only

words that

we hear

from him

are those

of impatience

and callousness.

Come on,

get up.

Do you hear it?

You're holding me

back down there.

What's wrong

with you?

And there's

no response.

And his

callousness

is gut

wrenching.

There's no

remorse.

There's no

sorrow.

Just a desire

to go on

and get back

home and be

done with it.

And when he

arrives home,

he takes his

concubine

and cuts her

into pieces

like he would

have done

with an

animal

and he

sends them

throughout the

land.

The levels

of depravity

exhibited here

are

off the

charts.

This poor

woman

is treated

with no

respect either

in life

or in

death.

We can't

even tell

when she

died

from the

Hebrew

whether

it's due

to the

mob's

violence

while she

is waiting

at the

daybreak

or whether

on the

journey

home

or even

at the

hands

of her

master.

The

callousness

and the

cold-heartedness

and the

depravity

of everyone

involved

is brutal.

These

people

who were

meant to

be the

shining

light of

God's

goodness

to the

nations

are living

out the

very worst

of the

Canaanites

sin.

And so

debauched

have they

become

that anyone

in Gibeah

who walked

past them

in the

square

they maybe

didn't take

part in the

sin but

they just

walked on

past

these soon

to be

victims

of the

mob.

But notice

that in

every case

it comes

back to

the same

stem.

Every

person is

just doing

what is

right in

their own

eyes.

Those words

are even

put into

the mouth

of the

host while

he's

bartering

with the

crowd.

In

verse

24 he

talks about

bringing out

these women.

I will

bring them

out for

you now

and you

can

it's not

clear that

it's the

same phrase

but it's

the same

phrase as

at the

end of

the chapter

that you

could do

whatever you

want to

them.

Whatever

is right

in your

eyes.

This is

the moral

system of

their lands.

This is

the overriding

idea behind

this people's

culture.

And isn't

it sickening

to behold?

But can

we take a

moment maybe

to consider

our own

land and

even our

own culture?

Because the

mantra of

our age is

not so very

far from

this repeated

refrain in

these chapters.

The people

do what is

right in

their own

eyes.

perhaps that

is part of

the reason

why women

are

objectivized

and dehumanized

and attacked

even on our

streets and

in our

parks.

lives.

If you

want a

startling

reminder of

the

barbarianism

of our

culture,

go and

look at

some of

the statistics

of sexual

crime in

this country.

and do

we wonder

that the

culture

shapers,

that the

people that

we allow

to speak

into our

lives through

culture are

revealed to

be sexually

immoral and

that they're

displayed to

be.

Oddly, I

noticed a

message on

my Twitter

just today

of a

Christian

commenting on

it and

saying,

isn't it

strange how

all these

things can

be done

in films

and yet

when one

of their

own does

it in

real life

they're all

ashamed.

The body

parts of

this poor

woman are

sent throughout

the land

and all

who look on

it are

horrified and

so they

should be.

And so we

transition into

the next

act of

the story.

Act two,

the civil

war.

It's an

odd thing at

the start of

chapter 20

because these

horrific acts

manage to

produce something

positive that

we haven't

seen ever.

The people

are united.

The whole of

Israel, the

author makes a

very telling

point from

Land O'Groats

to, I'm

going the

wrong way

now, am I?

Land's End

to John O'Groats

and even to

Straban, you

could say, if

you want to

include Northern

Ireland in our

collection.

The people are

united, but

this is so

bitter in the

mouth because

their unity is

based on such

horrific

circumstances.

And it

isn't for the

worship of

God or for

the fulfilling

of God's

purposes.

It's for

retribution and

to fight within

each other.

The man is

called to give

his account and

we read it.

Did you notice

how airbrushed

the tale was?

Something that

I was taught

recently.

never trust

what comes out

of people's

mouths in the

Bible.

Trust what the

narrator says,

but don't always

trust what the

person says of

his own actions.

And here's a

perfect case.

The man

airbrushes

his

account and

it's a

masterpiece of

playing the

victim.

Nothing is

mentioned about

his own

culpability.

Nothing is

mentioned about

his own

pardon,

the murder

or the

death of

his concubine.

And instantly

the people hear

this and they

respond in

verses 8 to

10.

They know

what they

should do.

Or at least

they think

they do.

The passage

again isn't

clear, but I

wonder if even

this decision,

which many of

us would think

of positively,

I wonder if

this is the

people just

doing what's

right in

their own

eyes.

Notice that

they don't

inquire of

God at

this stage.

There's no

mourning, no

sorrow, no

repentance,

merely outrage

in a plan.

But if the

eleven tribes

that met

are rash

and foolish,

perhaps we

should go on

to consider

the Benjamites.

They're called

to give over

their guilty

men to

be punished.

But Benjamin

chooses those

rapists over

the nation of

Israel.

Blood seems

to be thicker

than all

else here.

And rather

than dealing

with the sin

of Gibeah,

Benjamin

musters its

army and

prepares for

full-scale

civil war.

The camera

pans back to

the camp of

Israel in

verse 18.

And if we're

not careful,

we may

misinterpret

what we see

and hear.

The Israelites

go to God

with their

plan and

ask who

should attack

first.

And the

response from

God is that

Judah should

go up first.

And in that

we get this

little poignant

reminder of

what happened

way back in

the start of

Judges again.

Judges 1

it says,

after the

death of

Joshua,

the Israelites

asked the

Lord,

who of us

should go up

first to

fight against

the Canaanites?

The Lord

answered,

Judah shall

go up.

I have

given the

land into

their hands.

And do you

notice how

similar it is,

but yet how

different.

Judah was

meant to

go up

first.

but not

in this

way,

not to

lead a

civil war.

Again,

the passage

isn't clear

here,

but it's

my view

that Israel

is merely

seeking God

to rubber

stamp their

own plans.

And there

are three

battles that

then follow

between Israel

and Benjamin.

The first

two days,

there are

harrowing

losses

incurred by

the Israelites.

Israelites.

Israel is

literally

decimated

with one

in ten

men

falling to

the

Benjamites.

But on

the second

night,

they seek

God with

seemingly a

fresh zeal.

They're

assured of

victory,

and on

the third

day,

they lay

an ambush,

very

similarly to

what the

children of

Israel did

against

Ai,

way back

in Joshua.

and they

utterly

defeat the

army of

Benjamin.

The defeat

is given

in two

formats,

but the

overview is

that 25,000

Benjamites

die,

and only

600 men

of the

whole of

Benjamin

survive.

But notice

what happened.

We read it

in verse

48.

The men

of Israel,

chapter 20,

verse 48,

the men of

Israel went

back to

Benjamin,

and put

all the

towns to

the sword,

even the

animals,

and everything

else they

found.

Not

content with

the defeat

of the

Benjamites,

it seems

that the

army of

Israel,

because of

the losses

they incurred,

turned to

genocide,

and they

wipe out

the tribe.

This is

vicious

retribution,

and this

is totally

unnecessary.

And I

wonder if

we could

step back

a little

and consider

this chapter,

because I

confess that

on my first

reading of

this chapter,

I completely

missed what

was going

on here.

In fact,

I missed

it on my

second and

my third

reading,

and it

wasn't until

I read

someone else's

work on

it that

I started

to piece

together what

was actually

going on.

And I

wonder if

at the

end of

our series

of judges,

whether some

of us are

maybe realizing

that this

incredible book,

it does not

give up its

treasure to

an idle

glance.

And I

wonder if

among the

horrors of

these chapters,

we might find

that we need

to approach

our Bibles

with a

fresh resolve,

to come

with open

minds,

and to

wrestle with

this book

that will

challenge our

presuppositions

and demolish

our cultural

assumptions.

Because the

sad reality is,

I can be far

too familiar

with this book,

not in the

good way,

but in the

way that allows

me to skim

a passage and

not actually

get what it's

saying.

There was

an author

who famously

asked of

a man who

read his

Bible,

he said,

does the

Bible read

you back?

And I

wonder if

that's true

for many

of us

anymore who

have been

Christians for

quite some

time.

And here

at the end

of chapter

20 and

the end

of this

second act,

we're forced

to stop

and to look

back at the

wreckage of

the past

two chapters,

which go

from societal

breakdown to

personal

troubles,

to a lack

of hospitality,

to raw

and blatant

evil,

to cowardice,

to treachery,

to rape,

to murder,

to callousness,

to horror,

to civil war,

to the decimation

of the nation,

to the

genocide of a

tribe.

and dare we

turn on our

television and

claim that we

live in a

world that has

progressed beyond

this.

Alistair in his

prayer very

poignantly brought

out some of what

happens in our

world today.

This is brutal.

And as we

look back across

everything that

has happened,

the key that I

see is that

everyone has

done what

seems right in

their own eyes.

There is no

king, there is

no moral

authority, and

God seems very

far away from

these situations.

Yet there is

one more chapter.

Perhaps we

will end with a

silver lining.

Perhaps something

will turn around

good out of all

of this.

And I have

kind of called

this the

reconciliation.

And the

chapter seems

to begin well

given the

circumstances.

Israel comes

to their senses,

they realise

what has

happened, and

there is

mourning at

the destruction

of Benjamin.

At least, but

notice how it is

set up.

Notice what

the people say

in verse 3,

another translation

puts it this

way.

Why, O

Lord, God of

Israel, has

this come

about in

Israel so

that one

tribe should

be missing

in Israel?

Perhaps the

obvious answer

was that your

own army went

on a scorched

earth policy.

I mean, isn't

that fairly

obvious?

And it seems

that the

Israelites are

completely unwilling

to take

responsibility for

their actions.

servants.

And so

there's this

problem.

These 600

men of

Benjamin are

without families,

and if only

there were some

way to furnish

them with

wives, so

that the tribe

of Benjamin

can be

restored.

But the

men of Israel

have sworn

this oath

that none

of them

would give

their daughters

another rash

oath like

one we've

seen before.

And do you

see this

recurring theme?

They've

hastily done

what they

see to be

right in

their own

eyes, and

now there's

another

problem.

And so

they hatch

another

harebrained

idea.

To heal

the wounds

of this

unfortunate

civil war,

they're going

to send

an army

to go

and to

massacre a

town who

hadn't

contributed

to the

army.

Doesn't

that sound

like a

wonderful

way to

create

reconciliation

and peace

in your

land?

Not only

that, but

in response

to the

evil of

Gibeah,

which centered

around the

mistreatment

and abuse

of a

woman,

they're going

to go

and become

a state

sponsor of

human trafficking

and forced

marriages.

Oh,

wonderful,

you men

of Israel,

how clever

of you

to work

out that

plan.

it's so

twisted

and so

perverted

that we

read this

and we

almost don't

comprehend

the immensity

of the

evil that

is going

on.

Seven,

sorry,

400 young

women,

probably no

older than

14 or

15,

are brought

to this

remnant of

Benjamin,

seeing their

families slaughtered

and so peace

is made

between Israel

and Benjamin.

And notice

the audacity

of verse

15.

The people

were sorry

for Benjamin.

Why?

Because the

Lord had

made a

breach in

the tribes

of Israel.

They blamed

God for

this mess.

And you

notice there

were 600

and they

only got

400 of

these women.

There's not

enough,

there's still

lack.

And so

they come

up with a

second plan,

a yet

another plan.

This time

the Benjamites

are instructed

to go up

and kidnap

children as

they take

part in

the local

gala.

Doesn't

that sound

like a

wonderful

plan?

And the

army would

smooth it

over with

their fathers

and brothers

under the

threat of

another town

massacre.

And so

ends the

book of

Judges.

with the

Benjamites

going home

to rebuild

their cities

with these

children for

women,

for wives,

and the

rest of the

people of

Israel returning

to their

inheritance.

These are

dark days

indeed.

And we

see how

utterly

twisted the

minds of

the Israelites

have become.

them.

They're

full of

this sort

of loophole

logic.

They claim

to do

everything by

the book.

They claim

to do this

for God's,

and yet what

they do is

utterly vile.

they are so

far from the

light that

they were

meant to

be to the

nations.

Because they

have well

and truly

conformed to

the pattern

of this

world.

Merely using

God's name

as a

convenient

shield for

their

immorality

and idolatry

and their

evil

practices.

And I

wonder if

for a

moment we

can just

focus in on

the refrain of

these chapters

which topped

and tailed our

passage for

tonight.

In those

days there

was no

king in

Israel.

Everyone

did what

was right

in their

own eyes.

Because

as Alistair

pointed out

thankfully a

king has

come.

not David

or Solomon

who were

but types

and shadows

and yet

they solved

so much

of this.

No,

they were

only forerunners

of a

greater king.

No,

the answer

to these

horrific

acts and

sins is

found in

Jesus Christ.

Because

only in

Jesus Christ

can we

find how

a perfectly

holy God

can be

continually

gracious

to such

an atrociously

vile nation

as this.

Far beyond

the point

that we

would have

given up

hope.

Only in

the atoning

death of

Christ is

there any

way that

these men,

any way that