The tribes of Israel responded to the call of the Levite. When they asked him to explain what happened in Gibeah of Benjamin, he gave distorted version of the facts that exonerated him of any wrongdoing. He did not tell them that he willingly handed over his concubine to be raped nor did he mention that he may have killed her himself following the abuse. His accusations pinpointed Benjamin as a whole as responsible for this brutal incident. As a result, the savage murder of this nameless woman resulted in a civil war that almost annihilated the tribe of Benjamin. In a sense all of Israel was to blame for her death, and all of Israel suffered God’s punishment for it. But few in Israel even came close to accepting responsibility.
The Levite’s method of exonerating himself demonstrates a fundamental aspect of fallen human nature. Beginning with Adam and Eve, all humans seek to shift the blame for their misdeeds onto someone else. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. Many people will not acknowledge the role they play in causing evil or accept responsibility for the consequences of their own actions. Look at the news. You see celebrities and politicians denying wrongdoing but you also see ordinary people. You hear parents praising kids who died from overdoses, shootings, or drunk driving. Few of them acknowledge openly not only the child’s culpability but their own. Someone else, the government, the schools, even God, is to blame, not me. A person with such an attitude lies beyond the forgiveness God offers in Jesus until such time as they realize their guilt. No one can repent without acknowledging their sinfulness and losing face.
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