旧约 - 士师记(Judges)第19章

In those days Israel had no king. Now a Levite who lived in a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim took a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her father's house in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months,
her husband went to her to persuade her to return. He had with him his servant and two donkeys. She took him into her father's house, and when her father saw him, he gladly welcomed him.
His father-in-law, the girl's father, prevailed upon him to stay; so he remained with him three days, eating and drinking, and sleeping there.
On the fourth day they got up early and he prepared to leave, but the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with something to eat; then you can go."
So the two of them sat down to eat and drink together. Afterward the girl's father said, "Please stay tonight and enjoy yourself."
And when the man got up to go, his father-in-law persuaded him, so he stayed there that night.
On the morning of the fifth day, when he rose to go, the girl's father said, "Refresh yourself. Wait till afternoon!" So the two of them ate together.
Then when the man, with his concubine and his servant, got up to leave, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said, "Now look, it's almost evening. Spend the night here; the day is nearly over. Stay and enjoy yourself. Early tomorrow morning you can get up and be on your way home."
But, unwilling to stay another night, the man left and went toward Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, "Come, let's stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night."
His master replied, "No. We won't go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah."
He added, "Come, let's try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places."
So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.
There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night.
That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields.
When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, "Where are you going? Where did you come from?"
He answered, "We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the LORD. No one has taken me into his house.
We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants--me, your maidservant, and the young man with us. We don't need anything."
"You are welcome at my house," the old man said. "Let me supply whatever you need. Only don't spend the night in the square."
So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.
While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, "Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him."
The owner of the house went outside and said to them, "No, my friends, don't be so vile. Since this man is my guest, don't do this disgraceful thing.
Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don't do such a disgraceful thing."
But the men would not listen to him. So the man took his concubine and sent her outside to them, and they raped her and abused her throughout the night, and at dawn they let her go.
At daybreak the woman went back to the house where her master was staying, fell down at the door and lay there until daylight.
When her master got up in the morning and opened the door of the house and stepped out to continue on his way, there lay his concubine, fallen in the doorway of the house, with her hands on the threshold.
He said to her, "Get up; let's go." But there was no answer. Then the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.
When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel.
Everyone who saw it said, "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!"
士师记第十九章   第 19 章 

  士 19:1> 以色列人的妾侍的地位如何?有什么权力? 

  19:1 娶妾是当时以色列社会所容许的事,不过这并不是神的原意(参创 2:24 )。妾必须做大部分的家务,但却只有妻子所有的小部分权利。她虽然在法律上属于丈夫,但所生的儿女,通常不会有合法之妻所生儿女那样的权利,不能承受遗产。她的主要作用是给丈夫性的享受,多生儿女,在家务上劳苦。以色列人常常把战时所掳的外邦女子纳为妾。但有时也会有以色列女子被纳为妾,这个故事之中所说的大概就是这样。 

  士 19:1-21:25> 士师时代的以色列人有哪些特征? 

  19:1-21:25 这一段所记载的悲剧有什么意义?以色列人对神的信仰瓦解,他们的民族凝聚力也就解体,变成各自为政。假使他们顺服神,深信祂必然会成全祂的应许的话,就能占领整个应许之地。但是他们忘记祂,失去了自己的方针、目的,很快地就“各人任意而行”( 21:25 )。他们不让神引领,就和周围邪恶民族一样的败坏。他们为自己的好处制定法律,所定的标准就远远低于神的标准。你把神撇开后,就会为自己的邪恶大感震惊( 19:30 )。 

  士 19:24> 这房主的想法实在不可思议,是出于什么考虑? 

  19:24 对于非明文规定接待客旅的律法,在中东最为注重。不惜任何代价保护宾客,是最高荣誉的表现。不过这里对接待客旅惯例的遵守已变得非常荒唐。这个主人,宁可让匪类强奸凌辱自己的女儿及宾客的妾,也不愿使客人受辱。这两个人都自私,都不愿使自己受到伤害;他们没有勇气,甚至伴侣的生命遭遇危险的时候,也不敢起来面对冲突;他们不顺从神的律法,任由匪徒凌辱谋杀别人。若社会共同的守则比道德信念权威更大,它的后果将是多么可怕! 

  士 19:29-30> 太恐怖了!就连当时的以色列人也为之震惊…… 

  19:29-30 这种传播方式虽然是可怕的,但罪行的恐怖被有效地传出去了,它提醒以色列人认清匪徒所犯的罪行是何等严重,并且要求以色列人采取行动。在若干年后,扫罗也采用类似的方法去传信息(参撒上 11:7 )。其实那人和那些奸杀他妾的人同样有罪(是他把她交出去任他们凌辱的),这的确是一件荒唐的事。 

  士 19:30> 神的律法不单是神国度里的律法,也是地上的律法…… 

  19:30 这一章所讲的可怕罪行,还不是以色列人所犯的最大的罪。更严重的是,他们未能按照神的道德原则建立政府,未把神的律法也作为地上的律法。结果律法未能执行,作奸犯科也不以为耻。由于他们不顺服神,导致性变态与不法之事日增。在事件未扩大到难以收拾以前,他们总是姑息养奸,不愿理会。 

  我们一离弃神和祂的真道,一切恶事就会发生。我们渐渐会“随流失去”,偏离神,自己却毫不觉察,最后的结果就会影响到未来的世代。我们必须继续呼吁世人悔改归向神,让祂在各人心里作道德与灵性上的君王。──《灵修版圣经注释》