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An Old Man’s Hospitality

찬송 : 찬송가 348장 (새찬송가 213장)
2021-12-08 [사사기(Judges) 19:11 - 19:21]

11	When they were near Jebus, the day was nearly over, and the servant said to his master, "Come now, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it."
12	And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners, who do not belong to the people of Israel, but we will pass on to Gibeah."
13	And he said to his young man, "Come and let us draw near to one of these places and spend the night at Gibeah or at Ramah."
14	So they passed on and went their way. And the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin,
15	and they turned aside there, to go in and spend the night at Gibeah. And he went in and sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night.
16	And behold, an old man was coming from his work in the field at evening. The man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was sojourning in Gibeah. The men of the place were Benjaminites.
17	And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, "Where are you going? And where do you come from?"
18	And he said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the Lord, but no one has taken me into his house.
19	We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything."
20	And the old man said, "Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square."
21	So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

Thinking & Understanding
The Levite reached Jebus with his concubine but passed by it because it was a city of foreigners and went towards Gibeah, which was home to Israelites. When the Levite and his people finally arrived at Gibeah, the home of the tribe of Benjamin, they sought a place to rest but nobody welcomed them (vv. 11-15). Although it was the rightful duty of God’s people to welcome sojourners and guests (Deut. 10:19), the Israelites in the era of Judges had long forgotten this. The Levite and his people were greeted by an old man, who was himself a sojourner, and rested for the night (vv. 16-21).

What lesson is God teaching me?
Vv. 11-13 The argument that a chosen person should not enter a city of foreigners may seem convincing. However, the Levite choosing to distance himself from foreigners on the basis of their uncleanliness while keeping an adulteress woman by his side merely emphasizes the Levite’s hypocritical faith. When we are generous to ourselves while being excessively strict on others, we become biased hypocrites.

Vv. 16-20 The people of Gibeah were put to shame by an old man, who lived dependent on them, doing what they would not. Even today, if we as Christians do not do good as we rightfully should, we will be put to shame by the good acts of the faithless.

Prayer
Lord, help me to become a Christian who makes others prosper.