Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
July 13, 1986
It Couldn't Happen In Our Town
Judges 19:14-30
The nineteenth chapter of the book of Judges is one of the grossest parts of the Bible. When I planned my series of sermons from Judges I wasn't going to include this chapter. It is very gruesome and I wasn't sure what application I could make from it. But recent events in our community make this chapter seem very up-to-date. [Three adopted sons murdered their father.]
Judges 19 is about an outrage, an atrocity. According to the prophet Hosea it was the greatest example of sin in Israel from the Exodus to his day (Hosea 9:9). Since the book of Judges is a description of the nation of Israel in moral and physical decline it is no coincidence that this chapter comes at the end of the book. What happened at Gibeah was a sure sign that their society was out of control.
Just what was the sin of Gibeah? There were a lot of them. To an ancient Jew the fact that the Levite and his concubine almost had to sleep outside was unthinkable. Hospitality was an important virtue for them. And then there is the threat of homosexual rape and the actual commitment of heterosexual rape and abuse. All of these were horrible sins. And yet the character who really stands out in my mind is one of the victims - the Levite. When the men of Gibeah threaten him, he throws his wife outside. In the morning - in the morning, mind you, he causally opens the door and finds her laying there. "Get up. Let's go." You can almost imagine him giving her a kick. With this kind of callousness he hardly seems like a victim.
Apparently he felt that what they did to her was wrong because he wanted the whole nation to know about it. He sent along pieces of her to underscore his point. The nation was outraged and Judges 20 describes how they overreacted and almost wiped out the whole tribe of Benjamin. From beginning to end, the events at Gibeah were an abomination to God.
In the early hours of July 2, 1986, [name omitted for family's sake] was shot four times at close range with a rifle as he slept. His body was transported to the bridge by the village of Orange and dumped off into the river. Apparently it was weighted down with concrete blocks. The next day his wife reported him missing and the following day his body was recovered from the river. The suspects in the murder are three adopted boys aged 16, 13 and 11. They have been charged with aggravated murder with gun specifications, tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice and abuse of a corpse. No one here knows exactly what happened - we probably never will. I don't have any special knowledge beyond what I've read in the papers, but it is fair to say that this incident is our Gibeah. Something horrible has happened and the responsibility may end up resting on many people.
The family appeared to be a normal family. A little over a year ago they all visited this church. Their family had some problems but no more than many other families, including some here today. We wonder what really went on. And why did it happen? What triggered it? The raw facts of the case don't seem like they will be disputed. It is the motives and influences and degrees of responsibility that are at issue.
If I have one overriding impression of this case it is that we live in a violent society. And it seems to be getting worse. In 1981 there were 22,516 murders in this country. One out of five involved a loved one. From 1977 to 1979, Los Angeles had an increase in murders of 59 percent. In 1980 the rate went up another 27 percent. Rape occurs in the United States five to ten times more frequently than in European countries. But these crimes are only the tip of the iceberg. The real violence occurs right in our homes. Church people. Your neighbors. Maybe even you. Wife beating, child abuse and sexual attacks often are not considered crimes because they happen between people who are supposed to love each other. The are rarely reported.
It is part of our culture. Remember Jackie Gleason in the "Honeymooners"? Ralph Cramden threatens to sock his ever-loving wife - "I'm going to send you to the moon ... (waving his fist) ... to the moon, Alice!" It always gets a laugh. But it is not so funny when you see a woman with her face deeply bruised and her eyes swelled shut.
Violence is often a very private thing in America. It is hushed up. Neighbors often suspect but they feel awkward. Nobody wants to be the bad guy who turns someone in. Even the authorities feel squeamish. One night I took Celeste to the emergency room. It was past midnight and one other couple shared the lounge with us. The man was pretty grubby and looked like he had a hangover. His wife was dressed in a bathrobe and was cradling her bloody hand. A deputy sheriff went up to them. Very politely and quietly he asked her, how did you hurt your hand? "I punched it through a window." "Why?" "That's none of your business." Now the sheriff looked nervous. "Have you been fighting?" She glared at him. "No."
As a bored bystander I formed a different conclusion. But what could the officer do? The family wanted to keep it private. Maybe these situations are becoming less private now - reports of abuse in Coshocton County are ballooning.
Violence is an undeniable fact. But whom do you blame? Many people blame society. By the time a child has grown up they have seen 50,000 murders on TV. Television entertainment thrives on conflict because it is exciting. It is also efficient. If you have half-an-hour for the TV characters to resolve a conflict, violence gives you a quick solution.
We are all affected by this. Psychiatrist Herb McGrew wrote the following:
This generation seems to have more difficulty controlling its basic, primitive emotions. People used to internalize problems and get depressed. Now there's this frightening change: there's more [acting out], less inhibition."
You can also blame the home life. It is no secret that people who grow up in violent homes tend to be violent themselves. A significant number of rapists were sexually abused as children. The home is supposed to be a place of safety and trust. If it is not, a child has no foundation. They will grow the way they are bent, if they have a chance to grow up at all.
Last but not lease, you can blame the individual. We are heavily influenced by our society and our family but no one can take away our free will. Millions of people who grew up in violent surroundings have not resorted to violence themselves. They have overcome their environment. But it cuts both ways - there are also people from stable backgrounds who turn out to be vicious and uncaring.
Which of these if the biggest factor in our town's recent murder? Society? Their home life (a lot of which we know nothing about). They boy's themselves? I don't know. Probably all these factors have played a part. Bear in mind, no one can force us to be violent - there are always alternatives available.
At its core, violence is a rejection of God. Jesus said that he who lives by the sword will die by it. As the Second Coming approaches we can expect violence to escalate. The book of Revelation concludes with this sobering thought:
To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars -- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:6b-8, NIV)
Murder is a great crime. But it is not the worst. The worst crime you can commit is to reject Jesus Christ. It is easy to do - you just don't commit yourself to him. The penalty for not accepting Christ is eternal death. Every other sin can be forgiven, even murder. Because Jesus loved us enough to die for us, every sin can be washed away. Not only this, we can also start fresh. No matter what you have done or how you have been bent, Jesus can make you into an overcomer.
I hope this will be the outcome of the present situation. We can all imagine the anguish each one will go through; for the rest of their lives this will hang over them. It is not the kind of thing that can be undone. Only God can bring good out of it. Only God can fill a violent heart with love. What has he done with your heart?
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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