Judges 19:16 - Meaning and Application

Though there was not one in Gibeah, there was at least one there who showed kindness to this distressed Levite. The Levite was glad that anyone noticed him at all. It was surprising that some of those wicked men, who later planned such evil for him and his concubine after dark, did not first pretend kindness and invite them in so they could carry out their crime more easily. Perhaps they did not have enough sense to plan that way, or perhaps they were not wicked enough to deceive in that manner. Or maybe none of them thought of such a crime alone, and only when they gathered in the dark night did they begin to plan what harm they would do. Bad people working together make one another worse than any of them would be on their own.

When the Levite, his wife, and his servant began to fear they would have to spend the night in the street, which would be almost as bad as lying in a den of lions, they were finally invited into a house. We are told first who that kind man was. He was a man from Mount Ephraim, living only as a foreign resident in Gibeah, (Judges 19:16). Of all the tribes of Israel, the Benjamites should have been especially kind to travelers in need, because their ancestor Benjamin was born on the road when his mother was traveling, and very near this place (Genesis 35:16-17). Yet they were hard-hearted toward a traveler in distress, while an honest Ephraimite showed compassion. When he learned the man was also from Mount Ephraim, he was likely even kinder. A man who himself lives as a resident alien is more likely to pity a traveler, because he knows the heart of a stranger (Exodus 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:19). God’s people, who see themselves as strangers and pilgrims in this world, should show special tenderness to one another, since they all belong to the same better country and are not home here.

He was also an old man, one who still had some of the fading virtue left in an Israelite. The younger generation had become thoroughly corrupt. If any good remained among them, it was mostly found among the old, who were near the end of life. He was coming home from his work in the field at evening. Evening is the time when laborers come home (Psalm 104:23). But it seems he was the only laborer that evening who came home to Gibeah. The rest had given themselves over to laziness and pleasure. No wonder there was so much impurity there, as in Sodom, when there was so much idleness there too (Ezekiel 16:49). Still, the man who had honestly worked all day was ready to show generous hospitality to these poor strangers at night. Let men work so they may have something to give (Ephesians 4:28). He appears in Judges 19:21 to have had some wealth, yet he had still been working in the field himself. No amount of property should excuse a man from useful labor.

He was very open and generous in his invitation. He did not wait until they begged him for a place to stay. When he saw them (Judges 19:17), he asked about their situation and offered help before they asked. In this, our good God often answers before we call. A generous heart waits only for a chance to do good, not for someone to press the need, and it helps when it sees the need. That is what a generous eye does (Proverbs 22:9). If Gibeah was like Sodom, this old man was like Lot in Sodom, who sat at the gate and invited strangers in (Genesis 19:1). In the same way, Job opened his doors to the traveler and would not let him sleep in the street (Job 31:32). He was quick to believe the Levite’s story when he saw no reason to doubt it. Love is not eager to suspect, but believes the best and hopes all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). He did not make excuses like Nabal, who refused kindness to David by saying, “Many servants are running away these days” (1 Samuel 25:10).

The Levite said he was on his way to the house of the Lord (Judges 19:18), where he meant to bring either a guilt offering for his family’s sins, or a peace offering for God’s mercies, or both, before returning home. If the men of Gibeah had known that, they would probably have been less willing to receive him. The Samaritans refused to receive Christ because he was headed toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:53). But this good old man was all the more kind because the traveler was a Levite and was going to the house of the Lord. He welcomed a servant of God for the sake of his Master, just as one receives a disciple in the name of a disciple. He was also very free in offering him shelter. The Levite already had what he needed for the journey (Judges 19:19), and only wanted a place to sleep, but his host offered to bear the cost of his stay as well (Judges 19:20). “Let all your needs be on me,” was his spirit. So he brought him into his house (Judges 19:21). In this way God often raises up friends for his people and ministers, even when they seem left alone.