Years ago when “seeker-friendly” first became popular, an old Pastor-friend of mine privately complained that the church was afraid to use the “J” word. What he meant, was that the church didn’t want to say “Jesus” in their Sunday Morning services as it might make unchurched visitors uncomfortable. While there might have been some initial reluctance, it seems that phase passed quietly and quickly.

Our Pastors are Complicit in the Sin of Coddling Congregants

But there’s another trend emerging. It’s that we don’t what to use the “C” word. By that I mean “conviction”. If yesterday we were afraid we might offend the unchurched by calling on the name of Jesus, we’re definitely afraid today that we will offend the churched when we talk about sin.

It’s unmistakable. There’s so much “Holy Ghost boldness” to our Pastors when it comes to speaking about the sins of the unchurched. But speak about the sins of the congregants? That’s taboo! Don’t go there! That will offend the Saints and we can’t have that.

We’d much rather coddle our congregants than convict them. But it’s not totally surprising. After all, many Pastors seem to insist congregants coddle them. Wonderful words of encouragement are almost expected. Complaints are a form of disloyalty, a challenge to God’s appointed leadership. If our pastors are reticent to accept criticism, why would anyone think otherwise with congregants. After all, most churches are built in the image of their pastor.

Too often, I find the relationship between pastors and their congregants borders on “incestuous”. We’ve become so close in relationship that the truth becomes injurious to at least one of the parties. I get that if the truth is mishandled, it can bring injury. But on the other side, there’s an irony that those who stand for the truth can’t stand by the truth – not when the truth cuts too close to home.

Better to Side-Step the Truth and Coddle One Another

Call me “old school” but there was a day when conviction for sin was regularly “visited” in our churches. I’m not sure we liked it, but better to hear criticism from the Lord’s appointed than from the Lord Himself. The latter can come late – at the judgment seat of Christ.

But no worries. The new thinking among Christians is that God loves us so much that He’ll look the other way. He’ll just forgive us. The notion that our sins or failings might hamper the Gospel message has been lost. The reality that Christ suffered severely to propitiate our sins is also lost. It’s like it doesn’t register that we caused Christ’s sufferings with our sins! When that connection is lost, the abhorrence of sin is lost and we’re free to live as we please. We’ve lost the fear that sin brings death without exception.

Our Pastors are Complicit in the Sin of Coddling Fellow Pastors

Have you ever noticed how pastors often speak in such glowing terms of other pastors? It’s like quid pro quo. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Worse, when was the last time you heard a pastor criticize a fellow pastor? They’ll rip those they perceive are their enemies, but not their fellow pastor-friends. When was the last time you heard a pastor criticize a powerful or popular pastor? Most won’t go there! You might get sued!

None of This is New

There’s a long history of this type of behavior among God’s people, in which we willfully deceive ourselves and one another. The prophets were unsparing in their criticism of God’s people (Isaiah 24:5; Jeremiah 5:1-4; Ezekiel 16; 23) and particularly the priesthood (Isaiah 28:7-22; 56:9-12; Jeremiah 2:8; 5:5, 12-13; Hosea 4:6-9). It was the total sinfulness of the priests and leaders that brought Jerusalem’s destruction (2 Chronicles 36:14).

The Period of the Judges: A Terrible Time of Moral Declension

Perhaps the best example is found in the book of Judges. After Joshua’s death, the people failed to follow through and drive out the Canaanites (Judges 1:19-21, 27-35). The next generation that followed Joshua’s then began to serve the Baals of the Canaanites (2:10-13). What followed were cycles of disobedience and idolatry where God “sold” the Israelites into the hands of the Canaanites and then raised up Judges to deliver them upon their repentance.

The cycle of sin and failure continued through twelve judges. Most surprising, there is virtually no mention of Priests or Levites through this period. It is not until the final chapters that a Levite is even mentioned! These last chapters actually record two incidents involving Levites that tell us a lot about the moral state of Israel’s religious leaders.

Micah’s Priest: A Levite Who Legitimized Idolatry in Israel

Micah was an idolater and thief who hired a Levite to officiate as priest over his shrine of idols. Rather than testifying that the God of Israel was the only true God, this Levite lied to Micah, and did it for profit! Micah’s life was only worth ten shekels of silver per year (Judges 17:10). The Levite coddled Micah, complicit in his damnation. He didn’t even attempt to foster a spirit of conviction for Micah’s idolatry.

That wasn’t the worst of it. The Danites came along, recognized the Levite, stole the idols and hired the Levite to be their idolatrous priest (22:1-27). A closing statement pretty well summarizes the situation:

30 There the Danites set up for themselves the idol, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the captivity of the land. 31 They continued to use the idol Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh.

The Levite’s services to the tribe of Dan pretty much permanently embedded idolatry within the tribe of Dan. With great irony, the author waits until the very end of the story to reveal that the Levite was named Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses. That’s right. Moses’ grandson.

One’s DNA doesn’t guarantee godliness, nor does one’s family history. The author makes clear the moral decay ran right to the top of the religious leadership. For hundreds of years, none of these Levites brought conviction to the Danites for their idolatry. They simply allowed them to pass into eternity and face God’s judgment.

The Bazaar Story of a Levite and his Concubine

The story of Micah’s Levite priest is immediately followed by an even stranger story of a Levite and his concubine (Judges 19-21). It’s unclear why this Levite had a concubine but she was unfaithful (zānâ) “playing the whore”, which can mean either idolater or sexually unfaithful. She may have been both but the latter seems more likely given she left the Levite and returned to her father.

Four months later, the Levite goes with one of his servants to convince her to return with him. In Ancient Near Eastern culture, this would have been unheard of. But for a Levite? Priests could not marry a prostitute (Leviticus 21:7) and Levites assisted priests. Though not forbidden, it would certainly look bad.

The story starts with this strange question and leads only to more questions. Why did the concubine’s father try to compel the Levite to stay rather than letting him leave with his daughter? Why did the Levite finally leave late in the day, knowing he’d have to overnight among strangers?

He ended up staying in Gibeah, among the Benjamites, rather than in Jebus among forbidden Jebusites (Genesis 15:21; Exodus 23:23). While this appears a wise decision, none of the Benjamites would take him in. He ended up staying with a fellow Ephraimite who lived in Gibeah.

The Outrageous Act of Cowardice, A Heart of Gross Indifference

Later that night, a contingent of wicked Benjamites gathered at the door, demanding the Levite be sent out so they could have sex with him. It seems they wished to humiliate him in an perverse act of dominance. To save himself, the Levite sends his concubine out to the crowd who spends the night abusing and raping her. They finally let her go at dawn and she returns to the house, collapses on the threshold and stayed there until daybreak (Judges 19:25-26).

When the Levite got up – yes, he didn’t seem to lose any sleep over the fate of his concubine that he worked so hard to return with him! He saw her, told her to get up, and when she didn’t answer, he loaded her on the donkey and returned home.

Again, the author seems to deliberately heighten the suspense by leaving all these questions. Was his concubine dead when he took her home or did she die on the way due to his failure to care for her in the morning? Why did he “sacrifice” his concubine and not his servant? The only thing that seems clear, is that the Levite is a person of reprehensible character.

Upon reaching home, he cuts his concubine in twelve pieces, sending them to the twelve tribes of Israel. In his outrage, he insists the tribes defend his honor (20:7) while dishonoring his concubine by depriving her of a decent burial, an important priority in the Ancient Near East.

The Destruction of the Benjamites

The outrage in Israel brought all the tribes together to punish the guilty Benjamites. But the Benjamites refused to turn over those who were guilty. Instead, they fought against the tribes of Israel (20:13-14), defending these guilty men. In the battles that followed, the Benjamites were virtually annihilated. And of course, all the tribes had sworn an oath not to give their daughters as wives to any Benjamites.

How did they assure a future for the tribe of Benjamin? The leaders of the other tribes concocted a scheme to kill everyone in Jabesh Gilead since they hadn’t assisted in the fight (21:10-12). But they preserved the virgins, giving them to the Benjamite men as brides. That’s right, they killed everyone in Jabesh Gilead so that no one would need to break their oath! Talk about a lack of conviction!

But there weren’t enough virgins, so the Israelite leaders again schemed to allow Israelite virgins to be kidnapped as wives. The leaders, complicit in the ruse, agreed to coddle the parents whose daughters were taken captive (21:20-23). Again, so no one would need to break their oath. Apparently none of the leaders saw anything wrong in their actions and no one was anxious to tell them. And where was this Levite during the fight? He seems to vanish into the background, safe from all the chaos he caused.

A Skillful Author Weaves an Ingenious Story

Amidst the battles, the Israelites sought the counsel of God at Bethel. The author included a small detail easily missed: “In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there, with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it” (20:27-28).

Three things of note emerge. The first is the contrast between Phinehas’ family history (from Aaron) and that of the Levite who introduced idolatry into Dan (from Moses). There’s irony that the Levite one might have expected to be faithful (from Moses), was in fact unfaithful, and the priest from Aaron, who one would have expected to be unfaithful, was in fact faithful (remember Aaron’s complicity in the people’s idolatry in the wilderness (Exodus 32:1-24)?)

The second is the name of the priest tending the ark: Phinehas. This is the same Phinehas that displayed zeal for the Lord, running a spear through an elder and his Canaanite Bride as they consummated their marriage (Numbers 25:1-13). The reason was that their marriage involved idolatrous rituals.

Phinehas carried out Moses’ order to kill those “yoked” to the Baals. In today’s world, his actions seem extreme (and they were)! But Phinehas’ actions turned away God’s wrath on the people, sparing many death (vs 11).

And that’s the point of boldly preaching conviction to the saints! The guilty – particularly those who endanger the saints by sinning abusively may take offense, but in the long run, the saints are spared judgment.

The third is that the author has not recorded the events chronologically. Phinehas was one of the faithful in Israel during their time in the wilderness. His name first appears in Moses’ and Aaron’s family line in Exodus 6, when Israel was still in Egypt.

Thus, he likely lived the forty years in the wilderness followed by Joshua’s reign. Joshua died when he was 110 (Joshua 24:29) and Phinehas was a contemporary. It means that this last story of the Levite and his concubine must have happened not long after Joshua’s death, likely early in the period of the judges! The author presents the failures in order of their severity, with the most sinful listed last. It’s as if he’s telling us that the reason there was such moral declension in Judges was the lack of morality of the priests & Levites.

But the reality was that the terrible failures of the Levites occurred quite early in the period of the judges. They were likely among the first to abandon the faith! They were the “chiefest” of sinners! No wonder then that the people also went rogue. When leaders refuse to do what’s right, there’s no chance they’ll speak the truth with congregants. Conviction will not be preached.

The Author’s Critical Point

Gibeah was the site of the violent gang rape of the Levite’s concubine. The men who committed the abhorrent act were from Gibeah and it was the citizens of Gibeah that refused to turn over the guilty to the Israelites. And it was Gibeah that the Benjamites defended, standing united with them against turning over the guilty men (Judges 20:13). The Benjamites actually gathered at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites who sought to hold the wicked men to account (20:14).

As it turns out, Gibeah is not just your ordinary “run of the mill” town. The book of Joshua ends with Joshua’s death (Joshua 24:29). Almost immediately following, the book of Joshua closes with the announcement of another death:

33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

With Eleazar’s death, Gibeah was allotted to Phinehas, of all people! After losing the initial battles badly to the Benjamites and Gibeanites, the Israelites gathered at Bethel to inquire of the Lord, at the place presided over by Phinehas (Judges 20:26-28)! It was there that the Lord spoke, assuring them victory. Likely the one through whom the Lord spoke was Phinehas!

The author of Judges had to know that! He had to know that the man who had faithfully stopped the intermarriage of Israelite leaders with idolatrous Canaanites was again called upon to execute judgment on the wicked Benjamites at Gibeah!

The point is that judgment for sin is inescapable. If our pastors go rogue and refuse to preach conviction for sin, judgment for sin still follows. And judgment falls upon all the wicked. One cannot use the excuse that their pastor or religious leader never called out the sin in the congregation. Everyone will be judged for their sins, no exception.

Remember that the next time you get upset in church if the pastor says or insinuates you may be guilty of sin. Better he calls you to conviction than face judgment later. It’s something we should remind our pastors and leaders. There shouldn’t be fear of preaching messages that convict the congregation of sin.