Spiritual Declension: From the Savior's Knock to the Days of Gibeah

When Christ stands outside knocking, it indicates that the heart's door is closed to His presence and the reviving power of the Holy SpiritDA 489.5+1. If the door remains shut, we are indeed not partaking of the spiritual feast of His righteousness or the life-giving influence of His Spirit1888 666.2+1.

The Meaning of the Knock

The True Witness, Jesus Christ, stands at the door of the soul-temple because He desires to communicate eternal life and save that which is lost Revelation 3:20DAR1909 407.3. Every warning, reproof, and entreaty found in the Word of God acts as a knock at the door of the heartDA 489.5. While He knocks, it reveals a state of lukewarmness and a perilous unconsciousness of our true spiritual poverty, misery, and blindness Revelation 3:14-18DA 489.5+1. If the door is not opened, the Holy Spirit is grieved and His impressions on the heart become weaker over time17MR 182.2+1.

Partaking of the Heavenly Banquet

To sup with Christ is to have a vital connection with Him, eating the "bread of life" and drinking the "water of salvation"SpM 167.1+1.

• The Spiritual Food: Eating His flesh and drinking His blood is a figure for believing His Word with the whole heart and practicing it1888 666.2+2.

• The Result of Communion: Those who open the door and "eat" of Christ receive His holy, sanctified character, which imbues their life with divine powerSpM 167.1+1.

• The Absence of Power: Without this indwelling presence, spiritual perceptions are not acute enough to discern the working of the Spirit of God, leading to jealousies, envyings, and divisions within the church1888 1697.3+1.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the agency through which the presence of Christ is brought into the soulGCB/GCDB 1895, page 493.5+1.

• Unity and Power: When church members are teachable and willing to learn, the Spirit of God cements their hearts together in unity1888 905.4+1.

• A Call to Revival: A revival of true godliness is the most urgent of all needs, and it comes only when we fulfill the conditions of confession and repentance to receive the Holy Spirit1SM 121.1.

• The Latter Rain: Receiving Christ into the heart is receiving the Holy Spirit, which is described as the outpouring of the "latter rain"GCB/GCDB 1893, page 360.2.

Restoration and Hope

Even though the Lord has a controversy with those who have compromised integrity, He still stands and knocks with long-suffering and forbearance1888 1476.1+1. We are invited to buy "gold tried in the fire" (faith and love) and "white raiment" (Christ's righteousness) so that our spiritual nakedness is not exposed Revelation 3:18RH August 7, 1894, par. 4. By an act of faith, we can open the door, allowing the Spirit to work in us to discard evil and become partakers of the divine nature 2 Peter 1:48MR 53.3+1. 🌟

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" Revelation 3:20.

Treating Christ as a stranger occurs because the din of worldly cares, spiritual pride, and a love for self-exaltation drown out His voice and make the heart less impressible1SAT 183.2+2. This tragic rejection of the Heavenly Merchantman is often mirrored in our earthly interactions, where our treatment of strangers reveals our true spiritual condition1SAT 46.3+1.

Why We Treat Christ as a Stranger

The primary reason we keep the door closed is a fear that Christ will be an expensive guest who requires the sacrifice of our selfish interests1NL 99.7.

• Worldly Distraction: The noise and "din of the world" prevent many from hearing the gentle knock of the Spirit1SAT 183.2.

• Spiritual Pride: A sense of self-sufficiency leads people to believe they are "rich and increased with goods," causing them to treat the Savior’s warnings as unnecessary interferenceRH January 1, 1889, par. 20+1.

• Unbelief: Many have encased themselves in an armor of unbelief and spiritual pride, refusing to recognize the One whose goings forth are from everlasting1888 395.1.

• Resistance to Change: There is a fear that letting Him in will require the performance of disagreeable duties or the surrendering of cherished sinsDG 167.4+1.

Lessons from Biblical Stranger Encounters

Our conduct toward the "stranger" is a test of our character and often determines our own destiny1SAT 46.3+1.

• Hospitality to Angels: Abraham and Lot both welcomed strangers into their homes with courtesy and urgencyST August 3, 1891, par. 2. In doing so, they entertained angels unawares and received blessings of deliverance and the promise of a son Hebrews 13:2ST August 3, 1891, par. 2.

• The Syrian General: Elisha’s treatment of Naaman, a stranger and a heathen, was designed to humble the man’s national and spiritual prideBHOTV6 136.1. By following the prophet's simple direction, Naaman learned that healing comes from God's power rather than human wealth or pompBHOTV6 136.1.

• The Jewish Rejection: The Jewish leaders, filled with spiritual pride, looked for a Messiah who would fulfill their selfish desires for powerSW March 28, 1905, par. 9. Because they interpreted prophecy through the lens of pride, they treated the Lord of Glory as a stranger and eventually crucified HimSW March 28, 1905, par. 9+1.

• The Warning of Sodom: Lot’s children and wife were so "stupefied with sorrow" and attached to their worldly home that they were loath to depart with the heavenly messengersPP 160.1. Those who linger or treat God’s warnings as an "idle tale" risk perishing in the coming ruinPP 160.1+1.

The Danger of Wrong Associations

While we are called to be hospitable, we are also warned against the dangers of unholy alliances with those who do not love God.

• Suretyship and Partnerships: We are cautioned against being "surety for a stranger," as pledging what belongs to our Heavenly Father to unbelievers can lead to spiritual and financial ruin Proverbs 11:15+11TT 71.1.

• Trusting Strangers over God: God’s people often err by trusting the advice and counsel of strangers rather than seeking the Lord, allowing the enemy to work through these agents to perplex the church1TT 71.1.

• Adulterous Departures: Turning away from God to serve "strange gods" or following the customs of the world is compared to a wife who takes strangers instead of her husbandEze 16:32+1.

Our Calling as "Strangers and Pilgrims"

True followers of Christ are described as "strangers and pilgrims" on this earth, meaning their citizenship is above and they do not dabble in the infatuations of the worldTM 131.1+1.

• Transformation: Those who were once "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel" and "strangers from the covenants of promise" are made near by the blood of Christ Ephesians 2:12-13AERS 113.4.

• A New Identity: Through the "law of naturalization" in the gospel, we are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints Ephesians 2:19AERS 113.4.

• Reflecting the Light: As pilgrims, we are to abstain from fleshly lusts and lead honest lives so that those who sit in darkness may behold our good works and glorify God 1 Peter 2:11-12BTS August 1, 1907, par. 3+1.

If we continue to disregard the Savior's knock and treat Him as a stranger, there is a solemn danger that He will eventually bid us to "depart" as workers of iniquity, leaving us to be scattered among "nations whom we know not" Zechariah 7:13-14HST September 15, 1840, page 90.15. Seek the Lord while He may be found and open the door to the rich treasures of His grace Isaiah 55:71SM 111.1+1.

Judges 19

1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.

2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly to her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father’s house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

4 And his father in law, the damsel’s father, retained him; and he stayed with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel’s father said to his son in law, Comfort your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel’s father had said to the man, Be content, I pray you, and tarry all night, and let your heart be merry.

7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.

8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel’s father said, Comfort your heart, I pray you. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that you may go home.

10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.

11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Come, I pray you, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

12 And his master said to him, We will not turn aside here into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.

13 And he said to his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them when they were by Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.

16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Where go you? and from where come you?

18 And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from there am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receives me to house.

19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man which is with your servants: there is no want of any thing.

20 And the old man said, Peace be with you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only lodge not in the street.

21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him.

23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, no, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly.

24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you: but to this man do not so vile a thing.

25 But the men would not listen to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.

27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were on the threshold.

28 And he said to her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up on an ass, and the man rose up, and got him to his place.

29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

The horrific account of the unfaithful concubine being cut into twelve pieces is a terminal illustration of the spiritual declension and moral corruption that occur when a people cast off the divine law and choose to walk in their own sinful imaginationsCL 5.5+2. This event, recorded in the book of Judges, serves as a solemn warning of the "total depravity" that takes hold when the Spirit of God is grieved away and human intelligence is perverted by satanic inspiration19MR 164.2+2.

The Context of Corruption and Outrage

The Levite and his concubine sought refuge in Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, but they found that the inhabitants had reached a height of wickedness similar to that of Sodom Judges 19:1, 15, 226LtMs, Lt 1d, 1890, par. 12+1.

• The Abuse: The "men of Belial" in the city abused the woman all night until the morning, showing an utter lack of natural affection or regard for the sacredness of human life Judges 19:25KJV — Judges 19:25+1.

• The Death: When the morning came, she was found dead at the threshold of the house, her hands upon the sill, a victim of the "midnight dissipation" and depravity of an age that had forgotten God Judges 19:27AH 56.3+1.

• The Dissection: The Levite took her body home and, in a desperate act to arouse the nation, cut her into twelve pieces and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel Judges 19:29KJV — Judges 20:6.

Spiritual Declension and National Apostasy

This gruesome act was the direct result of a period when "there was no king in Israel" and "every man did that which was right in his own eyes," signifying a rejection of God as their special leader Judges 19:1, 21:251SP 353.2.

• The Hardened Heart: The tribe of Benjamin, instead of punishing the wicked men of Gibeah, manifested a stubborn spirit and chose to fight their brethren, leading to their near extermination Judges 20:12-14CIS 346.3.

• A Mirror of Sin: Just as the concubine was "cut in pieces," the Hebrew word nehhtak (used in Daniel) carries the literal significance of being "cut off" or "cut to pieces," representing the final separation from God's favor when the cup of iniquity is full Daniel 9:242BC 1023.1+2.

• The End of Rebellion: History records that those who set themselves to oppose the plans of God or treat His light with indifference will eventually be "cut in pieces," as seen in the decrees of Nebuchadnezzar against those who speak against the true God21MR 425.2+3.

Lessons for Our Time

The account is preserved to show that intellectual culture or past privileges are no safeguard against religious intolerance and cruelty if the heart is not sanctified by the truth21MR 425.2+1.

• The Danger of "Strange" Alliances: The concubine's initial unfaithfulness—playing the whore—and the subsequent marriage of Solomon to "strange women" both illustrate how misplaced affection and unholy companionship lead to the ruin of the soul and national apostasy2BC 1031.5+3.

• A Call to Purity: We are living in a "second Sodom" where the tide of corruption and crime is continually swellingCL 5.5+1. The Lord bids us to "cleanse from the character" every taint of corruption so that we do not become like those who "partaker of the divine nature" only in name, while their lives are a "festering mass of corruption" 2 Peter 1:4CE 110.1+1.

• The Final Warning: Just as the Levite's message reached all Israel, the message for this time warns that those who "cherish bitterness and wrath" or "mock at the light" will be dealt with according to their works, for the "blood of souls" will be found on the garments of those who, like the priest and Levite in the parable, pass by on the other side of human need21MR 425.2+1.

"And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds" Judges 19:30.

The state of the world today is indeed a direct reflection of historical patterns, as the same conditions of moral declension that characterized the days of Noah, the period of the Kings, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are being repeated with startling accuracyAMS February 1887, page 15.14+2. Society is rapidly descending into a state where blind passion controls reason, and every high consideration is sacrificed to lust, fulfilling the warnings that the last days would mirror the corruption of the past4aSG 131.3+1.

The Parallel of the Days of Noah and Lot

The current generation is following the same course as those who perished in the flood and the fires of SodomFE 317.1+1.

• Indulgence and Excess: Just as in the days of Noah and Lot, people today are given over to eating, drinking, and pleasure-seeking to such an extent that these activities have become crimesCTBH 53.2+1.

• Perverted Habits: The world is in bondage to perverted habits and unnatural appetites that make the inhabitants more and more like the doomed citizens of Sodom Luke 17:28-30CTBH 43.2+1.

• Violence and Corruption: Depravity, cruelty, and crime are the results of children being trained to love excitement and follow the imaginations of their own evil hearts, just as they were before the floodFE 317.1.

The Repetition of the "No King" and Kings Era

The history of backsliding Israel and the corruption seen during the time of the Kings is repeating itself in modern ChristendomBDOC 36.10+1.

• Spiritual Apostasy: In the time of the Kings, Judah committed evil above all their fathers, building high places and allowing sodomites in the land, following the abominations of the nations God had cast out 1 Kings 14:22-24BDOC 36.10.

• Hypocrisy under a Christian Garb: More wickedness is often carried on today under a "Christian garb" than was known under paganism, mirroring the self-complacency of those who crucified Christ while claiming they would not have killed the prophetsDIO April 5, 1889, page 7.4+1.

• Loss of Moral Standard: Like the leaders in past history who allowed themselves to be lauded by the world, many today have lost the just standard of honor and the distinction between right and wrongTSB 91.2.

Modern Cities as "Second Sodoms"

Major cities are fast becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah, serving as centers of pollution and sin-polluted atmospheres6MR 408.1+1.

• Teeming Corruption: Everywhere one looks, there is defilement, deformity, and sin, making it essential for God’s elect to stand untainted amid the corruptions of these last daysCTBH 8.5+1.

• Vicious Habits: As God's restraining Spirit is withdrawn due to wickedness, "serpents" in the form of vicious habits are overrunning the camp, sapping the vitality of the raceGCB October 1, 1899, page 83.2+1.

• Legislative Incompetency: When religious hypocrisy is added to political chicanery and legislative incompetency, a nation reaches the condition of Rome before its dreadful fallAMS February 1887, page 15.14.

The Call to Escape the Repeat

Because history repeats itself, the judgments that fell on Sodom and Rome serve as a standing, eternal admonition to all who live ungodly todaySSII 62.1+1.

• Health as a Spiritual Issue: Just as Daniel refused to defile himself with the king's meat, we are called to keep our "soul-temples" holy and clean as a matter of respect to the Deity Daniel 1:8-12BDOC 9.2.

• Individual Choice: We are warned not to pitch our tents toward "Sodom" by seeking worldly riches, for the world is reserved for a fate precisely like that of the cities of the plainPTUK December 27, 1894, page 832.12+1.

• The Only Safety: Our only safety is to watch and pray, obtaining strength from Christ to stand unsullied amid the moral pollutions of this corrupt age2T 49.2+2.

The Lord is soon to cut short His work and put an end to sin, but until then, the deeper the surrounding gloom, the brighter the light of Christian faith must shinePH084 6.1+1. 🕊️

Judges 19

1 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.

2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him to her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly to her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father’s house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

4 And his father in law, the damsel’s father, retained him; and he stayed with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

5 And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel’s father said to his son in law, Comfort your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.

6 And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel’s father had said to the man, Be content, I pray you, and tarry all night, and let your heart be merry.

7 And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.

8 And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel’s father said, Comfort your heart, I pray you. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.

9 And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that you may go home.

10 But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.

11 And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, Come, I pray you, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.

12 And his master said to him, We will not turn aside here into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.

13 And he said to his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.

14 And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them when they were by Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.

15 And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.

16 And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.

17 And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Where go you? and from where come you?

18 And he said to him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from there am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receives me to house.

19 Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for your handmaid, and for the young man which is with your servants: there is no want of any thing.

20 And the old man said, Peace be with you; howsoever let all your wants lie on me; only lodge not in the street.

21 So he brought him into his house, and gave provender to the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.

22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him.

23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, No, my brothers, no, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly.

24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good to you: but to this man do not so vile a thing.

25 But the men would not listen to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth to them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

26 Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her lord was, till it was light.

27 And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were on the threshold.

28 And he said to her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up on an ass, and the man rose up, and got him to his place.

29 And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.

30 And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

The tragic narrative of the Levite and his unfaithful concubine at Gibeah is a vital inclusion because it serves as the ultimate historical benchmark for the "great spiritual declension" and "moral corruption" that characterizes a people who have forsaken GodAMS November 25, 1897, page 725.8+1. This account provides a somber reflection of our current age, where spiritual blindness leads to the loss of a "high and holy character" and the repetition of ancient apostasyST July 21, 1887, par. 10+1.

The Levite: A Representative of Spiritual Declension

The Levite’s experience at Gibeah illustrates the "low religious state" that prevails when those appointed to the service of God lose their spiritual powerBHOTV4 16.1.

• The Lack of Hospitality: Upon entering Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, the Levite found "no man that took them into his house to lodging," reflecting a coldness and indifference to suffering that mirrors the priest and Levite in Christ's later parable who "passed by on the other side" Judges 19:151888 1769.2+1.

• A Failure of Leadership: The Levite, though part of a tribe "specially honored of God to bear responsibilities," was unable to protect his own household from the "children of Belial," demonstrating how spiritual declension in the ministry leads to the endangering of virtue and self-respect Judges 19:22TSB 159.3+1.

• The Call to Arouse the Nation: His desperate act of dividing the dead concubine into "twelve pieces" and sending her throughout the coasts of Israel was intended to force a "searching of heart" among a people who had become "stubborn" and "self-willed" Judges 19:29PP 497.3+1.

The Concubine: The Consequence of Unholy Alliances

The unfaithful concubine represents the "spiritual drouth" and "darkness" that follow when one chooses the "spirit of the world" over faithfulness to sacred vowsCCh 121.3+1.

• The Root of Ruin: Her initial unfaithfulness—"playing the whore"—started the road to ruin, much like how "spiritual declension commences the moment the vow is made at the altar" with an unbeliever Judges 19:2CCh 121.3.

• Victim of a "Second Sodom": The abuse she suffered at the hands of the "men of Belial" in Gibeah is a direct parallel to the "vile" and "abominable practices" of Sodom and the Canaanite nations, which God visited in judgment Judges 19:22-25FEE 44.3+1.

• The Threshold of Neglect: She died at the "door of the house," her "hands upon the threshold," a haunting symbol of those who are "almost an overcomer" but ultimately fail because they did not "keep the lamp of the soul trimmed" Judges 19:278MR 293.3+1.

The Tribe of Benjamin: Choosing the Side of Evil

The inclusion of this story is necessary to understand the "stubborn spirit" of rebellion that can take hold of a people who have had great lightCIS 346.3.

• Defending Iniquity: The children of Benjamin refused to "deliver up the wicked men" of Gibeah, choosing instead to "fight until they were nearly exterminated" rather than "put away evil from Israel" Judges 20:13CIS 346.3+1.

• The High Cost of Apostasy: Because of their defense of the "children of Belial," Benjamin destroyed "twenty and two thousand men" of Israel in a single day, but they themselves were eventually "smitten all the city with the edge of the sword" as a sign that God will "surely punish the guilty" Judges 20:21, 371SP 379.1+1.

Connection to Modern "Sodoms"

We are instructed to present the "history of the apostasy of Israel" today because we are repeating the same errorsRH February 4, 1909, par. 8.

• Repeating Gibeah: The world is currently in a state of "moral declension" where "prevailing iniquity" has made the love of many wax cold, just as it was in the "days of Gibeah" Hosea 9:9AMS November 25, 1897, page 725.8+1.

• A Warning to the Church: When "coldness and spiritual declension exist" in the church, it is often because there is an "Achan in the camp" or a "men of Belial" spirit that has not been "sternly and terribly" rebukedPP 497.3+2.

• The Final Separation: Just as Levi's descendants eventually "took their stand boldly on the Lord’s side" to "put away the evil" of the golden calf, God calls for a "marked distinction" today between His people and the "moral corruption" of the world Exodus 32:2613MR 340.2+2.

We must include these accounts because they demonstrate that "without religion, there cannot be reverence," and without a "daily enlightenment of the Spirit," we will surely stumble in the same "crooked paths" as those in the time of the JudgesAMS November 25, 1897, page 725.8+1.