Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Judges 19 and the Rape of a Delhi Woman


By this time, you may have heard the story of a young Indian woman, gang raped on a moving bus in Delhi. She was a 23-year-old university student, returning home from a movie with a male companion on Sunday, December 16, 2012. They boarded a bus which had five or six men as passengers. The men robbed the woman and her friend, taking everything including their clothing, assaulted both with metal rods, and brutally raped the young woman for two hours. With their appetites satisfied and their amusement cooled, they threw the two out of the bus, naked into the street. The young woman died thirteen days later from injuries to her brain and intestines.  

An absolutely shocking and deplorable story that has sparked outrage across India and the world. I'm sad to say however that it is not a new tale. I know of another disturbing account almost identical to this one. It is told in the book of Judges, chapter 19. There you will find another young lady, also traveling in the company of a male. You will discover a mob of perverted men, overtaken by their lust and determined to rape. You will encounter an apathetic community unwilling to assist the stranger. There too is told the story of the violent public rape, torture and eventual murder of a young woman. You also find a larger community in outrage (read their strange cause of justice in Judges 20 – 21).

Horrible and striking parallels! Almost uncanny, but with one difference – Judges offers a plain and clear reason for the atrocious act. We are told there that: “in those days, Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (See Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25). In fact, this statement is repeated throughout the end of the book, often with a story as if to prove its truth.

“In those days, Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” But how could this be? Yes, I know that this is the book of Judges and Israel’s monocracy doesn’t begin until 1 Samuel 8 –two whole books away – but Israel always had a King. The LORD Himself was her King (Numbers 23:21; Deuteronomy 33:5). He was their God and Israel was His people. A nation redeemed from slavery with mighty acts of judgment and called to bring glory and honor to their Redeemer’s name as a people set apart to reflect His holiness (Exodus 19:3-6). And yet we read here that “in those days, Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

I’ve heard Ravi Zacharias say that “if there is no Moral Law Giver who is transcendent to you and me, then there is no moral law by which we must dictate our lives except the moral law that we invent for ourselves.” While these Israelites never denied the existence of God, to them He was another “small god,” not a transcendent and supreme sovereign to be obeyed. As such, they were free not to fear Him. They were free to exercise their creativity in inventing their own standards. They were free to blur the lines until the public rape, torture and murder of a young woman was said to be “right in their eyes.”

A few weeks ago, a young Delhi woman was publically raped, tortured and murdered with no body to help her. Few (if any) would consider this right. On the contrary, most will experience sorrow, anger and even rage at hearing the news. I heard it and felt these emotions myself. But Scripture demanded that I dig deeper. I woke up with the picture of the Judges 19 woman in mind. I saw in that story the reality of our world. A world intent on doing what is right in its own eyes and so never ceases to do wrong. One opposed to a transcendent Moral Law Giver and so makes laws (against rape) while rejecting the One who gives intrinsic value to the person that law seeks to aid. A world that is resolute in “wiping away the entire horizon and unchaining the earth from its sun. [And in so doing,] it plunges continually, moving backward, sideward, forward and in all directions” (Nietzsche, The Parable of the Madman).

With our own wisdom as our guides and our human depravity its vehicle, how far can we go? What dehumanizing yet “well-reasoned” moral codes will we yet invent? And what world will they mold? Are stories like this one just the tip of the iceberg? I’m reminded here of the finishing stanza to Steve Turner’s brilliant poem, Creed: “If chance be the father of all flesh, disaster is his rainbow in the sky, and when you hear “State of Emergency”, “Sniper Kills Ten”, “Troops on Rampage”, “Youths Go Looting”, “Bomb Blasts School”, it is but the sound of man worshiping his maker.”

So who is your master? At its core, this post is meant more as a challenge to its Christian reader than as a commentary on the world. Like the Israelites of Judges, we too were redeemed from slavery (in this case, slavery to sin) and are called to bring glory and honor to our Redeemer’s name as a people set apart to reflect His holiness. Let it not be said of us that “in those days, the Christians had no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” The world is “wiping away the horizon” but you must be alert. Pray and mine the Scriptures. Let your heart be governed by the transcendent Moral Law Giver. Cling to the Word as your Master. Let the gospel be your ruler and Christ your King.

3 comments:

  1. In my daily Bible reading today I once again came to Judges 19. As always, but maybe even more so today, it deeply disturbed me. I went on a search to find someone somewhere who could help me reconcile with this story, which so closely parallels the story of Lot and the men of Sodom and Gomorrah.

    I could not find satisfactory answers in the commentaries I found and was getting further frustrated. The story is just so disturbing and it seemed as if God didn't address the injustice. I was listening to a Ravi Zacharias sermon as I looked and thought to search his name alongside Judges 19.

    My search brought up not only a couple of articles where he does address this story, but also brought me to your blog which helped cement what he'd said. “in those days, Israel had no king and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

    I just wanted to thank you for helping settle my mind and heart concerning this story in Judges.

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    1. Greetings Della! Thank you so much for the note. This post was hard to write and even after posting, I wasn't sure of its place on this blog. It’s encouraging to read that you found it helpful. May the LORD bless you as you dig deeper into His word!!

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  2. That story breaks my heart! But why does it break my heart? What lies in those men that led them to do such an unspeakable crime lies in me. Thanks for reminding me why I need God, why I need to be in submission to Him, through prayer, by study of His word, in fellowship with other saints, etc. Jesus must be my King, if not I'll happily drink my own poison.

    "Who can deliver me from this body of death?" Thanks be to God...

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