That evening an old man came into the city from the fields. His home was in the hill country of Ephraim, but now he was living in the city of Gibeah. (The men of Gibeah were from the tribe of Benjamin.)
The Israelites love sacrifices. They offer the meat and eat it. The Lord does not accept their sacrifices. He remembers their sins, and he will punish them. They will be carried away as prisoners to Egypt.
The people have ruined the land. They did what God said was wrong. They did not obey God’s laws. They made an agreement with God a long time ago, but they broke their agreement with God.
This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah: “The people of Judah really love to leave me. They don’t stop themselves from leaving me. So now the Lord will not accept them. Now he will remember the evil they do. He will punish them for their sins.”
God and the prophet are like guards watching over Ephraim, but there are many traps along his way. And people hate the prophet, even in the house of his God.
I tell you this so that you will learn a lesson. I want you to fear and respect me. If you do this, your home will not be destroyed, and I will not have to punish you the way I planned.” But those evil people only wanted to do more of the same evil things they had already done!
At the same time, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down from this mountain. Your people, the people you brought out of the land of Egypt, have committed a terrible sin.
While the Levite and those who were with him were enjoying themselves, some very bad men from the city surrounded the house. They began beating on the door. They shouted at the old man who owned the house. They said, “Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sex with him.”
“Son of man, speak to the people for me. Say this, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says to the people of Ammon and their shameful god: “‘Look, a sword! The sword is out of its sheath. It has been polished. The sword is ready to kill. It was polished to flash like lightning!