
There is something going on in the news today (8/25/2022) that reminds me of a story that I recently read in the Bible, (Judges 19-21). First, we will discuss the Biblical Story that involves the Tribe of Benjamin, then the story that is in today’s Headline news.
Benjamin was the twelfth son of Jacob (Israel), second son of Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel. Benjamin’s birth was bitter-sweet because Rachel died during childbirth. As Rachel lay dying, her last act was to call her newborn Benoni, a name meaning son of my pain. Jacob, however, named the child Benjamin, meaning right-hand son. This name proved to be prophetic as well, because Benjamin was later to replace the “lost” Joseph in Jacob’s affection.
When Jacob (renamed Israel) grew very old and his death was imminent, he took time to bless each of his sons, the 12 “tribes” of Israel. Israel’s blessings were actually prophetic utterances over the destiny of each tribe.
Genesis 49:27: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoils.”
The final 3 chapters in the book of Judges (Chapters 19-21) detail a very sad and gruesome story about the fate of the Tribe of Benjamin. The Tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out by the house of Israel by what can only be described as a very bloody civil war.
Judges 19 begins with the verse …
Judges 19:1: Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.
The first thing we notice about this verse (Judges 19:1) is that there was no king in Israel. It is true that during the time of the judges there was no united monarchy holding the 12 tribes of Israel together. However, this verse can also be connected to the final verse in the book of Judges…“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes”. God Almighty (YHWH) was supposed to be Israel’s ONLY King (1 Samuel 8:7). However, Israel, like most of the world, REJECTED YHWH (God) as their King and “did what was right in their own eyes”. We see this same thing today as people across the globe REJECT the God of the Bible (Father YHWH, Son Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit). Sadly, even much of the Church has rejected the BIBLICAL Jesus Christ and created a “different Jesus” that is a “god of their own making” (Galatians 1:6-9).
1 Samuel 8:7: And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
Judges 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
We can assume that the horrific account in Judges 19-21 occurred BECAUSE Israel was not following God (YHWH). This kind of terrible account that includes a brutal rape, murder, and WAR/vengeance is exactly what happens when people turn away from God.
The story in Judges 19-21
If we go on to read Judges 19-21 we discover that a Levite (from the tribe of Levi) who was staying in Ephraim took a concubine (a type of “lesser wife”/legal mistress) from Bethlehem in Judah. Disgusted by the Levite, the woman left him and went back to stay with her father in Bethlehem. She remained with her father for 4 months in Bethlehem.
As the story goes, the unnamed Levite desired to have her back and traveled to Bethlehem to retrieve her. He was able to win over her father and planned on quickly returning to his home in Ephraim with his concubine. The Levite wanted to leave immediately, but his concubine’s father (his father-in-law) kept clinging to them, keeping them there for a few extra days. Finally, the Levite had had enough and determined to set out on the journey home with his concubine when it was late in the day. They hadn’t traveled long when the sun began to set.
They decided to spend the night in the city of Gibeah, which belonged to the Tribe of Benjamin. They were prepared to spend the night in the town square when an old man in Gibeah offered to take them into his home. What we soon discover is that Gibeah is about the same as Sodom, in that it was a pretty rough town. (Genesis 19:4-8)
Genesis 19:4: Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.” (tfj: Homosexual gang rape)
6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; 😱 only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
Like the story of Sodom that brought God’s wrath on that city, a group of lustful, wicked men in Gibeah DEMANDED that the Levite be turned over to them so they could gang rape him all night long. Like the story of Sodom, the old man who had invited them into his home would not let them have his guest. He instead offered up his own virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine, saying “abuse them if you must but don’t do anything so senselessly vile to this man”.
The old man offered up his own virgin daughter and the newly arrived concubine to this mob for their debauched pleasure. 😱 The two women, who were offered up so recklessly, apparently had no voice and no say in what happened to them. The mob refused to listen to the old man – they WANTED the Levite (homosexual gang rape)!
Finally, in an effort to SAVE HIMSELF the Levite pushed his concubine out the door to them. 😱 They brutally raped her repeatedly all night long. Just before dawn they let her go. The Levite and the old man found her dead outside when they awoke in the morning.
This is a horrible story of wicked debauchery, violence, cowardice, a lack of love and regard for women, and what happens when fallen mankind “does what is right in his own eyes“.
This story did NOT have a happy ending. The Levite returned home and dismembered his concubine’s body, sending a piece of her to each of the 11 tribes of Israel. 😱 He desired vengeance and retribution. The remaining eleven tribes of Israel decided to stand with the Levite (against the Tribe of Benjamin) in their quest for what they felt was justice for the Levite. Remember, these were all brothers at one time – the TWELVE tribes of Israel.
The House of Israel sent an ultimatum to the tribe of Benjamin regarding what happened to the Levite’s concubine in Gibeah. Turn over the perpetrators or face the consequences.
Jabarov: We will take strict measures if Estonia refuses to extradite the suspect in the murder of journalist Darya
This is where we come to the recent headline news that drew my attention to this Biblical account. Although the stories are not the same in that there was no rape or molestation in today’s headline news, there are some uncanny similarities. In case you haven’t heard, a young woman by the name of Darya Dugina (the daughter of prominent Russian philosopher Alexander Dugina) was recently murdered in the outskirts of Moscow. Darya Dugina’s father Alexander has been credited with being an architect of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Apparently, Russia was able to capture the killer on camera and claims to KNOW the identity of the MURDERER.
“Russia’s counterintelligence agency on Monday (8/22/2022) claimed that the car bomb that killed the daughter of Vladimir Putin’s ally Alexander Dugina was planted by a female Ukrainian spy who then fled to Estonia.“
“Officials with FSB have identified Darya Dugina’s alleged assassin as 43-year-old Natalia Vovk, who they said was acting as part of a criminal plot “orchestrated and perpetrated by Ukrainian special services,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.“
“FSB published a video compilation allegedly that opens with Vovk entering Russia in her grey Mini Cooper, which sports plates issued by the Kremlin-backed separatist Donetsk People’s Republic. A second portion of the video appears to show Vovk entering the apartment building where Dugina lived in Moscow.“
“A doorbell camera offers a clear view of the woman’s face as she stands in front of the front door, then answers a call on her phone.“
“After allegedly detonating Dugina’s Toyota Land Cruiser Prado with a remote-controlled device, Vovk and her daughter fled to neighboring Estonia in their Mini Cooper, now displaying Ukrainian plates, according to the FSB.“
“The final portion of the video shows Vovk’s Mini Cooper — now featuring Ukrainian plates — being subjected to an inspection on the Russian-Estonian border following Dugina’s killing.“
Darya Dugina: Ukraine killed Putin ally’s daughter, Russia says – BBC News
“Darya Dugina’s devastated father, who was in a friend’s car right beside his daughter’s, watched as the rescue services extracted the burned body from the wreck. The attack immediately became a matter of national importance to Russia. Leaders of political parties and top Russian officials attended her funeral, while the president posthumously decorated her with a state award.”
Russian officials are now threatening Estonia who is REFUSING to hand over the alleged murderer Ms. Natalia Volk. Estonia is denying that Ms. Vovk is in the country.
“If Estonia does not extradite the perpetrator of the murder of Dugina to the Russian Federation, there are grounds for tough actions against Tallinn, which is harboring a terrorist,” the Russian senator said.“
“Russian editor-in-chief of RT Margarita Simonyan hinted at the intention of the Russian Federation to avenge the murder of Dugina.”
“Dasha’s killers are already in Estonia. Estonia, of course, will not extradite them. I think we have professionals who want to admire the spiers in the vicinity of Tallinn,” she wrote on Twitter.”
What will happen now is anybody’s guess. Estonia, a member of NATO, is denying that they are harboring a terrorist in their country. Russia has video of the alleged murderer Ms. Volk’s car at the Russian/Estonian border following the explosion that killed Ms. Dugina. If this situation follows a similar pattern to the one seen in Judges 19-21, vengeance and war may be brewing. This could bring about a MAJOR ESCALATION in the Ukrainian war, one that could potentially draw in other Nato members such as Britain and the United States. Perhaps this was even the reason that Ms. Dugina was murdered – to purposely escalate the Ukrainian war into a nuclear world war.
In the Biblical account about the Levite’s Concubine in Judges 19-21, Israel was the VICTOR. The Tribe of Benjamin, who refused to hand over the evil men who had perpetrated the gang rape and murder, lost 25,000 young fighting men in that war and was greatly reduced in size, becoming the smallest of the 12 tribes of Israel. In this situation, God (YHWH) was with Israel (11 tribes) and against the Tribe of Benjamin, who was harboring a group of criminals.
What will happen to Estonia and Nato if a war with Russia ensues because they refuse to hand over the alleged murderer?
Time will tell. Do not fear! Jesus Christ✝️ is still on the Throne 👑 and HIS WILL shall be done! Praying for all of the victims in the Ukrainian war, including Ms. Dugina and her family! 🙏🏻
Update 8/29/2022: Rumors of war…..Unconfirmed reports are stating that Ms. Natalia Vovk, the alleged Ukrainian assassin who killed Ms. Dugina was killed in Austria. 😲