When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. – Judges 19:29

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 16, 2012): Judges 19

Only ten days after the re-election of Barak Obama to the office of President of the United States, there is already an online movement petitioning the newly elected government for permission for certain states to leave the union. Four more years under the current democratic leadership is just not seem to be an option. And if I believed all of the hype (and I know some that do) then I would have to believe that the world we know is swiftly coming to an end. I am not sure that anyone really wants to dissolve the United States (except for her enemies.) What people want – and need – is to know that someone is listening to their concerns. The online petitions are really just on the same level as a child threatening to hold their breath until they die. Neither can actually carry through with the threat – and even if they could, they would be the ones to suffer most of the pain. (For those States who wish to secede, just start to tabulate the amount of the national debt that you have to assume to leave the union and you will begin to understand the magnitude of the problem.) But that does not mean that a message does not need to be sent – and for most who have signed the online petition, it is the message that they hope will be received, because they truly believe that the nation is in deep trouble.

The story of the Levite and his concubine is a warped story in so many ways. But at the end of the story the concubine is returned to Levite. She is dead; destroyed by the abuse that she had suffered at the hands of the men of Benjamin.

Consumed by his grief, the Levite takes extraordinary measures. He gathers his former lover into his arms and takes her home. And there, he cuts her up into twelve pieces and sends the pieces out to each of the tribes of Israel. It is the insane gesture of a man suffering from a deep pain – but it was also a message. Hear O Israel, you have rejected your spiritual King. If you had not rejected him, things like this would never happen in our nation. But if you are not going to listen to your King, to the God who created you and has led you, then maybe it is time that we cried out for a political king. We need someone who can stop the pain. And we need a nation that is unified and working toward a single, just purpose.

Ultimately, it is only our spiritual King that can soothe the pain that life brings with it. But, sometimes, we just need someone to hear us and recognize the pain that we are in. And for that reason, I hope that the Government of the United States responds to those citizens who are scared and in pain. And I hope that the citizens realize that they can do more together than they can apart. In this time, it is unity that we need more than anything else.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges 20