Judges 19:9-15: a reflection

9When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady’s father, said to him, “Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night. Behold, the day is ending. Stay here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow go on your way early, that you may go home.” 10But the man wouldn’t stay that night, but he rose up and went near Jebus (also called Jerusalem). With him were a couple of saddled donkeys. His concubine also was with him. 11When they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Please come and let’s enter into this city of the Jebusites, and stay in it.” 12His master said to him, “We won’t enter into the city of a foreigner that is not of the children of Israel; but we will pass over to Gibeah.” 13He said to his servant, “Come and let’s draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.” 14So they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin. 15They went over there, to go in to stay in Gibeah. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city; for there was no one who took them into his house to stay.

As a traveler and his companions journey home and night falls near the town of Gibeah, they turn in there expecting to be taken in for the night; but no one welcomes them. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city, the account says, for there was no one who took them into his house to stay. Weary travelers, needing shelter for the night, sat in the open street of the town because not one person offered them a place. The failure of hospitality is quietly but pointedly noted: no one took them in. In a culture where welcoming the traveler was a sacred duty, this failure to show hospitality, to welcome the stranger in need of shelter, was a real and telling wrong. To leave the traveler unwelcomed, the stranger without shelter, is a failure of the hospitality God's people are called to show. The lack of welcome in Gibeah is marked as a failure; hospitality to the stranger is a duty, and its absence a wrong.

Notice what the account quietly marks: no one took the travelers in. They sat in the street, weary and in need of shelter, and not one person offered them a place. This failure of hospitality is noted deliberately; it was a real wrong. To welcome the traveler, to give shelter to the stranger in need, was a sacred duty; and Gibeah failed it, leaving the travelers unwelcomed in the street. Hospitality, the welcoming of the stranger, is a duty God's people are called to; and its absence, the failure to welcome those in need of shelter and welcome, is a real failure. We can pass by the stranger in need, leave the traveler unwelcomed, fail to open our homes and lives to those who need shelter or welcome; but this is a failure of the hospitality we are called to show. To welcome the stranger, to give shelter and welcome to those in need, is a duty and a grace; to fail it is a real wrong. Hospitality opens the door the failure of it leaves closed. The unwelcomed traveler is a rebuke to our closed doors.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called to show hospitality and welcome to the stranger, not to leave the traveler unwelcomed as Gibeah did. We can fail to welcome the stranger, to give shelter and welcome to those in need, passing them by, leaving them unwelcomed, as no one in Gibeah took in the weary travelers; but this is a failure of the hospitality God's people are called to show. To welcome the stranger, to open our homes and lives to those in need of shelter and welcome, is a duty and a grace. Do not leave the stranger unwelcomed, the traveler without shelter, as Gibeah did; show hospitality and welcome to those in need. Show hospitality and welcome to the stranger in need rather than leaving them unwelcomed, as the travelers sat in the street of Gibeah because no one took them into his house; for the welcoming of the stranger is a duty and a grace God's people are called to, and the failure to show it, leaving those in need of shelter and welcome unwelcomed, is a real wrong, so that to open our homes and lives to the stranger in need is part of the hospitality we are called to show.

Lord, as a traveler and his companions journey home and night falls near the town of Gibeah, they turn in there expecting to be taken in for the night; but no one welcomes them. He went in, and sat down in the street of the city, the account says, for there was no one who took them into his house to stay. Weary travelers, needing shelter for the night, sat in the open street of the town because not one person offered them a place. The failure of hospitality is quietly but pointedly noted: no one took them in. In a culture where welcoming the traveler was a sacred duty, this failure to welcome the stranger in need of shelter was a real and telling wrong. Show me what the account quietly marks: no one took the travelers in. They sat in the street, weary and in need of shelter, and not one person offered them a place. This failure of hospitality is noted deliberately; it was a real wrong. To welcome the traveler, to give shelter to the stranger in need, was a sacred duty; and Gibeah failed it. Hospitality, the welcoming of the stranger, is a duty your people are called to; and its absence is a real failure. I can pass by the stranger in need, leave the traveler unwelcomed, fail to open my home and life to those who need shelter or welcome; but this is a failure of the hospitality I am called to show. Take that to my heart, for I am called to show hospitality and welcome to the stranger, not to leave the traveler unwelcomed as Gibeah did. I can fail to welcome the stranger, passing them by, as no one in Gibeah took in the weary travelers; but this is a failure of the hospitality your people are called to show. Keep me from leaving the stranger unwelcomed, the traveler without shelter, Lord, as Gibeah did; help me show hospitality and welcome to those in need, opening my home and life to the stranger.