[Anglican Communion 19 June 2020] Topic: How Hospitable Are You?
TOPIC: How Hospitable Are You?
READ: Judges 19:10-21(NKJV)
However, the man was not willing to spend that night; so he rose and departed, and came to opposite Jebus (that [is,] Jerusalem). With him were the two saddled donkeys; his concubine [was] also with him.
They [were] near Jebus, and the day was far spent; and the servant said to his master, “Come, please, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and lodge in it.”
But his master said to him, “We will not turn aside here into a city of foreigners, who [are] not of the children of Israel; we will go on to Gibeah.”
So he said to his servant, “Come, let us draw near to one of these places, and spend the night in Gibeah or in Ramah.”
And they passed by and went their way; and the sun went down on them near Gibeah, which belongs to Benjamin.
They turned aside there to go in to lodge in Gibeah. And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no one would take them into [his] house to spend the night.
Just then an old man came in from his work in the field at evening, who also [was] from the mountains of Ephraim; he was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place [were] Benjamites.
And when he raised his eyes, he saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?”
So he said to him, “We [are] passing from Bethlehem in Judah toward the remote mountains of Ephraim; I [am] from there. I went to Bethlehem in Judah; [now] I am going to the house of the LORD. But there [is] no one who will take me into his house,
“although we have both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and bread and wine for myself, for your female servant, and for the young man [who is] with your servant; [there is] no lack of anything.”
And the old man said, “Peace [be] with you! However, [let] all your needs [be] my responsibility; only do not spend the night in the open square.”
So he brought him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.
THE MESSAGE:
Gibeah was a suburb of Jerusalem belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. The man on a journey with his servant and concubine was a Jew, an Israelite. Since the day was far spent, he decided not to lodge with the Gentiles but to take the extra risk of continuing on his journey until he arrived a Jewish city. He felt he would be better treated by fellow Jews though not of the same tribe. Surprisingly, no one took him in for lodging. It was late to continue travelling so he, his servant and his concubine, lay on the street. It was an Ephramite, an old man that now showed them hospitality. So, the Benjamites (owners of Gibeah) lacked hospitality.
Hospitality is a Christian virtue which God appreciates so much. It brought blessings to Abraham and to the Shunamite woman. The scarcity of it today among brethren is very alarming. If you are deficient in hospitality, then you are deficient of Christ because the Christ life is built on hospitality. How do you feel when you do not get care from fellow Christians?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, please help me to imbibe hospitality.
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