Judges 17 - 19

The last five chapters in Judges tell of an earlier age in Israel, which would have followed the death of Joshua, but preceded the first judge Othniel. In chapters 17 - 18 is the sad story of idolatry that was ultimately established in the tribe of Dan, who stole a silver idol from the house of Micah in Ephraim, and hired a Levite to be the priest of that idol for their tribe. The tribe of Dan would serve this false god for generations, until the northern tribes would be taken into captivity by the Assyrians many hundreds of years later.

The last three chapters in Judges tells the story of civil war in Israel during the days of Phinehas, who was High Priest in Israel, and the grandson of Aaron. A Levite stops to spend the night in the town of Gibeah with his concubine, and the men of Gibeah behave like the men of Sodom, in the days of Lot, and she ends of dying as a consequence of their abuse.