The book of Judges ends with two strange accounts of women.  The first woman mentioned takes an entire chapter and is very odd.  It has no moral, or context; it just tells us that an unnamed woman's son stole her money, and later confessed that he did it.  She took the money that he returned and had a silversmith make some idols.  Which of course was the wrong thing to do.  (Both of them.)

The scripture explains it this way, "For in those days Israel had no king so everyone did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."  Which seems to be the mantra in America today.  People have no moral compass.  Which you don't if you don't believe in God--or his authority over your life.

The next woman mentioned was about a man's wife.  (unnamed)  She became angry with him and ran away back to her father's house.  The man took his servant with him to go reclaim her and take her back home with him.  He found her, and as they were returning home, some sodomites banged on the door of the inn where they were staying demanding him to give them the man-servant so that they could have sex with him.  But the man said, "No, take my wife."  (Good grief.)

Then the husband shoved his wife out the door, and the gang of men raped her throughout the night.  In the morning as her husband was leaving, he opened the door and his wife was lying with her hands digging into the threshold, where she died.  He then proceeded to cut her into twelve pieces--and sent a piece to each of the tribes of Israel to cause them to take action against the people of that land where she had been abused.  (I can't imaging how he rationalized that her death wasn't his own fault.)

Horrible stories.  Why are they in the Bible.  Perhaps to show man's depravity.  I couldn't help but wonder if the husband was paying his wife back for running away from him in the first place.  The story is bizarre.  Doing what is right in your own eyes is not a good way to live.  If we follow the guidance of Jesus, we will always, "...do unto others as you would that they should do unto you."

Throwing someone to the wolves certainly doesn't meet God's expectations.  Just the opposite.  Perhaps that is the lesson in this passage.  I'm tired of all of these horrible stories.  Tomorrow, I will write about a wonderful woman.  Actually, two of them.  About time.