Scriptural Examples Of Godly Families Who Suffered The Trauma Of Sexual Violence!

Scriptural Examples Of Godly Families Who Suffered The Trauma Of Sexual Violence!

Many people mistakenly believe that Godly families will never suffer the trauma of sexual abuse, and if it does God is punishing them for some unknown sin in their lives. Ss the following scriptures reveal, they are sadly mistaken.

 

• Incest reared its ugly head in Genesis 19:30-38 when Lot, Abraham’s nephew, impregnated his two daughters.

 

• Genesis 34:1-30 reveals that Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, was the victim of a stranger raped when she was assaulted by Shechem, Son of Hamor, the Hivite.

 

• The horror of gang rape s vividly portrayed in Judges 19:11-30 when the concubine of an unnamed Levite was literally raped to death by the male population of Gibeah, which was part of the Tribe of Benjamin. Tragically, here we see sexual violence is a         part of deeply religious societies. It occurs in every segment of our society, in every religion, and, in Christendom, every denomination.

 

• An account of incest in the form of acquaintance rape is found in II Samuel 13:1-20 where the royal family is literally torn asunder when Amnon raped his half-sister

 

• In II Samuel 16:21 & 22 another of King David’s sons, Absalom, publicly rapes ten of his father’s concubines.

 

• I was I was literally horrified to discover in I Samuel 2:22 that the Sons of the High

Priest Eli were sexually exploiting the women who came to worship at the Tabernacle.

The sexual exploitation of God’s people by their spiritual leaders is not a recent development, it is literally thousands of years old.

 

God’s judgment falls on the House of Eli in I Samuel  3:13 & 14 when God proclaims,

For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. And therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.

 

God then began to groom Samuel to replace       Eli and his sons as Israel’s reigning High Priest.

 

Here we see that God judged Eli for not restraining sons from sexually exploiting the women that God had called them to minister to, and of course He judged his sons for their vile actions. In Ezekiel 34:1-10  we see that God extends this to all His Shepherds who fail to protect His flock from predators and allow His flock to become prey. Thus, says the Lord God to the   shepherds, “Woe to the shepherds . . . surely because My flock has become prey, . . . Behold, “I am against the shepherds, . . .”

 

I fear that the pastors who fail to protect their flock from sexual predators will find that their ministry will be found wanting in the day of judgment, and I believe a worse fate awaits those who sexually exploit God’s lambs, little children.

 

Some years ago I was teaching this at a secular conference, the director of an agency in a neighboring county spoke to me after we closed. “I have been so angry at God I haven’t been to church or prayed for over ten (10) years!”

 

When I asked why  she said, “I thought that God was indifferent to the horrific sexual violence being inflicted upon the children and youth I work with on a daily basis, but from what you taught today about Eli and his sons I see it takes it very seriously!”

 

“Your living proof He does,” I responded. “Who do you think put this passion in your heart to help broken children to heal?”

 

Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, “Yes, I can see that now. I need to go back to church again!”

By: Rev. Joseph Paluszak