Do you know why there are is corruption in our country? Judges 17-21

Judges 19:1 (NASBStr)

A Levite’s Concubine Degraded

 Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.

The story that is told in the remaining chapters of Judges is evidence number one as to the lack of character and spiritual sensitivity in Israel.  The writer of Judges brings special attention to the fact that there was NO KING in Israel.  The implication is that if there were a king nothing like what you are about to read would possibly happen; the point being, in the absence of moral authority there is moral corruption.   The moral corruption in the story in chapter nineteen is that this Levite loses his concubine (probably simply a term for his second wife), she is raped and murdered by the men of a certain city.   He then cuts her in twelve pieces and sends a piece to the twelve tribes in protest of the cities behavior.   Perhaps this story is here to prepare us for what we will read in 1 Samuel when the country asks for a king.  It is apparent that the lack of spiritual leadership throughout the book of Judges shows what can happen when we lose sight of God's authority and live every man for himself.    When we lack a spiritual compass we will find ourselves on the fleshy rocks of life doing all types of hideous sins.  It is hard to choose which is worse in this story: What they did to the concubine when she was alive or what he did to her when she was dead?   What is degraded in the story is the treatment of men by men.   Thousands of soldiers lose their lives in what will follow.   Since the city was from the tribe of Benjamin, almost an entire tribe is wiped out from the nation of Israel.   In the earlier chapter of this book a judge is raised up to defeat the oppression of the enemies Israel had become enslaved to as a result of their sin. In these chapters the enemy is their own countrymen.  The lack of spiritual authority in the live of men not only allow others to dominate you but also makes you succumb to sins against your own people.   When God is not King there is no control over sin.  When there is no control over sin, moral fiber is replaced by corrupt stories as found in this chapter.   It all begins when the King of Kings is not recognized as the authority.