Uganda, April 7 -- In Chapter 20 of the Book of Judges, Israel is confronted with a shocking crime. A Levite's concubine is brutally abused and killed in the town of Gibeah, in the territory of Benjamin. Outraged, the tribes gather to demand justice. But Benjamin refuses to hand over the perpetrators, choosing instead to defend its own. What follows is a devastating civil war. It is in this moment, before the battle begins, that Israel seeks God's direction-and receives a surprising answer: Judah first.

The crime at Gibeah was brutal and unmistakable. But the deeper indictment was not only the act itself. It was the environment that allowed it to take root. Gibeah did not descend into darkness overnight. It decayed in plain sight of lead...