SCRIPTURE:
"In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."
Judges 17:6 NLT
OBSERVATION:
I've always wondered about the book of Judges; in my early days of being a bible reader I'd conveniently miss those reading days; then I'd read the stories familiar...like Samson. I wondered why this part of human history was so important to be in the Bible.
Then as I became more familiar with passing through history and the time of judges, I read about Gideon...then Jephthah...then Micah and his mom; and THEN, I found myself saying something in every story, practically every chapter, as I read through.
I'd say, "Man, that is so messed up. That's wacked. That's two scoops of stupid with a side order of "don't let this happen to you"!"
From Samson's poor choices in relationships, to Gideon's "are you SUUUURE, God?" adventure, to Jephthah's vow...it makes me facepalm every time.
I'd think, "What makes a person, God's people, do such boneheaded things?" The answer to this, and basically what I sum up to be my observation in and through the book of Judges, is this one Scripture verse..."In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."
The things I observe as dumb and dumber, are simply the result of not acknowledging the One who desires to be LORD and King over our lives, who clearly placed the rules and regs for right living.
For whatever reason, humans are what they are, do as they please, led by impulses, attraction to the senses, self-reliance, and need for a safe and concrete proof before even thinking of turning to God wholly. And they reap the fruits of their actions.
APPLICATION:
Why am I surprised? Though this was thousands of years ago, we find ourselves as a world, as a nation, as a state, and even within our churches today, doing the very thing that this verse states.
In Hawaii, there started to become popular, a saying, "Ainokea". It's a local phraseologic twist on "I don't care".
But what is more disturbing than the proclamation of not caring is the tag line; "I do what I like."
That in itself is an action phase of the verse in Judges that leads to these stories of "don't let this happen to you".
Yet we are embracing this attitude and mindset all over the place. We are trying to make the law, the highest authority in the land. When we acknowledge it as such, it only takes enough manipulation of the law to make an attempt to "do what we like".
In this process what used to be called "equal rights" has been corrupted into creating a "preferential class" of people who, by law, seem to have the upper hand on others who wish to call sinful behavior what it is.
Folks who wish to call behaviors "sins" are being held at political gunpoint to renounce it as sin and redefine it as "healthy behavior between two loving people"...because the law says it is.
The trouble with "doing what is right in our own eyes", is that no two sets of eyes see exactly alike.
One persons "normal" is another persons disdain. On trivial, non-life threatening matters that has always been live and let live, and be united in the essentials.
When we do what we like, and try to force that on all people calling it law, with no singular point of moral reference, we eventually call good evil, and evil, good!
Any opposition for what is good and upright according to God's standard becomes "hate" and "discrimination", and now a "reversal" of what was good and right may very well become the minority!
So what to do? Stomp and post condemnatory things on Facebook? Of course not.
I will turn to Jesus, who tells me to love Him, and to love those He died for, that is, people.
I call sin what it is--sin--and understand that I am no different than anyone else just because they sin different than me.
However, I will share that Jesus' unlimited grace and forgiveness is no reason to stay in sin and revel in it...repentance should be sincere, and focused on leaving sin, not living in it.
The judges were brought in by God because God's people wanted a King besides God, and God showed them for a season what happens when we "Ainokea", and do what we like.
The rulers did their best, but were fraught with character flaws that show us what happens when we supplant God's authority with things we desire; people, laws, or self-reliance.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus,
I see that our world is making every attempt to remove You from society.
I see that our world is making every attempt to remove You from society.
We know the consequences of that!
So I repent of being a part of society that want You out of our lives, and I ask You for strength and courage in the times to come.
May we remain faithful even as our government, workplaces, and even churches try to redefine Your standards of life. We await Your return as judge and executor of the future.
I trust You Jesus!
Amen.
Amen.
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