Self Rule, One Result

Judges 19-21
 
Judges 19:1 Now in those days Israel had no king.
&
Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
 
WHEN you read these three chapters did you wonder, “Did we go back to Sodom and Gomorrah?” The Benjamites’ depraved behavior is the same as those cities God judged into oblivion. From the Levite to the Benjamites to the entire nation, all lived as if they knew nothing of God.
   Each phase of the story in Judges 19-21 has its victims. The Levite’s concubine – who had all the rights of a wife – was abused to her death. The father sent his daughter into the depraved crowd. Benjamin’s citizens who had nothing to do with the sin of a few were killed in the war. The “solution” to get wives for the surviving Levites was to kill all but 400 virgins of Jabesh-gilead because the town had not joined in Benjamin’s punishment. Other women were kidnaped during a festival. One evil upon another.
   It all began with the Levite. He should have known God more than the others, but he became an example of how Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. The man was born into the tribe of God’s priests. He lived at his pleasure while he neglected his call to serve God. He slept while his wife was abused to her death. To avenge her death, he again broke God’s law for retribution and caused a civil war in Israel.
   The Levite seems an agent of Satan. He did and encouraged evil. He had no god but himself and did as he pleased to resolve his own desires. His sins led to thousands dead and lives damaged. This unnamed Levite was a destructive force to his own nation as any invading enemy. When God is not king of a nation, the nation will suffer an agonizing death.
   One commentator points out that we can become very critical at the father who sent his daughter into the crowd to be abused. But do we too often do the same thing in our modern way? We allow – and perhaps even send – our children to view media that corrupts their minds. We have no rules, only suggestions to guide our children’s desires. We say we want them to experience the world while the world’s intention is to corrupt and destroy.
   Yes, these stories of evil and death in Judges are very difficult to read. So then, let’s be alert to God’s lessons here. Are these accounts in any way a mirror to help us understand whether or not the Holy God is in our life, our house, our church?