The God who Reigns
The God who Reigns
Read Judges 20:18-21:25
“in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (21:25)
Four times in the last five chapters, the statement is made, “there was no king in Israel” (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The book of Judges is a sordid tale of the descent of Israel into sin. The book is riddled with the failure and corruption of the people. Throughout the book, they embrace the idolatry and sexual debauchery of the countries around them. They intermarried with the people and embraced the worship of Baal (3:7-8). Not only did they serve the god of Baal, but they also embraced the worship of every form of idolatry that characterized the nations surrounding them (10:6). In Romans 1, God warns that one of his judgments is that he turns a people over to their sin. Such was the case of Israel. Even the priest of Levi was corrupted and promoted idolatry (ch. 17). In 19:30, we discover that even the son of Moses led the people in worshiping graven images. The climax of their descent into sin is seen in chapter 19 when the men in Bethlehem made the same base demand of Sodom and Gomorrah, demanding the guest of a man’s house be brought out so that they might engage in homosexual acts with him. It ended with the brutal rape and murder of a woman, the nation descending into civil war, and the tribe of Benjamin almost annihilated.
Even the Judges themselves were affected by the sin around them. Barak refuses to lead the nation because of fear. Gideon led his people into false worship. Jephthah made a rash vow that led to him sacrificing his daughter. Samson could not resist the temptations of pleasure. By the time Judges ends, the nation is in ruins, not because of invasion from without, but corruption from within. It is fractured and engaged in civil war. The people are embracing immorality and idolatry. Thus the statement “that there was no king in Israel” gives the reason for the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the nation.
The statement is not referring to the lack of a centralized government serving to unite and oversee the nation. Instead, it is a statement that Israel has rejected God as their king. From the beginning, God established Israel as a theocracy, a nation where God serves as their king. The statement “there was no king in Israel” is a spiritual statement rather than a political evaluation. It highlights that the people had rejected God as their king to pursue their desires and wishes. The first hint of their rejection of God as their king is found in 8:22 when the men of Israel ask Gideon to rule over them. However, Gideon reminded the people that God was to be their king, not a man (8:23). Yet the people still rejected the sovereign reign of God. As a result, instead of submitting to God and obeying his law, everyone “did what was right in their own eyes.” This did not mean that they had no law or government but that they rejected God’s law and rule in pursuit of their sinful desires.
When we reject God’s sovereign reign in our lives, the inevitable results will be chaos and descent into moral confusion. When we “do what is right in our own eyes,” when we follow the morality determined by popular culture rather than God’s word, it will bring ruin as we are affected by sin rather than righteousness.
God is the sovereign king over the universe, and Christ came to bring the kingdom of God and call people to surrender themselves to his kingdom. The question for us is this, are we going to submit to God’s sovereign reign in our life, or are we going to “do what is right in our own eyes?” The former brings peace and security; the latter brings confusion and ruin. What will we choose?
Read Judges 20:18-21:25
“in those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (21:25)
Four times in the last five chapters, the statement is made, “there was no king in Israel” (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The book of Judges is a sordid tale of the descent of Israel into sin. The book is riddled with the failure and corruption of the people. Throughout the book, they embrace the idolatry and sexual debauchery of the countries around them. They intermarried with the people and embraced the worship of Baal (3:7-8). Not only did they serve the god of Baal, but they also embraced the worship of every form of idolatry that characterized the nations surrounding them (10:6). In Romans 1, God warns that one of his judgments is that he turns a people over to their sin. Such was the case of Israel. Even the priest of Levi was corrupted and promoted idolatry (ch. 17). In 19:30, we discover that even the son of Moses led the people in worshiping graven images. The climax of their descent into sin is seen in chapter 19 when the men in Bethlehem made the same base demand of Sodom and Gomorrah, demanding the guest of a man’s house be brought out so that they might engage in homosexual acts with him. It ended with the brutal rape and murder of a woman, the nation descending into civil war, and the tribe of Benjamin almost annihilated.
Even the Judges themselves were affected by the sin around them. Barak refuses to lead the nation because of fear. Gideon led his people into false worship. Jephthah made a rash vow that led to him sacrificing his daughter. Samson could not resist the temptations of pleasure. By the time Judges ends, the nation is in ruins, not because of invasion from without, but corruption from within. It is fractured and engaged in civil war. The people are embracing immorality and idolatry. Thus the statement “that there was no king in Israel” gives the reason for the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the nation.
The statement is not referring to the lack of a centralized government serving to unite and oversee the nation. Instead, it is a statement that Israel has rejected God as their king. From the beginning, God established Israel as a theocracy, a nation where God serves as their king. The statement “there was no king in Israel” is a spiritual statement rather than a political evaluation. It highlights that the people had rejected God as their king to pursue their desires and wishes. The first hint of their rejection of God as their king is found in 8:22 when the men of Israel ask Gideon to rule over them. However, Gideon reminded the people that God was to be their king, not a man (8:23). Yet the people still rejected the sovereign reign of God. As a result, instead of submitting to God and obeying his law, everyone “did what was right in their own eyes.” This did not mean that they had no law or government but that they rejected God’s law and rule in pursuit of their sinful desires.
When we reject God’s sovereign reign in our lives, the inevitable results will be chaos and descent into moral confusion. When we “do what is right in our own eyes,” when we follow the morality determined by popular culture rather than God’s word, it will bring ruin as we are affected by sin rather than righteousness.
God is the sovereign king over the universe, and Christ came to bring the kingdom of God and call people to surrender themselves to his kingdom. The question for us is this, are we going to submit to God’s sovereign reign in our life, or are we going to “do what is right in our own eyes?” The former brings peace and security; the latter brings confusion and ruin. What will we choose?
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