April 5
Judges 16:1-18:31
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." In the book of Judges, Israel has devolved to a point where they have no leadership and no sense of law. God was supposed to be their king, but they had long ago cast him to the side in order to place people, and ultimately themselves, on the throne. In fact, from Judges 17 to the end of the book, we see there are no more judges, thus, a massive leadership vacuum. With no leadership comes moral anarchy. All the people begin to do whatever they want. We can see this from the sexual promiscuity of Samson to the idolatrous worship of Micah and the tribe of Dan.
When we cast off God, we cast off all restraint. A bus campaign in England placed these words on the side of buses: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life." This is exactly Israel’s mentality in today's reading. However, when we throw off God we throw off meaning, purpose, and joy. If we want to experience true life, God needs to remain central and his Scriptures/commands (congrats on making it to April 5!) as well. May it be said of us, “today (insert your name) had a king, and did only what he saw fit.”
Father God, I confess that I am prone to idolatry. I am constantly wrestling with prioritizing things above you. Help me to make you the preeminent thing in my life and follow you in every part of life. Amen.
How does doing whatever you see fit follow naturally from throwing off God as our king?
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." In the book of Judges, Israel has devolved to a point where they have no leadership and no sense of law. God was supposed to be their king, but they had long ago cast him to the side in order to place people, and ultimately themselves, on the throne. In fact, from Judges 17 to the end of the book, we see there are no more judges, thus, a massive leadership vacuum. With no leadership comes moral anarchy. All the people begin to do whatever they want. We can see this from the sexual promiscuity of Samson to the idolatrous worship of Micah and the tribe of Dan.
When we cast off God, we cast off all restraint. A bus campaign in England placed these words on the side of buses: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life." This is exactly Israel’s mentality in today's reading. However, when we throw off God we throw off meaning, purpose, and joy. If we want to experience true life, God needs to remain central and his Scriptures/commands (congrats on making it to April 5!) as well. May it be said of us, “today (insert your name) had a king, and did only what he saw fit.”
Father God, I confess that I am prone to idolatry. I am constantly wrestling with prioritizing things above you. Help me to make you the preeminent thing in my life and follow you in every part of life. Amen.
How does doing whatever you see fit follow naturally from throwing off God as our king?
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