4-9-23 Willisburg Bulletin
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25
The book of Judges ends with no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. What a terrible thought to think about. You can understand the reason why God would get anger at the Israelites for not trusting and obeying Him. We do what we THINK is right, when we take matters into our own hands and leave God out of the situation. The problem is our hearts are tempted by sin not by God’s wisdom. Without God defining right and wrong, everyone will choose what’s best for ourselves. You can only imagine the chaos it would be. We see it today even. Humans will always fall prey to their selfish patterns. Sin tells us to do what makes us happy, yet it fails to provide lasting satisfaction, just like the Israelites begging for a judge. They finally got what they wanted, but they always fell back to their old disobeying ways. They soon forgot how good they had it. Sin never tells us about the pain and suffering of the consequences it will cause. If nothing is learned from Judges, you can see the need to seek what’s right in God’s eyes, not our own, just as Jeremiah 10:23 states, “O Lod, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps,” and also Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…” The Israelites were in a constant cycle of wanting a Judge, God giving them one, and then they still disobeyed. How often do we constantly ask for something, wefinally get it, yet we still are unthankful and still want more? Sin will always leave you wanting more because it doesn’t provide lasting fulfillment as God does.
Eternal Deliverer
The whole book of Judges shows the need for a deliverer, one that will be permanent, save us from our sinful state, make us right before God, and give us a new, pure heart.
What is your life ended without a King/Savior and you were doing only what was right in your eyes?
However, no earthly king or deliverer will ever be able complete this task, only Jesus, the true Savior. Jesus gave His whole life for you and me. How can you seek your own, knowing that Jesus has conquered sin and death, given us a new heart to love and serve Him, and one day will deliver us from this sinful world to an eternal place of pure bliss. We need to turn our direction to follow Him. He’s the only who will lead us in all the everlasting righteous ways. God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9); He knows what’s best. Resolve to put God as the light of your path your are taking through life.