THE STORY OF JESUS: Judges 17-21
“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” (Judges 21:25)
Four times in this section we are told that Israel had no king (17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25).
These stories are meant to show human nature at its worse, and our need for a messiah.
Though we live in God’s promised land, our nature is perverse corrupt, and we do terrible things.
God is still in the story, but He is working with messed up people – and misery results.
The next bible books (Ruth/1,2 Samuel) show how God raises up king David.
But as we will see, not even David, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), can escape corruption.
How do we break Satan’s grip on the world, how do we overcome evil in the world?
We cannot, but God can; through Jesus God overcomes Satan and evil.
Jesus is the first human being to reject Satan and sin and do as God sees fit.
Today we do have a good king, but people still do as they see fit.
Humanity by itself cannot overcome evil, despite all the ‘advances’ that we have made.
Without Jesus, we are doomed to repeat the horrors and atrocities of history.
We need Jesus, we need His kingship, we need His grace, we need His help!
Let the lesson of Judges drive us to our knees and plead with Jesus, ‘lead us, be our king!’
What do you sense the Lord saying to you?
PRAYER
Lord, You are the hope of the world (not the church). Drive home this message to our hearts, that our world will degenerate like this, unless we welcome You and Your Way!