In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes. Judges 21:25
I want to reflect on what I have been learning and I hope it is okay to share this with you.
This week we are studying the book of Judges. It is interesting because it follows right after Joshua and the two stand in contrast to each other. In Joshua God leads Isreal into the promised land so that they can be a light to all the nations around them and show the nations who the One true God is. The book is a story of victory as the people obey God and follow his direction. The next book Judges is the total opposite, Joshua the godly leader dies and the book is one defeat after another with people not obeying what God said. In the end there is a brutal story of a gang rape and instead of the different tribes of Israel working together they are fighting each other. When I was putting a title to this book I wanted to call it "One big Mess!"
It is actually very sad but the key to what happened is in the phrase, "all the people did what was right in their own eyes." It repeats this phrase over and over in Judges. I was reminded how when I stop reading the bible and applying it to my life as the standard for living (instead of my feelings, what is right in my own eyes) that is when my life becomes a mess. But when I read, study and follow God’s ways then I live in freedom and victory.
In a bigger sense we can see that in our society. As people live by their own standards, what is right in their own eyes, and we remove any sense of right and wrong (truth) then society spirals downwards. When we look at the rate of crime, abuse, broken families etc. sometimes I want to say "This is one big mess!"
The difference now is that God isn’t focused on transforming a political situation so that we abide by His standards of love, justice, selflessness and mercy- but instead he has given us His Word and wants to transform the society person by person, heart by heart! In my own life I am challenged to be one who ‘does what is right in God’s eyes’ and help others by letting them discover for themselves what God’s Instruction manual (Bible) says and how to obey it.
The book of Judges has just spurred me on to remind me how important it is to teach what we are going to be teaching all over the world, so that people have an alternative to doing ‘what is right in their own eyes’ and so that they can truly live in victory instead of defeat.
Thanks for listening to my reflection on what has been going through my heart and mind this week.
Teaching Adventures 