JUL 25

Judges 19
Memorise Judges 21:25
“every man did that which was right in his own eyes”

When you read through the book of Judges, especially the last 5 chapters, you may be extremely appalled by the depths of depravity that the nation of Israel had descended into. Some of the accounts are so terrible that it can even make your stomach churn. It seems the Israelites had lost all notion of basic human ethics and morality.

One such example can be found in Judges 19. The account concerns a Levite – one who was supposed to be a religious servant of Israel and a teacher of the law - and his concubine. While lodging overnight in the city of Gibeah, the local men surrounded the house he was staying in, clamouring for the Levite that they might sexually assault him. In response, his host offered his virgin daughter, and the Levite offered his concubine. They eventually accepted the latter, and raped and abused the concubine through the night. The Levite found her collapsed upon his doorstep the next morning, and callously commanded her to get up and resume their journey. When he realized that she was dead, he brought her body home, divided her body into 12 pieces and sent the pieces throughout Israel as evidence of the sin of Gibeah.

Does it not sicken you to read such an account? There are just too many wrong and terrible things in this story to point out. Suffice to say, the account above is a snapshot of how morally depraved the people had become. Why did this happen? The reason is repeated a number of times in the book of Judges – “that in those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Basically there was no authority, no governance, and so everyone became a law unto themselves, and did that which their hearts desired. Without God, the Israelites became what we see in the book of Judges.

It is easy to stand in judgment and criticise the Israelites for their corruption. Yet we must realize that our hearts too, are “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiahs 17:9). If we were not surrounded with the godly influences that we have around us, if we did not have parents or the law of the land to control us, but were given free rein to do all that our hearts desired, how do you think we would turn out? We may not actually do the things the Israelites did in Judges, but do we not imagine the similar evils in our hearts?

Thought: Only by God’s grace am I kept from sin.
Prayer: Lord, help me to realize my depravity, and the true value of grace