Read Judges 19-21.
These closing chapters recount one of the saddest times in Israel's history. The sexual immorality in the tribe of Benjamin at the time takes us back to the story of Sodom. History is clear that homosexuality is the doom of a culture. Verse 22 of chapter 19 calls them "worthless". It is the last straw for God to execute judgment.
Human life had lost its value. A young girl was abusively murdered. The actions of the Levite, though gruesome, accomplished its intent to rile a nation to take action about the sin. They rallied in unity (20:11) to "purge evil from Israel" (20:13). Everyone suffered. In the end, 25,100 men of Benjamin died.
The tribe of Benjamin was the smallest of the twelve tribes. With such great losses of men, in chapter 21 the nation agreed to a plan to maintain the tribal heritage.
People need spiritual leadership. God never intended for us to grow and live out our faith in Him by ourselves. We all need to be taught, to be accountable, and to interact with others as we put the Word of God into practice.
When the book of Judges repeats the theme "in those days there was no king", it is the dangerous reminder that they had no spiritual leadership. "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (21:25). In other words, left to ourselves, humans do not naturally lean toward God. Even our faith is a work of God, the Father. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44).
We all need the
spiritual leadership of God's word, the Holy Spirit's control, and the
accountability of a Bible teaching church.
No comments:
Post a Comment