Judges 16-21
When the world goes one direction, the pull of that direction becomes too strong for some people. It’s just easier to follow the crowd than it is to stand out as a righteous, uncompromising leader.
That’s the way it was for the Hebrews in the time of the judges; multiple times in the book of Judges, the writer describes their culture as, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg 17:6, 18:1). In what may have been a justification for the monarchy to come for Israel, the writer of Judges was also describing the moral and religious condition of Israel.
Everyone did what was right “in his own eyes.” There were few boundaries, apparently. Any peer pressure toward godliness, if it existed at all, seemingly had little effect. Sin was deep, and it was pervasive. When human beings become their own gods, they simply do not default in the direction of the one and only true and living God. By definition, such idolatry does not focus on the God of the Bible.
Such an assessment reminds us that we cannot alone change other lives. We can, and must, proclaim the Word to them and pray for them—but we cannot in our own strength change their lives. God alone changes rebellious hearts.
RESPONSE: Do what is right in God’s eyes today.
