It’s a new month! Today is April 3, 2023. Hopefully, winter goes into hibernation, and we can welcome Spring. It’s way overdue! And in Judges, something else is long overdue … good leadership! Two redundant phrases appear and reappear - like pesky weeds in our lawn. One is, “Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord.” This phrase is then followed by a season of poor leadership. The other that appears is equally annoying! Don’t rush through this devotion. It’s a critical message with your name written on the address label. Read on …
Today's Reading:
Judges 17,18; Psalms 89; 2 Corinthians 3
Scripture
“In those days, Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)
Observation
The result of those two oft-repeated phrases is captured within the stories that fill the Book of Judges. This Old Testament volume plays out like a Hollywood drama- spiced with lust, civil wars, scandal, and intrigue. Almost all of them end with vengeance, reprisal, and bloodshed. We’re shocked at the rape and dismemberment of a Levite’s concubine, but what’s just as bad is the retaliation that leaves over 25,000 on the battlefield, butchered by their own countrymen! These are the consequences of an era without godly leadership, and where everyone did what was right … “in their own eyes.” Here lies the core of the vexation: in a leadership vacuum, everyone sees truth in their own way, based on their own biased perspectives. The result is no direction, no vision, and an uncertain future.
Application
The Bible is filled with raw, unedited accounts of the good, bad, and ugly—no laundering of narratives to fit a certain bias, whitewashing, or redacting the records of the supposed-to-be-godly characters. God placed the uncut versions in the Bible for you and me to learn from so we would NOT repeat them. These unabridged examples were meant for us … “upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). It’s a book of tough lessons, fierce conversations, and ugly examples of a society that has lost its moorings. This book isn’t some far-away historical novel. It is our current reality!
It was God’s placement and choice to have us navigate a Covid shutdown, to live and minister amid sexual dysphoria, a media of distrust, and a post-Christian era. He has chosen us to do our best to steer through and influence a society where everyone does what is right … “in their own eyes.” But think about this … we didn’t vote to be in this era of combative leadership and yellow journalism, but it’s where God placed us. It was His choice, so we must trust that He will give us the where-with-all to, like David, “serve the purposes of God in our generation.”
Prayer
Lord, I trust You to equip us to represent you in this lopsided world. There are so many things we can’t control, so help me focus on what I can! And for the ones I can’t, I’ll pray and ask for Your miraculous intervention… and leave the rest to Your infinite plan and wisdom.
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