Judges 13 – 21

Here is the fundamental problem with mankind …

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

JUDGES 17:6 and 21:25

The problem was not that the Israelites had no monarchy, but that they refused to recognize God as their king. Upon deliverance from captivity in Egypt, God intended for them to be governed according to His will and His law. Justice would be meted out by chosen men according to His will and His law. From the very beginning, God created mankind to be free moral agents who would choose to submit to His will and His law. The fundamental problem with us – yes, you and me – is an inability or unwillingness to submit to His will and His law, opting for what is right in MY eyes. Selfishness.

I’ll grant you that there are times when doing what is right in MY (insert yourself here) eyes results in greater good. At the same time we should all admit that “my eyes” concoct a word meant to benefit me first. It’s simply the way I see the world – through MY eyes. So, if it benefits ME, everyone else should be OK with it, right? Multiply that by 7 billion and we have a problem. Samson is a prime example. In the hands of God, he was a powerful force and part of the solution. In his own hands, he was a destructive force and was part of the problem.

Samson was set apart by God and given tremendous strength. God intended for him to begin the liberation of the Israelites from the oppressive Philistines. Four distinct times we are told the Spirit of the LORD was upon Samson. At times, Yahweh reigned as King over Samson. The gifts that God gave to him were sometimes well-employed and very effective in combatting the oppressive Philistines.

Still other times, it didn’t work out that way. At times, Samson’s eyes led him and Samson reigned as king over Samson. He saw a pretty lady and demanded her for his wife. Lust. Never mind that God commanded Him to not take foreign wives, Samson wanted her anyway. So he did what was right in his own eyes. She told the secret of his riddle to others and humiliated him, so he left her. When her father thought he was gone for good, he gave her to another man. Samson went on a rampage. After dallying with a prostitute, when Delilah came to seduce him, he was more than willing, for she looked good to his eyes. His sin distracted him from pursuing God’s purpose and he was destructive to himself and others.

We see this pattern repeating (and, thus, should take heed since we are susceptible) with Micah, his personal priest, and his idols. Nice “religious” thought, except God had commanded otherwise. Enter the Danites. Looking to take land for their inheritance (instead of accepting an inheritance from God), they encounter Micah and his priest. Now, they want land AND a priest for themselves in their new homeland in Dan. In their eyes, this all seemed so right. All the while, the priest of Aaron served in the tabernacle in Shiloh – as was right in the eyes of Yahweh.

The book of Judges concludes with one of the most horrific sequence of events in the Bible. Men set their hearts on their drunken lust and the homosexual rape of the Levite houseguest, since it seemed right in their eyes. The host instead offers his virgin daughters (remember Lot in Sodom?) to them because it seems right in his eyes. What unfolds is hard to read. Why do we find the brutal gang-rape, murder and dismemberment of a lady in the annals of the people of God? Ultimately, the passage serves to remind us where the path that seems right in our eyes can lead.  The way to destruction is wide and easy.

So startling is this scene that we may miss what happened just beforehand. When the Levite encountered the host, we see things unfold in the way that is right in the eyes of God. Lifting up his eyes and caring for the wayfaring stranger, he warns him of the danger in the town and invites him into his home. He offers him peace, food, drink, cleansing and rest. Yahweh reigned in this humble home.

The people of Israel rose up against this horrible crime and purged the evil from their land. It was a slaughter. A tragic end to a tragic time. Everything that went wrong for the people in their new land can be directly traced to man following the path that seemed right in his own eyes. Each man so doing rejected God as his king. Think on your life and see the pattern personally. The choice between right and wrong is the choice between selflessness and selfishness. Selfishness exalts me as king, while selflessness exalts Yahweh as king. Whichever you choose, God can see it in your eyes.

Consider His nature. Consider His ways. Strive to love Him more!