“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
–
Judges 21:25
The
first couple disobeyed the word of God. Then they blamed God for their
suffering. Then mankind refused to worship God. Nowadays, many don't even seem
to know that God exists, they have ignored God. But can man live without God? In
other words, can humans live by themselves? This verse reveals to us the failed
experiment of Israelites without God's law. It is a commentary on the sinful
and chaotic lifestyle of the Israelites after the death of Joshua and before
the days of the kings of Israel, particularly on the incidents of the Levite's
concubine and the following massacres.
This
is not to say that every Israelite behaved in a responsible manner to do what
was right. It means they lived as they liked what Moses had forbidden them in
Deuteronomy 12:8. (An identical commentary appears in Judges 17:6, where they
decided to worship God as they liked). This was lawless, reckless, messy, and
sinful. The Scripture says, "The heart is deceitful above all
things," and "All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags."
This verse comes as a lament on life without God. Because God is the true King
of Israelites, in fact, the ultimate King of the Universe. Israelites refused to
have God as their king, and they did not have a human king at that time. Even with
their human kings, their spiritual, social, economic, agricultural, and
political situations were more disastrous. Life without God as our King is a
sinful life.
Who
dictates your life: The government? Your boss? Your intuition? Your mood? God
has created us for Himself. Then He bought us again in Christ. Our life is no
longer ours; would you live for Him following His precepts written in the Scripture?