May 15, 2000

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Choosing one's own path leads to a life of chaos
___ Judges 17:1-8, 12-13;
___18:30-31
___By Ellis Orozco
___Calvary Baptist Church, McAllen
___After the death of Samson, the spiritual life of Israel went from bad to worse. The recurring theme of the last five chapters of Judges is "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit" (Judges 17:6). With that theme as the driving force, the book of Judges ends with a series of stories that paint a picture of what happens when we try to do our own thing.
___ Micah and the idol (Judges 17-18). A man named Micah from the Hill Country of Ephraim stole 1,100 shekels (about 28 pounds) of silver from his mother. When he realized how much the loss hurt her, he confessed and returned the silver. His mother was so pleased she used 200 shekels of the silver to form an idol. She gave the idol to her son as a reward for having confessed to the crime.
___Micah received the idol with great pleasure and set up a shrine in his home.
___He began to worship the idol. He met a young Levite and persuaded him to stay with him and act as his personal priest. Micah set up his own religious system surrounding a silver image.
___ The Levite and his concubine (Judges 19). A Levite who lived in Ephraim took a woman from Bethlehem as his concubine.
___However, she was unfaithful to him and returned to her father's house in Bethlehem. The Levite went to Bethlehem to find her and to bring her back.
___On the journey home, they spent the night at the home of an old man in Gibeah. The men of the city demanded the Levite be released to them because they wanted to sexually abuse him. The old man gave them the Levite's concubine instead. They raped her all night, killed her and left her body on the doorstep of the old man's house.
___The next morning, the Levite found his wife's body. He took her to his house, cut her body into 12 pieces and sent the pieces to the 12 tribes of Israel.
___ The fall of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20-21). The murder of the Levite's concubine by the men of the tribe of Benjamin sent shock waves throughout Israel. It was a shocking but telling sign of the moral climate of Israel. The story is reminiscent of what happened to Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah. It is a tragic portrait of how far Israel had strayed from God.
___The men of Israel came together and prepared for war against Benjamin. The tribe of Benjamin was defeated. Benjamin survived this ordeal because of the grace of God. However, the consequences were severe. The other tribes made a pact that they would never allow their daughters to marry into the tribe of Benjamin.
___These tragic stories that draw the final curtain on the era of the judges make a statement on the consequences of ignoring God's law and doing our own thing. Because there was no king, everyone did as he saw fit (Judges 21:25).
___It is the description of chaos. Unfortunately, Israel did not do much better under her kings. Ultimately, Jesus Christ is the only King who leads us out of the chaos of doing it our own way and into the abundant life of doing it God's way (John 10:10).

Send this story to a friend

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!