In Their Own Eyes

​Judges 21:24-25 ~ “And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
 
There is danger, dear Christian, when the ways of God are forsaken for the ways of men. In the days of Israel, in the period where the judges led the people of God, much turmoil and great distresses occurred. The people of God would rebel, and then the Almighty would raise up a judge to lead the people back to the LORD and to victory over their enemies. Our text today comes at the end of a war between the tribe of Benjamin and the other tribes. To find the details of this war, you will need to read Judges chapters 17-21. Unrighteousness plagued the people, and their choices and decisions showed a departure from the truth and righteousness of God.
 
This dark and dreadful period is framed by a critical statement first in Judges 17:6 and again in our text today: “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” We shall get to that at the end of the reading today, but we must consider first the opening of our text. “And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.” It seems like a simple statement showing the men who had gathered at Shiloh merely heading home. But take into account what had occurred during the dance at Shiloh (see Judges 21:20-21). This kidnapping escapade was taken with such indifference that after it happened these men thought so little of it that they merely departed and went home.
 
There is a reason for such a departure from the ways of God Almighty. We find the first in the next portion of our text. “In those days there was no king in Israel.” Of what value is a king? Why is this statement given? A king provides not only executive leadership to a nation, or judicial care over the land, a king often established the moral parameters for the behavior of his subjects. As an example, consider the king of Nineveh in the days of Jonah. We read in Jonah 3:6, “The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” His actions and his proclamation directed the city to repent from their wickedness. We see in the wicked kings of Israel and Judah how they led their people down a spiritual and moral decline until the nation was filled with idolatry. Consider what was said of Baasha, king of Israel, “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin” (1 Kings 15:34). The people would not look to the LORD God as their King, and threw off the authority of His judges. God speaks to Samuel regarding this, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). This begs the question, is the LORD Jesus Christ your King?
 
The danger of throwing off the authority of the LORD comes in the next statement of our text today, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Without God to set the standard for what is right and wrong, everyone eventually will gravitate to their own parameters. It is a tragic condition of the fall of mankind that we tend to think that we have a better notion concerning our lives than the LORD God who created us. It takes us all the way back to the original sin in Genesis 3:6, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Adam and Eve stood before the tree and dismissed the instruction of God for their own desires. They did what was “right in their own eyes.” It might be safe to say that every sin can fall into that category. Proverbs 3:7 cautions, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.”
 
Do not look upon sin with indifference, dear Christian. Jesus is our King and He has established the constraints of our life. To depart from His authority is to establish another in your heart. Either you will seek a false god or, as the children of Israel did, you will do what is right in your own eyes. Let us always fear the LORD and follow Him.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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