As I finished the book of Judges today, I was filled with… I am unsure. Sadness? Bewilderment? Confusion? The stories in this book are just so out of the ordinary. In fact, the story about the concubine of the Levite is, for me, the worst story in the entire Bible. I cannot understand why God put all of these…interesting (for want of a better word) stories in the Bible. There ARE reasons. Good reasons. His reasons.
I’d rather guess that two of the reasons are 1) to show the utter depravity of men and 2) to show the great mercy of God, despite our wickedness.
The people of Israel—people who had the One True God rescue them over and over again—kept falling back into rebellion and sin. And, yet, when they would seek Him, God would continue to rescue them.
What an incredible reminder for us of God’s love. He will not forsake us when we get misguided or deceived if we are truly one of His own. His grace and mercy will be there when we cry out in genuine repentance and with a whole heart that seeks Him, despite the sinfulness and foolishness of our past. And, in fact, that grace and mercy is available to all who genuinely seek Him and come to Him on His terms (read the book of John in the Bible to understand what they are).
All through history, God would shed His great mercy on those who seek Him and, in fact, this is throughout scripture—even into the New Testament (Matthew 6:33-34)
Also of interest to me regarding Judges is its final verse. This verse seems to be in exact parallel to what is happening in our own “Christian” culture (albeit not to the same extreme).
Commands and doctrines that have been clearly understood for two thousand years are all up for grabs. Believe what is right in your own eyes. Make up your own god and don’t worry about the Bible.
People are changing, negating, and despising doctrines of old, despite their historical understanding of thousands of years. This is all because they want to do what is right in their own eyes and they desire desperately that the Bible sanction it.
But the Bible is the same yesterday, today, and always. It will never change. And what it says is the same as it what it has always said. We cannot upend biblical Christianity just because we don’t like some of the commands and doctrines.
The book of Judges clearly shows us what happens when people decide to do things their own way. It’s a sad, tragic, and horrific picture.
We can’t control the world (or church) around us. But we can be sure, in our own lives, that we are reading and studying the Bible, dividing it rightly and comparing any teaching or doctrine to it so as not to be deceived.
May we do what is right in God’s eyes and not our own. May we continue to seek God with our whole hearts. May we be testimonies of His grace and lights in this dark world as we seek to live for Him, remembering that His Word promises that His marvelous grace and abundant mercies will be ever present in our lives as we do so.