Today’s Scripture Reading [October 23, 2011]
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. [Judges 21:25. KJV]
From ancient Jewish historical perspective, one of the saddest events that recorded in the Bible was when Israel was living in a time of anarchy, violence and debauchery. This sad event was recorded in the Book of Judges where we can find in the last verse of this book summarizes those horrible days: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
I am sure many of us have never lived in a period when there was no king. But this is not so for people like the Iraqis, the people of Libya or the people of Afghanistan who have gone through (or still going through) the civil wars. These people are living as if there is no king, and they are facing almost a complete breakdown of law and order. We all can read from the news and from past histories that lives under such conditions are never easy. In addition to the current affair of Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan, one of the histories that can give us vivid pictures and images of people’s living in such condition where there is no law and order was the time when China was having civil war in the early 1900. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty due to external and internal changes within and outside the dynasty, peasant revolts, the rise of new power, the western influence, and notably World War II which saw China occupied and controlled by many countries, the people of China in those time were living like there is no king. Historically, this was true because the last emperor of China was dethroned, and no one seemed to be in charge of the country. Ironically, the country was actually 'ruled or governed' by many other nations that had succeeded in invaded China. These nations were least interested in the well-being of the people of China and all they wanted was to get the most from the country. China was looked upon like a fatten cow and every nation wanted a piece of the fat meat! Good life was mainly accorded to only few powerful warlords of the collapsed Qing dynasty and their cronies while the daily lives of the masses were in a mess. They were living from hand to mouth. Together with the top military leaders of those nations that had successfully invaded China, their job was to bully people. Under such conditions, no one seemed to be in charge and everyone was free to do ‘what is right in his own eyes’. That was a period when the people of China were considered as unclivilized. Domestic animals like cats and dogs were respected more than the Chinese as this was how a 1970 movie, the Big Boss, had depicted the depraved state of the Chinese people. In that movie, the gate of a garden in China had displayed a warning message prohibiting the Chinese from entering into the garden which was under the control of the Japanese. The warning message went something like this: Dogs and Chinese are not allowed. As noted in one of the Bible commentaries: “The final lesson is that chaos reigns whenever man is free to ‘what is right in his own eyes.’ Civilized life is impossible when every man has ‘his own way’. It is an expression of the original sin which goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Only by obedience to the law and love of God can man ever find the happinesss for which God made him.”
The living condition of Israel before she was given a king was like those Chinese people of the early 1900. The people of Israel were doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). The question that some of us may ask is that, was it true that Israel had never had any king for so many thousand years? As we can read from the Bible, the first king of Israel only came into the throne in 1,000 B.C. when Abimelech, a son of the good Judge Gideon, became her first human king. However, his reign was short, just three years after which he was succeeded by King Saul who became the next king of Israel. To the Jews and before they were given a king, they felt deprived as to why they were not given a king. Indeed, they longed for one and demanded for a king because some of the judges who ruled over the Israel were corrupt; they took bribes and perverted justice (1 Samuel 8:4-6). Uniquely as it may seem, before Israel was given a king, the people of Israel was ruled by judges and not by king.
The demand by the Israelites for a king although seemed to be right thing to do, it was indeed a misplaced demand because they did not know that all along they actually have a King. The King of Israel is none other than the Creator of the Universe, the Lord Almighty. As we can read in the Book of Judges, it tells us that the children of Israel forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers even though He had brought them out of Egypt; instead they followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them (Judges 2:12). The sin and widespread decline in morality of Israel that were recorded in the Book of Judges is an important lesson because if we failed to worship the one and only true God, chaos will reign. Where there is no knowledge of God and love for God and obedience to God, the result is anarchy, depravity, family breakdown, and a disintegration of society. Does this sound familiar to us when we look at the world in which we live in today? Individuals have become a law unto themselves, each one demanding the right to do as he or she pleases. This is the direct result when we fail to worship the one true God and instead worship the gods of world.
As we read the Book of Judges, we would soon realize that it is a shocking Book because those people often thought that they were doing the right thing were indeed doing things that God has despised. And these are God’s people! We read several times in this Book that God said to His people: “The people of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD (Judges 2:11; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 13:1). In other words there was a repeated cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, devotion, followed by sin and bondage again. It would really be nice if this is just only a historical past but sadly this is not so. This shocking message of repeated cycle of sin, bondage and so on is unfortunately evident in many Christian lives today. Maybe it is one enemy, or one particular area of weakness that consistently drags us down into bondage. Maybe compromise has allowed the temptation of the enemy to have far too great an influence in our lives, leading to worldliness and the deception of sin. Often we think we have got on top of the situation until suddenly, we again came to another dead end and we are back to square one. Just like the Chinese people in China who are now doing the soul searching because of a hit-and-run accident case involving a two-year old toddler that was captured in a CCTV and broadcasted in the internet, we must also look over our past and do a soul searching: Have our walk been a cycle of victory and defeat? Do we see the cycle occurring in our lives? While we may be quick to condemn the 18 passers-by who saw the dying toddler yet did nothing to help her, we must also take stock of ourselves – if we were one of them, what would we do? Would we also pretend that we did not see the poor toddler and just walk away, or do we do like the garbage picker who didn’t seem to think twice and stretched out her hands and move the toddler to safety? Frankly, like some of you, I am not sure how I would react or do. Let us make the message of Judges be our wake up call. If we accept Jesus and 'believe Him as the resurrection and the life (John 25-26)' and take Him to be the centre of our lives, living our lives solely for His glory, we are assured of our victory, the cycle of sin and bondage shall be broken, and evil shall have not power over us. The last thing that can happen to each of us is when we hear our Lord said the same words as He did to Israel: You are doing evil in my sight!
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. [Judges 21:25. KJV]
From ancient Jewish historical perspective, one of the saddest events that recorded in the Bible was when Israel was living in a time of anarchy, violence and debauchery. This sad event was recorded in the Book of Judges where we can find in the last verse of this book summarizes those horrible days: “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
I am sure many of us have never lived in a period when there was no king. But this is not so for people like the Iraqis, the people of Libya or the people of Afghanistan who have gone through (or still going through) the civil wars. These people are living as if there is no king, and they are facing almost a complete breakdown of law and order. We all can read from the news and from past histories that lives under such conditions are never easy. In addition to the current affair of Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan, one of the histories that can give us vivid pictures and images of people’s living in such condition where there is no law and order was the time when China was having civil war in the early 1900. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty due to external and internal changes within and outside the dynasty, peasant revolts, the rise of new power, the western influence, and notably World War II which saw China occupied and controlled by many countries, the people of China in those time were living like there is no king. Historically, this was true because the last emperor of China was dethroned, and no one seemed to be in charge of the country. Ironically, the country was actually 'ruled or governed' by many other nations that had succeeded in invaded China. These nations were least interested in the well-being of the people of China and all they wanted was to get the most from the country. China was looked upon like a fatten cow and every nation wanted a piece of the fat meat! Good life was mainly accorded to only few powerful warlords of the collapsed Qing dynasty and their cronies while the daily lives of the masses were in a mess. They were living from hand to mouth. Together with the top military leaders of those nations that had successfully invaded China, their job was to bully people. Under such conditions, no one seemed to be in charge and everyone was free to do ‘what is right in his own eyes’. That was a period when the people of China were considered as unclivilized. Domestic animals like cats and dogs were respected more than the Chinese as this was how a 1970 movie, the Big Boss, had depicted the depraved state of the Chinese people. In that movie, the gate of a garden in China had displayed a warning message prohibiting the Chinese from entering into the garden which was under the control of the Japanese. The warning message went something like this: Dogs and Chinese are not allowed. As noted in one of the Bible commentaries: “The final lesson is that chaos reigns whenever man is free to ‘what is right in his own eyes.’ Civilized life is impossible when every man has ‘his own way’. It is an expression of the original sin which goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Only by obedience to the law and love of God can man ever find the happinesss for which God made him.”
The living condition of Israel before she was given a king was like those Chinese people of the early 1900. The people of Israel were doing what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). The question that some of us may ask is that, was it true that Israel had never had any king for so many thousand years? As we can read from the Bible, the first king of Israel only came into the throne in 1,000 B.C. when Abimelech, a son of the good Judge Gideon, became her first human king. However, his reign was short, just three years after which he was succeeded by King Saul who became the next king of Israel. To the Jews and before they were given a king, they felt deprived as to why they were not given a king. Indeed, they longed for one and demanded for a king because some of the judges who ruled over the Israel were corrupt; they took bribes and perverted justice (1 Samuel 8:4-6). Uniquely as it may seem, before Israel was given a king, the people of Israel was ruled by judges and not by king.
The demand by the Israelites for a king although seemed to be right thing to do, it was indeed a misplaced demand because they did not know that all along they actually have a King. The King of Israel is none other than the Creator of the Universe, the Lord Almighty. As we can read in the Book of Judges, it tells us that the children of Israel forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers even though He had brought them out of Egypt; instead they followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them (Judges 2:12). The sin and widespread decline in morality of Israel that were recorded in the Book of Judges is an important lesson because if we failed to worship the one and only true God, chaos will reign. Where there is no knowledge of God and love for God and obedience to God, the result is anarchy, depravity, family breakdown, and a disintegration of society. Does this sound familiar to us when we look at the world in which we live in today? Individuals have become a law unto themselves, each one demanding the right to do as he or she pleases. This is the direct result when we fail to worship the one true God and instead worship the gods of world.
As we read the Book of Judges, we would soon realize that it is a shocking Book because those people often thought that they were doing the right thing were indeed doing things that God has despised. And these are God’s people! We read several times in this Book that God said to His people: “The people of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD (Judges 2:11; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 13:1). In other words there was a repeated cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, devotion, followed by sin and bondage again. It would really be nice if this is just only a historical past but sadly this is not so. This shocking message of repeated cycle of sin, bondage and so on is unfortunately evident in many Christian lives today. Maybe it is one enemy, or one particular area of weakness that consistently drags us down into bondage. Maybe compromise has allowed the temptation of the enemy to have far too great an influence in our lives, leading to worldliness and the deception of sin. Often we think we have got on top of the situation until suddenly, we again came to another dead end and we are back to square one. Just like the Chinese people in China who are now doing the soul searching because of a hit-and-run accident case involving a two-year old toddler that was captured in a CCTV and broadcasted in the internet, we must also look over our past and do a soul searching: Have our walk been a cycle of victory and defeat? Do we see the cycle occurring in our lives? While we may be quick to condemn the 18 passers-by who saw the dying toddler yet did nothing to help her, we must also take stock of ourselves – if we were one of them, what would we do? Would we also pretend that we did not see the poor toddler and just walk away, or do we do like the garbage picker who didn’t seem to think twice and stretched out her hands and move the toddler to safety? Frankly, like some of you, I am not sure how I would react or do. Let us make the message of Judges be our wake up call. If we accept Jesus and 'believe Him as the resurrection and the life (John 25-26)' and take Him to be the centre of our lives, living our lives solely for His glory, we are assured of our victory, the cycle of sin and bondage shall be broken, and evil shall have not power over us. The last thing that can happen to each of us is when we hear our Lord said the same words as He did to Israel: You are doing evil in my sight!
Last edited:
