Judges 17:1-6: Who Will Rule?
We are now going to be looking at the book of 1 Samuel with notes written by Rev. Joel Loughridge.
If the news is anything to go by, the identity of our leaders is important. Before the current wall to wall coverage of the fever, we had feverish coverage of elections. For months we’d been tracking the Democratic nomination – Bloomberg splashing the cash, Biden bouncing from nowhere, Bernie burning out. In the UK, we were desperate to know if Boris could bring Brexit or would Corbynomics revitalise “the many, not the few”. We all wanted to know the answer to this question: who would rule? The winners would potentially make decisions and spend money affecting millions of people in their daily lives. Personal safety, living standards, global security – all impacted by the answer to this question. Blessing or prosperity, trouble or trial – hinging on this question: who will rule?
It was ever thus. This is one of the key issues in 1 Samuel: who will rule God’s people? A ruler is needed, as we’ve said, for the blessing and prosperity of the people. They wield power that will affect lives on a day to day basis. At this time there was no King in Israel. Every one did what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6 and 21:25). It was a time of immorality, depravity, wickedness, tension and turbulence, as illustrated in the confusion and idolatry of our passage today. Read on in Judges and it gets even worse. Israel was not a nice place to live, and was in danger of being overrun by her enemies. They needed a king. A king to rule for God in justice and uprightness, bringing blessing, prosperity and peace. 1 Samuel is the story of how God gives them that King. It is a story of God’s plan to bless his people in times of trouble, by sending a King to bring blessing & prosperity. This is God’s plan. Not just for Israel, but for the world. It was ever thus.
Questions
- Scan quickly through Judges 17-21. How do these incidents show the danger of there being no King in Israel, and everyone doing what was right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6 and 21:25)?
- Where do you see this being played out in our culture – everyone doing what is right in their own eyes?
Prayer Points
- Pray that God would show people their need of a good ruler, and the limitations of all earthly rulers.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.