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Judges 17:6 – Right in His Own Eyes

Today, we read of the general problem behind the events in these last chapters of Judges. In the early chapters of the book, we saw that a pattern was set whereby a generation would turn from the Lord, He would discipline them by letting them fall into the hand of their enemies, they would call on Him for deliverance, He would raise up a judge who saved them, they would worship the Lord all the days of the judge, but would then turn from God again. Judges 2:19 tells us that each time this happened, the new generation was more corrupt than the last. Judges has shown us this downward spiral. Now, the latter generations have reached a very low point.

First, we are told “In those days there was no king in Israel.” We have noted before that God promised one day to choose a king for Israel (Deuteronomy 17:15). In Judges 8:23, Gideon rightly pointed out that the LORD was the true King in Israel. While the time has not yet come in which God will choose a human king for Israel, He is their King. That the Scripture says “in those days there was no king in Israel,” tells us that no one was acknowledging the LORD’s kingship. Consequently, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Sadly, most (probably all) of us live in cultures that could be described in much the same way. The Kingship of God is not acknowledged and everyone does what is right in his own eyes. In situations in which people do whatever seems right to them, with no regard for a standard outside themselves, however much they might claim “I am not hurting anyone,” they have no higher standard by which to judge whether or not their actions hurt anyone. It is for the Church lovingly to speak the truth that God is King, and everyone is accountable to Him. We must not do what is right in our own eyes. We must do what God declares is right.

Questions

  1. Who was Israel’s King in the time of the judges?
  2. Why then does Judges 17:6 say there was no king in Israel?
  3. Why should we not do what is right in our own eyes?

Prayer Points

  1. Pray that we would obey God and not do what is right in our own eyes.
  2. Use prayer points from your congregation.
  3. Pray for family matters.