Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
In the Book of Judges, it was a period of time when God chose specific men to keep Israel from doing wrong in His sight. In most cases, wickedness just waited until the
Michael Martin judge God appointed died. With no one to judge, wickedness flourished.
Men did not realize that God Him- S£ lf is the ultimate Judge of their behavior and He is far more severe that the judges appointed of men. The term “did which was right in his own eyes” describes man being let to himself to determine good and evil around him. The Bible tells us that men are “bent”, which is a pretty interesting term. Hosea 11:7 “And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.”
Let me define backsliding for you. Backsliding – a falling insensibly from religion into sin or idolatry. Websters 1828 dictionary.
Webster describes it as insensibly and I need to agree with him. It does not make sense to go from blessing to cursing. It makes no sense to go from goodness to wickedness. It makes no sense to exchange a good life for a bad life, yet Israel manages to do this over and over when they had no good leadership.
Let me define leadership for you. A Leader is one that leads or conducts; a guide; a conductor. Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or members of an organization, society or team to perform certain goals or live certain lives.
Without leadership, chaos reigns, wickedness flourishes, men become more and more corrupt in their dealing with other men. Somehow men with a guiding principle of goodness always thinks that what they are doing is right no matter how it effects others.
Let me give you Gods thoughts on the subject of man ruling his own destiny: Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” Proverbs 16:2 “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”
Shall I go on? Probably although there are many more scriptures that tells us that man cannot make good decisions without the leadership of someone chosen by God to lead man to God.
Godliness is not man’s natural estate. He does not and cannot do right by his nature because his nature is corrupt. ICorinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
This reminds me of a young preacher doing his first funeral. He was officiating at the funeral of a war veteran. The dead mans military friends wished to have a part in the service at the funeral home, so they requested the pastor to lead them down to the casket, stand with them for a solemn moment of remembrance, and then lead them out through the side door. This he proceeded to do, but unfortunately the effect was somewhat marred when he picked the wrong door. The result was that they marched with military precision into a broom closet, in full view of the mourners, and had to beat a hasty retreat covered with confusion.
The leader must also know where he is going to lead properly. A man gave this analogy about leadership as he lectured his people: “You are on the Titanic, and it’s sinking. You find yourself on a lifeboat. It’s dark and hazy. Which direction would you row? Now, you’re in the same situation, but you have the ship’s navigator with you. Which way would you row? You’d row the way the navigator told you to, right?”
In the crowd there were murmurs of agreement until one man in the back piped up. “Well, I don’t know,” he said. “He already hit one iceberg!”
There is a need for us to pray for our leaders that they lead us in the right direction. Jesus gave what is referred to as the Lord’s Prayer and it asks God not to lead us into temptation.
Paul wrote to his son in the faith, young Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
Dear Lord, You know this is a time of confusion and chaos in our country Our leaders are not leading us in the way of righteousness. We plead with You to restore the sanity of our country and give us good leadership that will bring our nation back to its roots, for Lord, we know it was founded on Your principles and was governed with righteousness in our country’s past. We ask, no beg, You to give us Godly leaders that will lead us in the right way, leading us closer to You instead of away. Lord God, help us make our country “one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” again. In Jesus name we ask it, Amen.
