An old comedian used to sing, "And my righteousness was indignated, and you know how painful that can be." Righteous indignation, like the price of houses is on the rise these days. Changes in our lifetimes have left many Christians discouraged. We may lower our eyes in despair and say, "Look what the world has come to!"
Israel went through a similar struggle at the end of the time of the judges. Without a king in Israel, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Two egregious examples end the book. First a young man steals from his mom and she blesses him. With the returned money she creates an idol. Her son builds a shrine to the idol and hires a Levite to be his priest to worship a false God.
Then in a town in Gibeah local men seek to harm visitors who spend the night in their town. They rape and kill a young woman. Her husband tells all of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin is nearly eliminated in a civil war.
These stories are horrific and unthinkable in light of the Mosaic law. But without a king everyone did what they wanted to do. Later God gave them King David but he, too, sinned. In our world, too, people do what they want and call it right. To call any action wrong is deemed by some to be hateful. "Maybe it is right for them," explain those who see no objective right or wrong.
Instead of looking down at the ground, believers lift our eyes up the skies and say, "Look Who has come to the world." We have a king. His name is Jesus. Someday King Jesus will judge the living and the dead. Those who receive the gift of his sacrifice for our sins will be saved. Those who do not trust King Jesus willfully choose the self-payment plan fir their sins. This will not end well. When Jesus is our Lord, we do what is right in his eyes.
