NO KING IN THE LAND
JUDGES 21:25
Introduction:
The Book of Judges concludes with a final restatement of human failure concerning the moral and social anarchy of this period which preceded the monarchy. As stated three times before, Israel had no king (Compare: 17:6; 18:1; 19:1). The fact that everyone did as he wished is a sad commentary on the deplorable spiritual condition of the nation in those days and our nation in these days.
I. HUMAN FAILURE
A. In Moral Anarchy, Psalms 9:17, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
1. Some things GOD KEPT SILENT about until now, Psalm 50:19-22, “Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. 20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. 21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. 22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.”
2. We will REAP WHAT WE SOW, Job 4:8, “Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.”
3. It is TIME to seek the Lord, Hosea 10:12, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. 13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.”
B. In Social Anarchy, Psalms 7:16, “His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.”
1. The DOER of the law is JUSTIFIED, Romans 2:13, “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”
2. Our society is FULL OF VIOLENCE, Genesis 6:11, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”
3. The LEADERS of the land are “COMPANIONS OF THIEVES, Isaiah 1:23, “Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.”
II. EVERY MAN DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES
A. A SAD commentary on the SPIRITUAL condition of a nation, Isaiah 1:4, “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.”
B. America has become a REPROACH TO OTHERS, Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
1. We are HYPOCRITES in the eyes of the world, Isaiah 9:17, “Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.”
2. Our CURSING HAS COME BACK upon our own head, Psalms 109:17, “As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.”
C. However, there is STILL HOPE for us as a nation, Psalms 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.”
1. There CAN BE HAPPINESS if we will come to the Lord, Psalms 144:15, “Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood: 12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace: 13 That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets: 14 That our oxen may be strong to labour; that there be no breaking in, nor going out; that there be no complaining in our streets. 15 Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the LORD.”
2. God HAS NOT DEALT WITH US AS WITH OTHER NATIONS, Psalms 147:20, “He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.”
a. We have NOT SEEN great violence but rather the RICHES of His GRACE, Ephesians 2:7, “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
b. His Word HAS BEEN PREACHED by a multitude of God’s men, Psalm 107:20, “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
c. God has BLESSED US EVEN MORE THAN He has Israel, Jeremiah 4:22, “For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”
CONCLUSION
The Lord invites us to trust His Son as Savior and know God’s great blessings. Psalms 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” That is what America needs today more than anything else. They need to make Jesus their King and let Him rule in their lives.