Reflection on Judges

"In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes"  Judges 21:25

I just went through the book of Judges in the Old Testament and I was fascinated by how God delivered his people in that time of history.  I see various flaws in human deliverers (judges).  Human failures did not defeat God's plan of deliverance for his people.  This pattern repeats itself in the book of Judges "God sent a leader for deliverance, there is peace, people forgot about God, people worshipped pagan gods, God gave them up for oppression, people cried to the LORD for help, God sent a leader for deliverance."  The people of Israel lived in a very dark and evil period.

The behaviour of today's people and myself resembles how people were back then.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  It is remarkable that after such chaotic abuses and rebellion, God was still not prepared to give up on Israel.  It is God alone who sustain His own people.

God is the one who sustains me.  It is never my own effort and righteousness to bring peace and love to people.  It is always God's deliverance and I can continue to count on God to protect, to bless, to guide, to provide, and to lead me to do his work for his glory.

A challenge I received from God is the following:

Do I do what is right in my own eyes?  or Do I do what is right in God's eyes?

I pray that we all do what is right in God's eyes!