A deadly slippery slope

 

READ Judges 17–21

Today’s reading is like a horror movie. First, a man of Israel stole from his mother, admitted it and she gave some of what he had stolen to make a batch of household gods like those worshiped by the nations that the Lord’s people were to defeat. He went farther by consecrating one of his sons as his priest, thus establishing his own cult and belief system. His actions are summed up: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)

Pausing here, this shows the rock-bottom results of doing our own thing. Isaiah wrote that sin is “turning to our own way” and how easily we do it, particularly in spiritual matters as well as every-day matters. This man thought this was the right thing to do because there was no leadership to tell him otherwise. Going my own way is like that, whether there is no leader or I refuse to listen to or obey whatever authority I do have. In the matter of worship, my authority is the Word of God, but I cannot read it and then do whatever I think is right without putting myself on a slippery slope.

In the next section of this reading, a young Levite happens to visit this man and winds up accepting the role of his personal priest and being paid for it. It is enough to say that serving God for money is not serving God at all. He did it for what he could get out of it.

Soon a larger group from an Israeli tribe came along and took the Levite and the idols for themselves. They told this ‘priest’ to: “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.” (Judges 18:19–20) Eventually those carved images were set up and treated as their gods.

Again I pause. Is this not still happening? How many go their own way, establish their own religious group, enjoy financial prosperity, and consider their growth as ‘better’ and even proof that they are on the right track? Reading this makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach.

But it gets worse. Another Levite  has a concubine, a term for someone other than a primary wife, even a sex-slave. She was unfaithful, left him and went to her father’s house. He went to retrieve her and wound up in a drinking party with her father that lasted for several days. Then he took her to another place, was taken in by an older man, ate and drank while “worthless” men gathered at the door wanting to “know” this young man, a euphemism for sex. The older fellow offered them his virgin daughter and the concubine instead, but they didn’t listen. The Levite made his concubine go out and they abused her all night until she died. What did the Levite do? He cut her into twelve pieces and sent them to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The upshot was a war with the clan or tribe where this happened. At first, that tribe seemed to win, but were eventually defeated. The Israelites swore not to give any of their daughters in marriage to that tribe. However, they felt sorrow for that decision and arranged another battle to secure young women for them, plus allowed them to kidnap their women, thus ensuring this one tribe would not be lost because there were no more marriages.

The book ends with: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25) and again I think this is the bottom of that slippery slope, the result of giving in to doing what a deceived mind thinks is right rather than listening to and obeying God.

This brings to mind an incredible series of sermons in our church about the Seven Deadly Sins — and why they are so deadly. If any of them are committed and not taken to the Lord in confession and repentance, they will eventually lead to death. They begin with that attitude of “it seems like a good idea” but end in great calamity. Doing what is right in our own eyes does not work out well.

God warns His people, yet history shows that sin is stronger than warnings. It is only overcome by the powerful work of Jesus Christ who died for it and lives in us that we might have His power and grace to overcome our foolish and destructive “I wants” that otherwise will destroy us.

Lord Jesus, I am so grateful to You for giving me Yourself, Your life, Your loving forgiveness and the power to say NO to all the ideas that fly through my head in opposition to Your leading and Your will. Without You, I know what I would do, and it would not be pretty. Thank You for saving me from myself.