Wednesday's Devo - What's in my Eye?

Read Judges 21
This chapter is a story of redemption. God restoring after war and devastation. All Israel has promised not to give their daughters to a Benjamite to marry. Those who fight are mourning the loss of their brother Benjamin. They must have felt like I do when I hear another preacher has lost his church because of an affair, or another Christian marriage has broken up, or another Christian has decided to go after the things of the world. But, read verse 6. They repented
for Benjamin their brother. How sweet is that? Then they tried to find a solution for them to carry on their inheritance which would mean they would need women to marry. The other tribes had sworn they would not let any of their women marry Benjamites. This was a problem since most of their women had been killed in battle.
But before tending to that, they got rid of the sin in the camp. There was one group that didn't come out to fight. They sent 12,000 men to wipe out all except for the young virgins. The line of Jabesh-gilead was now stopped. "Jabesh-gilead" means a dried testimony. That just about explains what happened to their testimony - it dried up. If we don't fight for something we will have lived in vain.
Next they went to the Rock of Rimmon where some of the Benjamites had fled. I quess that was like running to the altar and holding on the horns for mercy. They gave these men the young virgins they had gotten in Jabesh-gilead, but there wasn't enough for every man. But, they remembered that Shiloah had a festival every year where the young virgins would come out and dance. They told the men to hide in the vineyards till the women came out to dance, then go get one. What a surprise for the women!!! Gives a new meaning to "being swept off your feet."
They did just that and took them back home to start building back Benjamin's inheritance. Notice the last line: "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes." That line is like God's disclaimer: '"this is man's way, not My way."
I sure don't want God to say that over my life: "she had no king, so she did what was right in her own eyes." This story seems so barbaric, so unfair, and so unGod. And it is, because what is right in our own eyes is always barbaric, unfair, and unGod. God, we seek your ways, your heart, your thoughts. We want to have you as our King and do everything that is right in Your eyes.