Tues.’s Devo - No King

Read: Judges 19-21
Today’s reading begins and ends with the statement, “Israel had no king.” God was to be their king but they had rejected him and did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. The only time they called out to the Lord was when things got over their heads and they couldn’t solve their problems in their own strength. It hurts to read the story of the Levites concubine. There are so many things that are so wrong about that story it makes my stomach turn. How ironic that this happened in Jerusalem. It was called Jebus at the time which means “he will be trodden down”. It was more like Sodom and Gomorrah. It was trodden down and Jerusalem was built in its place. Jerusalem means “lay double peace.” The first city, Jebus had to be trodden down so that God could lay peace in its place.
Even though it was the time of the judges, it was not the time of righteous justice. Where was justice for the concubine? Where was judgement for the Levite for giving her to the men of the city? Everything seemed so twisted and wrong during this time because it was. When God is not ruling and men are, there is perversion and confusion. About 60,000 men died because of this one event. God put forth his pruning fork and reaped a huge number of souls out of his garden.
Benjamin came close to being wiped off the face of the earth, but God’s mercy saved them and allowed them to continue on. God always spares a remnant when he judges. What a picture of the end of days.
Lord, may we remain the remnant that refuses to follow the pressure to conform to this world. Thank you for Your faithfulness to us. You are our King.