The Lack of Spiritual Authority - Judges 19-21 and Luke 7:31-50
The statement is made several times here at the end of the book of Judges that there was no king in Israel. Why did the inspired writer have to tell us that? It is not just a declaration that there was no king. It is the declaration that there was no spiritual authority in Israel. The king was the one under God, who would lead the people to do the right thing. He would keep order and make sure the priests were leading people to God. The absence of spiritual authority lead to spiritual chaos. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. That is a terrible state of affairs, since we have no ability to know what to do apart from God's direction and instruction. This led to the depraved situations we read about in Judges 19-21. The Levite having a concubine who is a harlot, the perverted men who rape and kill her, and the Levite who cuts her up to send her out to the 12 tribes are horrible results of no spiritual authority. We see the same things on the news each night, because there is no spiritual authority in America today, either. This tragedy almost resulted in the extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. God had called out to them through His prophets, and He had sent the judges, but the people would not listen, so he allowed them to see what happens when there is no spiritual authority. He wanted them to be disgusted and turn back to Him.
Unfortunately, the situation was much the same in Israel when Jesus came. In Luke 7 we read that many of the children of Israel rejected both John, the Baptist, and Jesus, because they did not suit them. They did not like John's separation from worldly things, and they did not like Jesus' association with the worldly people. Both John and Jesus were sent by God, so really the people were rejecting God's authority. They did not want it His way, they wanted to do what was right in their own eyes. Look at the story of the Pharisee and the woman who washed Jesus' feet. The sinful woman who found Jesus and submitted to Him as Lord was the one who realized His authority, not the Pharisee who knew the Old Testament. Therefore, the Pharisee did not revere Jesus as Lord. In fact, he disdained the woman for doing what she did and Jesus for allowing her to do it to Him. He was missing the will of God, because he was caught up in doing what was right in his own eyes. He was not submitting to Jesus who was God's authority in person.
For us today Jesus and His Word are our authority. Any time we go against what Jesus would do or what His Word says, we are rejecting spiritual authority, and we are doing what is right in our own eyes. That is always wrong, and it leads to serious consequences.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ruth 1-4 and Luke 8:1-25.
Unfortunately, the situation was much the same in Israel when Jesus came. In Luke 7 we read that many of the children of Israel rejected both John, the Baptist, and Jesus, because they did not suit them. They did not like John's separation from worldly things, and they did not like Jesus' association with the worldly people. Both John and Jesus were sent by God, so really the people were rejecting God's authority. They did not want it His way, they wanted to do what was right in their own eyes. Look at the story of the Pharisee and the woman who washed Jesus' feet. The sinful woman who found Jesus and submitted to Him as Lord was the one who realized His authority, not the Pharisee who knew the Old Testament. Therefore, the Pharisee did not revere Jesus as Lord. In fact, he disdained the woman for doing what she did and Jesus for allowing her to do it to Him. He was missing the will of God, because he was caught up in doing what was right in his own eyes. He was not submitting to Jesus who was God's authority in person.
For us today Jesus and His Word are our authority. Any time we go against what Jesus would do or what His Word says, we are rejecting spiritual authority, and we are doing what is right in our own eyes. That is always wrong, and it leads to serious consequences.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Ruth 1-4 and Luke 8:1-25.