We Need a King // Judges 21:25
Today’s verse looks back at the condition of the culture due to Israel’s perceived lack of a king. People did not sense the moral boundaries necessary for being a good citizen, so they were looking for someone to come in and set things straight. This caused people to cast off essential moral principles and a sense of responsibility that leads to being a good citizen. The problem was Israel had a king, but they were ignoring their king. God was not king..lame not just the king, but the King!
We see the same problems today. It might feel liberating for people to be able to do as they see fit. Problems arise when one’s exercise of freedom infringes on other’s well being. Whereas some might think of this as liberty, it’s really libertine, defined as a person who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility; a person who rejects accepted opinions.
We do not adhere to royalty in the USA because the people are held as sovereign in our democratic republic form of government. Several of the nation’s founders emphasized that this type of government requires a moral and religious people…people who know that their own personal exercise of freedom must be lived out responsibly and in relationship with others (Galatians 5:13-15). This is NOT the way people are living today; therefore, we need a king. Not just any old king, mind you, but the King of kings. We read in Revelation 17:13-14 that the evil “beast” and its followers will wage war on the King of kings and Lord of lords, but will be defeated. In that same verse, this King and Lord is also referred to as the Lamb, which is astonishing when read in conjunction with John 1:29 where Jesus is referred to as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
There is no doubt that our world is full of people doing what they see fit in their own eyes. I believe this breaks God’s holy heart. Where some believe they are captains of their own ships, masters of their own domain, or like gods, we cannot keep living in this shoddy anarchy.
We need a king, but not just any king… THE King of kings, Lord of lords, and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Will you turn to the One true King today? Will you allow Jesus to be Lord of your life? He is the Lamb who longs to take away your sin. Will you allow Him?
