Judges 17:6 - "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes."
Joshua 24:15 - "[And Joshua said to all the people,] 'And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.'"
Our congregation, like many other congregations, has this year's Vacation Bible School ministry in the rear view mirror. Actually, because it's an annual summer ministry there are lots of Vacation Bible Schools in the rear view mirror. And I'll never forget one of the coolest Vacation Bible Schools I've ever seen. It was like we were actually in Bible times with tents and foods and crafts. It was fantastic!
One thing I specifically remember from those days was how the teenage boys talked about the Bible times market place. They said, "It was great! We could do whatever we wanted!" As you'd imagine in this case, their choices for doing whatever they wanted were quite innocent: decorate a spinning dreidel, make a fragrance sachet, make aluminum foil money, weave baskets, make a flavored bread cake, eat Bible food like olives and figs, and more, more, more. Little kids to adults loved it! Everyone did whatever they wanted!
It was similar to today's first Bible verse from Judges 17:6, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Basically, everyone did whatever they wanted! The problem was that all their choices for doing whatever they wanted were not quite so innocent. So, people were a mess; people's relationships were a mess; the world was a mess.
Much like nowadays in our country.
From something as huge as our national debt to the prevalence of the breakup of families to the small but destructive lack of manners by people in general, they're all caused by "Everyone [doing] what [is] right in his own eyes." So, people are a mess; people's relationships are a mess; the world is a mess.
But there were other witnesses in Bible days too, people like Joshua, in today's second Bible verse, who realized that they "could do whatever they wanted!" but who also realized that doing whatever they wanted would only make a mess of everything. So Joshua chose the only thing that cleans up messes and makes life better for everyone, saying, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)
So, what'll it be today gang? More of a mess, or a better world at the end of the day?
Lord, please, please, please, for everyone's sake, help us to learn more of your ways and to use our freedom not to do whatever we want but instead to choose your ways that make things better!
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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