DAY 93

STANDING FIRM

Judges 19, 20 & 21 and Luke 7:31 – 50

Yesterday the blog was long as I was trying to provide some structure to what we have been reading in the Book of Judges; today we come to its end.

I indicated yesterday that from chapter 17 onward we were reading an “epilogue” of sorts – a section that provides a comment on all that we have read. This comment comes to us via two stories, the second of which we get today. The story in chapters 19-20 give us a picture of the depth of moral decay in Israel and how they actually went to war against one another. All of this has come about because Israel was unfaithful to God, of which the concubine in the story provides not only a picture of a real person, but also the unfaithfulness of a nation – note the constant plea to “linger”.

The Book of Judges ends with “there was no king in Israel, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes” setting the stage for the beginning of the monarchy.

The phrase “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” has been a constant refrain in the Book of Judges – and seems true in our own generation. It would be easy to slip into “moralism” at this point, given what we have had to read and what I find myself surrounded by. However, the story from Luke seems to be a natural caution. The Pharisees are very moralistic. We often see the Pharisees as the “bad guys”, but the reality is they were people trying really hard to be good – they were the people who went to church, and not just on the Sabbath! They are the people concerned with not “doing the wrong thing”. And yet, given all their desire to “get it right”, they “get it wrong”.

Jesus points this out in a poignant story. A Pharisee is shocked that He is cavorting with a sinner. Yet Jesus sees it differently. Jesus’ behavior for us provides the clue: Jesus, in allowing this woman into His world, while at the same time not compromising himself. What He has done is allowed someone to come to the Kingdom and receive forgiveness. The behavior of Jesus might be described as follows: He spends time with sinners, but we always know that He is firmly grounded in the Love of God; no wave of temptation can overtake Him. He is not being contaminated by it; He is not giving into any temptation – quite the opposite. The power of the Love of God stands strong against the bombardment of sin and in doing so draws all who are lost to Him.

I think we become moralistic, at least in part, because we struggle with the temptation; we worry that it will flow into us, or overwhelm us. We worry that  we are not rooted enough in God’s love. It is a real concern and we need to be careful about what we allow ourselves to be around. This was Israel’s problem; they got contaminated with the terrible cultures around them. In the end they rationalized their sin (it was right in their own eyes). Jesus shows us the way; it is not one of moralism, but rather one of being able to stand in the face of sin and have the power and love of God flow out of us. It takes being “prayed up” and staying close to God while we are in the midst of the battle. Please remember this is not “two equal and opposite forces” struggling, one against the other to prevail – Jesus has won the victory!