March 14, 2026 - Judges 18-21

These last chapters tell of more events during the times of the judges:  The tribe of Dan & the Levite & the idol, the Levite and his concubine, Gibeah’s crime, Israel’s war with the tribe of Benjamin, and wives provided for the men of Benjamin.  Some pretty dark stories, here.  And the book and the times end with:  “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25).  As I am reading, I am reminded of the words of David who thanked the Lord for his deliverance from David’s enemies.  We could swap out some words from the psalm and replace “enemies” with “ourselves,” something like this:

If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—

      let [us] now say—

if it had not been the LORD who was on our side

      when [our own sins] rose up against us,

then they would have swallowed us up alive . . .

Blessed be the LORD . . .

Our help is in the name of the LORD,

      who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:1-8).