Times Were Changing

In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. [Judges 17.6]

This is such an interesting statement. In the midst of the story of Micah and his obvious violation of at least one of the basic Ten Commandments, we have here an explanation, if you will, of why this violation could have taken place. They had no king.

In addition to this, we see the beginnings of a mindset shift in Israel that a king would be a "solution" for them although they had had no king up to this time.

Things were changing. Times were changing.

Before, Israel trusted in God. Now, they felt like they needed a king. The presence of idols was merely an indicator that Israel had 'wandered' away from God as Supreme Lord and were, like some unmarried individuals call themselves, "available" to other leadership in their lives.

This story is for us! It serves as a reminder that, left to ourselves and our own means, we will wander away from God and to our own devices. We will begin to depend upon ourselves instead of God.

We must purposefully stay true to God. Otherwise, our woes will eventually not be seen as resultant to wandering from God, but due to the absence of something else in our lives (a king?).

Father, help us to stay focused on You and You alone. You are God and we need no other!