God is Our King (Judges 17:6)

“In those days there was no King in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
– Judges 17:6

Judges 21:25, the last verse in Judges says the exact same thing as Judges 17:6. So just think about the repetition here and what this means, how this describes the days of the Judges.

Instead of looking to God as the ruler and king, the people looked to themselves as king.

In those days, there was no King in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. The whole picture here is God had set up his people to be ruled by him as King. That they would look to him as King, that they would follow and obey and worship and honor him as King.

Judges 17:6 Reminds Us God is Our King

They wouldn’t need Kings like the other nations around them looked to Kings because God would be their King. The problem is in the book of Judges, they didn’t look to God as King and everyone chose to do what was right in his own eyes.

And the effects were devastating. You read through the book of Judges. It is in many senses a horror story. It is horrifying what happens when people do what is right in their own eyes instead of right in the eyes of God, the King.

So, as we are praying, especially during this election season in the United States, leading up to a presidential election at the beginning of November. But even as we think about other nations, as other people listen to this podcast from different places in the world, we are driven to pray that God would help us to live and to govern in whatever country we live in, according to what is right in his eyes, not our eyes.

Judges 17:6 Leads Us to Pray for Our Country

And not just to pray for our country in this way, but to pray for our lives and our families in this way. And even the way we think about political issues, even the way we think about what our country needs, that we would not be driven by what we think is right.

That’s where sin started in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve, man and woman, living according to what seemed right to them. But what went contrary to what God had said was right. And so we’re driven to pray and repentance of any and every way where we are prone to think or desire or live according to what is right in our own eyes.

And just think about even campaign slogans and speeches during an election season. They’re all catered around what we think is right, and not catered around what God says is right.

Judges 17:6 Leads Us to Pray for Mercy

So, God, we pray. We plead for your mercy in our country and pray for this in the United States. Even as people listen to this from different countries around the world, we pray for our countries and our leaders and our lives to renew focus on what is right in your eyes, not our eyes.

God, we see in the book of Judges, the horrifying effects of sin and disobedience to you and rebellion against you and a rebellion against what you say is right.

God, we see that from the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 3, from one sin came condemnation for all men and all the horrifying effects of sin we see around us in the world.

Judges 17:6 Leads Us to Repent

So, God, we pray that you would help us individually to repent today, to turn from any and every way. We are prone to speak and think and desire and live and make decisions according to what is right in our own eyes.

God, help us to lay down what we think is right, to look to your word, your spirit, to know what is right and live according to what is right in your eyes.

God, I pray for that in my life. I pray for that and every single person who’s listening right now. And God, we pray for that in our country, that you would bring us back to what is right in your eyes, that you would cause spiritual awakening to happen across our country. That you would save us from ourselves.

This Verse Leads Us to Pray for Unreached People

And God, we pray for this, not just the United States or different countries. We pray this for the Fulani people in Mali is we pray for unreached people over 1.2 million of them in Mali, the Fulani people, the largest nomadic society in the world.

But so few of them, if any, followers of Jesus, most of them, Muslim, God, we pray. We pray that you would save them from themselves,. Please draw them to Christ and to righteousness in you. God, we pray that you would show your salvation among the Fulani.

Oh God, we confess together today that, left to ourselves, we will inevitably do what is right in our eyes. And that leads to death. It leads to all kinds of horrifying effects in our lives and the lives of people around us and in the countries that we live in.

This Verse Leads Us to Praise God

So I pray, save us from ourselves and help us to do what is right in your eyes. We praise you as our King. We look to you as our King. And we pray that you would help us to honor and follow and obey and worship you as our King. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.