“In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
– Judges 21:25
If you’ve been following along with this podcast to the book of Judges, you know this is not the first time we see this phrase, this description. This actually the fifth and final time and this is actually the fifth and final time in the book of Judges that we see this phrase in Judges 21:25 and it’s the last verse.
It’s the ending to the book of Judges. “In those days, there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” and so when we read this first, much as we’ve prayed and in different podcast episodes through Judges, we certainly see the tendency in all of our lives to do what is right in our own eyes.
Judges 21:25 Encourages Us with the Gospel
At the same time, I’m so encouraged here at the end of the book of Judges when I read this verse to realize there is a King who has come and He has made a way for us to be saved from our sin and not just from our sin.
But to be saved from ourselves, to save us from our tendency to do what is right in our own eyes and every single day, what it means to follow Him is to experience His grace as our King, who saves us and to deny ourselves, take up our cross, to die to ourselves, to die to what we think is right and to trust that His word is right and His spirit is right and His way alone is right for each one of our lives.
Judges 21:25 Reminds Us that Jesus is Our Only Hope
Can we just pray and praise Jesus as we do for being the perfect, righteous King, for being our perfect, righteous King, who saves us from our sin and ourselves? Lord Jesus, we are so thankful for You. You are the King we need. You are the King each one of us needs. You’re the King our world needs.
There is no one like You and we praise you. You are King. You have all authority in Heaven and on earth. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that You are Lord. You are King. To the glory of God, the Father, we praise You, our Savior King for dying on the cross for our sins, for rising from the in victory over sin and the grave, for Your promise to one day return and to consummate Your Kingdom and a new Heaven and a new earth.
You are our only hope. Left to ourselves, we would be hopeless. You are our hope. We praise You as our King and we pray may Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. Jesus, we pray that You would help us to proclaim the gospel, the good news of Your Kingdom on this earth until You return. God, please help us to be faithful, to proclaim the good news of Your Kingdom right around. God, we pray for friends and family members and coworkers and neighbors who don’t know You right now.
Praying for the Spread of the Gospel in Turkey
God, as they come to our mind just specific names and faces right now, God, we pray that they would come to know you as King, as Savior, as Lord in their lives, they would know Your eternal life that You give. God, we pray that You would use us to lead. Help us to be bold in proclaiming the gospel of Your Kingdom. Here and around the world, God, we pray for the spread of the gospel of Your Kingdom among Alawites in Turkey, half a million of them, hardly any of them followers of Jesus. Most of them never even having heard.
God, there’s so many people, millions and millions and millions of people in Turkey who don’t know Jesus, this King. God, we pray that You would change that. Bless our brothers and sisters who are there in Turkey, for missionaries who are working in Turkey, raise up multitudes more. God, we pray for the good news of King Jesus to spread across Turkey. We pray that they might know Your salvation, they might know Your love, Your mercy, God.
Grateful for the Lord’s Kingdom
God, we are so grateful that You are King over all, that You are King over the nations, Lord Jesus and we bow our hearts and submit our lives to You as King today and we say, spend our lives spreading the good news of Your Kingdom right where we live and among all the peoples of the earth. We pray this based on this sobering picture in Judges 21:25, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
