In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
– Judges 21:25
That’s how the book of Judges ends—no king, everybody doing what’s right in their own eyes—and it is a hard book of the Bible to read, to see the effects of no leader. Specifically, no leader who loves and worships and knows and is following God. Or, who is leading people to follow God. As a result, everybody was doing what was right in their own eyes, which leads to all kinds of wrong. And all kinds of evil, just horrible evil that we read about in Judges. This picture of man and woman’s depravity. Men and women left to their own sinfulness. Judges 21:25 just leaves us longing for a king. Not just for any king. We don’t need a king who’s evil like us. We need a King who is perfect, who is right, not just in his own eyes, but is righteous in every way.
Jesus is the King We Are Waiting for
That’s the longing the book of Judges leaves us with and in this advent season, we realize that this longing is met in Christ. That Jesus is the King we have longed for and the King who is right in every way. Righteous in all His ways. Just and good and holy and loving and merciful and caring and compassionate and strong and wise. All the things we would want in a leader, Jesus has.
Judges 21:25: Praising the One True King
Do you realize that in your life right now? You have in Jesus the leader whom your heart most wants, most needs, most desires. He is the perfect leader of your life, my life. Oh, God help us to trust Jesus as He leads each of our lives. Lord, help us to listen to your Word, trust your Word, and to obey your Word. You are good, Lord Jesus. There is no one like you. No king or ruler like you. You alone are the perfect King. You alone are the perfect ruler and we praise you that you are Lord of our lives.
Jesus, we gladly submit our lives to Your lordship. This is not something we begrudgingly do. “Oh, we have to follow Jesus.” No, we praise You for the privilege of following You. We want to follow You more, and more, and more with our lives. God, help us to live in obedience to Jesus and His ways, to follow Jesus faithfully as our King today and each day. Please, oh God. We praise you for sending Jesus, the King. We praise you Jesus as the perfect King and we pray today, help us to follow You.
Help us to honor You as King and help us to advance Your Kingdom. Furthermore, help us to tell others about You as King, especially during this time of year. God, there are so many easy opportunities to share the good news of why You have come, Lord Jesus, and what You’ve come to do, and how You rule and reign as King. Help us, we pray, to share that good news during this season. As we follow You, our King, help us to spread Your kingdom. In the name of Jesus, the King, we pray. 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.
