Where there is no revelation, it all goes to hell in a handbag - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 19:30,

"Everyone who saw it said, 'Such a thing has never been seen or done,
not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it!
Consider it! Tell us what to do!'"

This was the reaction among the Jews when the "master" of a raped and
murdered concubine cut her up in twelve pieces and sent them "into all
the areas of Israel."

This sordid account in Judges 19 is sickening. It seems as though
every character in the narrative represents the depravity the nation
had sunk to just following the passing of Joshua, with the possible
exception of the Levite's servant, his father-in-law and his two
donkeys. It is difficult not to face the account with disgust, nausea
and just simple sadness.

What catches my eye is that the Israelites claimed to know their
history, "Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day
the Israelites came up out of Egypt." They knew all about the bad
stuff. Did they know about the accounts of Moses, about the tabernacle
worship, about the law given Moses from God, about God's revelation of
himself? I think they did, they rejected it and determined for
themselves to embrace the idol worship and the ways of the wicked
inhabitants of the land they were given from God.

They rejected God's revelation of himself and displaced it with the
mainstream culture of the day, what it taught, what it's expectations
were, what it claimed was "moral" and "good" and "just" and "fair".
The Israelites exchanged what God found to be an abomination for the
"evolving" perspectives and diversity of opinion the culture and
society felt need be embraced.

Just like our day!

Here is what Proverbs says happens in this context, "Where there is no
revelation [the Bible], the people cast off restraint; but blessed is
he who keeps the law."

Had the Israelites rejected the mainstream culture of the day and what
it taught, if they had kept to the Scriptures, if they had remained
faithful to their God, the depravity evidenced in Israel during these
days would never have taken place. Hopefully the church today will
reflect a different outlook, keep its nose in the Bible and reject the
passing fancies of the pop culture of our day.

While many churches are filled to the walls with
"low-information-church-goers", embracing homosexuality, same sex
marriage, abortion and all the world deems important, I nevertheless
remain very optimistic and positive about the true church. The true
church is filled with God's Spirit, the true church has a hunger and
thirst for righteousness, the true church has a passion for the Lord
who loves them so much and has blessed them with the riches of his
grace. The true church seeks her Savior, what he has to say in the
Scriptures, and desires to partner with him, hand-in-hand, to
accomplish the building of his kingdom.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com