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No King in Israel: Moral Anarchy Then and Now 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word as we look at Judges chapter 19 today, verse 1. And it came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote0:21 mountains of Ephraim. He took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. Now in the previous 2 chapters, we saw the spiritual compromise. And in this chapter and in the following0:32 chapters, we're gonna see the effects of this compromise as it comes into clear focus through the moral corruption and the political chaos that ensues. Now I'm gonna tell you upfront, these0:44 are among my least favorite passages of scripture. Why? I find them shocking and disturbing, but they're probably there for0:57 a reason, a warning. And I and I actually I hope you too are disturbed by these chapters. Now why do we repeatedly see this phrase, in those days, there was no king in Israel?1:08 Well, as I pointed out, we began the book of Judges. Its very final verse encapsulates this entire 300 year period of history. Verse 25 of chapter 21, in those days, there was1:20 no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes. There was no king, no authority, no leader, no 1 to uphold the standard that God had called them to, and as a result, there1:32 was moral and political anarchy. You know, our founding fathers understood this reality. James Madison in the Federalist Papers, he wrote this. He said, if men were angels, no government would1:44 be necessary. Well, men are not angels. Therefore, government is needed. But I I should mention that Madison went on to point out that government needs guidance too. Quote, if angels were to1:56 govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary, end quote. Need I point out that angels do not govern us? Therefore, constraints are2:08 needed. And by the way, this is 1 of my concerns today with this libertarian ideology, which rejects the moral guidance from biblical truth that restrains2:20 immorality, and this ideology has has emerged as a very strong influence in the conservative movement today in our country. Now some may recoil at the statement that I'm about to make, but2:32 it's true. As followers of Christ, we're not called to be conservatives. We're called to be Christians. And and while they have many things in common, the 2 are not synonymous.2:45 Listen to what George Washington said in his farewell dress to the nation. He said this, quote, of all of the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality2:57 are indispensable supports. But he went on to state a very important point. He said this, quote, and let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without3:09 religion. In other words, morality has no foundation without religion and to be specific, Christianity. Virtuous people, if we3:20 want law and order, that's morality, and that morality must have a foundation. It's called Christianity. And the further we remove god and morality from our3:32 society, the more lawlessness we're gonna have. And we can't, you know, law and order is not a smorgasbord. So I I just want law and order when it comes to business and financial issues. I don't really care about3:44 protecting the unborn. I don't care about abortion. I don't care about marriage. You know, people can do whatever they wanna do. But when it comes to my money, I don't want people robbing me. Mm-mm. Doesn't work that3:54 way. We we embrace it all or we lose it all. And by the way, I have a course. I think I've mentioned this before. My god in government course I've been teaching for about 30 years. It's now on video, and4:06 you can watch it on video. And if you'd like a link to it, it'd be a great time doing doing this 200 and fiftieth anniversary. Do it individually. Do it as a family. Do it as a small group. Invite people over, and and4:16 and you can go through it, once a week. But, anyway, I'll send you a link. If you want more information, text course. It's free. Course to 67742, course to4:27 67742, and I will send you a link. So, let me give an example of what I'm talking about when it comes to morality and and the the fact that when we4:39 reject morality, we reject religion, we get lawlessness. You know, society is really increasingly shocked by the violence on our4:51 streets. And, you know, there's there are initiatives after initiatives to try and address it, but it doesn't seem to get any better. And why is that? Well, I I would submit to you because we've abandoned5:03 the most basic truth that human life has value because it is created in the image of God. You know, once that truth was disposed of,5:14 rejected, society was able to claim that the life of a child was nothing more than the choice for someone with more power to make. So why are we then surprised if that5:26 thinking has spilled over into our streets, into our classrooms? CS Lewis in the abolition of man, he wrote this. He said, we make men without chest and5:38 expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We're getting we're reaping what we've sown. The violence and lawlessness may shock us, but it shouldn't surprise5:49 us given how we've rejected biblical truth when it comes to the value of human life and the authority of God over that life. Alright. Moving on, verse 2. But his concubine played6:01 the harlot against him and went away from him to her father's house at Bethlehem in Judah, and was there 4 whole months. Then her then her husband arose and went after her to speakThe Levite's Journey and Horror in Gibeah 6:12 kindly to her and bring her back, having his servant and a couple of donkeys with him. So she brought him into her father's house, and when the father of the young woman saw him, he was glad to meet him. Him. Now what we6:24 read here is the father-in-law repeatedly, gets the man to stay. They I don't know. They did a lot of eating and drinking. I don't know. I'm not I'm I'm not gonna it's it's curious, but I'm not gonna we're not gonna6:35 dwell there. I'm gonna move on to their stop in Gibeah, which we read about in verse 15. They turned aside there to go into lodge into Gibeah.6:47 And when he went in, he sat down in the open square of the city, for no 1 would take them into his house to spend the night. Justin, an old man came in from his work in the field at6:59 evening, who also was from the mountains of Ephraim, who was staying in Gibeah, whereas the men of the place were Benjamites.7:10 Now this was the practice of the time. They didn't they didn't have a motel 6 where someone had kept the light on. They would stay in someone's house, even a total stranger.7:22 Hospitality was the mark of a good city, even today. Hospitality is a really big deal in the Middle Eastern culture. I've I've learned a lot. I really have.7:34 I've learned personally a lot about hospitality, from my travels in the Middle East. We we we don't have a clue in our culture as to the importance of hospitality, but let me move7:46 on. Verse 20, and the old man said, peace be with you. However, let all your needs be my responsibility. Only do not spend the night in the open square. Now, this is a very, very similar situation7:58 that we read about in Genesis chapter 19. The man who was from Ephraim was just living there, and as a result, he was he was very sensitive to the perversion8:10 and the danger, just like Lot was in Sodom. He apparently had not become inculcated with the prevailing perverse culture. You know, as Christians today, we are in the world,8:22 but we're not to be of the world. What what happens around us should shock us. Should we shouldn't be comfortable with it. You know, as Jesus prayed in in John chapter 17 verse 15, he says, and I do not8:34 pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil 1. And a part of keeping us from the evil 1 is that we don't think that way. We don't accept evil. We're resistant8:46 to evil. We don't become comfortable with evil. Verse 22. As they were enjoying themselves, suddenly certain men of the city perverted men, homosexual men, men wanting to to8:58 well, so we'll read here. They surrounded the house and beat on the door. They spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, bring out the man who came to your house that we may know him carnally. Now9:10 there there there is no mistaking of their intention. Right? This speaks to the moral corruption that follows spiritual compromise. What follows9:23 is shocking. It's it's shocking coming from the pages of scripture, but I have to tell you, it it kinda reads like today's headlines. Verse 23. But the man, the master of the house, went out to them and9:35 said, no, my brother. And I beg you, do not act so wickedly, seeing this man has come into my house. Do not commit this outrage. Look. Here is my virgin daughter and the man's concubine. Let me bring them out now.9:46 Humble them and do with them as you please. But to this man, do not do such a vile thing. But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them, and they knew9:58 her and abused her all night until morning. And when the day began to break, they let her go. Now, I have to say the actions of these 2 men inside the house were inexcusable. Again, this10:10 is the same compromising behavior that we saw in Genesis chapter 19, where they were willing to not protect the women and children, but sacrifice the women and children. Before I continue, let let10:22 me ask this question. Why do we find this behavior unacceptable or reprehensible? I mean, that was the mindset of that day, and, frankly, in some parts10:34 of the world today, it remains that way. What changed? Why why do we see this differently? Well, I'm a tell you what changed it. It was the gospel. Christianity gave rise to Western civilization,10:46 which placed value on every every human being. Western civilization birthed out of Christianity is what elevated women to equal status. I find it a bit10:58 ironic, it was, I guess, about 8 years ago, the the media and and others on the left were celebrating that women were given the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. Now they still weren't11:09 still weren't allowed to go many places. I guess they had the freedom to drive around the block. But they they celebrate that, but they talk about how women are being repressed because of Christianity. I11:21 mean, don't accept this false claim that Christianity's patriarchal system has enslaved women. That is a talking point for those who, a, ignore the truth11:33 or, b, are just ignorant of the truth. I mean, now that that that said, let let me just throw out here for consideration what is happening to women and11:45 children as we move away from god's truth, that foundation of western civilization. We we are seeing very similar disregard for women and children today. Now we do all of11:57 these things. We have these months to to mark these different bad things that are happening, but we tolerate this sin. I mean, consider this. Human trafficking and slavery. There12:09 are estimates that more people are living in slavery today than at any other time in history. And many of them are for the purposes of sexual exploitation, and it's not in foreign countries.12:21 It's not just in foreign countries. It's happening right here. Pornography. You know, contrary to the claims that are made, it is not a victimless crime. In fact, it fuels some of the human trafficking.12:33 Grooming that's taking place in our public school classrooms and online. You know, the transgender craze that, government, up until just recently, was promoting. In fact, in some states, it still12:45 is. And and this was leading many, many children down a destructive path of sexualization and confusion. And then I could always throw out the boy scout, so much abuse that lawsuits drove them into12:57 bankruptcy. Alright. Verse 26. Then the women came as the day was dawning and fell down at the door of the man's house where her master was till it was light. Now whatChristianity's Elevation of Women and Modern Warnings 13:09 this Levite does next is unthinkable. But in the midst of spiritual compromise and moral corruption, something had to shock the people to the reality of where their tolerance for13:21 sin had taken them. And and so I I I leave you with this question. How calloused has our culture become? How tolerating of sin have13:33 we become? What will it take to get our attention? Father, we thank you for your word, and, lord, I'm I'm sure I'm not alone as we pray this morning, but13:45 this is, this is a very hard passage of scripture to to comprehend and to take. But, lord, I pray that we would understand that this is here for a reason, I think, as a warning to us that this is13:56 what happens when you reject your truth in your ways. And I pray, father, that our nation would rediscover in this 200 and fiftieth anniversary, rediscover your word.14:08 And, lord, not and I'm grateful for the many things that are occurring in our in our our country even even now as we, are celebrating this 200 and fiftieth anniversary, and there's a lot of14:20 events recognizing, lord, our dependence upon you. But I pray, lord, it would go beyond just drawing close to you with our lips. I pray, lord, it would be more than that, that we would draw nigh14:32 unto you with our hearts and our actions would reflect it, that we would align ourselves with truth. We would reject that, Lord, which is counter to your truth. So,14:44 father, I pray. May the Holy Spirit continue to lead us on this journey, helping us to understand how to apply the principles of your word to our lives in this world in which we live that we might glorify you.14:56 And, Lord, bless all those who are on this journey. May you strengthen them, encourage them, and, Lord, use them for your kingdom and for your purposes. In Jesus' name, amen. Alright. Thanks for15:08 joining me, and until next time, keep standing on the word.15:13 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan, available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:25 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 No King in Israel: Moral Anarchy Then and Now6:09 The Levite's Journey and Horror in Gibeah13:00 Christianity's Elevation of Women and Modern Warnings
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