Judges_17

Scripture

Judges 17:6

“In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”

Observation-What does it say?

Israel has fallen away from God's ways once again. They had no godly king or judge ruling over them. They should have turned to God, and proclaimed Him as their king. Instead, they let other people's outside influences once again determine how they would act. They began creating idols and worshipping false gods. Ultimately the people "played God" and did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. 

Understanding-What does it mean?

We must put God on the throne as King of our lives in order to truly see what is right in this world.

Micah and the people of Israel are really acting no different than the people of this world today. They were surrounded by a society and world that tried to justify their sinful actions. They were more concerned with PLAYING CHURCH, rather than BEING THE CHURCH. Then to top it off, the people basically took the attitude of, "if it feels right, it must be right." That is a very dangerous approach to take. They were putting themselves on the throne of judgement, determining what was right and wrong. By doing this, they were repeating the history of what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and letting themselves be deceived by the enemy.

“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Genesis 3:5-7 NIV

Life Application

So who is truly sitting on the throne of my life? 

If God sits on the throne of my life, does He have total authority to tell me what to say or do? Or do I try to fight Him over control, and only allow Him authority over me when it is convenient to me?

It kind of reminds me of the old bumper sticker I see from time to time that reads "GOD IS MY CO-PILOT".  Now I'm sure the people who made this bumper sticker had their hearts in the right places when coming up with that saying, but it just still isn't quite right if we plan on putting God on the throne of our lives. It still portrays a picture that it is us in the driver's seat, going where we want to go and doing what we want to do, and if the road gets a little too bumpy, we have God on our side, who can steer us back on track. Now what the bumper sticker should read is "GOD IS MY PILOT, AND I AM HIS CO-PILOT". Now this paints a more accurate picture of what a life should look like if God is truly on the throne of our lives. It is God who is driving, He is the one who has total control of our destination and how long or fast it takes to get there. We are there alongside Him, to listen to Him, submit to His instructions , learn from Him, and follow His lead along this journey. If we can manage to do that, we are ensured to reach our "final destination" and enjoy being in paradise with the One who loved us enough to lead us through all of life's long, twisty, bumpy, and treacherous roads. 

-Moses Gaddi