Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: Judges 19-21
Devotional Thought:
The book of Judges ends with the saddest verse in the Bible. “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” (vs. 25) The spiritual life of a church is crippled and eventually destroyed when the congregation shuts its eyes to sin and will not discipline offenders. There can never be unity among the people of God as long as some of them cover up sin and allow it to infect the body. In the tribe of Benjamin, there were a group of men who had committed a horrific crime. They had fed their filthy flesh, and were guilty of murder. However, when confronted with the sin, the tribe of Benjamin was more interested in protecting those who had sinned so grievously rather than hand them over to be punished. Sin always brings grave consequences and the results for the children of Israel were brother fighting against brother. God allowed the Benjaminites to win the first two battles, but then they were utterly slaughtered in the third battle. How sad it is to see the harsh consequences for sin. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. However, the price tag of carnality is envy, strife, and division. Because of the wicked sin allowed into the nation, there was terrible bloodshed and heartbreak. The eleven tribes wept because of the devastation done to Benjamin, but it was the price tag for stubbornness, selfishness, and sinfulness. Things are no different today. When we allow sin to reign in our lives, we are setting the stage for problems in our families that will ultimately affect our churches and nation. We serve such a gracious God who is full of mercy, but He will not turn a blind eye to sin. Sin must be confessed and righteousness must be exalted. “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to keep short sin accounts. Please help me to hate sin the way that you do.
• Lord, please help me to exalt righteousness. I am thankful for your love, mercy, and grace. Please help me to never presume upon it, but may I deal with sin in my life appropriately and completely.