FROM WORSE TO WORST (9 OF 9)
by Keith Krell
Scripture: Judges 17:1-15, Judges 21
This content is part of a series.
From Worse to Worst (9 of 9)
Series: Avoid Generation Degeneration
Keith Krell
Judges 17-21
A proud, young couple brought their newborn son to the pediatrician for his first checkup, and the doctor said, ''You have a beautiful baby.'' Smiling, the mom said, ''I'll bet you say that to all the new parents.''
''No,'' the doctor replied, ''just to those whose babies are really cute.'' The mother responded, ''What do you say to the others?'' The doctor replied, ''I say, 'He looks just like you.'''
This story hits close to home because as a follower of Jesus, I want to find creative ways of speaking the truth in love. I want to be positive and uplifting. I want to encourage others. Yet, there are times when I have to be brutally honest with other believers. Today, we are going to test the old adage: ''Honesty is the best policy.'' We will test this expression by working our way through the ugliest section in the entire Bible-Judges 17-21. Whew! Buckle your seatbelt because this is going to be a doozy!
The final five chapters of Judges function as an appendix to the entire book. Instead of focusing on the sins of Israel or their judges, these chapters look closely at the lives of two Levites. Levites were the priestly tribe in Israel-the religious leadership of the nation. Sadly, we will discover that the religious leadership is not holding the nation accountable for its sin. Instead, the Levites are as messed up as the people they are supposed to lead! Their small, personal failures escalate to tribal and national proportions and plunge Israel into political and moral anarchy. Thus, Judges concludes with a finger pointing in the face of the Levites. The overriding message is: When God goes, anything and everything goes.
Scene 1: The idolatrous Levite: A failure to love God (17:1-18:31). Our story begins in 17:1-6 when a man by the name of Micah steals a large amount of silver from his mother. The exact amount is 1100 pieces of silver-about 28 lbs. (F ...
Series: Avoid Generation Degeneration
Keith Krell
Judges 17-21
A proud, young couple brought their newborn son to the pediatrician for his first checkup, and the doctor said, ''You have a beautiful baby.'' Smiling, the mom said, ''I'll bet you say that to all the new parents.''
''No,'' the doctor replied, ''just to those whose babies are really cute.'' The mother responded, ''What do you say to the others?'' The doctor replied, ''I say, 'He looks just like you.'''
This story hits close to home because as a follower of Jesus, I want to find creative ways of speaking the truth in love. I want to be positive and uplifting. I want to encourage others. Yet, there are times when I have to be brutally honest with other believers. Today, we are going to test the old adage: ''Honesty is the best policy.'' We will test this expression by working our way through the ugliest section in the entire Bible-Judges 17-21. Whew! Buckle your seatbelt because this is going to be a doozy!
The final five chapters of Judges function as an appendix to the entire book. Instead of focusing on the sins of Israel or their judges, these chapters look closely at the lives of two Levites. Levites were the priestly tribe in Israel-the religious leadership of the nation. Sadly, we will discover that the religious leadership is not holding the nation accountable for its sin. Instead, the Levites are as messed up as the people they are supposed to lead! Their small, personal failures escalate to tribal and national proportions and plunge Israel into political and moral anarchy. Thus, Judges concludes with a finger pointing in the face of the Levites. The overriding message is: When God goes, anything and everything goes.
Scene 1: The idolatrous Levite: A failure to love God (17:1-18:31). Our story begins in 17:1-6 when a man by the name of Micah steals a large amount of silver from his mother. The exact amount is 1100 pieces of silver-about 28 lbs. (F ...
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