Is it acceptable for each of us to do that which is right in our own sight? Are we free to make our own rules for what is right and wrong? Toward the latter section of the book of Judges, we find that there are two phrases that that are oft repeated for emphasis. The first of these is a reminder that there was no king in Israel in those days, and the second is that everyone did what was right in their own sight (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). In these examples we can find the answer to our questions.

     In the book of Judges we see a repeated pattern of the Israelites falling away from God, being oppressed by a foreign power, crying out for deliverance, and being rescued by a judge or deliverer. The latter section of the book shows us just how depraved they were and how far they had wandered from God. Yes, there was no king in the land, but God was supposed to be their king. There was no king in the land, because they had rejected God, and so each man did what was right in his own eyes. This led to them doing that which was evil, for the most part.

     When we look at our own lives and at our own nation, what do we see? We are subject to the kingdom of God and the law of Christ in the same manner that those Israelites were subject to God. Rejecting God and his Lordship over our lives will lead to disastrous results, just as it did for those who fell away in the period of the Judges.

     The lesson for us is that we need to follow God if we want to receive our eternal reward and avoid punishment. God punished those Israelites with oppression when they wandered from Him. God will punish us if we are not making Him our king, and if we are each doing whatever is right in our own sight regardless of the law of Christ. Our punishment may not come in this lifetime, but God warns us that His punishment for those who do not know him or do not obey His commandments will last for all eternity (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Thus we need to follow the king, and not what we think or feel is right or wrong.