I have to admit, I am glad we are finishing the book of Judges, and eager to dive into the book of Mark. If it wasn’t for the message about Jesus, I could not survive Judges – or many other books in the bible. As I read Judges 21, I imagine myself sitting with Jesus, and hearing Him ask me, ‘so what do you think, what is the message in this passage?’

Honestly, I hate this passage, or what it describes. I think of the young girls (how young?) watching their families killed, then forced to marry strange men. Or the girls at the festival, taken from their families. I have a 14 year old daughter. I suppose she would be one of them. Then the brutal words, “do us this kindness…” [Judges 21:22].

Lord, how can You endure this. And as I think about it, this is only the teensiest tip of the huge iceberg, this kind of stuff happens all the time. Lord, why do You put up with us??? I do wonder, do the victims of these kinds of atrocities have a special place with You now? And what about those who commit these atrocities, they they have a special place somewhere else right now?

There is some conviction as I read this. I can’t imagine myself doing something like this – not now at least, but if I was there, then, would I? Am I more righteous, less guilty? I hear the prophet Nathan saying to me, ‘you are the man’ [see 2 Samuel 12:1-12, and v.7]. The deep truth is that I am a part of this sin, and so are you – we all are. We bear collective responsibility.

I also sense in this passage the reason why we need Jesus. Without the right King, this is what our world will become. And finally, I sense in this passage a challenge to rise up for justice, and not just grimace at injustice. If I am genuinely concerned about how these young girls are treated, will I act on my concern today, to speak out for children and teens and adults who are abused, neglected, raped, mistreated?

Lord, although I do not like thinking about this stuff, thank You for forcing me to reflect on what others are actually facing in the world today, for challenging and convicting me, and for keeping these injustices from being ignored or forgotten. And thank You that now I can read the gospel of Mark, for the hope and light that You will shed on this perverted, twisted world.