After the slaughter the Israelites suddenly realized, at least in part, the enormity of what they had done. Again, no one admitted to wrongdoing or confessed sin. They were concerned that they have almost totally wiped out their own brethren. To right this wrong, however, they committed further evil. First they wiped out the men from an Israelite city, Jabesh Gilead, and took all the unmarried women. Then they kidnapped another group of young women. In both cases they demonstrated no remorse. They behaved in a callous manner, treating the women as chattel, as means to an end.
At the end of the book, Israel has descended into chaos, each man “doing what was right in his own eyes.” That phrase can apply to our own country, the United States and probably the rest of the world as well. I sometimes feel that democracy fosters this chaos by allowing the individual to live as he pleases with no accountability to the God of the Bible, and no responsibility to care for the needs of his fellow human beings. People treat people as chattel, as means to an end. Everyone is here to serve my needs and wants including the government. No one has to lift a finger.
In addition, Democracy allows people to worship as they please even if it means worshipping rocks, stars, demons and the self. Democracy also condones sins such as abortion, unnatural sexual behavior, lying, deceit and wastefulness. Today every man is doing what is right in his or her own eyes. No wonder our nation is in such distress.
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