The Danger of Doing What is Right
in Your Own Eyes
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
PRAYER:
SCRIPTURES: - Judges 17 – 21
Deuteronomy 12:8 says, “You shall not do as we are doing here today, everyone doing what is right in his own eyes”. That is not a request that is a command.
Judges 17:6 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes”.
OPENING: - Compromise always paves the way for Spiritual, moral and ethical decline. The book of Judges we see a repetitive pattern because the Children of Israel would always compromise and end up in a situation they could have avoided if only they would not have compromised themselves.
The people compromise the Laws of God, abandon God and turned to idol worship, God gets angry and punishes Israel, the people cry out to God in repentance, God raises up a deliverer, the people repent and turn back to God until they compromise again, abandon God and turn back to idol worship. This is pretty much the pattern of the book of Judges. However, the last 5 chapters of the Book of Judges reads like an R rated movie or something you would see and hear on unsolved mysteries, the first 48, there’s, rape, murder, genocide, kidnappings, lies, deceit and a civil war.
A Levite consecrated by Micah was a man-made priest that was supposed to fulfill the Divine Order of Levite Priesthood who worshipped idols, took a concubine for a wife, and was more concerned about achieving monetary gain and being popular than honoring and upholding the Law of God.
The horrible story of chapter 19 where this Levite takes his concubine gives her to the sons of Belial (base fellows) who rape, sodomize, and abuse her all night long and when morning comes the Levite, who no doubt slept comfortably while his bride was being abused, rises in the morning and finds her lying at the front door dead and says to her “Up and let us be going” and when she doesn’t answer because she is dead he takes her home cuts her into 12 pieces and sends her body parts to all the 12 tribes of Israel passing the blame of what has happened to her to everyone else. Then we have a Civil War amongst the tribes of Israel 11 tribes against 1 Benjamin that nearly annihilates that tribe altogether leaving only 600 men who fled and hid in the wilderness. Then the 11 tribes make a vow not to give their daughters to the tribe of Benjamin that is left, so they devise a plan to have the ones that didn’t help in the fight against the Tribe of Benjamin be destroyed and save only the female virgins for the men of Benjamin. Once that was done there were only 400 virgins for the 600 men of Benjamin, so they come up with another plan to have the remaining men of Benjamin kidnap the daughters of Shiloh when they dance at the feast. It is a true horror story; however, regardless of how horrific this passage is, God has a message for us today. The people of Israel had become barbaric and are ruled not by God, not by a king but by the philosophy of doing what is right in their own sight.
We live in a time much like what the Children of Israel were living in during the last 5 chapters of Judges. People are doing what they believe is right in their own eyes. Everyone follows their own heart and does what they think is best for themselves and fill justified in doing it. They are not ruled by God, or a king but by the philosophy to do what is right in their own sight.
We have a Governor of one state treating people inhumanly at the border demanding that they be refused the necessities of life because they feel as though the people trying to cross the border are less than human. Then he transports them inhumanly to places without any direction, concern, or guidance as to say as long as they are not here, they are not my problem. Breaking the golden rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) if not a cornucopia of others.
Another Governor who believes they are part of the educated elite making asinine laws and turning culture upside down because in his eyes people of color are a second-class human at best that benefitted from slavery. In his eyes he believes he is doing what is right and totally contradicting the Greatest Commandments – Matthew 22:36-40 says, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”.
We have people killing people because they were in a car accident or the cut in front of them on the highway without using a turn signal. People are living in moral depravity because they feel as though they don’t have to give account for the things they do or the way they live. They say and believe well it is my life and I can do what I want and if I am happy, I don’t see anything wrong with the way I live.
Judges 17:6 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes”.
UNDERSTAND: - These are not simply a spare verse in the Bible. This verse is describing the Spirit of the Age during this time. The phrase “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” is repeated 7 times in the book of Judges. This was a social reality for the Israelite nation. It was the cultural climate of Israel before the rule of a human King, they had turned from God and were doing what they felt was right in their own eyes. The last 5 chapters show how the spiritual, moral, and ethical decline progressed until they were at the point of almost annihilating one tribe forever.
If we just look at society today this same Spirit of the Age is happening today, the spiritual, moral, and ethical decline of the people is rampant.
The phrase everyone did what was right in their own eyes signifies a highly individualistic, and self-centered social reality. Not just that people were simply self-interested in that it’s about me and me only, but their basis for morality, right and wrong, was centered upon their own will and desires utterly rejecting the fact that they were the only people to who God had ever given His law to.
God had chosen the Children of Israel and during all this time of revelation and of the rule and government of God that was being delivered to the people, God specifically warned them about this trend and temptation to slip into an individualistic lifestyle and mindset.
UNDERSTAND: - Life has rules and even more importantly God has rules and life was designed by God to be governed by His rules. When life detaches from the government of God, problems begin to develop.
That is what happened in our text and is what is happening is our world today. The individual need, preference, desire, hope, and purpose has become the governing standard and value of society today. To try to make it seem that is not that bad we have called it democracy, individualism, the right to personal happiness, but it comes back to the same thing. Everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes.
We have a generation that is doing what is right in their own eyes, Gay marriages, transgender rights, abortion, cancel culture, then we have people that are so caught up in the individualistic mind-set have spent thousands of dollars to live their live as a dog walking around on a leash in a dog suit because that seems right to them and the list goes on and on. Calling this the freedom to live but in actuality it is everyone believing and doing what is right in their own eyes. Thus, we have a society that is operating in total dysfunction.
God never intended for life to operate this way and it is not working. As a result, we see a total social, moral, ethical, and spiritual meltdown happening before our eyes, suicide is rising, murder is rising, depression is everywhere, anxiety and misery happening even in the so-called high society. Political strife makes us angry; economics makes us feel like slaves. People feel hopeless and helpless while families are being torn apart. The government doesn’t try to help, and the church has become so accommodating and assimilating with the world that it can’t help.
One of the reason the church can’t help in this dysfunction is because we have people like the man-made Levite priest that are more concerned with self-indulgence and self-security then caring for the Word of God and the souls of the people. We have self-proclaimed priest trying to make a name for themselves apologizing for the church standing on the Word of God against sin, not because there is any Biblical truth in what he is saying but because in their own eyes they are doing what is right even though they are wrong in every way. People of God are failing to stand for Holiness and Truth and doing what they feel is right in their own eyes in the church. Acting just like the so-called priest in chapter 19 that sacrificed his concubine to the slaughter of the corrupt men, so we have so-called preachers that are sacrificing the church to the standards of a corrupt and sinful world while they remain comfortable and safe.
Life in general was never meant to be this way and the church was surely never meant to be this way. O Zion, what’s the matter now.
Listen: - Most of the words used in Judges 19 are also used in Genesis 19. Genesis 19 is when God sends two angels to Sodom and Lot invited them to his house. Sodom was a place that lived unrestrained by its lusts. They did what they felt was right in their own sight. The people did whatever they wanted without any concern for its impact on others. Their only concern was: “How does it feel and how do I like it”? Much like our society today. Because of the moral depravity, their unbridled lust, and total disregard for God and anything Holy, God poured fire and brimstone down upon the people of Sodom, destroying them all after saving Lot, his wife, and his two daughters although his wife looked back and was turned to a pilar of salt.
Sadly, society is acting like this today but what is even more sad and utterly scary is the church is acting like this. The church or rather the apostate church today is more like Genesis 19 and Judges 17-21 than they are like Jesus. The church has developed a philosophy of “To be happy just do what is right in your own eyes” instead of doing as the Word of God says, Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me”. Because the philosophy has become “Be Happy and Please yourself” by Doing whatever makes you feel good, is the reason people twerk in the church, strip in the church, preach false doctrine and heresies in the church, assimilate with the world, accommodate the abominations of God and call it Holy becoming the epitome of the doctrine of self and doing what ever makes my heart feel good.
What must we do?
2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”.
Our personal desires and happiness must become subordinated to the Word of God and the direction of the Holy Ghost.
Isarael thought if they had a human king that it would make a difference in their actions, but it didn’t. Many people today are looking for a human leader thinking that will be the deciding factor and change the world. Having a certain leader or political party will not make a difference in the world today. Teaching or not teaching critical race theory is not going to correct the issues.
Unless we the people of God “which are called by my name (Jesus / Elohim), shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land”. Until that happens, we will continue to live a life of spiritual, moral, and ethical depravity.
Closing:- Hebrews 8:10-12 says, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more”. If we will turn from our wicked ways, seek God’s face and pray He will do Hebrew 8:10-12.
The church has had far too much in common with the children of Israel back in the days when there was no king. I believe God desires for the church to speak against the evil that is running Roughshod in our day and time not just in the world but especially in the church. We must cry out against the Spiritual, Moral, and Ethical Depravity that is being allowed to happen in the churches today. The church has fallen and is unable to get up unless it repents and turns from its wicked ways.
Chapters 17-18 spoke of religious decline in the nation of Israel. They tried to combine the worship of God with elements of idolatry from the pagans who lived with them in the Promised Land. As a result, they adopted a man-made, counterfeit system of worship where they set up regional shrines and high places and ordained their own priests. Because of this spiritual, moral and ethical decline in society chapters 19-21 Happened and show just how corrupt society became and will become because of the Spiritual Decline of the Church.
Let me just give a few scriptures:
Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people”. What exalteth a nation Righteousness not self-indulgence.
Unless the church repents and turns from their wicked ways Hosea 9:9 will happen “They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins”.
Understand: Compromise always paves the way for spiritual, moral and ethical depravity.
God wants us to live in in this culture as Philippians 2:14-16 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain”.
The church cannot to choose to do whatever seems right in our own eyes; we must be focused in and on the Word of God. I am reminded of an acronym we learned in Sunday School as children. B.I.B.L.E stands for Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.
The Dangers of Doing What is Right in Our Own Sight.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
