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Judges · Men's Leadership Study

Week 21: Everyone Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes

Judges 21

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Read Together

Judges 21

Read the whole chapter aloud before discussing the handout.

Hidden in the Text

Weekly Devotional

Israel's foolish oath creates a crisis, and every solution hurts more people. They destroy Jabesh-gilead, treat young women like property, and arrange kidnappings during a feast at Shiloh, a place of worship. Being in a religious place does not make an evil plan right. But there is a small sign of hope. Bethlehem appears several times in these final stories. The next Bible story from the time of the judges is Ruth. Her story begins in Bethlehem and leads to David and finally to Christ. Judges ends without a human answer so that we will long for the true King instead of another clever plan.

Discuss Honestly

Hard Questions

  1. 01

    Look back across twenty-one weeks. What is the single sentence in Judges that has been hardest on you personally, and why that one?

  2. 02

    'No king' is the diagnosis. In practical, daily terms, what does it look like for Christ to actually be King in your schedule, your money, your marriage, and your appetite?

  3. 03

    Where are you still acting as your own authority, even after this study?

  4. 04

    Israel kept a bad oath and broke every commandment to do it. Where does your rule-keeping actually function as a substitute for love?

  5. 05

    Which judge did you most identify with over these weeks? What does that tell you about your likely failure mode in ministry?

  6. 06

    Judges ends with problems still unsolved so that we will long for a King. What unsolved problem in your life is pushing you toward Christ instead of another plan or method?

  7. 07

    Name the one concrete change each of you will carry out of this study, with a date and a man assigned to check on it.

Look Them Up

Cross-References

  • Ruth 1:1

    'In the days when the judges ruled' — the same era, a different story, ending in Bethlehem with David's grandfather.

  • 1 Samuel 8:19-20

    Israel finally demands a king like the nations. Judges creates the hunger; Samuel shows they wanted the wrong kind.

  • Isaiah 9:6-7

    The government upon His shoulder — the King the book of Judges is aching for.

  • Luke 1:32-33

    He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever. The answer to Judges 21:25.

  • Revelation 19:16

    KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. The final verse of Judges answered in the final book of the Bible.