September 14 -- "Atrocities!"

 Today’s Reading: Judges 19

"Atrocities!"

There is really no way to soften the hard ugliness of this chapter.  The Bible is not a book of “fairy tales” and “unicorns.”  It tells of real human struggles and tragedies.  And it never hides the truth about sin.  Judges 19 describes clearly and graphically the horrible atrocities and violent consequences of human behavior when “everybody does what is right in their own eyes.”  We don’t like reading of such things, but the reality is that human nature is corrupt and perverted. Left to our own impulses, human beings are capable of the lowest forms of evil and violence.

As followers of Christ, we look around at a human race which is not following after God and we are sometimes shocked and dismayed at the atrocities we see.  Murder. Terrorist beheadings. Mass shootings. Suicide bombings. Murder of innocent babies. Genocide. Political corruption. Rape and sexual abuse. Drug trafficking. Homosexual perversion. Human trafficking. Racial hate crimes. Abuses of human rights. Ethnic cleansing. All of this is real, and the list goes on.

What should be our response to such horrendous things?  Should we simply shrug our shoulders and say, “O well. There’s no way to fight such things”?  Or, should we do something to curtail such atrocities?  In verse 30 of Judges 19, the people who saw the atrocities of rape and murder in Israel came to the consensus that something must be done.  Collectively, the people concluded that the Nation must “consider it” and “take counsel” and “speak.”

To “consider it” means to deeply contemplate the evil in our society.  Don’t ignore it or pretend it isn’t there. Think about it!  Pray about it.  Seek God’s wisdom about it.  To “take counsel” means to consult with others about what to do. Ask one another, what should we do about this?  And to “speak” means to stop your silence and speak up and fight against such horrible behavior. Think about it! Talk it over. And do something!

The global fight against atrocities is long and hard. Fighting it requires courageous engagement by God’s children who believe that genocides and crimes against humanity are not behaviors that should be tolerated and allowed to pass unchallenged.  While it is true that evil will never be fully eradicated from our world until the Son of God comes and establishes His kingdom, it is also true that we should not tolerate such horrible atrocities without speaking out against them.  God knows that standing for truth is not easy.  But He promises to stand with His people. So, Think about it! Talk it over with others. And speak out!