All of a sudden, the people wake up to the consequences of their bloodlust. They are about to wipe out one of their tribes and leave a gap in the nation. What follows would be comical if it were not so tragic. They have shown no concern for larger issues of truth and justice, but now they show a concern for legalities. They devote enormous ingenuity to finding ways around foolish vows-ways that conform externally to their commitments but mock any ethical instincts.

As usual, God is portrayed as being to blame (Judges 21:3, 15). The implication is that He should have prevented this state of affairs. It is typical of sinful humans to insist on their own way and then blame God for the results.

Yet none of this had to do with idolatry. It began with individuals ignoring the law of God, doing what was right in their own eyes, and it led a whole nation into moral collapse. Israel turned its back on the living God and allowed itself to be overrun by moral relativism, sexual libertinism, and religious syncretism and pluralism.

The slogan ″everyone did as he saw fit″ (Judges 17:6; 21:25) captures the lifestyle of society today as much as it did then; individualism has been enthroned as the supreme good, and self-fulfilment and self-gratification are its ethics. The basis of moral behaviour is thus critical. If our moral behaviour is not grounded on the absolutes of God's Word, we will end up doing what is right in our own eyes. The only certain basis for morality is the character and Word of God; right and wrong are not what people think they are, but what God says they are.

We also need a personal, dynamic faith in Jesus Christ. We need to make God's values so much a part of us that we instinctively turn to them when moral clarity is impaired. That is why we need fellowship with other Christians whom we can observe and with whom we can honestly discuss our moral struggles.

But if Judges tells of strong men made weak by self-confidence, it also describes weak men and women made strong through faith in God and by His work in their lives; it describes the transforming work of the Spirit. Today, we serve a risen Saviour, live by the power of His indwelling Spirit, and possess the complete Word of God. Our resources in Christ far outstrip anything the judges knew, and our potential for spiritual victory is far greater than theirs. God's strength does not remove human weakness; it transforms it, so that those with fearful hearts and feet of clay become people with hearts of iron to serve their God.