FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 · VERSE OF THE DAY
In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
— Judges 21:25
Context
This is the final sentence of Judges — and the book's been brutal. You've just read about civil war, mass rape, and kidnapping, all committed by God's people against each other. The refrain 'In those days there was no king in Israel' appears four times, like a drumbeat. Scholars agree this isn't random: the book was likely compiled during the monarchy, when Israel had kings, and the editor is making a case. Not 'anarchy is bad' in general, but 'we needed leadership, and we got it.' The tragedy is that Israel's human kings would also fail catastrophically. The narrator doesn't know it yet, but he's quietly setting up the reader to long for a king who actually works — a setup the rest of the Old Testament will pursue and the New Testament will claim to deliver.
What it's actually saying
The Hebrew phrase translated 'what was right in his own eyes' uses yashar, meaning 'straight' or 'level.' It's the same root used when the Law is called 'right' or when a path is 'upright.' So the irony is thick: everyone did what seemed straight to them — but with no shared reference point, the result was chaos and horror. This isn't a verse about individualism vs. collectivism. It's about the human inability to self-govern without distortion. The verse isn't celebrating freedom or condemning it; it's naming a recurring failure mode. What looks right to you when you're the measure might look monstrous to someone else — or to you later. The book doesn't answer what fixes this. It just shows the wound.
How to apply it today
One concrete move: next time you're sure you're right about something that matters — a decision, a judgment about someone, a position you're dug into — ask out loud, 'What would I need to see or hear to change my mind about this?' If the answer is 'nothing,' you've just discovered your own version of this verse. You're the king. You're the measure. That's not confidence; that's the setup for every disaster in Judges. Find one person who sees it differently than you and stay curious for five minutes. Not to capitulate, but to test whether your 'right' is actually straight or just feels that way because it's yours.
Sit with this
Write down one opinion or belief you're certain about right now. Then finish this sentence: 'I would question this if I saw evidence that…' If you can't finish it, sit with why.
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