“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” – Judges 21:25 (ESV)

That verse is how the book of Judges ends and it’s one of the most jarring summaries of Israel’s spiritual decline in all of Scripture.

But what makes it even more devastating is what came right before it. Just one book earlier, in Joshua 24, Israel had renewed their covenant with God. They declared loyalty, remembered His faithfulness and they chose Him.

And then, within a generation, it all unraveled.

Joshua: A Covenant Renewed

In Joshua 24:1–13, the people of Israel are reminded through the words of Joshua of all that God has done for them. He brought them out of Egypt, gave them victory after victory, and fulfilled every promise He made. And as The Bible Knowledge Commentary notes, “Any greatness Israel achieved was not by her effort but through God’s grace and enablement.”¹

In verses 14–28, Joshua famously says,

“Choose this day whom you will serve…” (v.15)

The people respond with commitment: “We will serve the Lord.” But Joshua doesn’t let them off easily. He warns them of God’s holiness and the cost of unfaithfulness. He sets up a stone as a witness to their decision a visual marker of the covenant they had just reaffirmed.

Despite past missteps (like Achan in chapter 7 or the treaty with the Gibeonites in chapter 9), the people at this moment are choosing obedience. And God responds with continued presence, victory, and blessing.

Judges: A Covenant Forgotten

Then we turn the page and everything changes.

In Judges 17, we meet a man named Micah who confesses to stealing 1,100 pieces of silver from his mother. Her reaction? She blesses him and uses some of the silver to make an idol. Micah then builds a shrine, appoints his own son as priest, and eventually hires a traveling Levite to be his personal religious leader.

It’s a mess. And Judges 17:6 drives it home again:

“Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

The Bible Knowledge Commentary explains that “a carved image and a cast idol” refers to two separate objects of worship, one likely made of wood or stone, the other of molten metal.² This is not just a case of misplaced worship. It’s deliberate rebellion against the Ten Commandments and the sacrificial system God had established.

And God’s response? Interestingly, it’s not direct judgment – not yet. Instead, the consequences unfold naturally. In Judges 18, the Danites steal Micah’s idol and his priest. It’s almost ironic. The very idols he trusted were powerless to help him and stolen by other disobedient people.

What This Says About Us and God

The contrast is sobering. In Joshua, obedience led to strength, unity, and progress. In Judges, disobedience led to chaos, idolatry, and spiritual confusion.

But here’s the most important part: God remains faithful in both.

He didn’t wipe out the Israelites in Judges. He didn’t abandon them, even when they abandoned Him. Instead, He allowed them to experience the weight of their choices and then, again and again, He raised up judges to deliver them.

Sometimes grace looks like direct rescue.
Other times, grace looks like God letting the consequences play out.

But His mercy is always there. His covenant never fails even when we do.

So What Do We Do With That?

There’s something deeply personal about this contrast. Because it’s easy to point at Israel’s disobedience in Judges and shake our heads but we live out the same cycle. We make bold commitments to God…and then forget. We promise to serve Him…and then chase idols made of comfort, convenience, or control.

And yet God’s grace holds.

His arm is never too short to save. His mercy never runs out.

But we also need to recognize that not all consequences are spiritual attacks. Sometimes they’re just the natural result of our own choices. That, in itself, is grace too a chance to wake up, turn around, and come home.

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Reflection:

Where in your life have you moved from covenant commitment to “doing what’s right in your own eyes”?
Are there idols you’ve made without realizing it things you turn to for comfort, direction, or security instead of God?

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Sources

1. Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 369.
2. F. Duane Lindsey, “Judges,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 409.

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