"In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." The final sentence in the Book of Judges is an editorial comment that repeats earlier ones (17:6; 18:1; 19:1t). Israel's sin and unbelief had reached new depths and so the stage was set for the coming of a godly king, David, a man after God's own heart with whom God would make an everlasting covenant (cf. Ruth 4:17; 1 Samuel 16; 2 Samuel 7). When people do not acknowledge and abide by God's commands then there is no absolute standard for truth and righteousness and the moral fiber of a society declines and a state of lawlessness and political disorder can occur. This decline can happen collectively and individually. When an individual has no absolute moral standards, then an individual's decisions and actions lack integrity and character erodes and falls into decline as each one defines his or her own version of right and wrong. When everybody has a different moral standard, then social and political anarchy and takes over a nation, its institutions, and individuals.
