#soap # Judges 19 ## Title: When We Place No Authority In Our Lives, All Suffer ## Scripture: (Judges 19:1) “In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.” (NET) ## Observation: This chapter represents the pinnacle of Israel’s situation. They have rejected their one True King, God. They have settled for temporary judges, but only to get them out of trouble. Each time they turned back from God, it became worse. The text says that when we have no king (or authority) in our lives, the results are painfully obvious. Romans 1 says that when we turn away from God, we become more and more depraved. We can see what that looks like in this chapter. We need to place boundaries, discipline, and authorities in our lives to help us stay on the right track. The greatest authority is God and His guiding Word in our lives. ## Application: Celebrate having authority and “covering” in your life. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for being our True King.