I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 17-19.

    Today’s passage tracks what happens when each person determines what is right for themselves with no accountability to anyone else. The passage recounts gradually escalating sins, until it culminates in the gang-rape death of a woman in violation of laws of hospitality (as in the story of Lot’s escape from Sodom, the crime seems to be the combination of sexual violation and violating the laws of hospitality). First, Micah steals from his own mother, apparently thinking she will not notice. Then, his mother makes an idol out of the stolen silver. Micah first appoints his own son as priest, then hires a Levite to be his family priest. Some warriors from Dan steal both the idol and the Levite for the tribe of Dan. Finally, the concubine of a traveling Levite is gang-raped while he is a guest in a town in the territory of Benjamin. It is worth noting that this Levite traveled a couple extra hours to stay among his fellow Israelites rather than in a non-Israelite town.
    I keep trying to sum up the words I used in the title in a different way, but cannot find words that say it as clearly as that quote from this passage. Any time a society becomes one where everyone does whatever seems right in their own eyes and rejects the idea that anyone else can say that what they want to do is wrong, something like the incident in Gibeah will occur. Usually a lot of incidents like Gibeah. No one can truly do what is right if they do not find others to hold them to account.