The Depths of Human Depravity (vol 40:2, April-May 2008, page 8) PDF Print E-mail
Everywhere we go, we see posters of a little girl with the words “Where is Sharlinie?”. The five-year-old girl was kidnapped from a playground in broad daylight. In the media, parents are advised not to let their children play unaccompanied outside the house. The brutal rape and murder of eightyear-old Nurin, whose body was found in a bag a few months ago, captured everyone’s attention. What is happening in Malaysia is mirrored elsewhere in the world. The lawlessness of this age closely resembles that of Noah’s generation (Genesis 6:11-12).

Lawlessness

The book of Judges records a strikingly similar picture of lawlessness. God’s people were trapped in a cycle of repeatedly sinning against him (Judges 2:11-19). As they turned to worship the Canaanite gods, God allowed them to come under the enemies’ oppression.
When the people cried out to God, he heard them and sent a judge to bring about deliverance. The people and the land then had a period of rest, free from foreign domination. However, the cycle was repeated 12 times. One would have expected God’s people to learn their lesson and not to repeat their mistakes. Yet even after Joshua’s conquest and division of the land, sustained victory on both spiritual and military fronts remained elusive.

Reasons

There are many reasons why Israel was locked in this downward spiral. The book of Judges reveals that there was a lack of good leaders after Joshua. While Moses groomed Joshua to be his successor, Joshua did not foresee the need to do the same. Also, because of Israel’s disobedience, not all the local inhabitants were destroyed. There were pockets of resistance. Worshipping the deities of the vanquished, the victors compromised their loyalty to Jehovah and fell prey to syncretism. Each generation’s declining moral standards were reflected by the quality of the judge in power. The first judge, Othniel, was blameless. But the judges who followed lacked moral fibre. The final judge, Samson, was more well-known as a playboy than as a spiritual leader. Those who followed Samson were among the worst leaders in the history of Israel’s spiritual decline. Israel hit rock bottom morally. “Ichabod”—the glory of God had departed (1 Samuel 4:21).

When one hits rock bottom, there is nowhere to go except to crawl or to claw one’s way upwards. The Israelites chose to remain where they were—every man did what was right in his own eyes—until God raised them up through the prophet Samuel.

Spirit of the age

Is the spirit of the age in Malaysia similar to that during the time of the Judges? Are we at rock bottom morally? What are some possible solutions? Stricter laws? A bigger budget to fight crime? The installation of CCTVs in crime-prone areas? Will gated communities and Rukun Tetangga help? Will the eradication of poverty help? How about checking the influx of illegal immigrants? Will reducing our dependence on foreign workers help? Will values nurtured in the early years help? Is religious education in school the answer? How about a united nationwide prayer movement by Christians? In the end, at the individual level, it all boils down to spiritual renewal. The sinner must acknowledge his sin and turn to God for deliverance. The Gospel is still relevant today.
 

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