Judges 19:1-2 (KJV) Little Sins Open Big Doors

Judges 19:1–2 (KJV)

And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.

And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

This chapter introduces one of the most sordid and tragic passages in the Word of God. Some even challenge the inspiration of Scripture because of texts like this. “Why would a just and loving God allow this to happen, let alone record it in His living Word?”

I’ve often answered simply, “Here is an example of what the sin nature is capable of when left unchecked by law.” “…it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel…” Truly, sinful man, left to himself, is capable of untold evil.

But notice that this great evil began with seemingly small breaches of God’s commands.

First, the Levite took a wife from a family other than the Levites. The Bible calls her a concubine. The best explanation I’ve understood is that concubines were not mistresses but wives taken without the full formalities—more like a courthouse marriage rather than one in the house of God. It’s legal, but not traditional. Many of the traditional aspects of a Christian wedding are rooted in sound biblical principles: the pastoral counsel beforehand, the instruction given in the ceremony, the solemn vows before God and witnesses. These things matter. Many ignore the purpose behind them, but the purpose remains.

Second, the Bible says she “played the whore… and went away from him unto her father’s house.” It was more than a casual visit. She left him against his will. Perhaps they argued and she “went home to momma.” Even if we assume she didn’t run off with someone else, the text clearly shows she left her husband and acted in opposition to his leadership.

A well-known biblical sermon outline says, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.” The first time I heard it, it was applied to Samson. This passage teaches the same truth.

A little sin seldom stops in little ways.

 To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Judges 19:1-2 (KJV) Little Sins Open Big Doors

Judges 18:28 (KJV) God Never Designed Lone Believers

Judges 18:28 (KJV) 

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

The chapter begins, Judges 18:1 (KJV) — “In those days there was no king in Israel…” This ties directly to the issue of human government. For Israel, that King should have been (and could have been) the Lord. Had they followed the instructions of the Word of God, they would have had leadership, guidance, and protection from their enemies. They would have enjoyed unity, and they would have been safe from threats both foreign and domestic.

Human governments, though imperfect, serve to unify a people around the shared need for safety through strength in numbers. An isolated people may believe they are secure, but they are ripe for the picking by any stronger group willing to take what they have.

God never intended for people to live in isolation. We are designed for fellowship with Him and to dwell together. “It is not good that the man should be alone.” This principle applies not only to nations, but to believers as individuals.

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV) warns, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” A solitary Christian is a Christian positioned to be devoured. Without the fellowship of like-minded believers, the isolated Christian becomes easy prey. Satan places his forces strategically to find and consume those who separate themselves from the flock.

The same principle applies to local churches. Each congregation is to be independent, with only one Head—Jesus Christ. Even so, the New Testament clearly shows an interrelationship among the churches:

• They shared Scripture.
• They cooperated in giving to the needs of the saints.
• They received and supported itinerant preachers.
• They were aware of one another’s spiritual condition.
• Members who relocated were received into the fellowship of other churches.

Churches tied too closely can drift into a denominational hierarchy that usurps Christ’s headship. But churches that isolate themselves can become rogue, losing accountability and doctrinal grounding.

The spirit of hyper-independence is a spirit of rebellion. Scripture likens us to sheep, and sheep belong in a flock.

#BiblicalUnity #LocalChurchLife #SpiritualAccountability #SheepNeedAShepherd #StandingTogetherInChrist

God Never Designed Lone Believers: Hyper-Independence in Church Life

Looking for clear Bible answers and real help for the Christian life? Don’t walk alone. God designed believers to stand together, grow together, and stay protected from the enemy’s attacks. 🐑📖

If this stirred your heart, share your thoughts below: Do you feel stronger in your walk when you stay connected to a local church family? 💬

For more solid, Bible-based teaching from a conservative Baptist perspective, visit marvinmckenzie.org and keep growing in God’s truth. 🌟📚

 To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Judges 18:28 (KJV) God Never Designed Lone Believers

Judges 17:6 (KJV) Religious but Wrong

Judges 17:6 (KJV) 

In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

I recently heard Pastor Clifton Miser (First Baptist Church of Englewood, CO) give a helpful perspective on this verse and others like it. He described it not merely as atheism, but as people being religious while still doing things their own way.

There is only one King we need—Jesus.
Without Him, no matter how sincere our faith or our practice, it is empty.

Micah’s story is a perfect example. Though he had stolen his mother’s money, he repented, confessed, and restored it. From that point on, he seemed to want to do what was right. But having no King—no true submission to the Lord—he kept making one bad spiritual decision after another.

• His mother made him an idol.
• He made a hobby of gathering people around himself.
• He hired a Levite to be his personal priest.

And every decision appears to flow from the same reasoning:

Judges 17:13 (KJV)
Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.

The sad truth is that the Lord would have gladly been with him and done him good. God had provided a way through the prescribed worship at the tabernacle, through sacrifices and offerings, and under the legitimate priesthood—everything designed as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. Micah missed the very thing he wanted because he chose his own way instead of God’s.

America is full of people who long for the blessings of God. Just a few days ago, President Trump said church attendance is rising again in the United States. Unfortunately, it seems to be a kind of religious revival without the King. It is church of a sort, but it is every man doing what is right in his own eyes. It is worship, but not according to Scripture.

And this is nothing new. It explains the birth of many denominations. It is the fruit of professing believers abandoning the King and settling for a pope, or government favor, or the power of the masses, or the sacraments… you get the idea.

The trouble is this:
If Christ is not our King—our Sovereign—if we are not submitted to Him, then whatever our practice of faith may look like, it amounts to nothing more than doing what is right in our own eyes.

#JesusIsKing #FollowGodsWord #BiblicalTruth #ChristCenteredFaith #DoRightGodsWay

Religious but Wrong: Revival Without Christ

Looking for real Bible answers in a world where everyone is “doing what’s right in their own eyes”? 📖✨ If this passage from Judges spoke to you, don’t stop here—dig deeper into what it means to follow Christ as King, not culture or personal opinion.

👉 Want more solid, Scripture-based teaching? Visit: marvinmckenzie.org
You’ll find daily posts, Bible studies, and resources to help you stay grounded in God’s Word. 🙌

Question for you:
Have you ever seen someone mean well spiritually, yet drift because they followed their own ideas instead of the Bible? Share your thoughts below! ⬇️💬

 To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Judges 17:6 (KJV) Religious but Wrong

Judges 16:17 (KJV) Samson’s Blind Spot and Ours

Judges 16:17 (KJV) 

That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

Samson remains an enigma. He was far from a holy man—as we usually understand holiness through Scripture—yet God used him. The plan God intended for Samson was ultimately carried out despite his sin with the harlot and his foolish entanglement with Delilah. How could he not see that she did not love him? She was using him, and she worked for the enemies of God’s people.

But he did not see.

Time after time she tricked him, attempted to betray him, and pressed him with her pleas. Each time he gave in, though he refused to tell her the truth. What happens next deserves serious reflection. Scripture says she “vexed him daily with her words” until he finally revealed what would strip him of his strength.

• Did he decide the Nazarite vow mattered less than his parents had taught him?
• Did he assume that since God had helped him before, he could still prevail even after breaking the vow?
• Did he come to think the power was his own rather than the Lord’s?

I see much of modern Christianity drifting in that same direction. Many see little reason to stay true to the Bible. They find ways to accomplish what they believe is the work of God while setting aside obedience to His Word and devotion to Him.

Samson “wist not that the LORD was departed from him.”
I fear much of today’s Christianity is in the same condition.

The good news is that God still used Samson, and Samson was able to return to fellowship with the Lord. It cost him dearly, but he was restored. Wherever our drift has taken us, we must turn back to God.

#BibleTeaching #SamsonLesson #BackToGod #SpiritualWakeup #KJVBibleTruth

Samson’s Blind Spot and Ours: When Drifting Hearts Don’t Notice God Is Gone

If Samson could lose sight of God’s calling, any of us can. The good news? The Lord still restores those who return to Him. If you’re searching for solid Bible answers, truth you can trust, and teaching rooted in Scripture, you’re in the right place. 📖🔥

👉 Visit marvinmckenzie.org for more Bible studies, devotionals, and conservative Baptist resources that keep you anchored in the Word.

Question for you: What part of Samson’s story challenges you the most today? Share your thoughts below! ⬇️💬

 To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Judges 16:17 (KJV)  Samson’s Blind Spot and Ours

Judges 15:20 (KJV) Power Without Stability

Judges 15:20 (KJV) 

And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

Samson judged Israel for twenty years, yet during that time he had only begun to deliver Israel from the Philistines. He never completed that work. The final step would come through an act of tragic greatness.

His life was an enigma. He was strong, Spirit-empowered, and capable of tremendous feats, yet he was also unpredictable, impulsive, and passionate—often in the wrong direction.

God used Samson, and his story remains one of the most familiar and instructive accounts in all the book of Judges. Still, his life is not one we would recommend anyone try to imitate.

I see shades of Samson in many of history’s most notable leaders.

• Unpredictable.
• Perhaps unlikeable.
• Passionate.
• Powerful.

Capable of great good or great evil.

Some made poor decisions and bore the consequences—men like Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. 

Others wrestled with the pressures and contradictions of their times—Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. 

And some are remembered only for their wickedness: Hitler, Napoleon, Stalin.

The rest of us stand back and either admire or tremble at the effect their presence leaves on the world.

#BibleTeaching #BookOfJudges #SamsonLessons #ChristianLeadership #KJVDevotional

Power Without Stability: Samson and the Puzzle of Human Greatness

If you’re searching for clear, Bible-based answers and practical guidance for everyday life, you’re in the right place. Samson’s story reminds us that strength without spiritual stability can lead us down a dangerous path—even for God’s chosen servants. 💬📖

👉 Want more Bible insights and conservative Baptist teaching? Visit marvinmckenzie.org for devotionals, studies, and resources that keep God’s Word at the center.

Question for you: Which biblical leader has taught you the biggest lesson about walking with God? Share your thoughts below! ⬇️

✨ Let’s grow in truth together.

 To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7000 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Judges 15:20 (KJV) Power Without Stability