"They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan."
Judges 21:12 (NIV)
The terrible reports that we are hearing from Nigeria regarding the 300 school girls taken captive, brings to mind this account in the last 3 chapters of Judges. We of course do not have the same amount of detail surrounding the Nigerian situation as we have about the details that led to the situation described in the last 3 chapters of Judges. However the similarity in the main stories is obvious - young teenage girls are kidnapped through the use of violence and will be forcibly given to strange men to become their wives.
Once again in history, men act violently toward women, and the world is powerless to stop it! I read in a news account that the Nigerian parents are Christians and are praying to their heavenly Father to deliver these girls back to them safely. No doubt people will soon start pointing towards the plight of these girls as proof that God is either not in control or conversely, that He is not worthy of worship, because in their minds, a good God would never allow something like this to happen.
The last verse of Judges tells us the reason for these terrible things happening: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” The reason these things happen throughout all of history is because of a lack of civil government. God gave this world to humans to govern. He will help us with it. He will even intervene miraculously, but the responsibility to keep your family safe, your neighbours safe, and your citizens safe is the responsibility of the king. God instituted civil government as the protector of its citizens, actually as God’s agent here on earth (1 Pe 2:13,14). Paul reminds us to pray for those in authority, kings and government. Civil government - the rule of law, honest and strong police, impartial justice, and social welfare for those who can’t help themselves - is government that recognizes the authority of the Judge of all the earth, and works for the betterment of every citizen. Nigeria doesn’t have it, neither did Israel in the years following their entrance into the Promised Land. Canada has it, and may God be pleased to continue to bless our land with good civil government. May we always pray in our hearts as we sing with our mouths the chorus of our national anthem:
God keep our land, glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee;
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
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