Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Eventually not only did the people of Israel drift away from God, the tales of the atrocities that were committed get really bad.  The last stories of Judges are quite disturbing.

The story of Samson is indicative of a downward spiral.  Samson was chosen before he was born to be God’s anointed. However, his own selfishness and vanity and lack of concern for God’s calling become his own unraveling and in turn, he fails to accomplish much for the people. (Though the Bible says he led Israel for 20 years).

The downward spiral continues. By the end of this Book, the Israelites, themselves, nearly completely wipe out the tribe of Benjamin.  It seems sometimes, God’s people and their attitudes were the cause of a greater danger of decreasing God’s chosen than the threats from outside.

Makes me wonder: Are my words and actions more likely to contribute to an increase in God’s Kingdom, or a decrease?