Rambo and the Chaos of Judges 17-21

Big explosions, rapid gun fire in the background, people freaking out as they are being blown away, and the cold resolve of a man on a mission. This was my introduction to Rambo as a young adult and to be honest, I didn't know how to take it all in.  To be fair to the series, I was hopping in the middle of it by watching a later movie rather than starting with the first one (my bad crew...).  The story behind it is great, it is a one man army standing against major injustices that are happening with a whole lot of butts to kick.  How could I not want to watch this kind of film?  Look at Braveheart, 300, the Taken series, or Gladiator.  In all of these movies are intense fight scenes, but all of them have a point: these are people who are standing against tyranny, evil, and wrong doers that need to be taken out. Back to Rambo though.  As I watched one scene that was hyper focused in intense, detailed justice that Rambo was dishing out to the bad guys, I started to feel a sourness in my stomach from the sheer chaos of it all.  As it continued I had this feeling that I needed to just look away, that it was too much for me to handle.  In the end though, the good guy won and justice was served, but the chaos of that moment just shook me.

If you were to flip open your Bible and sit in Judges 17-21, you might very well get that feeling of chaos just flooding everywhere.  Sure it starts of with idols and wrong worship, which we might glaze that over as "Well that's just not right to do that to God".  However, looking particularly at the chapters from 19-21, you just get shocked at the response of people to different brutal situations. There is no justice, no order.  You almost feel like you are in the midst of absolute madness and chaos with no hope of a resolution. While reading this, I was getting that sourness in my gut again.  Legitimately, I stepped away from my Bible and just was flabbergasted at how people can be so malicious for no reason. Something you'll also notice, if you chose to read this section of the Bible, is a repeated phrase "In those days Israel had no king...." (Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, and 21:25). There was nothing that was guiding this nation to know what was justice or injustice. Without guidance or someone setting the example of what common decency or social structure is, people can go in all kinds of directions of thought and actions. Thank goodness we are not just left in Judges: there is hope coming with people like Samuel who are willing to make a stand and lean on God as their guide while being a guide to others.

Are you feeling like your life is a chaotic fight montage that you are stuck in with no direction in sight? Whether you are in this mindset or situation; have you tried looking for a consistent role model in your life? Look for one, and if I may add, look for a role model who is leaning more on God's guidance than their own insights alone.