Judges 1:7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
There are times in life when we recognize for ourselves that we got what we deserved. I’m not talking about when we say that about other people, I am saying that about ourselves. It is easy to see it in other people, but not so easy seeing it in ourselves.
We often have blind spots when it comes to seeing our own faults. That is why we need other people in our lives who can tell us the hard truth. We need people to fill in our blind spots.
As the Israelites are conquering the Promised Land they capture a king and punished him by cutting off his thumbs and big toes. Can you imagine trying to survive without our opposable thumbs? Everyday tasks become much harder to do, especially for those people who used to have them.
And now the reality hits the king. I did this to seventy kings who I conquered. I humiliated them and now I am humiliated. What I did has come back on me.
This might not seem like much, but this is a king who admits his wrong behavior has caught up with him. He is the man who wielded the power. He is the one who passed judgment and carried out sentences. And now he has no power and the sentence is carried out against him.
When was the lat time you took an honest look at yourself and judged your shortcomings? When was the last time you recognized your full need for God’s grace? Maybe today is the day.
The Arnold Journey 