Do you know the "Word of the Year" for last year?

According to Merriam-Webster, the word of the year for 2016 was surreal. 

Surreal was a popular word for online searches and trending articles last year. When a situation or experience is surreal it is marked by an intense irrational reality, like a dream or a nightmare. 

Surreal is the best word to desribe the final story in the book of Judges. In order to get justice with the evil men of Benjamin who kidnapped and raped a nameless woman, the other 11 tribes of Israel burn down the Benjamites town and kill everyone there.

Only 600 Benjamite warriors survive. 

When the passions of battle subside, Israel realizes they have effectively eliminated a tribe of Israel. There are no women to marry these 600 warriors and keep the tribe alive.

So they come up with a horrific plan. The leaders in Israel burn down a town and kill everyone (because they missed an important church meeting!) but 400 virgin women who are given to the warriors. Next, they encourage the remaining Benjamite warriors to abduct 200 unsuspecting young women at an annual festival and take them for their wives.

The events of Judges 20-21 are awful. The actions of God's people are barbaric and heinous. It is surreal.

To put this in perspective, the book of Judges closes with the citizens of 2 cities massacred and 600 young women kidnapped and forced into marriages with the men of Benjamin.

As the period of the judges ends, it is a miracle that God has not given up on his people. It is an act of grace that God has not wiped the descendants of Abraham off the map. They are immoral, violent, and destructive. Instead of following the Lord they are doing what is right in their own eyes. 

Yet instead of giving them the justice they deserve, God spares his people. He keeps his covenant to be their God. He keeps his promise to bring forth a Redeemer from the tribe of Judah to save his people from their sins.

The surreal events of Judges 20-21 remind us of 2 important truths as we begin 2017.

1. We are to obey the King and follow him.

The book of Judges concludes by asserting that Israel lived as if there was no king and they did what they thought was right. Scripture teaches that the triune God is our King and we are to obey him as he has revealed his will in the Bible.

2. God is gracious to us just as he was to Israel.

The people of Israel earned God's punishment for their sinful actions. Today, you and I have earned the wrath of God on us for our sinful actions. Instead of living for God and obeying him, we continually live for ourselves and pursue our own selfish interests rather than follow the Lord.

However, God is gracious to you and has paid the price for your sins on the cross. Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, paying the penalty you should have paid for your sins. As a result, God offers forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with him, and eternal life through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is surreal that God would show mercy and grace to sinful men and women and adopt them into his family.

That is good news. That is the Gospel.