No King in Israel

Judges 21:25
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

It is interesting that this terrible incident was framed between a repetition of this verse (c.f. Jdg 17:6)
Would it have been better if there were a king? Judging by the times of the kingdom, doesn't seem much so!
The root of the problem was that people had rejected the true King - the Almighty Creator, the Father in Heaven, the Great I AM. (C.f. 1sa 8:7). All throughout the book of Judges, we see this played out again and again in the roller coaster ride of spiritual condition.
One might think, well...wasn't the genocide authorized by God Himself? (C.f. Jdg 20:18,23,28,35) Again we are reminded that what God allows doesn't necessarily means he approves! Notice that the Israelites did not first ask God if they could go against Benjamin but they had already decided to do so and merely asked who to send first. 
And just as all sinful "pleasures", one is simply blinded by the "moment of folly" till the aftermath when the reality hits home and regret sets in (Jdg 21:2,3). You notice oftentimes sin begets sin! And they had to murder one group of people and steal from another to get wives.
We ask God why? Yet oftentimes it's because we had ignored God's principles and went on to willfully disobey and fulfill our own lusts.
And yes, it's all because we have no King in our lives or when we chose to ignore the ultimate Ruler in our hearts and go on to decide what we think is best for ourselves.

Brethren, let us learn from history! (Bro YY quoted George Santayana's famous "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" and of course more importantly God commands us to learn from the past Rom 15:4)
Let us not be mistaken. Twice over the proverb writer declared - "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Pro 14:12; 16:25)

Let us not say there is no King in our lives and take things into our own hands but constantly and faithfully acknowledge His Presence and obey His Rule, that we be found right and acceptable before Him.