August 16, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Vengeance is God's Job... "
Ezekiel 25:15-17
New International Version
15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, 16 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast. 17 I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.’”
Have you ever acted out of revenge? Or wanted to? Of course we've all wreaked revenge when we were children. Put in its best light, revenge partly is an outworking of self-preservation. Striking back at any threatening force is a natural defense mechanism. Yet with maturity we are able to discern the distinction between true threats and mere offense. Where mere offense, we learn to make a measured response or no response at all. It's when a person never gains that maturity that the sin of revenge enters the picture. Some folks have a tit-for-tat attitude toward the world, always ready to inflict instant judgment at the drop of a hat, but that's not likely your problem or mine. Typically, we grapple with revenge only when someone has done something so offensive and outrageous that it seems right to retaliate!
At those times, hopefully, we remember that “ 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." Vengeance is God's job, not ours. Yet one could be excused for asking: If revenge is a sin for man, why is vengeance a divine prerogative? Apart from maintaining order on earth by encouraging restraint, perhaps vengeance is reserved for God because only he knows all the under-lying circumstances and can judge what punishment is deserved...and when. Unlike men and nations, God would never get caught up in vicious cycles of senseless revenge. For us, in the meantime, taking it on the chin is a true Mark of spiritual maturity.
The even more challenging question is: If I have somehow managed not to throttle people who deserve throttling, can I move to the next step of not even wanting to throttle them?
