Proverbs 24:29 Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.
As Bible believing Christians, it will take a whole lot of faith, a whole lot of humbleness, and a whole lot of self-denial if we would reflect Christ and the laws and principles of His kingdom to the world. Denial of self, with all of its fallen urges, and promptings would require that we submit to Christ moment by moment and be kept by His power through faith.
Revenge is described in the dictionary as the action of inflicting hurt or harm on someone for an injury or wrong suffered at their hands. The desire, or the thirst for revenge is not a good impulse, and does not originate with God. God deals in justice, and He will prosecute and punish sin just as much as would be warranted, but not more or less. It is His prerogative to execute justice, because He is both Creator and Redeemer, but He does not thirst for revenge.
That is why, in so many instances, the inhabitants of earth often think He is taking too long to intervene in circumstances that cry out for justice and that is because, unlike us earthlings, God takes delight in mercy. God does not sit up in heaven looking to hurl bolts of lightning at every sinner, and every wrong that is taking place on the earth. If He was thus disposed, none of us would be alive today, because our many grievous sins and actions would have called for our utter eradication many years ago.
But God takes delight in setting the sinner free, and as such, He puts things in motion that will facilitate repentance, change, and permanent solutions in all those who so desire. But, to place Him on the same level as ourselves would do Him great disservice, for He is interceding currently for those who were once His enemies.
Justice will finally be served, wherever it would be warranted, but not after God has exhausted every means possible to save us from ourselves. In fact, the Bible teaches us that God often delays to bring justice, because of the severity with which it would come and thus, He continues to plead with gracious overtures, until there is no more remedy.
Let’s read: 2nd Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Exodus 34:6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.
However, with the human family, revenge has been a staple, a sort of default setting where some might believe that offenders must be retaliated against. As the various injustices have played out through the centuries, believers and nonbelievers alike have at times succumbed to the thirst for revenge, and in our day, it is scheduled to metastasize across the entire world.
The Bible furnishes several examples from which we can draw, so that we may observe the extent of the problem, and thus, as we search our own souls for any seeds of revenge, we are encouraged to confess and forsake this sin, wherever the seeds are found. Moses was called by God to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, and because of the cruelties and injustices practiced upon his brethren, he once decided to take matters into his own hands.
Moved with indignation at a particular incident, which was obviously wrong, he jumped into the fray and took the life of a slave master. It was hard for him to stand by and just watch the Egyptian beating up on a fellow Hebrew, and in his mind, he thought that he needed to take retributive action without direct permission from God. Thus, he sprung into action, and executed revenge, which he thought was well deserved.
The punishment may actually have been very well, deserved but for him to do so without God, placed him at odds with God’s will, because, in God’s own time and way, the oppressors would feel the brunt of heaven’s justice. Moses needed to surrender his will to God’s will, to the extent where he could be seeing injustice, and cruelty being done, and yet be patient enough to wait on God.
Some of us become impatient when we behold any injustice taking place over a period of time, with no apparent intervention from heaven. And in some instances, folks are moved to riots and insurrection as an expression of their frustration. Now, while it is true that God permits this to take place in the secular realm, as Christians we should remember that waiting upon God in every situation is a Biblical motif by which we should all live.
This includes waiting upon Him when we believe that a particular situation calls for justice. The way in which the Christian and nonbeliever may handle the same matter often varies quite a lot, for the principles and methods we adopt are different to what the secular world uses. We meet violence with peace, we meet hatred with love, we do offer kindness to our enemies, and we forgive those who trespass against us.
All the while, we do hope and pray for a change of heart in those who do not know God, and if things come to a head, where the offenders continue in a wrong course of action against our persons, we take the matter first to The Lord in prayer and then, if He directs us to appeal to secular authorities, then we submit to His will. Let’s read:
Matthew 5: 32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Romans 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good.
That is why we stated up front that it will take a lot of humility, patience, and self-denial in our day, to watch the various injustices being played out across the land, and not spring into action, ahead of God. It is not a sign of weakness or complacency to wait upon God in all matters; it is good common sense, as Moses himself soon found out. Let’s read:
Exodus 2:11 And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13 And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? 14 And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. 15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
Jezebel also was the queen of revenge, for she was pregnant with the sinful fruit of instant retribution, even when she was the one at fault. In retaliation for what she perceived as a grave wrong done by Elijah, in announcing the famine, she went out and slew the prophets of The Lord, but God did not right there and then hurl bolts of lightning from heaven.
Instead, God patiently waited to give both she and her husband time to repent, and it was only after all other methods, and resources were exhausted did He finally take them out. Thus, in seeking revenge, innocent persons have often been killed in the blind frenzy of passion and rage. Let’s read: 1st Kings 18:4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.
The same spirit of revenge and retaliation even took a hold on some of Christ’s disciples when James and John requested that lightning be called down from heaven to destroy the inhabitants of that city which had refused to let Jesus pass through. In the heated thirst for revenge, they considered not that babies, and children might be slain in the process.
Whenever there are real or imaginary wrongs done to ourselves, or others it is appropriate and right to take the matter to God for redress, for in the heat of the moment when tempers are flared and nerves are frayed, we often tend to go overboard, and riots and violence to innocent persons and businesses can take place.
James and John would have slain the innocent with the guilty, just so that their thirst for revenge would be satisfied. That is why Christ had to stop them in their tracks and reveal to them that they were being motivated by another spirit other than The Spirit of God, just as it is today. Let’s read:
Luke 9:51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, 52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. 53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. 56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
Whether it be injustice, cruelty or perceived wrongs to oneself or others, Jesus requires that His people should deal in the currency of heaven at all times and in all places. The scripture does not teach revolt against duly appointed authorities, because it is God who sets up kings and takes them down in His own time and way.
This truth needs to be clearly understood by those who would live through the final conflicts of earth’s history when injustice will prevail in the courts, and people’s personal property will be seized illegally by the authorities. Therefore, we reiterate again, God sets up the rulers of this world and He takes them down at His discretion.
Some of these earthly rulers are set up through His permissive will, by which He may allow the ruler in question to use methods and principles, in coming to power, that are totally against Biblical methods and principles. For instance, we read in the book of Daniel of how some of the powers of earth were permitted to come into existence.
They did not do so through prayer and fasting, but instead they were permitted to use violence, and force of arms to establish their kingdom. Some had resorted to poisoning their opponents, and bribery, lies, fraud and character assassination were all part of the deadly mix. Yet God permitted it to happen. Let’s read:
Daniel 7:2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
In like manner, Christ permits some evangelists to preach, and others He directly ordains to preach, as it is currently in our day. That is so because The Lord operates on two different fronts when dealing with the human family. In some instances, His permissive will allows apparently contrary events to occur, and at other times He definitely orchestrates situations. For example, we just read that the powers of earth mentioned by Daniel came into being using violence and force of arms, for God permitted this.
But if for instance God ordains one of His people to rule, they are not to come into power using the same tactics and methods those secular powers employ. Like David, they are to track on a different course in every way, never using political advertisements to tear down their opponents, and not using character assassination, by which all the wrongs and flaws of their competitors are exaggerated in the eyes of the multitudes.
They are to show respect for the ruler that God has placed on the throne, until such time that God sees fit to install them into office. But for any Christian to adopt methods and means used by secular persons is entirely off limits. That’s why we stated previously that God operates on two fronts; one, with what He permits, and the other with what He ordains. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 24:4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
5 And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt. 6 And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. 7 So David stayed his servants with these words and suffered them not to rise against Saul.
Now dear brethren, some of these powers that are permitted to come upon the face of the earth may say and do things that may cause people’s tempers to boil over. Now, that does not mean to say that as Christians we are to rise up in revenge against any of them, because God’s will is being accomplished. Note: Very deep lessons in humility and in patience will need to be learned by many of us. Case in point was the destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrian kingdom.
Because of the sins that were being committed by His people for many years, God purposed to bring them into captivity, so that they would, by experience, come to hate idolatry, which they had been fostering for too long. Now brethren, the very prospect of being taken into captivity by alien forces would definitely not bode well with many of us, and beyond the shadow of a doubt, some, like the Hebrews of old would seek to fight off the invaders, or worst yet, seek revenge for what may seem as an insult to our intelligence.
This is exactly what the prophet Jeremiah faced as he encouraged many of his brethren to be taken into Babylonian captivity, in harmony with God’s will. But like many of us, the Jews would have none of it, for in their minds, it could never be God’s will that His people become subservient to foreigners. Thus, as Jeremiah pleaded with them, he was seized and slated for persecution and death because in the minds of the Jews he was a traitor, and not patriotic by any means.
At this juncture, we must inform you of a hymn we often sing, of which many of us have not a clue what we are singing.
It’s called “I Surrender all”
Do we surrender all only when God’s plans and ours are in agreement, or do we resist God’s will when we do not agree with His purposes? Remember, as we studied previously God has not called persons to agree with Him primarily, but rather to obey Him. If in the process of obedience, we agree, that’s fine, and God will be pleased, but if things don’t go as we prefer, we should still be willing to follow where He leads the way, because there are times when it can be pretty painful to obey God, literally, as Christ and Abraham, and very many others have often found out. Let’s read:
Jeremiah 26:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying, 2 Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word: 3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;
6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth. 8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
Jeremiah 21:8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus, saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abides in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goes out and falls (meaning surrender) to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
Thus, it was that Daniel and his companions who by experience had learned to surrender all, went out, and they patiently looked on as the handcuffs and chains were placed around their hands and feet and they were then led away into Babylonian captivity.
Sometimes, a stupid king like pharaoh is set up by God to accomplish His purposes, but Christians are not to be found revolting against pharaoh, without God directing them to do so. We are to wait in faith for God to do His good will, and if in the process we run into some insurmountable difficulty then we are to trust God to take up the slack. Let’s read:
Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever he will, and sets up over it the basest of men. But if we begin to lose sight of our Invisible Leader, we will come to believe that we have to intervene if we think God is taking too long.
That is one reason why the patience of the saints is mentioned in the book of Revelation as one of the more prominent characteristics that would be manifested in the true Christian during the last days. In other words, even though things are spinning out of control and there will be injustice on every side, the Christian would be willing, and patient enough to wait on God to handle matters at His discretion, and not be seeking revenge or retaliation for actual wrongs that are done.
On the contrary, the one who insists on intervening, without any guidance or direction from God, would certainly stumble because, for the true Christian the currency of heaven tracks on an entirely different route. Revenge for real or imaginary wrongs done is not of heaven’s origin. Let’s read:
Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
Even though in the processes of injustice we may, and will suffer great loss, the patience of the saints should not fail, because they would have learned by experience to wait upon God in all matters and in all situations. The time will come when inhumane and even unjust treatment will be the lot of the faithful, but if we do not learn to wait upon God in all matters, we will be overcome by those difficulties, for if we cannot run with the footmen, we will not be able to run with the horses, just as Peter fell on the issue of revenge when he saw Christ being led away in handcuffs.
God is saying to us in the here and now, that if we begin to partake of the spirit of anarchy because of revenge for grave offences being committed across the land, when the big one comes in like a flood, our vulnerabilities will be exposed and we will fall a prey to the devices of devils. Let’s read:
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
2nd Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
In closing, let us ask God to grant us a forgiving spirit instead of a revengeful disposition; let us be the first to offer pardon and lasting solutions to a dying world, instead of taking things too personally, for if we deal in heaven’s currency, we will become partakers of the Spirit of Jesus, who taught us to say “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. We’ll end with a passage of scripture that reminds us of our duty as God’s peculiar people, to shine as lights in the world, manifesting His graces and ways to those who may not know Him just yet. Let’s read:
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
God Bless!