Sunday, March 28, 2021

On Revenge

 


Hebrews 1:8 

King James Version

8 But unto the Son he saith, 

Thy throne, O God, 

is for ever and ever: 

a sceptre of righteousness 

is the sceptre of thy kingdom.


Has someone wronged you?

How have they wronged you?

Are you having thoughts of revenge?

One of the most difficult things to do, is to forgive, and not to take revenge, on those who have harmed you, or the people you care for.

How does one stifle the impulse to take revenge?

What must we do?

This is what Scripture says:

Romans 12:19 (KJV)

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.


A good example is the prayer of the besieged Hezekiah, the 13th king of Judah.

He appealed to the Lord:

2 Kings 19:15-19 (KJV)

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, 

O Lord God of Israel, 

which dwellest between the cherubims

thou art the God, 

even thou alone, 

of all the kingdoms of the earth; 

thou hast made heaven and earth.

16 Lord, bow down thine ear, 

and hear: open, 

Lord, thine eyes, 

and see: 

and hear the words of Sennacherib, 

which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

17 Of a truth, Lord, 

the kings of Assyria have destroyed 

the nations and their lands,

18 And have cast their gods into the fire: 

for they were no gods, 

but the work of men's hands, 

wood and stone: 

therefore they have destroyed them.

19 Now therefore, 

O Lord our God, 

I beseech thee, 

save thou us out of his hand, 

that all the kingdoms of the earth 

may know that thou art the Lord God, 

even thou only.


And God answers, through His prophet Isaiah:

2 Kings 19:20 (KJV)

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, 

Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 

That which thou hast prayed to me 

against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.


First, God secures His remnant from Judah:

2 Kings 19:30-31 (KJV)

30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah 

shall yet again take root downward, 

and bear fruit upward.

31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, 

and they that escape out of mount Zion: 

the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.


Then makes a statement to Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who blasphemed the Lord:

2 Kings 19:28 (KJV)

28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult 

is come up into mine ears, 

therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, 

and my bridle in thy lips, 

and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.


Brace yourself for how God answered, with regards to Hezekiah's plea against the king of Assyria:

2 Kings 19:32-35 (KJV)

32 Therefore thus saith the Lord 

concerning the king of Assyria, 

He shall not come into this city, 

nor shoot an arrow there, 

nor come before it with shield, 

nor cast a bank against it.

33 By the way that he came, 

by the same shall he return, 

and shall not come into this city, 

saith the Lord.

34 For I will defend this city, 

to save it, 

for mine own sake, 

and for my servant David's sake.

35 And it came to pass that night, 

that the angel of the Lord went out, 

and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 

an hundred fourscore and five thousand: 

and when they arose early in the morning, 

behold, they were all dead corpses.


One angel; 185,000 slain.

And that's not all.

Observe how God punished Sennacherib from within:

2 Kings 19:36-37 (KJV)

36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, 

and went and returned, 

and dwelt at Nineveh.

37 And it came to pass, 

as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, 

that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons 

smote him with the sword: 

and they escaped into the land of Armenia. 

And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.


If you think God is sleeping, you're wrong.

If you think God doesn't see, nor hear, you're wrong.

If you think God hasn't heard your prayer, you're wrong.

If you think God will not avenge His faithful, you're wrong.

But who are we to take other people's lives upon our hands?

Jesus has a law against that.

He spoke of this, the day they seized Him, prior to the cross:

Matthew 26:51-52 (KJV)

51 And, behold, 

one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, 

and drew his sword, 

and struck a servant of the high priest's, 

and smote off his ear.

52 Then said Jesus unto him, 

Put up again thy sword into his place: 

for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.


Then Jesus spoke of His power.

Matthew 26:53-54 (KJV)

53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 

and he shall presently give me 

more than twelve legions of angels?

54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, 

that thus it must be?


Did you take note of what we wrote earlier?

Of one angel, smiting 185,000 men in one night?

Well, Jesus spoke of more than 12 legions* of angels, at His bidding, if He really wanted to escape the cross.

And yet, He didn't use His Father's power to save Himself.

He left everything up to God.

In complete obedience to the will of the Father.

And in fulfillment of Scripture.

He took on the sins of the world -- a man who knew no sin.

He knew this world belonged to the enemy.

Who was defeated by the LORD at the cross.

Hebrews 2:14 (KJV)

14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, 

he also himself likewise took part of the same; 

that through death he might destroy him 

that had the power of death, 

that is, the devil;


Let us not rely on our fallible judgment.

All judgment belong to the Lord.

Romans 2:16 (KJV)

16 In the day when God shall judge 

the secrets of men by Jesus Christ 

according to my gospel.


Matthew 25:32 (KJV)

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: 

and he shall separate them one from another, 

as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:


God's time will come.

Possibly sooner than soon.

Set your heart right with the Lord right now.

And believe He fights for His faithful.

Exodus 14:14 (KJV)

14 The Lord shall fight for you, 

and ye shall hold your peace.


*NOTE: Are you curious how many soldiers are in a legion? This report says between 4,000 to 6,000 soldiers. 

That means, Jesus could EASILY and IMMEDIATELY have prayed to the Father to send Him MORE than 12 legions of angels -- or between 48,000 to 72, 000 angels -- MINIMUM.

Now, an angel can easily slay 185,000 men.

How many can 72,000 angels slay, at Jesus' bidding?

My calculator gave up.

What can one man do?

We are past foolishness.

Why not leave judgment to the LORD?


Updated 26 January 2022


BEWARE this game

  1 Timothy 4:1-2 King James Version 4 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly,  that in the latter times  some shall depart from the faith,  givi...