Don’t Seek Vengeance - God Does That For Us - Ezekiel 25-30

Ezekiel 25:1-5 (ESV)

Prophecy Against Ammon

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord GOD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

God is coming against Ammon because of how they treated His people.   Note the following:

Ezekiel 25:8 (ESV)

Prophecy Against Moab and Seir

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’

Ezekiel 25:12 (ESV)

Prophecy Against Edom

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them,

Ezekiel 25:15 (ESV)

Prophecy Against Philistia

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,

Ezekiel 26:1-2 (ESV)

Prophecy Against Tyre

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’

God takes vengeance on those who mistreat His people.   We are not to take vengeance.  He will.  

Romans 12:17-19 (ESV)

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Wise Children Make Glad Parents - Proverbs 10

Proverbs 10:1 (ESV)

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.

We all love our kids. We love them when they are cute; we love them when they are funny; we love them when they are not lovable; when they make mistakes; when they mess up; when they disobey. The best measure for us in regard to how we are to respond to our children is in regard to their association and attitude with wisdom. When they have a great relationship with wisdom we are glad but when they have a poor relationship with wisdom we are grieved. We tend, as parents, to rejoice when they do things "athletically" or "academically" or something of that nature. We tend to be grieved when they do something that disobeys us. In this proverb we are told to rejoice in wisdom and to grieve at foolishness. We ought to have God so centered in our lives that our rejoicing over our children is also so centered. Rejoice over your kids but do so because they obey God and have found Wisdom. Grieve over your kids but do so because they have rejected God and Wisdom. A wise son for Christ should bring praise much more than one who measures up to some outward, societal code.  It is quite something to watch parents get excited about their child’s accomplishments.    They are great in school; sports; work; and/or relationships.    But, the ultimate relationship that we want to get excited about, as parents, is a child’s relationship with wisdom.  This relationship will determine how they make decisions.  This relationship will be the most qualifying requirement for their “success” in the future.    When our children have a positive relationship with wisdom should be the thing that gives us the most excitement.  

Obedience Equals Protection - Psalms 81-83

Psalms 81:15 (ESV)

Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

Psalm 81 is about the fact that God’s people don’t always listen to Him and obey His Word.   In almost all of the prayer/song Asaph, the writer, is specially referring to just God’s people.  Note:

Psalms 81:11 (ESV)

“But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

In the above verse, however, Asaph switches to speaking to Israel about Israel’s failure to listen and rather to Israel’s enemies.  Note the context of verse 15 by reading the few before it and the one after it:

Psalms 81:13-16 (ESV)

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

14 I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Our disobedience toward God removes our protection from and by God.  But as we walk in obedience we can rest in God’s care and the subduing of our enemies.   The next time you see the enemy on the horizon a good question to ask is whether you are walking in step with the Father and obeying His Word! 

God Keeps His Promises - 2 Kings 6-10

2 Kings 8:16-19 (ESV)

In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

God is faithful to His promises.   It was centuries before the above verses were written and lived out, that God made the promise mention in the above passage.   Yet, the reason for God’s decision about wicked Joram was not based upon Joram.  It was based upon God keeping His promise to King David that David’s genealogical line would always have someone on the throne.   This was, of course, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus after He rose from the dead.  He is now on the throne in heaven and that fulfills the promise:

 Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

We have to remember the Old Testament is Messianic in nature.  The stories, the narratives and the history all point to Christ.  The above is a refreshing reminder to us that despite how evil a ruler can be, God can use them to accomplish His promises to us.  

Healthy Living - Leviticus 13-15

Leviticus 15:16-18 (ESV)

“If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening. And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening.

The topic of fluids in Leviticus is hard for most of us to understand.  We understand what Moses is talking about when he refers to them, but not why he is talking about fluids and/or what it has to do with modern day Christians.   It is important to note that in this section there are two types of fluids mentioned:

1.  Those fluids that flow naturally from the body as they should (men concerning semen during intercourse and women blood during their menstrual cycle).

2. Those fluids that flow because of unnatural conditions of the body due to diseases and/or dysfunction of the body. 

Because, in Moses’ day, it was not as easily to identify the difference between these two types, at times, the priest was often called in to make sure all was well.  The people were instructed as to how to handle each.  Remember, there are no hospitals in the wilderness (where the nation of Israel was).   God wants to make sure four things are true:

1. His people are informed. 

2. His people are pure for worship. 

3. His people treat life differently than the world.  

4. His people are healthy.

This is why we have parts of Leviticus.   God wants His people to be cared for during their wilderness wanderings.  There were diseases in the world that they needed to be protected from.   These instructions are further evidence of God’s character and love for His people.  

Avoid False Teachers - Philippians 3-4

Philippians 3:2-3 (ESV)

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

This seems like an odd thing to write to someone.   But when you understand the context of Philippians and the early church is a powerful statement to write.  There were those in the church who were teaching that you had to be circumcised along with faith in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  Paul calls them dogs, evildoers and those who mutilate the flesh.   When writing to the churches in Galatia he actually called for them to be accursed:

Galatians 1:6-9

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

To the church at Philippi he writes for them to look out for them.   Staying away from sinners and evil does is part of God’s way.   Note what this famous psalm states:

Psalms 1:1-2 (ESV)

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

We are to avoid those who avoid God.   

The Love of Money Hinders Love for God - Luke 17-18

Luke 18:18-25 (ESV)

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Wealth is a two-edged sword.  On the one hand, wealth gives us the ability to navigate life in a way that certainly is better than no wealth.  But the other hand wealth can kill us and bring us into the wrong priorities.  In the above text we see that one young man thought that he had really done what God wanted and that should entitle him to eternal life.  He had certainly shown his love for God for keeping so many of God’s commands.  But when Jesus told him to seek all he had to give to the poor, the man’s true heart shown through.  The love of money corrupts our decisions for life:

1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV)

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

God intends for us to be fully committed to Him through faith in His Son, Jesus.   This man had someting else in his heart.  He had covetousness in his heart.   He wanted to have his cake and eat it too.   But in truth, when we love God with all our heart, soul and mind, we need nothing else.  Everything else just cuts through as a sword and separates us from God.