Psalm 94:1 says:
1O LORD God, You to Whom vengeance belongs, O God, You to Whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
The problem that most believers have in accepting the fact that " vengeance is Mine saith the Lord, I will repay" (Romans 12:19) is that they have the wrong idea of vengeance. We tend to think of vengeance as a getting even type of thing. God's vengeance is really justice. It involves people reaping the results of their choices. The reason that it sometimes seems to us to take so long is because of the infinite patience of the Lord! Aren't you glad He was so patient with YOU? Remember that He wants that NONE should perish , but that ALL should come to repentance! (2 Peter 3:9).
Do you want to be blessed of the Lord? Then you need to pay attention to verse 12:
12Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law,
Blessed means to be happy and prosperous! If we want to be "blessed" then we MUST receive the "chastening", the Hebrew word, "yacar", which means: to admonish, instruct, discipline of the Lord. Then we also need the Lord to "teach" us, the Hebrew word, "lamad", which means: to teach, to goad (the rod being an Oriental incentive!) IF we want to grow up in the things of God, the Lord Himself will be faithful to TEACH us! He will instruct, correct and discipline us with His Word! If we don't want to grow up, He will not force it on us! But then we must be satisfied with the results, which WILL BE the opposite of being blessed! Not MY choice! How about you?
Look at Luke 6:6-7:
6And it occurred on another Sabbath that when He went into the synagogue and taught, a man was present whose right hand was withered.7And the scribes and the Pharisees kept watching Jesus to see whether He would [actually] heal on the Sabbath, in order that they might get [some ground for] accusation against Him.
What was the response of Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees? Verses 8-10:
8But He was aware all along of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, Come and stand here in the midst. And he arose and stood there.9Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good [so that someone derives advantage from it] or to do evil, to save a life [and make a soul safe] or to destroy it?10Then He glanced around at them all and said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he did so, and his hand was fully restored like the other one.
The response of the unbelieving religious leaders? Verse 11:
11But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.
It still amazes me that those who SHOULD have known and recognized Who Jesus was were the ones trying so very hard to discredit Him! Wouldn't you think that they would be overjoyed to see their own people set free from bondage and affliction? Wouldn't you think that they would be eagerly awaiting the Messiah and looking for any sign of the One Who was to come? I don't get it myself, except that what Jesus did showed their true nature and upset the public image they desired to have. The last thing I want to look at in Luke today is found in verses 47-49:
47For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like:48He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock.49But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.
Notice the results for the person who hears the Word of God and "does" them, the Greek word, "poieo", which means: to make or to do, "to adopt a way of expressing, by act, the thoughts and feelings" (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words). It is an action word that means to put into practice the things we see and hear! I want those results! NOT the results of those who hear and DON'T do the Word. Notice that these people heard the same Word! That means that they had the same opportunity to choose to be doers of the Word, and chose NOT to! Unwise choice! DON'T make THAT choice! Choose to obey the Word of God and choose the Blessings! AMEN!!!
Numbers 31:1-3:
1THE LORD said to Moses,2Avenge the Israelites on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your [departed] people.3And Moses said to the people, Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian and execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel].
Notice the word avenge again! The Midianites were responsible for trying to entice Israel to sin (Numbers 25) and now they had to pay for this crime before God! They knew that Israel's God WAS the One True God! The Almighty God! They had heard all about the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. They had every opportunity to choose Him, but instead, they tried to lead His people away! NOT a good choice! The victory ALWAYS belongs to those who choose God's way of doing and being right! Make sure YOU choose God's way, everyday, and be blessed! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
