DIVINE RETRIBUTION

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“You, Lord, took up my case; You redeemed my life.”

“Lord, You have seen the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause! You have seen the depth of their vengeance, all their plots against me. Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me—what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.”

“Pay them back what they deserve, Lord, for what their hands have done. Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them! Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:58-66

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Israelites were in the thralls of a seventy year captivity, held in oppression and slavery by the Babylonians who had brutally attacked them in their homeland before taking them into exile. Everything the Israelites had was lost, destroyed and left in ruins by their assailants. There were many of God’s people who never made it to Babylon alive, slaughtered in the onslaught. Even the beloved city of Jerusalem was not spared as God’s holy temple was looted and then laid to waste.

When it was all said and done with, the once mighty, holy nation of Canaan and its two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, were reduced to rubble and became the laughingstock of the world. It was a humiliating defeat that only happened because God had removed His protection from His people, allowing the assault to happen as a part of His judgment for their sinful worshiping of false gods and idols.

But all was not lost. God had not turned away from His people forever. In fact, He promised there would be an eventual end to His people’s suffering and sorrow, a time when He would bring redemption and restore them back to their homeland, a time when He would usher in divine retribution.

As we read the closing words of Lamentations 3, we can see that this fulfillment of promise to rescue His people from exile was actually an answer to the prayers of His people. Look at these final verses again:

“You, Lord, took up my case; You redeemed my life.”

“Lord, You have seen the wrong done to me. Uphold my cause! You have seen the depth of their  vengeance, all their plots against me. Lord, you have heard their insults, all their plots against me—what my enemies whisper and mutter against me all day long. Look at them! Sitting or standing, they mock me in their songs.”

“Pay them back what they deserve, Lord, for what their hands have done. Put a veil over their hearts, and may your curse be on them! Pursue them in anger and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:58-66

At the end of the scripture at the heart of yesterday’s devotion, we found the Lord giving His people words of reassuring comfort.

What was His message?

It was “Do not fear.”

With this, we can understand why the Israelites would be able to respond with the following:

“You, Lord, took up my case; You redeemed my life.”

God had not turned from them forever. Rather, they cried out to Him, He heard their plea, and then responded with words of support and encouragement. He had taken up their case and cause with redemption being in sight. A situation that was once hopeless now looked promising. The Israelites saw a brighter future on the horizon.

But to get there, one big hurdle needed to be cleared and that was the Babylonians. The Israelite captors would need to be defeated before God’s people could be liberated and as we see through their words, they had an idea of how that liberation would take place.

It would come through divine retribution.

Now, this was something the Israelites knew all about because it was what they experienced first hand. They disrespected, disregarded, and were disobedient toward God, inciting His anger, and so they received the full extent of His punishment as a result. Now they called on the same retribution from God to come against Babylon.

They asked God to answer the wrongs committed against His people and uphold their cause against their enemies, enemies who displayed vengeance and plotted against the Israelites. These same enemies hurled insults, whispering and muttering mockery toward God’s people every chance they got. It was so extreme that the Israelites were fed up with the mistreatment and called on God to redeem them by paying back their enemies with what they deserve and that was essentially the same judgment God had brought on them. That judgment included being cursed and pursued in anger, in destruction and removal from prominence.

So how did God respond to these pleas from His people?

Well, we know that He answered them as He brought the Persians against the Babylonians, a conflict that ended in Persian victory and subsequent Israelite redemption and release. Indeed, God’s people did not need to fear because He was in control and was with them. They had stirred His ire and forced His hand in sending consequences their way but after they had paid the price, they again were in favor with God and received the fullest measure of His mercy, grace, and love.

And so it will be with us as well today. We need to understand that God will send divine retribution against anyone who opposes Him, anyone who chooses to sin in disobedience against Him. But we also know that God will not allow His anger to rage forever and there will be a time when He delivers and saves us from His penalties to a place where we can again live in His joy, peace, and love.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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