A Part of the Genesis Story I’d Missed

The early chapters of Genesis are so foundational, it’s hard for me to believe that as early as chapter four, there’s a scene I had skipped over; that is, until today when our guest writer brought it to my attention.

^NLT.Gen.4.14 You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!”

¹⁵ The Lord replied, “No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.

^NLT.Gen.4.23 One day Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
listen to me, you wives of Lamech.
I have killed a man who attacked me,
a young man who wounded me.

²⁴ If someone who kills Cain is punished seven times,
then the one who kills me will be punished seventy-seven times!”

Today we’re introducing you to a writer who goes by Swaying Leaf who blogs at Reflections: Life, Death, Living and Dying. Clicking the header which follows will take you to where this devotional first appeared.

Revenge and Hurt in Genesis

I am reading in Genesis 4:23-24. Then Lamech (who is the great great great great grandson) of Cain said to his wives: “Adam and Zillow (he had 2 wives), hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listens to my speech! (he really wants to be heard).
For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me. If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, then Lamech seventy-seven fold.

This is interesting because when we look at the origin of the seven fold, it started in Genesis 4:14-15. Cain was being cast out as a fugitive, and he was afraid that people will kill him and he told the Lord about it. The Lord, despite Cain’s murder of his brother promised him it will not happen in verse 15: And the Lord said to him (Cain), Therefore, whoever kills Cain, Vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold. And the Lord set a mark on Cain lest anyone finding him shall kill him.

There are many things in this chapter which I don’t fully understand. As far as I knew, there was only Cain and Abel at that time. Why then did Cain fear people wound kill him. Also, how did he build a city with so little people. These thoughts aside, something stood out clearly. The beginning of vengeance and hurt, and the difference between Man and God.

Remember that Cain murdered Abel and God punished Cain by casting him out. But God in his mercy and kindness and love (this was before the 10 commandments), did not kill Cain. Not only did he not kill Cain, he protected Cain with a mark to prevent others from Killing him.

Cain then dwelled (I assume without the presences of the Lord) and this went on for 5 generations till it reaches Lamech. And what happens after five generations without the Lord. Lamech took the one promise of protection from the Lord, and made it into a vengeful practice of pay back. Lamech admitted to killing someone who wounded him and killing a young man who hurt him. I would assume that hurt is less severe than wounded, or may be non physical). But either way, he killed the people who hurt him. This is how the world have developed: Kill the one who hurt you. Not only that, he took upon God’s word and added it into his own commandment that he shall be avenged seventy-seven fold.

In both Cain and Lamech, they both feared for their lives. Cain killed his brother out of fear of losing favor with God and begged God to protect him. Lamech killed the others for hurting him and commandment his wife’s to avenge him if he is killed. Cain didn’t want to die, Lamech wasn’t as concern about dying as he is about revenge.

This reminds us that when we start losing intimacy with the love and kindness of God, we can turn into very harsh people looking to ‘kill anyone who hurts’. This does not have to be actual physical killing. This includes killing people by demanding that they be perfect, punishing them with words or deeds, not in order to love them to change, but in order that they learn thru pain.

Be careful too because all these can be done using God’s words as well. As you can tell from Lamech, it is easy to take parts of God’s words and justify our harshness on others (and ourselves). But God is not such a God, God is a God who loves, who yearns to be close and who changes people thru Grace. There will be natural laws of consequences when we do wrong, but God is not one who is vengeful and hurt you more and kill you if hurt.

Let us remind ourselves the next time someone hurts us, hold back the fleshy desire to kill them or hurt them more. Let God instead heal your wound, soothe your hurt and protect you. He loves you. You are wanted. You are loved, even when you are hurt, even if you have hurt others. I am wanted, I am loved, Even when I am hurt, even when I have hurt others.

 

 

God Will Sort Out Our Enemies

This is our fourth visit with Rev. Tonia Slimm who has been writing very faithfully at blog Growing with God . A blogger after my own heart, there has been a fresh post on that site every day since September, 2015; and we’re talking original devotional studies; not the beg-borrow-and-steal approach that we take!

Clicking the header below will take you there, where a bonus music video awaits you.

God Deals with our Enemies – Isaiah 51:23

Isaiah 51:23 (NIV)

“I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

Isaiah 51:23 (MSG)

“I’ve passed it over to your abusers to drink, those who ordered you, ‘Down on the ground so we can walk all over you!’ And you had to do it. Flat on the ground, you were the dirt under their feet.”

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“I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who have said to you, ‘Lie down so that we may walk over you.’ You have even made your back like the ground and like the street for those who walk over it.” -AMPLIFIED

“This strong drink is now to be taken from Judah and given to Babylon, so that it will stagger and fall. God is going to destroy Babylon as he destroyed Judah.” ~Bridgeway Bible Commentary

In yesterday’s text, we found God reminding Israel that their suffering was only for a time. Soon He would remove the cup of anger that He had given to them, and they had drunk deeply from.

“Your children have fainted and lie fallen in the streets, like a gazelle caught in a net.
Yahweh’s anger, the rebuke of your God, has overwhelmed them. So listen, you who are weak and wounded, who are intoxicated not with wine but with God’s anger. This is what your sovereign ruler,
Lord Yahweh, your God, the Mighty Defender of his people, says: “Look! I have removed from your hand the intoxicating cup that made you stagger. You will no longer drink from the bowl of my anger.” -Isaiah 51:20-22 (The Passion Translation)

In today’s passage, God tells Israel He is about to pass that cup of anger on to their oppressors.

“And I will give that drink to those who abused and oppressed you—who ordered you, “Get down so we can walk all over you.” And your backs became the ground they walked on, the streets they passed by.” -(VOICE)

Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, the God who does the impossible, is able to humble the enemy. Consider how many times had God told Israel in the past that all they need do is be still, and allow Him to fight their battles? Case in point, Moses speaking to the Israelites:

“So I told you, “Don’t be scared! Don’t be afraid of them! You won’t have to fight this battle yourselves; the Eternal your God, who always goes ahead of you, will fight for you just as He did in Egypt—you saw Him do it! And here in this wilderness, all along the route you’ve traveled until you reached this place, haven’t you seen the Eternal, your True God, carrying you the way a parent carries a child? But you still don’t trust the Eternal your God, even though He always goes ahead of you as you travel and finds places for you to camp. In a pillar of fire by night and in a cloud by day, He always shows you the right way to go.” -Deuteronomy 1:29-33 (VOICE)

Guaranteed, this was not always the case, but once again, we do find God defending Israel in our text. Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, tells Israel that He will take remove this cup from their hands, and place it in the hands of their tormentors. The tables will be turned now, what Babylon had done to Israel, tormenting them, and abusing them, will now be done to them.

If you wondered about the truth of the abuse that is mentioned in Isaiah, wonder no more. Grogan tells us that this practice of Babylon, having people lie on the ground and walking across on their backs, is well documented.

“This “barbaric practice…is well documented in the ancient Near East, featured especially, but not exclusively, in Assyrian inscriptions” ~Geoffrey Grogan

This was a form of abuse that was intended to humiliate and bring suffering and affliction to people. Babylon had done this very thing to Israel, now God says it will happen to the Babylonians.

The time of Israel’s redemption has come. And the time for Babylon’s punishment is about to begin. If you wondered why God would punish Babylon for doing what He intended for them to do, it is because they carried out their assignment with the wrong attitude. They used and abused Israel. They took all the glory in their conquering of other nations, and never gave any of the glory to God.

“But I will put that terrible cup into the hands of those who tormented you and trampled your souls to the dust and walked upon your backs.” -(TLB)

“There will be a reversal of circumstances for them when He gives the cup of stupor of bowl of wrath into the very hands of those who dished it out, so that what they did to others now happens to them. What the King of Assyria and his people did to the people of God is now done to them.” ~Avraham Gileadi 

In the book of Exodus, God told Israel that if they would obey Him, then He would be an enemy to their enemies. God said:

“If you are obedient to his voice and follow all of My instructions, then I will be an enemy to all of those who are against you, and I will oppose all those who oppose you. When My messenger moves ahead of you and leads you to the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites—I will annihilate them.” -Exodus 23:22-23 (VOICE)

Throughout Scripture God reminds us that He will deal with our enemies. He promised that He would avenge us. Take a look at what Paul wrote to the Romans:

“Do not retaliate with evil, regardless of the evil brought against you. Try to do what is good and right and honorable as agreed upon by all people. If it is within your power, make peace with all people. Again, my loved ones, do not seek revenge; instead, allow God’s wrath to make sure justice is served. Turn it over to Him. For the Scriptures say, “Revenge is Mine. I will settle all scores.” -Romans 12:17-19 (VOICE)

We would do well to learn this lesson that Solomon tried to teach his son:

“Do not rejoice and gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad [in self-righteousness] when he stumbles, or the Lord will see your gloating and be displeased, and turn His anger away from your enemy.” -Proverbs 24:17-18 (AMP)

Let us take into consideration something that God said to Jeremiah:

“Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Hear me, Jeremiah: I will make you strong in these trying times to accomplish My good. I will make it so your enemies ask you to pray for them in times of disaster and suffering.” -Jeremiah 15:11 (VOICE)

Our job is to pray for our enemies, and let God avenge us. Finally, consider what Jesus told His followers to do when it came to how they should treat their enemies. Jesus said:

“If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you. Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you. Keep praying for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other cheek too. If someone steals your coat, offer him your shirt too. If someone begs from you, give to him. If someone robs you of your valuables, don’t demand them back. Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them. Listen, what’s the big deal if you love people who already love you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you do good to those who do good to you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you lend to people who are likely to repay you? Even scoundrels lend to scoundrels if they think they’ll be fully repaid. If you want to be extraordinary—love your enemies! Do good without restraint! Lend with abandon! Don’t expect anything in return! Then you’ll receive the truly great reward—you will be children of the Most High—for God is kind to the ungrateful and those who are wicked. So imitate God and be truly compassionate, the way your Father is.” -Luke 6:27-36 (VOICE)

“We may not be able to prevent other people from being our enemies, but we can prevent ourselves from being enemies toward others.” ~Warren Wiersbe

My friend, let us be careful of how we are treating those who call themselves our enemies. Our job is to pray for them, and allow God to deal with them, and their sins against us. Vengeance belongs to the Lord. Your job is to follow the example of Jesus, and love your enemies. By doing so, you are heap burning coals on their heads, and the LORD will reward you for doing the right thing.

“Prayer is the great engine to overthrow and rout my spiritual enemies, the great means to procure the graces of which I stand in hourly need.” ~John Newton

My Prayer:

Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, help me to love my enemies, just as you have loved me. When they strike out, intentionally hurting me, remind me that vengeance is yours, not mine. Help me to do what is right, according to your Word. Help me to follow the example of my Savior, who did not retaliate, but He was kind and compassionate towards those who hurt Him. I lift these hurting souls up to you, Lord, and ask that you reveal yourself to them. Help them to see their need for you in their lives. Heal their hurting hearts, Lord. Let them come to an understanding of their deep-seated need for a Savior. Amen.

When Relationships Get Ugly

Thinking Through Luke 4:14-21

by Clarke Dixon

Relationships can get very ugly very quickly. Whether between people groups or among family and friends, things can turn sour fast. I’m sure I don’t need to give examples as you probably have first-hand experience. Don’t we all!?

We have an example of relationships getting ugly fast when Jesus made a positive first impression on his hometown crowd and then that same crowd attempted to throw him off a cliff! Digging into this event will help us with our ugly relationships.

So what happened? Let’s see where it begins:

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:16-21 (NRSV)

We will see why things got ugly when we compare what Jesus went on to say, and not say, with what Isaiah went on to say in Isaiah 61 had Jesus just kept reading.

The first thing we notice is that Jesus stopped quoting Isaiah at a significant moment. He stopped mid-sentence. Had he gone on to read further, he would have read:

…to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,

Isaiah 61:2 (NIV emphasis added)

Jesus stopped short of talking about vengeance. Maybe that is our first clue on handling ugly relationships?

To understand what is going on here more fully, it will help us to realize that Isaiah had prophesied to God’s people about the Babylonian invasion of the promised land, the exile of many to Babylon, and then here in the passage quoted by Jesus, their subsequent return. Isaiah was looking forward to the day God’s people would be set free from the Babylonians, a day of “release to the captives” when “the oppressed go free.”

According to Isaiah, not only could God’s people look forward to freedom from these foreign oppressors, the tables would be turned on the enemy. For example,

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
foreigners shall till your land and dress your vines;
but you shall be called priests of the LORD,
you shall be named ministers of our God;
you shall enjoy the wealth of the nations,
and in their riches you shall glory.

Isaiah 61:5-6 (NRSV)

According to Isaiah’s prophecy God’s people would no longer be slave-laborers for the Babylonians but instead the foreign enemies would be laborers in the promised land. Also, the wealth of God’s people would no longer belong to Babylon, but instead the wealth of nations would be brought to God’s people. This is a reversal of fortunes.

Those in Jesus’ day would have latched onto this reversal of fortunes, especially when Jesus said “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” What those listening to Jesus would have been thinking is, “great, just as we needed rescue from Babylon, we now need rescue from these Romans who have invaded our land! This miracle worker may just be the one who will lead the rebellion!”

However, Jesus neither went on to read that part of Isaiah 61 nor to apply it to the current situation, making no insinuation that the tables would be turned and the Romans would become subject to the Jews. As much as the crowd would have loved to have heard that, he said this instead:

Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.

Luke 4:24-27 (NRSV)

Instead of speaking about the tables being turned against the foreigners, Jesus gave two examples from the Old Testament of foreigners receiving a greater blessing from God than God’s people. This is not what the crowd wanted to hear, and this is the point things got ugly and they took Jesus out to throw him off a cliff. This is also the point that helps us with ugly relationships.

Jesus did indeed come to set the prisoners free, but God’s people had bigger enemies than the Romans to worry about. Sin was the greater enemy. The Romans themselves were captive to that same enemy, and in fact, without Christ, so are we. The Romans, though being the oppressors, were themselves prisoners. They were captive to sin, captive to thinking that brute force was the way toward a better world, captive to life without God.

Indeed the brute force of Rome combined with the ignorance of the Jewish religious leaders in the execution of Jesus. Here again, Jesus stopped short of vengeance. Rising from the dead Jesus did not call for immediate destruction of his enemies, but instead sent out his disciples to tell people the good news of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom that is entered through the receiving of God’s forgiveness and grace. That forgiveness was, and is still, offered to all God’s enemies.

Our Ugly Relationships

Do you have ugly relationships with others? We have bigger enemies to worry about, enemies that all humans face, like hatred, grudges, gossip, and dangerous ideologies or theologies. Let us seek release from these enemies. Perhaps we should put more of our focus and energy on battling these sins than on doing battle with the people we have ugly relationships with. That battle may begin with our own hearts.

When relationships get ugly let us begin by stopping short of seeking vengeance. We might need to learn the art of stopping our thoughts and words mid-sentence, before things go too far. The thought of justice comes naturally to us. The jump from justice to vengeance is a short hop that comes naturally to us. The way of the cross does not. We have God’s Spirit to help!

When our relationships get ugly, let us be like Jesus and remember love first.

Our relationships, our world, could be different if we become enthused by the grace of God, whose first response to His enemies, and ours, is love.

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• To watch a 20-minute sermon on which today’s devotional is based, click this link.

When You Are Falsely Accused

And now, my lord, as surely as the LORD your God lives and as you live, since the LORD has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. I Samuel 25:26

But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.” I Samuel 27:1

A year ago we introduced you to Jim Grant and his blog, Preach Between the Lines where he was working his way through the poetic/wisdom books. Now he’s moved on to I Samuel. There is no specific reference in the devotional today; if you have the time you might want to read all five chapters indicated below. Also, if you can, I urge you to read the devotional which preceded this one; the story of King Saul and David characterized as The Hunter and The Hunted.

Click the title which follows to read at source.

Through it All

1 Samuel 24-29

The greatest struggles in life have to be when we are attacked or accused falsely. We can think of Job and his trials or even Joseph and his jail times. When thinking of David, many times we overlook the character he displayed during those hunted years by King Saul. I know, and so do you the encouragement to endure hardship, to count it all joy when trials and tribulations come – but that is so much easier said than done. The “why” always seems to dominate our thinking. It fact we are so stressed out and emotionally charged it prevents us from understanding and rationally responding to all that is happening.

David has been anointed as the heir apparent for the throne, there are some 13 years before that happens. King Saul is no longer anointed with the “Spirit upon him” so he can only react in a fleshly out of control, paranoid person. Saul repeated tries to kill David, in the process he is filled with guile and cause his son, Jonathan to be severed in their relationship. Jonathan, what a blessing to have for David. The covenant he and David make has been the text of countless sermons. Everyone needs a “Barnabas or Jonathan” surrounding them during severe trials. This is a problem for Pastors especially, why because they are fearful to take people into their confidence – afraid that anything they say will be used against them.

Something else happens in our readings: Samuel dies. The grand and glorious old man is no longer able to run interference for David. I found it appalling that David was hunted by over 3,000 man army under the skewed leadership of Saul. Scripture tells us to pray for our enemies and do good to those who hurt us. It sounds good, but going through great vexing of our spirit, it is difficult to do. But even through the most difficult times of life, there comes a ray of hope: The Abigail and Nabal story finds its way into our hearts. Here is a woman/wife who is under the tyranny of an abusive and egocentric husband. Nabal by all estimation is not a God-fearing man. Abigail, is an intelligent and beautiful woman, God uses the story to deliver both David and Abigail. It’s a unique love story for sure. Sometimes we have to look beyond ourselves to find the good that God is doing. Of course we know that Nabal is killed and David and Abigail marry later.

There are times when an opportunity avails itself for us to take matters into our own hands. David gets an opportunity to kill Saul, even his men compel David to reach out and kill Saul, but cuts a piece of his robe off and shows Saul how that David could have taken advantage of the situation. Again, with Abner supposedly watching Saul, David is able to sneak into camp and take Saul’s spear and a jug of water. Again, David calls to Saul and shows him how he had opportunity but would not “touch the LORD’s anointed.” How we go through trials and tribulations is just as important as getting through them. Our character is on display for others to see if Jesus Christ really makes a difference in ALL of LIFE.

Of course King Saul repents and weeps over his actions, yet it is not a repentance unto godliness. Saul had been exposed, or better yet his heart. Saul doesn’t get it – God is done with Him. Saul’s final act of going to a witch/soothsayers/medium for advice is the last straw. Calling up Samuel through a séance King Saul gets an answer he didn’t want. Samuel tells Saul the reality that Saul would not admit to; the Lord has left you and has become your adversary. A person without the SPIRIT of God in him cannot be pleasing to God – it could have been so different, but Saul would not acknowledge the work of God in David. It all the attempts and attacks on David – Saul lost.

We will be vexed in our spirits, but let the HOLY SPIRIT do the choosing for you. When we think we should take matters into our own hands, know that we are rebelling against God and what He has brought us to. Trust in the LORD – let HIM finish the work he started in you!

Phil 1:6. …being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Do The Math: 70 X 7

You’ll find links to Russell D. Moore’s blog Moore To The Point in various spots at Thinking Out Loud, but this is the first time he’s been featured here.  This appeared at his blog under the title, What Forgiveness Is And Isn’t.

The most difficult math problem in the universe, it turns out, is 70 x 7. Perhaps the hardest thing to do in the Christian life is to forgive someone who has hurt you, often badly. But Jesus says the alternative to forgiving one’s enemies is hell.

One of the reasons this is hard for us is because we too often assume forgiving a trespasser means allowing an injustice to stand. This attitude betrays a defective eschatology. At our Lord’s arrest (Matt. 26:47-54), Jesus told Peter to put his sword back into his sheath not because Jesus didn’t believe in punishing evildoers (think Armageddon). Jesus told Peter he could have an armada of angelic warriors at his side (and one day he will). But judgment was not yet, and Peter wasn’t judge.

That’s the point.

When we forgive, we are confessing that vengeance is God’s (Rom. 12:19). We don’t need to exact justice from a fellow believer because justice has already fallen at the cross. We don’t need to exact vengeance from an unbeliever because we know the sin against us will be judged in hell or, more hopefully, when the offender unites himself to the One who is “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2).

A prisoner of war who forgives his captor or a terminated pastor who forgives a predatory congregation, these people are not overlooking sin. Nor are they saying that what happened is “okay” or that the relationships involved are back to “normal” (whatever that is). Instead they are confessing that judgment is coming and they can trust the One who will be seated on that throne.

You don’t have to store up bitterness, and you don’t have to find ways of retaliation for what’s been done to you. You can trust a God who is just. If you won’t forgive, if you refuse to rest in God’s judgment without seeking to retaliate, it doesn’t matter what your evangelistic tracts and prophecy charts say. When it comes to the gospel and the to the end times, you’re just another liberal.

~Russell D. Moore