2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
This morning, I am led to continue our discussion of the traits of a kinsman-redeemer. Those already presented are: 1) He must be a blood relative; 2) He must be able to pay the price of redemption; 3) He must desire to redeem; 4) He must be willing to redeem; 5) He must be the judicial executioner of his relative’s murderer. There is still more that the Spirit gives me to say about 5). The reason for such a lengthy discussion on this issue is because the issue of murder is such an emotionally charged one that God’s will must be carefully presented for accurate understanding of it.
Because forgiveness requires the shedding of blood [LV 17: 11 & HE 9: 22], the kinsman-redeemer who is to be the murderer’s judicial executioner is also a “blood avenger.” This term as well as “judicial executioner” indicate the taking of a life for a life in a very orderly and lawful way. This is not one murder to cover over another. As I said previously, modern methods of judicial execution (e.g. lethal injection) are much more humane than crucifixion or other methods used in the past. They are also carried out only after the accused has had plenty of opportunity to defend himself in the court system.
Christ is our Blood Avenger against Satan, the father of all lies and murderer of the human spirit [JN 8: 44]. So that REV 20: 10 is the description of this murderer’s execution. “Then the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” One question that gets raised in any discussion of this sort is: Should we ever take revenge against those who do wrong against us ourselves? God makes His will crystal clear on this matter. RO 12: 17-21, “If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God’s wrath do it. For the Scripture [DT 32: 35] says, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay back, says the Lord.’ Instead, as the Scripture [PR 25: 21-22] says: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will make him burn with shame.’ Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.” Let’s look at the actual words from the DT reference here. DT 32: 35, “The Lord will take revenge and punish them; the time will come when they will fall; the day of their doom is near.” The meaning cannot be clearer: punishment is God’s right and should be done by His instructions. Chaos and anarchy have no part in this. Because of God’s reasons for establishing Israel in the first place, His concern is the spiritual blight of the land by further disobedience to Him. That is why the judicial execution of a premeditated murderer must be carried out. When we understand God and His purpose, we no longer have to say that OT instructions are barbaric.
We must also remember why laws, including God’s Law, was instituted in the first place. 1 TIM 1: 9-11, “It must be remembered, of course, that laws are made, not for good people, but for lawbreakers and criminals, for the godless and sinful, for those who are not religious or spiritual, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the immoral, for sexual perverts, for kidnappers, for those who lie and give false testimony or who do anything else contrary to sound doctrine. That teaching is found in the Gospel that was entrusted to me to announce, the Good News from the glorious and blessed God.” What is God trying to do? To bring order out of the chaos that evil behavior causes. The sad case in our society is that the balance between reasonable leniency and the need to find suitable punishment for a crime has been so muddied that we often err on the side of too much leniency. That is why criminals with a long “rap sheet” of crime after crime are not kept incarcerated when they should be. It is why the rights of the perpetrator are often more important to lawyers than the rights of the victim. Such wrongdoers go free, placing others in jeopardy. One such case that comes to mind is that of a man who was placed in prison for domestic violence against his wife. All during his imprisonment, he wrote her threatening letters telling her he would kill her when he got out. These letters should have been never allowed to leave the prison, and action to stop them should have been taken. After several years, this man was examined by prison psychologists and brought up before a parole hearing. He was judged to be rehabilitated by them and released. Two weeks later, he murdered his wife. Where was God’s wisdom in this? It has always been there, but the people in charge of this prisoner never used it.
This leads us to the issue of God’s judgment against the wicked, which will be subject of a continuation of this discussion in tomorrow’s message. When we know God’s will and are willing to keep an open channel of prayer with Him, we place ourselves in a much better position not to make mistakes like the one mentioned above. Meditate today on how the orderly carrying out of God’s law would impact today’s society and our individual lives. This is truly food for thought and prayer.
PRAYER: O Lord, how much easier our lives would be if Satan had not deceived Adam and Eve! And yet, our reality must be met where it is. Mankind’s nature is to be sinful. You do not leave us abandoned and without guidance on how to deal with this problem. With great emotional and spiritual courage, You sacrificed Your only begotten Son on the cross, so that salvation could be made possible with our repentance and faith in Him. You also give us the gift of the Holy Scriptures, Your Spirit to help us understand them, and prayer, so we can get direct instructions from You according to Your will. The process of Your attempts to civilize mankind continue, sadly with mixed results. Because You had the courage to yield up a portion of Your power so we could have free agency, two results happened: 1) You enabled Yourself to know whether a person was choosing to believe in You and 2) You knowingly opened Yourself to the possibility of being disappointed when a person chooses a sinful lifestyle rejecting You. We acknowledge that You are a just God, Who loves His children dearly. That is why You can be badly disappointed when one of Your creation goes wrong and refuses to ever acknowledge Your sovereignty and right to have them obey You. PS 73: 22-28 expresses the contents of our hearts today. “I was as stupid as an animal; I did not understand you [when I lived in sin]. Yet I always stay close to You and You hold me by the hand. You guide me with Your instruction and at the end You will receive me with honor. Who else do I have in heaven but You? Since I have You, who else could I want on earth? My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my strength; He is all I ever need.” With humble confession of our sins and eternal thanks and praise, we present ourselves to You today. In Christ’s name, amen.
JN 14: 21 reveals who we are in our personal relationship with the Father and the Son. “Whoever accepts My commandments and obeys them is the one who loves Me. My Father will love whoever loves Me; I too will love him and reveal Myself to him.” We are so richly blessed when we live “in Christ,” having lives of faith, purity, and holiness. Such lives would be impossible without the profound love that our Father has for us. We must thank Him every day for that by obeying His commands. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn