Vengeance is Not Yours
Good Morning. We often have heard this quote, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. What you do to me, I’ll do it back to you.” If you haven’t heard it, don’t worry about it, I’m an old head. LOL! I feel like the world is rampant with this mindset right now. When you turn on the new, all you see is people dying by the hands of others. No one values life anymore.
I was reading Judges 15 this morning. Samson had the same mindset as some of us do now. I’m going to give you some context on this passage of scripture. Samson returned home one day to find that the father of his wife had married her off to his best friend. Instead of Samson finding himself another wife or marrying the younger sister that the father offered, he went on a killing spree. He killed many Philistines because of the actions of one man. The men he killed had nothing do with it. How many of us condemn others for the actions of one person? I’m just saying.
After Samson killed these men, he went into Judah to hide in a cave. Why go into the hiding when you did the wrong? That’s what we do. We do not want to bear the consequences of our actions. The thing about wrongdoing is that it doesn’t just affect you, it affects the ones that love and care about you. The Philistines set up camp outside the town of Judah because of the actions of Samson. Again, here are people that had nothing to do with it. The people of Judah captured Samson and took him to the Philistines. When placed in front of the Philistines, God gave Samson a great amount of strength to break the ropes binding him. Samson killed 1,000 men with the jawbone of a donkey that day.
Instead of thanking God for this miraculous feat, he boasted about what he had done. How many of us get into situations that God deliver us out of, yet never recognize God’s role in it? Samson never acknowledged God, but ended up calling on God because he was thirsty. God caused water to gush out of a hollow in the ground of Lehi. Here is another example of God’s goodness. God could have easily denied Samson’s request. Because of God’s unfailing love for him, he still answered Samson’s cry of help.
He does the same for us all the time. I know there have been situations that I have been in that God had to deliver me out of. Never fail to thank God for what he does for you. Think about your actions before you do them. Ask yourself, “Is this offense really that bad? Is it worth the consequences that come with it?” Romans 12:19 (NLT) says, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.” God’s got you. Leave it all to him. Have a Blessed Day!