Occasionally I will be dwelling on a verse or passage, ruminating on the message, (or to be honest, wandering off into some undisciplined daydreaming), and the Lord will bless me with a truth that is so obvious, so fresh and such a blessing that I just want to share it with you.

Such is the following post. The following post describes the Psalmist casting judgement down on his enemy, and the passage is found in the psalms. Get ready, for this guy is fuming, and he is laying out curses fast and furious!

Psalm 109:6-15

6 Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few; may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

The passage you just read is Scripture. How do you read a passage like this? Does your mind lock into a vengeance mode, thinking this fellow deserves judgement, that he must have been a sinner, that he is getting what he deserves, that since God is just, the person described in this psalm must be deserving of this curse?

Just a few psalms later, (Psalms 118) we hear of the steadfast love of God enduring forever. Surely, God has His favorites and the loving mercy of God doesn’t apply to evil men like this “sinner”

After all, the Decalogue, the ten commandments, spoke of obedience to the moral code being required, and since such curses are assailed on the subject, it must mean this sinner performed acts deserving the punishment.

Or, in the final book of the law, in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, the curses of failure in obeying the law are graphically and specifically spelled out. It is a long passage and define the outcome of the one who would disobey the voice of the Lord.

How can we as believers read these passages, and come away thinking we have any hope of walking properly. Either we become judges of everyone who appears to break the moral code of God, (and in so doing become a judge of others, and a hypocrite ourselves), or we simply ignore the strict laws laid out by our God and go on our merry way. Both are unacceptable outcomes for the believer who seeks to please God and to know the truth.

There is One who gave us light and hope in this conflict of understanding. As a matter of fact, He not only resolved this dilemma with His teaching while on earth, He actually used the moral code and the standards expected by God in order for us to be hungry for a solution. If you find these concepts make you a judge, or have hardened you to the point where you ignore the friction the law creates, then understand that you may not be seeking truth, and therefore the solution may not be satisfying.

But, if this seeming conflict of messages in the Old Testament is a sore spot for you, that the harshness of the law and the tender mercy of God seems contradictory, I have good news for you.

Jesus has provided us the outlook on all those we come across. No more deciding who deserves judgement, or who deserves more judgement that another, or that we have to determine any outcome for those we are around. No – there is a simple, all encompassing, never ending, non exclusive, over arching, non determinative, fully functioning, all satisfying and simple statement that He made to give us guidance in all the confusion and complexity of life.

It truly is revolutionary.

Matthew 5:44 … Love your enemies …

It is so freeing to put down the gavel and take up a hammer!

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion.