Victory or Vengeance?

Victory or Vengeance?
Words of Faith 9-17-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

1 Samuel 11
[12] The people then said to Samuel, "Who was it that asked, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring these men to us and we will put them to death." [13] But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the Lord has rescued Israel." [14] Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship." [15] So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

This was Saul's day to shine. It was also his chance to get even. Those who had doubted him were now put to shame. In fact, some were suggesting that those who had criticized Saul and spread seeds of doubt concerning his leadership ability should now be put to death. It was all in his hands now, and this was a common way of putting dissent to rest in the ancient world. But Saul would have nothing of it.
We might call it a stroke of wisdom that Saul could quickly attribute this victory wholly to the Lord and recognize that there was nothing to be gained by the execution of his detractors. This was not a time for vengeful retribution. It was not helpful to get even. Blaming people for past conflict and controversy would serve no purpose. But celebrating the victory of the Lord would serve a great purpose in further uniting the people in a spirit of gratitude.
It is interesting that Saul's son, Jonathan, would later rebuke his father in a comparable situation with similar words. And Saul's words would later echo in a rhetorical question asked by his successor, David, with the result that the life of the miserable Shimei was spared: "Should anyone be put to death in Israel today?" (2 Sam 19:22). For now, Saul chose wisely.
Saul's demonstration of the leadership qualities necessary to be Israel's king led Samuel to call an important meeting "reaffirm the kingship ."This really amounted to a sort of coronation or inauguration.
Centuries later, another leader named Saul would write this advice to the Christian believers in Rome-- Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. [20] On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." [21] Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:19-21). Great wisdom.
The truth is that vengeance is never a motive or action for a true servant of God. Vengeance always steals the victory. Saul of Tish knew this, at least when he started out, just as did Saul of Tarsus centuries later. Someone once said, "You cannot get ahead while you are getting even." So true.

Heavenly Father, help me to leave the past in the past. Give me the grace to forgive and move on. Give me healing to look toward the future rather than the past. Give me the strength to set aside the hurts of the past so that I might enjoy the victories of the day and the hope of the future. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.