Moses and the Israelites were
camped at Kadesh and on their way to the Promised Land. But in
order to reach the Promised Land they had to pass through Edom.
Moses sent a friendly message to the King of Edom and asked him if
they can pass through. Now the Edomites were relatives of the
Israelites. The Edomites descended from Jacob's twin brother Esau.
They were family so to speak. And now the Israelites simply wanted
to pass through their land on friendly terms. They even promised
that they will not go through their fields and vineyards, but that
they will stay on the king's road and even pay if some of their
life stock drink of their water. The poor Israelites have been
through some hardship and one would expect family to assist where
they can, but the King of Edom replied:
"Stay out of my land or I will meet
you with an army!" Numbers 20:18
Moses pleaded with him again and
asked that they merely wanted to pass through, that was all. But
the King of Edom remained adamant that they must stay out of his
land. How terrible to treat your own family like that, after all
that they've been through, was it too much to ask? And what did
Moses do? Did he retaliate? Did he tell the King of Edom just what
he thought of him? Did he muster his army to fight? No, he was wise
in knowing that retaliating was not worth the consequences. He
turned the Israelites around and they had to move around the
country of Edom.
Today we need to be wise as well in
knowing when to stand up for what is right and when to turn the
other cheek. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek in Matthew
5:39:
"But I say, don't resist an evil
person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other,
too."
But interestingly enough when Jesus
was slapped in the face during His trial, He didn't turn the other
cheek, instead He said:
"If I said anything wrong, you must
give evidence for it. Should you hit a man for telling the truth?"
John 18:23
Now for me it is plain to see that
Jesus is saying, you should turn the other cheek in humility and
not retaliate, but one need to stand up for what is right if needs
be. He wasn't given a fair trial, in fact everything concerning His
trial was illegal and dishonest and here He exposed them for
it.
The lesson for me is that we
shouldn't retaliate. We should stop and consider the consequences.
We should breathe in deeply and sleep over it if need be, and then
we need to think carefully before we act. Of course we should stand
up for what is right and stand for the truth of the Word if that is
attacked, but we should refrain from getting even. Jesus could
easily have wiped out the entire Roman army and the Jewish leaders
if He wanted to for the unfair way in which He had been treated.
But He didn't. He stood for the truth and He was true to His
Father's Word, but He never retaliated. And we shouldn't either. We
must leave the judgment to Him, when He comes to rule the
world.
Father God, please give us the
patience and the self control not to retaliate, even if we have
been treated unfairly. Give us also the wisdom to stand up for what
is right and to stand for the truth of Your Word if it is attacked.
In Jesus' Name. Amen