Remember the Levite whose concubine was murdered horribly, so he sent a message to all of Israel? Well, Israel gathers to hear his testimony, and they end up going to war with the tribe of Benjamin. (the city of Gibeah where the atrocity happened belonged to Benjamin). This civil war should have been avoidable, but Benjamin was unrepentant regarding their sin, and Israel knew the evil had to be purged.
“Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And the people of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, ‘Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?’ And the Lord said, ‘Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.’ ” (v26-28)
Israel loses two consecutive battles against Benjamin, and before going into the third battle, they finally get it right – they fast, pray, make sacrifices to God (atone), and ask for His guidance, which they had only partially done earlier. Once Israel has fully respected and remembered God, submitting themselves under His authority, He then promises to deliver Benjamin into their hands (enact justice).
I have found myself in similar circumstances – not the civil war part, but charging headlong into a situation without first aligning myself to God. Did it matter that I was “right” to be angry about some injustice? Did it matter that the other party was “wrong” and needed correction? Yes, but was it my place to be judge, jury and executioner, or is it God’s place?
Only when I (and Israel) surrender all power and authority under God’s will, does He allow us to aid Him in His fight against injustice (notice it’s “His fight” and “we join Him”, not “Him joining us” in “our fight”). Sometimes it seems, there isn’t a fight at all, and God simply allows the injustice to happen (temporarily). We are not always sure why God allows certain things to happen, though we know He is sovereign, and ultimately people will stand before Him in judgement for what they have done here on earth.
My encouragement for today is to submit all of our words and actions under the sovereignty and authority of God. I know that’s way easier said than done. Jesus said “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.” If Jesus encourages us to humbly remain under God’s leadership, who are we to argue? Jesus consistently modeled submission to the Father – if He, being God the Son, submitted to God the Father, then clearly we should also submit.
Father God, our High and Sovereign King, righteous and mighty are Your words and deeds. Father Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and Your words are higher than our words, so please help us to remember that. We need the Spirit’s guidance in order to properly submit to Your authority and leadership in our lives. Please help us to wait upon You, for Your justice and Your will. When someone seemingly “gets away with it”, please help us to remain submitted to You, knowing that You will judge all unrighteousness in Your timing. Father please help us to not contribute to the injustices in this world, to remain fully rooted in You, modeling the heart of Jesus in all that we say and do. In the name of our Savior and Redeemer Jesus, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training