The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor[.]

Isaiah 61-63

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor[.] Isaiah 61:1-2, Luke 4:18-19

I continue my deep dive of Isaiah, based on the Precept Upon Precept study series.  My study of Isaiah moves on to day 2 (of 5) of week 22, which looks at Isaiah 61-63.  Day 2 focuses on a more detailed examination of Isaiah 61. Core to an examination of Isaiah 61 is how we see a prophecy of not just Israel's redemption from Assyria (who took northern kingdom captive during the middle of Isaiah's ministry) and Babylon (who took the southern kingdom captive well after the end of Isaiah's ministry), but also a Messianic prophecy and how Jesus Christ comes to redeem all of humanity from their sins. My study refers me to Luke 4:13-21, and urges a comparison to Isaiah 61:1-2.  This comparison reveals that in Luke 4, Jesus is early in His ministry and in Nazareth reading from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue.  Jesus reads everything from Isaiah 61:1-2 except how the anointed one will proclaim vengeance.  This is important because Jesus's ministry was not one that was expected in terms of a an earthly conquering king, but of a King who's mission was to defeat sin and death, and to provide hope and salvation for all of humanity, not just Israel.

It is important for us to recognize how vengeance is the Lord's - He is the judge.  This should both give us fear (in our own lives for the sin we commit) and peace (that others will face justice for the sins they commit). 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is Judge - this should serve as a preservative for me to not commit sin, and as peace that all will be repaid for the sin they commit.  Thank You Jesus for these blessings.  I am not deserving of Your Justice, grace, salvation, etc. My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.

Proverbs 22:17-24:34

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done. Proverbs 24:28-29

I continue with my study of Proverbs, specifically in week 8 from my study workbook, which focuses on Proverbs 22:17-24:34.  The three final questions from the study for this week focus on exhortations to (1) avoid partiality in justice and to love your neighbor as yourself (Proverbs 24:23b, James 2:1-13, and John 13:34); (2) build a foundation for a Godly life based on "losing your life" in terms of being prepared to lose those things in our earthly life where we should not place more faith than God himself - this includes our own physical life, family, health, wealth, etc. (Proverbs 24:27, Luke 14:25-33); and (3) not take revenge on others but instead leave justice to God, and in its place focus on loving others, including those who either do us harm, or intend/seek to do so (Proverbs 24:28-29, Leviticus 19:18, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:29-31, Matthew 5:43-48).  In particular, the message to love others and to not take revenge is certainly a message our country can use right now...

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - even as I was still sinning, an enemy and hostile to You, You saved me...thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of my salvation nor any of the blessings You pour out for me.  My sin is great and it continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 Leviticus 24

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:17-21

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter twenty-one - In God's Presence  - covering Leviticus 24:1-23, looking specifically at the fourth theme for the chapter - We Respond to People Graciously.  Here, the commentary theme for today examines Leviticus 24:17-23 and what Bible scholars refer to as the law of retaliation.  While modern culture sees revenge as commonplace, often using the words written here by Moses (eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc.), the commentary strongly encourages us to see justice as belonging to the Lord.  The commentary states: "First, God did not give the authority of retaliation to individuals, but to all His people, the nation of Israel.  The New Testament teaches the same truth--punishing lawbreakers is the role of the government, not individuals.  Second, in the cultures surrounding Israel, "vicious revenge was the general rule".  Laws like those in Leviticus 24 limited punishment and fitted punishment exactly to the crime.  If someone injured another person, the guilty party was not put to death; he was made to suffer in some way that was equivalent.....Whatever the government may do in response to wrongdoing, individual followers of Jesus don't take revenge.  We turn the other cheek....Jesus did not retaliate.  Neither should we. The commentary refers us to the following scriptures to reinforce the point that "retaliation does not belong to individuals:

• Romans 13:1-7
• Matthew 5:38-41
• Romans 12:17-21

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1-7

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My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You alone are judge and authority over all, including earthly authorities that You place in our lives.  You are full of mercy and compassion for me as I know I have sinned and the wages of sin are death - yet You continue to spare me despite my sin - thank You Jesus!  I am certainly not deserving of the grace You pour out on me...every single day.  I have sin of worry, etc.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.