“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”
Matthew 5:38-39 NKJV
An amazing set of people our world is daily blessed with are children, especially the ones with the knowledge of God. They are beautiful but not without their troubles. I have had to settle fights and many times, when I ask why they fought, I hear the words, “he started it”, and “no, she started it”. Usually, it starts with one child doing something hurtful either to be naughty or as a mistake. The other child gets offended and then retaliates, thus leading to much more. In situations like this, I have heard myself tell children that — “an eye for an eye makes the world go blind”. Many of them find it funny after I explain how it’s better we don’t all go blind.
WHY?
Jesus went up to the mountain (Matthew 5:1) and began to teach the people. He started with the Beatitudes then in the middle of his Sermon on the Mount, He declared, “You have heard that” a number of times. When Jesus said they had heard that an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, he was quoting the Old Testament Scriptures, not worldly principles:
“If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
Exodus 21:22-25 NKJV
“If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him — fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.”
Leviticus 24:19-20 NKJV
“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established… And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you… Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
Deuteronomy 19:15, 18-19, 21 NKJV
The above principles were structures put in place for the sake of justice, not revenge. They were corporate consequences for sins to deter people from practicing evil, especially during the period God ruled Israel directly through judges and priests. We know God has always been against revenge or personal vendetta from His Word.
“Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.”
Deuteronomy 32:35 NKJV
“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19 NKJV
Jesus was not saying they should not seek justice. They had begun to use the Bible phrase as an excuse but Jesus stressed that evil can only be overcome by good, not evil. Then how are issues of justice to be handled today?
“For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.”
Romans 13:3-4 NKJV
Hence, in our time it is not a theocentric government that bears sway but institutions ordained by God that seek to enact justice and the various constitutions serving as rule of order for their jurisdictions.
However, what about the passages that seem to rain curses?
THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS
As my mind pondered on God being the ultimate judge and Jesus’ instructions to bless those who curse us, my mind was plagued with the thoughts of the Psalms filled with intense curses upon evil people in scriptures. They are called imprecatory psalms — Psalms 5; 35; 58; 69; 109; 137. Here are some examples of the curses:
“Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually. Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents. For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded. Add iniquity to their iniquity, And let them not come into Your righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, And not be written with the righteous.”
Psalms 69:23-28 NKJV
These words are not mere outbursts of anger from David. They are God’s promises (or covenant curses) for the wicked. Many can be traced back to Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26. They are another evidence to prove that God is as just as He is loving. The New Testament writings are not exempt from these “curses”; passages like Matthew 23, Matthew 25:41, Acts 13:9-11, and 1 Corinthians 16:22 share covenant curses/repercussions for the unjust and wicked.
It is very easy to assume that these curses apply to only my enemies and not to me but the Holy Spirit reminds me daily that I was God’s enemy, unloving to other humans until Jesus came into my life. These curses are both comforting and dreadful; no wonder we are warned not to laugh at the misfortune of our enemies.
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.”
Proverbs 24:17-18 NKJV
This is a high calling. It is contrary to our being; it is a supernatural call to be like the Father in heaven.
PERFECT LIKE MY FATHER
Since we are to turn the other cheek when we are slapped, pray for those who curse us, is Jesus encouraging passivity in the face of evil? Should we do nothing as evil prevails? NO!
“Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
Proverbs 31:8-9 NKJV
“Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.”
Isaiah 1:17 NKJV
“Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.”
Psalms 82:3-4 NKJV
As we seek justice, Jesus calls us to also be merciful. If there are opportunities to win the soul of a wicked man to God, we should utilise such. While we were sinners, God loved us; the Holy Spirit kept impressing upon our hearts the goodness of God in various ways. We deserved death and are hopeless on our own but God showed and still shows mercy.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV
I would let the following passage from the book, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, speak to our hearts, to show us how to attain such height of love foreign to our natural selves.
The children of God are those who are partakers of His nature. It is not earthly rank, nor birth, nor nationality, nor religious privilege, nor denomination which proves that we are members of the family of God; it is love, a love that embraces all humanity. Even sinners, whose hearts are not utterly closed to God’s Spirit, will respond to kindness; while they may give hate for hate, they will also give love for love. BUT IT IS ONLY THE SPIRIT OF GOD THAT GIVES LOVE FOR HATRED. To be kind to the unthankful and to the evil, to do good hoping for nothing again, is the insignia of the royalty of heaven, the sure token by which the children of the Highest reveal their high estate.
(Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 75, para. 2)
To love with no strings attached, to give without expecting anything in return, to respond in meekness when treated harshly — these and more are what God intends that we become. These show that we are His children and He desires to do this work in us through His Holy Spirit but we must ask.
Would you?
Little Tittles 
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