“They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, And ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: And the plague brake in upon them. Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: And so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness Unto all generations for evermore. They angered him also at the waters of strife, So that it went ill with Moses for their sakes: Because they provoked his spirit, So that he spake unadvisedly with his lips.”
Psalm 106:28-33 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.106.28-33.KJV
Undeserved Mercies
When someone hurts you or, worse, hurts somebody that you love, revenge can seem appealing. After all…
They were mean.
They were selfish.
They talked behind your back.
They broke a vital promise.
They lied about you.
They criticized you.
They ignored you.
They did the unthinkable.
They walked away.
They deserve to be punished, right? To feel some of that same pain? They deserve a consequence that will not only help them learn, but will be just as severe as the inflicted wounds.
And yet—because God sees things differently, both His standards and tactics can be surprising. And that’s why the apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Thessaloniki, said:
“See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NLT
Paul’s words sound a lot like Jesus’ words—to love your neighbor as yourself; to do to others what you’d like them to do to you. (See: Matthew 22:38-40)
God’s ways ...