Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Numbers chapter 31, verse 1.

Yahweh spoke to Moses saying,

seek vengeance for the Israelites on the Midianites.

Afterward, you will be gathered to your people.

The picture I want us to see here, and there's a lot we can talk about that's going on in

this part of numbers, but when we see vengeance here, what is most important to realize

is that it is driven by and ultimately accomplished by. It belongs to God. Vengeance belongs to the Lord.

This is what Romans 1219 says explicitly, that God is the ultimate judge and that God will bring ultimate vindication, that God will bring

ultimate justice, that evil will not go unpunished. Now, there's a sense in which, and we see

this at different points in the Bible, and it's a much, much bigger discussion where God, for example,

in Romans 13, right after Romans a much, much bigger discussion where God, for example, in Romans 13,

right after Romans 12, gives government authority to execute justice, to carry out justice,

to protect and promote the good of people. So there are institutions even set up by God to show his justice in the world. But ultimately, the point is,

all justice, vengeance, punishment, belongs to God. And this is huge as we think about our own

lives, because we can easily be overcome with feelings of vengeance, wanting a desire

for revenge. When we are wronged, we can think, okay, what do I need to do to make that right?

How do I get back at that person? Get back at this or that thing, whatever it is. But this is where we need to realize,

wait a minute, this, this belongs to the Lord and he will make all things right. And he will

bring about judgment on all who deserve it. And so we need to trust in him. Now where God has

given authorities to carry out

his justice, then we work within the realm of those authorities. So if someone has physically wronged

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