the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people (Leviticus 19:18).
When we read the Scriptures, we find that forgiving others is a commandment, not an option. There are no exceptions. The above verse implies that a wrong was committed which might lead to grudge-bearing. The transgressor's attitude is not mentioned. Likewise, verse 17 (the verse before the one quoted) emphasizes the necessity of rebuking while not hating—but doesn't mention the offender's response. No matter what the response, the commandment to forgive stands.
How, then, should we act toward unrepentant offenders after we forgive them? Rabbi Sha'ul (Saul; i.e., Paul) tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 that it is possible to forgive someone, and yet choose not to spend time with him. In other words, there is a world of difference between unforgiveness, which is a sin, and tough love which is sometimes a necessity.
Grudge-holding takes a terrible physical, emotional and spiritual toll. Man was never meant to carry bitterness. Yeshua's words about these "torments" in Matthew 18:34-35 are echoed by the rabbis, who say in the Talmud, "The man who declines to forgive ...becomes the guilty party, and God's anger is turned away from the other and directed toward him." Certainly, many lack peace and wholeness today because they fail to obey the crucial Torah commandment, "Don't take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people."
...choose to forgive all who have offended me.
MW
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
