the Fourth Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
The Egyptians tried to flee, but Adonai swept them into the sea (Exodus 14.27).
How easy and natural it is to rejoice when our enemies suffer misfortune, especially if it comes to them when they are in the midst of acting against us. Rabbinic literature records an aggadah (popular legend) that when the ministering angels in heaven saw the Egyptians drowning, they began to rejoice. God, however, rebuked them and said, "The works of my hands are perishing, so why are you rejoicing?"
We must always remember that even those we do not get along with are made in God's image. The Messiah died for them no less than he died for us. We are told to pray for them, not rejoice at their suffering. In this way we will be like our Father in heaven. "For if we were reconciled with God through his Son's death when we were enemies, how much more will we be delivered by his life, now that we are reconciled!" (Romans 5:10)
...ask the Lord to help me see others through his eyes, to love my enemies just as God loves me.
RP
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.
