“Vengeance and payback are mine
for the time when their foot slips;
for the day of their calamity is coming soon,
their doom is rushing upon them.”
-Deuteronomy 32:35
I finished up my last post by talking about how the Lord used the imagery of a storehouse being sealed up by its owner as a metaphor for how He has sealed up His judgement for Israel’s enemies at a later time.
This type of imagery would have been quite familiar to the folks who lived in Bible times.
During those days, a powerful landowner or king would seal the latches that locked his storehouses with an official signet ring or waxed stamp.
This would serve as a warning to anyone who might have been toying with the idea of breaking into the storage facilities that they were protected by a person of great power and…
…that if he did break into the storehouse there would be serious hell to pay.
Throughout both the OT (Only Testament) and the New Testament there are tons of places that talk about something being “sealed up” by the Lord.
Again, the idea is that what the Lord has predicted is a done deal and there ain’t nothing in the world that can change it.
It’s also one of those things whose timing ONLY the Father knows.
Even Yeshua acknowledged this when he admitted “But when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels in heaven, not the son, only the Father“.
Again, it is this idea of “stored anger” that is being expressed here in verse 35 when the Lord says He’s gonna open up His personal storehouse filled with His Wrath and unleash it unto those who rightfully deserve it.
And why?
Because “vengeance” is reserved for Him and Him alone.
Okay, we’ve just encountered another key Biblical word that pops up a lot in the Scriptures.
However, I have to inform you that the English word “vengeance” is a poor translation from the original Hebrew word being used here which is NAKAH.
I gather a lot of Christians are quite familiar with this verse because of the popular phrase “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord”.
When we think of “vengeance” in English, we get this idea of getting back at someone with great anger and fury.
Since you did this to me, I in turn am gonna do this back to you.
In the context of Deuteronomy Chapter 32, folks normally interpret this passage in the sense that the wicked gentiles who have harmed Israel are going to soon be on the receiving end of God’s avenging Hand as a payback for the evil they have committed.
We’re talking about a kind of “eye for eye” and “tooth for tooth” situation playing out here.
However, this is completely missing the point.
How so?
Well, we’ll talk about that the next time we meet.
See you all next time.
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