Observation: As the Lord continues to list those elements Israel must not do - some repeated or reinforced from before, others as clarification, and some new - he specifically says "don't seek vengeance". In other places, there is clarification about how judgment retribution belong to the Lord, but not so here. Instead, the statement is simple - don't seek vengeance - and the reason is just as simple ... for Yahweh says so.
In this chapter, 13 times the Lord declares that the entire reason for the laws is that ... he is Yahweh. When the Lord tells you something, that is what you do. There does not need to be a reason. He says to not seek vengeance and don't bear a grudge, but rather love everyone, and that's the end of the debate on that topic.
Application: I have often said this myself, that I will never seek vengeance on those who have wronged me. Yet often I think of what that would look like. This week, I have considered what it would look like to speak against those who publicly wronged my wife, and how my "righteous anger" may manifest.
But clearly, now is the time for surrender to the Lord. This isn't just a matter of not doing something, but I must totally dismiss the idea. I must not even bear the grudge. And this I must do for no reason at all except for the fact the Lord says so. That isn't even about wishing for his judgment in the situation(s), but rather simply ... forgetting about it entirely.
The "why" us less obvious, but it's stated ... we would hate if every mistake we ever made were revisited upon us, so we must love others just as we love ourselves, and simply forget these attacks and insults and lies. Because the Lord says so.
Prayer: Lord, may we surrender our anger to you, because you tell us to. Amen.
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