RIGHTEOUS ANGER & HUMILITY
Have you ever prayed for something, and things have gone from bad to worse?
You would agree that the Bible teaches much on the sanctity of life, and that sexual immorality is a sin. So, if I pray to see, say, abortion, sexual immorality, euthanasia, or embryo research eradicated or diminished in Derby, or the government abandoning such plans in legislation, then we could expect our prayers to be answered, because this aligns with God's word. Right?
This is what Israel thought when they learnt of the sexual immorality in Gibeah of the Benjamites (Judges 19).
Israel had decided on its own that something needed to be done and to punish the Gibeahites for what they had done (Judges 20:9, 10). They got together, and united as one man against the city of Gibeah (v11), then they confronted the Benjamites with the facts and demanded they hand over the culprits (v12, 13). When their requests were denied, they sought God to determine who should lead the attack, (v18) failing to obtain a battle strategy from Him. They didn't want counsel from the Lord; they had already made up their mind that one tribe would lead the attack. We sometimes pray like this, giving God a couple of our options and expecting Him to choose which one we should follow. God's permissive will was for them to fight the Benjamites, but in this case, Israel lost 22,000 men (v21).
After Israel's defeat, they encouraged one another and again took up their same positions as on the first attack (v22), before thinking of weeping before the Lord because of the losses they had sustained. Do we do the same? They sought God's face, but out of pain and frustration that their earlier mission had failed. (v23). The result was that Israel lost a further 18,000 men (v25).
After the second attack failed, all the men of Israel (not just the army) wept before the Lord, fasted and presented offerings (v26). They recognized they were not without sin. Note also, that this time, all of Israel came before the Lord at Bethel (House of God) to weep (v26). This time, the Lord gave the Israelites a battle timetable – tomorrow they would be successful in their attack (v28), and a strategy (v32 – 34). This time, Israel lost only 30 men (v31), whilst Benjamin lost 25,100 men (v35).
Israel learnt some valuable lessons: 1) However angry they might be at the loose state of morals they witnessed, they needed to maintain a close relationship with the Lord and gain His strategy; 2) They needed clean hearts themselves; 3) They learnt that Godly sorrow leads to salvation, whereas their own anger led only to death. We, too, can learn from Israel's experiences:
What should we do when our seemingly righteous prayers go unanswered? Ask a few questions:
I) Am I humbly seeking God's heart over this issue, or am I telling Him what He should do?
II) Am I sorrowful about this issue, and seeking God's righteousness and truth to be known into this area, or am I just angry and frustrated?
III) Am I impeding God's handiwork in this situation by harbouring sin in my own life?
