Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Ancient Israel is in chaos! King David has fled the palace, and his son has taken the throne. In this chaos, a traitor emerges, his name is Ahithophel, and he was David's advisor, but switches sides and begins advising Absalom. His advice is astonishing.
Let's recap.
1. Ahithophel tells Absalom that he should go and erhm David's concubines. This way Israel can see that David has been insulted beyond reconciliation. This would then cause them to back Absalom. Absalom did that, and he did it with a tent on the roof so that all might see that tent and know what was going down. (2 Samuel 16:15-23)
2. Ahithophel tells Absalom that he should let him take 12'000 men and run David down that night while he's tired and discouraged. He says he would only kill the king, and return the people like a bride returns to her husband. Like a bride returning to her husband eh? Hold that thought. (2 Samuel 17:1-4)
3. Ahithophel's advice was not followed the second time... Hmm, well, so it goes, a king has a mind of his own, nothing persona.....wait a sec...Ahithophel when realizing that he didn't get to kill David hung himself. What the...? Why? (2 Samuel 17:23)
Well, remember David's very bad no good situation with Bathsheba? That was a big sin, and the ramifications went further than just David, Bathsheba, and her poor husband. Imagine this. You raise a son, you pour into him, and raise him the ways of God as you understand them. For over 15 years you raised him, and you strive for a great prosperous family line. A line of blessing. Your son grows up, and he finds himself the love of his life. They start a life together, and they have a beautiful girl. Now you're a grandpa. Your granddaughter is the most beautiful girl in the Kingdom. You watch her grow into a beautiful woman. You watch your granddaughter meet the love of her life, and start a life together, yes, the generations of family blessing are going well, but then, the king notices your granddaughter Bathsheba... Yes, you read that right. Ahithophel was Bathsheba's grandpa! (2 Samuel 11:3 and 2 Samuel 23:34) What would you do to such a king?
There are 2 types of things at play in the text above as spoken by Jesus, there are physical things and inward things. let's break them down.
The physical.
1. Human life is sacred. Don't murder people.
2. Insults. Don't call someone an "air-headed idiot." I admit that is tempting sometimes...
We understand those physical acts as being wrong. It's ingrained in any of us who have the slightest interest in God's ways. Now, what about that inward thing in between those 2 things? That inward thing has to do with anger, being provoked by a fellow person in your life which I believe is what "brother" means here. Yet, it's not just any anger, it's an anger that has no good reason for existing. It's anger "without cause". So, this is how I see it. In the case of Ahithophel, the cause was David's sin. There was righteous anger to be had/felt over David's sin, and at David for agreeing with this sin. Then, that cause was dealt with. Yet, Ahithophel's anger at David remained. Now, it was personal. He hated David the person. It was this personal anger at another person that was at the root of the matter. Given time to fester, it boiled over with the loss of life. This anger got Absalom killed. Can you imagine the power of Ahithophel's counsel had he given a cautionary word to Absalom and advised against revolting against David? Perhaps Absalom would have listened. Perhaps not, but, history doesn't show us that, because, Ahithophel's personal cause-less anger remained, long after the anger with cause's time had passed. This anger eventually and ultimately destroyed the carrier of it.
No matter how grievously I have been wronged by any one person, there is never a good/healthy reason to carry a kind of anger towards that person that involves that person directly. This kind of anger is self-destructive. It doesn't work. A just/righteous anger handled in obedience to the will of God is a whole different matter. That would be anger with cause. Other words might be, "moral outrage" "righteous indignation" etc. When the anger crosses from a focus on appropriately dealing with the cause and focus on hatred for a person made by God, that's where a line has been crossed. Or, to put it simply, there is such a thing as anger at an act, and there is such a thing as hatred. Really, anger without cause is hatred. Anger at an act can co-exist with love for the "actor." Hatred cannot co-exist with love for the person who is hated.
Let's say you have a gift, and you want to give it to the Lord as a sacrifice. As a Jew, it was some fine animal. As a New-Covenant disciple, it's probably some spiritual gift, maybe a song, a sermon, writing, or any act of service. If in doing this good work, God shows you that not all is right between you and another, then it is the Lord's desire for there to be peace. That peace may mean that you die inside. It might mean that you eat a thing known as "humble pie." It might mean that you choose to love a person whose deeds you desperately hate. It might mean that while your flesh calls out for some dire consequence to fall on him, you choose to do nothing instead. I don't know what it means for you. I don't even know what it means for me yet. All I know is, surrender it, and with that, this has been...
Chapter 17 of Surrender!? To Who?
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