Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

REPRISALS During his rule, Adolf Hitler ordered every tenth person shot in two villages near Warsaw, Poland. This massacre was in reprisal for the deaths of two German soldiers. Reprisal was a common practice of the mad dictator who in just a few short years plunged the tranquil country of Germany into bloody war. History will long remember the brutal behavior of Hitler and those like him who without mercy murdered innocent victims. Blatant disregard for God and one's fellowman demands justice and judgment. Often when we read about God's judgment, we shrink back from it. It seems to make God sound so cruel and heartless. However, we must remember God deals with man in the direction he is going. To those who love, He says, "Follow me." To those who hate, He says, "The soul that sins, it shall die." Ezekiel, in his brief prayer (Ezekiel 9), questioned God about mercy mixed with judgment. Even though the evil ones deserved all the judgment they were to receive, still Ezekiel prayed for them. Evil must and will be punished, and we can rest assured God will deal justly. Yet it would be well for us to have Ezekiel's compassion for our accusers and those who hate our Lord. Judgment will come, but may we pray that God will have mercy on those who repent.