Et too
“Vengeance and retribution belong to Me; in due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near; and the things prepared are hurrying for them.” Deuteronomy 32:35
In Due Time – God will avenge. Great! When? “In due time.” So, what time is that? Coming to terms with the way God deals with retribution is not always easy because God’s view of “due time” is often quite far removed from our view.
The Hebrew, le et, is entirely contextual. You see, the basic Hebrew word for time, et, is really not very specific. It can mean a specific time of occurrence, or a general sense of time, or a specific date, or a part of a day, or a duration of time in the past, present or future. The famous passage in Ecclesiastes uses this word nineteen times (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3). In general, the Hebrew view of time is given its context from the perspective of the author. So, et can designate the “proper” time in Proverbs and be used for an “uncertain” time in Ecclesiastes (see 9:11). This is a very flexible word indeed.
That doesn’t make us feel very good when it comes to dealing with those who abuse us. We would like God to use et in the same sense that we expect a speedy trial and verdict. We don’t want retribution to be delayed. But, of course, we don’t see things from God’s perspective. If we were to execute vengeance with summary dispatch, there is no telling how much chaos we would ultimately cause in the moral governance of the universe. It’s so much better to leave it in God’s hands!
However, if we leave it in God’s hands, that means we are required to wait until He decides it is due time. For Abraham, that was 400 years. For the coming of the Messiah, it was thousands. While God is never late, His version of “due time” often arrives long after we are gone from the scene. The patience of Job is not simply a virtue. With God, it is a requirement!
Of course, sometimes the verdict is instantaneous. Nebuchadnezzar discovered in an instant that pride comes before a mighty fall. So did Ananias and Sapphira. Others experienced some reprieve. Lot and his family, David and Bathsheba, Tamar and Judah, Jonah, Peter and Paul all knew God’s retribution delayed in order to bring about repentance or rescue. When we think about it, most of us are probably in this camp. We really are glad that God doesn’t execute revenge immediately. Since we are in desperate need of His delay, maybe we need to take the same view toward those who are our enemies. They deserve the same et too.
The lesson embedded in this critical verse in the Torah is this: I either trust that God is indeed sovereign and is fully in charge of justice in the world, or I deny God’s sovereignty and decide to act as my own avenger. If I allow God the right to be God, then I am assured that the evil will be punished, but I am not given any right to expect it now. Unless God specifically provides for social justice according to His laws, I will have to wait, remembering that waiting is a function of grace, for me and for my enemies. God guarantees the what and the when, in due time.
Topical Index: Justice
