Title: You reap what you sow
Judges (19) You reap what you sow (Judges 8:4-17)
< You reap what you sow >
When you look in the mirror and make an angry face, you are reflected in an angry face, and when you make a smiling face, you are reflected in a smiling face. Life unfolds like a mirror. If you are kind to others, others will be kind to you, and if you are bad to others, others will be bad to you. See yourself through the actions of others. When someone is unkind to you, think, “I was unkind to him without my knowledge!”
At first glance, causation and retribution does not seem to be a Christian thought. But think a little deeper. Without the principle of causality, there should be no cross. It was because of the cost of the cross that sinners came to life. Just because I love you, I look at you for free, and just because I forgive you, I don't pass on it for free. There is forgiveness only when you pay a price, and there is love when you pay the price of sacrifice.
You grow as you sow. But why do we sometimes question that principle? Because of timing. If we do good today and receive blessings tomorrow, it is easy to do good, and if we do evil today and be struck by lightning tomorrow, we will stop doing evil. However, since such rewards and retribution are delayed, we take lightly the fact that we reap what we sow, but if we sow today, we will surely reap in God's time someday.
There are many ways to retaliate. It is often thought that it is necessary to inflict harm on the former and receive retribution from the latter later, but in reality, this is not the case. If I betray G, I will not be rewarded for my betrayal by G, but I may be betrayed by E later. They think that there is no retribution because they do not know the principle, but that is an illusion. What you sow so long ago without your knowledge, you often reap now. Knowing the rationale can reduce resentment and complaints.
Today's harvest is no coincidence. What you sow without knowing it will bear fruit today. So, don't complain about no, late or little compensation. 2 Peter 3:9 says this: “The Lord is not slow in His promise, as some consider slowness, but the Lord is patient with you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” If you are grateful for God's delay in recompense, be grateful for God's delay in recompense.
Have you ever done a small good deed and got impatient, hoping for an immediate reward? At that time, if God said, "Then, when you sin, will the punishment be inflicted right away?" How would you respond? It's better to be late. Ultimately, you should be able to feel God's deep love and grace through the delayed blessing. Therefore, be grateful, thinking of the delay in retribution through the delay in compensation. God is a just God. You reap what you sow.
< Retribution and Compensation >
Gideon's three hundred warriors crossed the Jordan River fighting Midian from the Valley of Jezreel. And dragging his weary bodies, he continued to pursue the enemy (verse 4). Then Gideon asked the people of Succoth for bread to eat because they were tired (verse 5). Succoth was a town inhabited by the tribe of Gad, north of the Jabbok River on the east side of the Jordan. Therefore, we should not ignore the suffering of our people who fight the good fight, but we ignored Gideon's request. Gideon was angry at their appearance and said that he would punish them harshly after the victory (verse 7).
Then he went up to Penuel and asked for bread in the same way, but the Penuelians, like the people of Succoth, refused the request (verse 8). Penuel was the city of the tribe of Gad, located about 9 km east of Succoth, as Peniel (Gen. 32:30), where Jacob saw God before crossing the Jabbok River. As their own people, they should have helped Gideon's army, but they turned away. Then Gideon also said to them (verse 9). “When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower.”
On the one hand, the reaction of the people of Succoth and Penuel is understandable. Even though Midian was defeated in the war, he still had doubts about whether Gideon's small army would completely conquer the great army of Midian. As a result of this defeat, one hundred and twenty thousand sword-bearers died, but there were still about 15 thousand remaining soldiers (verse 10). That number is also 50 times that of Gideon's three hundred warriors. Moreover, considering that there were some dead among Gideon's three hundred warriors, the difference will be even greater. Who would expect Gideon's army to win easily in such a situation?
In the end, the war ended with a complete victory for Gideon (verses 11-12). When the leaders of Succoth and the Penuelites heard the news, they struck the ground and regretted it, but it was already too late. In the end, they face a terrible judgment (verses 16-17). You reap what you sow. If you ignore and hurt those who follow God's will and mission as a minority, you will eventually be rewarded appropriately. On the other hand, if you become a holy minority who helps those who follow God's will without focusing on power and numbers, they will eventually receive a proper reward.