DEVOTION – DAY 424

Deuteronomy 32:35 “Vengeance Is The Lord’s”

Deuteronomy 32:35 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.”

Although it is natural for someone who had been wronged to want to seek revenge, the Bible reminds us that vengeance is the prerogative of God. We must never take matters into our own hands and demand vengeance. The above verse reminds us that in God’s perfect timing, He will judge those who had been unjust and that His judgment would be swift in His perfect timing. God calls us to love others, even our enemies and people who have wronged us. We are to leave Him to judge and avenge us.

Betty Alden grew up in Qingdao, China. Her father was a missionary. In 1933, she married John Stam. Both served as missionaries in Anhui province. They soon had a baby daughter, Helen. In 1934, they received news that the communist soldiers were advancing on their town. Before they could flee, the soldiers had seized their town. They arrested John, Betty and their daughter Helen. They were held for ransom of US$20,000, but the ransom demands never reached their mission headquarters in Shanghai. John, Betty and Helen were taken to the local prison where some prisoners were released to make room for them. In the process, baby Helen started crying causing a soldier to want to kill her as her cries were irritating the soldiers. One of the newly released prisoners objected to the proposed killing of the baby. The soldiers turned on him and hacked him to death. Helen was allowed to live.

The next day, the prisoners were forced to march 12 miles to the next town. They stopped for a night in a village and Betty was allowed to tend to Helen. Instead, Betty hid her baby daughter inside a sleeping bag. The next morning, in the rush to arrive early in the town, the soldiers forgot about Helen. John and Betty were marched along a street. A Chinese shopkeeper stepped forward to try to persuade the soldiers to free the missionaries. When they asked the man to step back, he refused. In anger, the soldiers then, forced the shopkeeper to march alongside John and Betty. The shopkeeper was a Christian. They were marched to the town square where they were all executed on Dec 6, 1934.

The soldiers were part of the Red Army’s 19th Division under commander Xun Huaizhou. After the executions, the soldiers turned south to join the main Red Army – the 10th Army Group. Part of the 10th Army Group was defeated in a clash with the Nationalist Army on 14 Dec 1934. On 27 Jan 1935, the entire 10th Army Group including commander Xun, were wiped out by the Nationalist forces. Almost everyone who were involved in the execution of John, Betty and the Chinese shopkeeper died. The baby Helen was found on Dec 8, 1934 by a Chinese pastor and at great risk to himself, arranged for the baby to be returned to Betty’s parents. It would appear that her parents’ death was avenged by the Lord.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are just and trustworthy. Thank you for reminding us that vengeance belongs to you and our duty is to love You and one another. Please help us to always remember this. We pray in the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

1. Why do people want to resort to revenge on their own? Discuss.
2. How had God avenged a wrong done to you in the past? Share.
3. Why is it important for us to leave matters to God to judge? Discuss.
4. How does this devotion help you to trust in God? Share.