Deuteronomy Chapter 23 – Verse 7 (NLT Translation)
Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians.
God made it clear to the people of Israel that they were not to bear a grudge against the Egyptian people. After 400 years of history, it would have been easy to do that. Although God wanted them to remember what He had done for them in bringing them out of captivity in Egypt, they were not to dwell on the way they had been treated there.
We may have read or heard about fictional and real feuds that go on for generations, for example, Romeo and Juliet, or the story of Tony and Maria in “West Side Story.” Sadly, sectarian violence can also be carried on throughout generations too.
God wants His followers to act differently and show forgiveness and mercy in the same way that Jesus has shown mercy and grace to us. Even if we have been treated badly by someone, we should choose to remember God’s goodness to us rather than the way we have been treated.
It’s our choice whether to remember God’s blessings or to dwell on a grudge against someone, but I know which is better for me in the long-term.
Dear Lord,
Just as You choose not to remember the things I have asked forgiveness for, help me never to hold a grudge against others – no matter how I’ve been treated. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.