“Who through faith…escaped the edge of the sword…And others…were slain with the sword.” The latter in our text had the same faith as the former, yet, while the one escapes the pain and unpleasantries of life, the "others" endure them.
David escaped Goliath’s sword, but eighty-five of God’s innocent priests were slain with Doeg’s sword. And what of James, who was slain by the sword at Herod’s command? Yet, his dear, long-time friend, Peter, escaped the same tyrant’s blade.There is no answer to this dilemma, other than God’s individual plan for each life.
I think Matthew Henry’s statement is pertinent here. He writes, “The swords of men are held in the hand of God.” We must learn to look past the human instrument to the Sovereign Hand that controls it. This way, we can always be assured that though they might have thought it for evil, God meant it for our good.
“God, be thou exalted, and, if need be, do it at my expense.” (A.W. Tozer)
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