Saturday, March 23, 2019 -
“Deliver those who are being taken away to death and those who are staggering to slaughter, O hold them back. If you say, ‘See, we did not know this,’ does He not consider it who weighs hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his works?” – Proverbs 24:11-12
I always considered these verses to be dealing with social justice. I think of those like Cori Ten Boom and others who helped rescue Jews from being taken to death camps, or those who plotted to overthrow or even assassinate Adolph Hitler.
Or, for that matter, this verse most definitely makes the case for the modern rescue movement in terms of saving unborn children from being sacrificed on the altar of convenience at the whim of their parents. Now even the savage governor of Virginia wants mothers to have the right to kill their infants after a successful delivery!
Today, in our Bible study here in our cellblock (for the first time there were six of us today!), I used this verse to back up the point that we are to help our fellow believers who are in need.
I had never thought of these verses, however, from the context of rescuing men and women from the clutches of eternal damnation – the penalty for the sin of every man and woman who fails to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. Only Christ’s shed blood can cleanse us of our sin (I John 1:9). However, this interpretation of this verse was brought to my attention by one of the men in our study, and I believe it a very correct and profound and accurate analysis. Surely they have both physical and spiritual connotations!
So the next time God brings someone across your path who is destined for hell, and you do nothing to rescue him, God will know. Understand, for these verses, there will be a rendering from God. The word render in Hebrew, shūb, means to “turn back,” recall, or withdraw. No doubt, there are serious consequences when we fail to take advantage to rescue those who are stumbling to their own slaughter!