Measure for Measure
“For with what judgment
you judge, you shall be judged. And with the same measure you use, it shall be
measured to you.”
(Mat 7:2)
Most of us – at least
us ladies – are well familiar with glass measuring cups that come in all shapes
and sizes. For the most part, the one
side is measured in ounces, cups, pints and quarts; while the other side is
metric, in milliliters, liters,
and on up. We understand when it comes
to doing any baking or cooking the importance of using the correct measurement
that is called for in any given recipe.
Should we fail to do so, disaster is most likely imminent.
However, the concept
of ‘measure for measure’ is one that is typically glossed over in the
westernized church system. We have
seldom had it explained to us – in black and white – that there will always be consequences to our actions,
both good and bad. If you are a joyful,
spontaneous giver, whether of your time of finances, it will be returned to
you. And when our actions are opposite
to the teachings and instructions of Torah, there will come a time when we will
reap a similar action done to us. Let me give you several examples.
My husband and I have
been breeding and raising registered American Quarter Horses for over 25
years. There have been occasions when we
were able to give some of our horses
away, and happy to do so. And yet when
we look in the rear-view mirror, we see where we have also been on the
receiving end, when horses were given to us: ‘measure for measure’.
On the opposite side
of the coin, we have a vivid lesson for us in the Scriptures. Most of us are familiar with the account of
Jacob, while pretending to be his brother Esau, deceived his father Isaac into
giving him the blessing of the first born (see Gen 27). Years later, Jacob was on the receiving end
of a similar deception, practiced by another father, the one who was to become
Jacob’s father-in-law. Again, the
deception involved one who was the first-born child, but instead of losing the
blessing, it returned this first-born (Leah) to her rightful
place (see Gen 29). This entire episode
is a perfect example of the concept of ‘measure for measure’: the deception
that Jacob involved himself in was returned to him in a like manner, in the
same measure.
How does this pertain
to us? Let me throw these ideas out to you: Are you cheating your employer on your
timecard, showing that you worked more hours than you actually did? Be prepared for your employer to short you on
your wages: measure for measure. And what of the time your neighbor
desperately needed help, yet you had a multitude of excuses to be somewhere
else? Do you suppose that parallels the
occasion when you found yourself in a situation where you required another set
of hands, yet there was no one to be found that would help?
‘Measure for
measure’, folks. Other thoughts along
the same line are “what goes around, comes around”, and “what you sow, that you
shall also reap” (Gal 6:7). And I am
sure that if we honestly looked
through the pages of our past, we can vividly see where the principle of
‘measure for measure’ has been played out.
Now, the question remains, did we learn from our mistakes?
"For the Day of Adonai is near for all nations; as you did, it will be done to you; your dealings will come back on your own head." (Oba 1:15 CJB)
“There is one who scatters, yet increases more. And
one who withholds more than is right, But it comes to poverty. The generous being is
enriched, And he who waters is also watered himself.” (Pro 11:24-25)
©2021
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