Conflict Resolution - Part One

During the Feast of Trumpets, one of the phrases from the prophetic outlook was that this will be a year of spiritual conflict and God wants to equip us with the wisdom needed to combat those conflicts. In this message, we look at three situations in scripture where humans try to resolve conflict on their own through aggression.

Peter

Peter was known for being very overzealous which actually would get in his way. In Matthew 26:31-36, Jesus tells His disciples that they will be made to stumble because of Him that night, however, Peter pridefully insisted that he was capable of withstanding the conflict that was ahead which sets the stage for the next part of scripture that we went over. In Matthew 26:47-54, Jesus and His disciples are in the garden of Gethsemane when Judas arrives to betray Jesus and have Him arrested. As they were taking Jesus away, Peter draws his sword and cuts of the ear of the High Priest's servant. Peter was trying to defeat this conflict (save Jesus' life) with his own physical strength and aggression, but the reality was, Peter was fighting against what Jesus had already surrender to the Father. He was so “zealous” that he got outside the will of the Father.

Simeon and Levi

In Genesis 34, we see an incident that occurred with Simeon and Levi's sister Dinah. This is a hard part in scripture that shows the emotional battle that we go through as human beings. In this scripture, a prince named Shechem violates Dinah and we see the emotional battle that her family experiences as a result of it. It says that the sons of Jacob were grieved and very angry because he [Shechem] had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done. The anger and grief that they feel are very real human emotions, but they are still responsible for their actions that proceed. We do not see Simeon and Levi going back to consult with God, but instead, they act out of their anger towards the city of Shechem. They deceitfully speak to Shechem and his father Hamor to make a deal for their whole city to get circumcised then they waited until 3 days after when the men were most vulnerable to kill all the males and plunder the city. Not only did they kill the men, but they plundered the whole city along with the women and children, all in the name of revenge for the defilement of their sister. They allowed their rage to affect not only the man that was guilty, but the entire city. In addition, Simeon and Levi’s actions caused their father to be troubled (v30).

King David

In 1 Samuel 25, we see a conflict that occurs between David and Nabal before David became king of Israel. Nabal was a very rich man who was harsh and evil in his doings and he had a wife named Abigail, who was a woman of good understanding and beautiful appearance. David sent 10 young men to Nabal requesting provisions since David had treated Nabal's shepherds well when they were in Carmel. However, Nabal not only denied David's request, but he responded with disrespect towards him. Once David's young men returned to tell David what Nabal had spoken, David become very angry with Nabal's response. David was so angry, that he gathered 400 men to destroy Nabal and his household. Abigail, Nabal's wife, heard about what David was planning to do, so she gathered the provisions that David originally requested and made her way to David. As Abigail reached David, David said, "Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good. May God do so, and more also, to the enemies of David, if I leave one male of all who belong to him by morning light" (v21-22). We could see that David was still upset and offended when Abigail arrived, noting that Nabal had repaid him evil for the good he had done. David's raw human emotions causes him to irrationally want all the men in Nabal’s household to be killed. But then, in 1 Samuel 25:23-31, Abigail gives a long speech to David acknowledging that her husband Nabal has acted foolishly and she brought the provisions that David originally asked for then pleaded with David not to take revenge into his own hands. 1 Samuel 25:32-33 says, "Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the LORD God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand." David acknowledged that God had sent Abigail with words of wisdom to prevent David from taking revenge into his own hands and allows her to return to her home in peace. After Abigail returns home, she finds her husband drunk at a feast at their house and about ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead. David was about to repay evil with evil, but after the wise words of Abigail were shared, he allowed God to handle it and He did. If David would not have heeded Abigail's wisdom, it could have tainted David's reputation for the rest of his life.

God's Solutions to Resolve Conflict Without Aggression

At the end of the message, the following scriptures were shared as God's answer to prevent us from trying to solve conflict through aggression

• Romans 12:17-19 - [17] Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. [18] If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. [19] Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

• James 1:19-20 - [19] So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; [20] for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

• Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

• Proverbs 15:1 - A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger

• Proverb 16:32 - He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

• Proverbs 29:11 - A fool vents all his feelings, But a wise man holds them back

Watch The Message

Discussion Questions For Self-Evaluation:

1. Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict on your own through aggression? What was the result?

2. What has this message taught you about how our human emotions influence our reaction to conflict?

3. What are your key takeaways from the three situations that were presented?

4. What part of the word came alive to you from this message?