“Egypt will be a desolation, and Edom will be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.”

In this verse Egypt and Edom are used as examples of nations or groups of people who have oppressed the people of God and inflicted terrible injuries on them including the death sentence. The voice of the martyrs always cries out to the Lord for recompense and restitution. God will bring justice to them at the appointed time. He will execute vengeance for those who have lost their lives because they belong to Him. God does not bring down justice straight away, but waits for guilty people to repent and change their ways. He waits, and so we can imagine that He does not see and does not value His people. It can cause us to think that God is not really involved with those He loves, but He waits in His long- suffering mercy. He is not willing that any should perish…

The voices of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt went up to God for some time before He instructed Pharaoh to let the people leave and go to their own appointed land. The oppression of the ungodly seems to go unchecked, but God will release His chosen people at the appointed time.

“Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.”

Hebrews 11:36-38

God’s people suffer in every generation, from all kinds of persecutions and stresses and oppression from the prevailing culture of the day. This is the way the Lord Jesus walked and should not we also find ourselves in this position. We must walk worthy of Him, whatever the prevailing circumstances might be and stay obedient to the heavenly vision. God has all things in view for us and will keep our souls and our hearts right to the end and bring us safely home. He will avenge His suffering people and justice will be done.

“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints, apostles, and prophets; for God has judged your judgment on her.” A mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.”

Revelation 18:20-21

The systems and structures that oppress the people of God will be destroyed. All who involve themselves with its great evil and oppose the holy God will find themselves on the receiving end of His wrath. God will not permit the lack of regard for the shedding of innocent blood, but will bring all perpetrators under the judgment of his holy law. God’s people will be free and will be vindicated before the eyes of the watching world. The voice of the martyrs still calls out for vengeance and the Lord will recompense them for their suffering for His sake.

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course.”

Revelation 6:9-11