The 4 O'clock Foray

A 2:00 AM study session turned into a 4:00 AM reconnaissance mission into the enemy’s camp...

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a post all about taking offense, putting up barriers, and how we handle slights: https://doctrinematters.co.uk/offense-or-a-fence

Well, last night I had a bit of a change of plan. I was mulling over that previous text around two in the morning, but I just felt in my spirit that there was more to it—that we hadn't quite reached a conclusion Ecclesiastes 12:13. So I carried on studying straight through until four in the morning to dig deeper. I’m calling it a

4Four O'clock Foray.

It felt a bit like Gideon in Judges chapter 7—creeping stealthily into the enemy’s camp in the dead of night and overhearing his secret dispatches. Because while I was up in the quiet hours, I realized the subtle trap the enemy sets for us when we hold onto an offense.

I was thinking about a well-known passage in the Gospel of Matthew where Peter comes to Jesus with what he thinks is a very generous proposition regarding forgiveness:

"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?"

— Matthew 18:21

In those days, religious tradition often suggested forgiving someone three times. So Peter offering seven probably felt magnanimous—he was doubling it and adding one for good measure. But Jesus turns around and flips the math entirely:

"Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."

— Matthew 18:22

Now, on the surface, 70 times 7 is 490 times. And if you look at it strictly as one individual sinning against you 490 separate times, that sounds like a staggering amount of repeated wrongdoing to endure from one person!

But during that 4:00 AM foray, a different realization struck me about the depth of God’s wisdom.

What if the issue isn’t always someone sinning against you 490 distinct times? What if a brother or sister sins against you just once, but your mind replays it 490 times?

When someone wrongs us, the actual event happens in a single moment. It passes. But if we aren't spiritually alert, our human nature pulls it right back up while making a cup of tea, driving, or lying awake in the dark. The original offender might have moved on, but inside us, that single offense echoes over and over.

If we don’t actively choose to forgive that offense every single time it resurfaces, we give it space to take root. The Bible warns us about what happens when we nurse an offense:

"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;"

— Hebrews 12:15

A root of bitterness starts small and hidden. But if we feed it by replaying the wrong, it sprouts. First it defiles our own peace, and eventually it leaks out into our relationships with others.

This is why the Scriptures place such a strong emphasis on dealing with anger promptly before it settles in:

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil."

— Ephesians 4:26–27

Notice that the Scripture doesn't condemn the initial feeling of anger—anger is a natural human reaction to being wronged. The warning is against letting the sun set on it. Letting anger stew overnight gives it a permanent base of operations in your heart.

King Solomon wrote extensively in Proverbs about the wisdom of mastering our temper and choosing not to take the bait:

"The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression."

— Proverbs 19:11

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

— Proverbs 16:32

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger."

— Proverbs 15:1

Restraining ourselves and refusing to carry an offense takes far more real strength than striking back.

So when Jesus told Peter to forgive "seventy times seven," He wasn't giving us an accounting ledger to keep score. He was giving us an unlimited posture of heart. He knew that releasing an offense is an ongoing process.

The original act may have happened once, but every time the memory returns to steal your peace, staying truly alert means catching it, handing it back to God, and choosing to release it again.

Forgiveness isn't about letting the offender off the hook; it's about clearing the tally sheet so that resentment doesn't occupy permanent, unrented space in your own heart.

Footnote on the Strategy:

There is a vital transition in scripture between gathering intelligence and finishing the fight. Gideon slips into the dark camp to gather the information, but it takes the seasoned resolve of David’s men of war—and the alliance with the Gibeonites (1 Chronicles 12, Joshua 10)—to stand firm and complete the task. A 4:00 AM foray exposes the enemy's plans and disarms his strategy, ensuring that we are "not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). Walking in 70 times 7 forgiveness every day is how David’s warriors hold the line and execute the victory in broad daylight.

I cant understand when people say that I'm a complex person xxx

mark@doctrinematters.co.uk

Doctrine Matters

Jeremiah 6:16

“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”

King James Version