“For the LORD will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone, and there is none remaining, bond or free.” ~ Deuteronomy 32:36
We left Vilfridr last week in a state of contentment. Not joy, mind you; merely content. Her strength was “gone,” because she had lost everything…
Vilfridr’s Vindication
Elsewhere in the kingdom, sheep begin to disappear. (It’s implied that the mysterious old man was taking them to supply the clothing Vilfridr was making.) The king, “who, being tired of life since the loss of his queen and her supposed death,”[1] rides out with Raudr to see if they can discover what was terrorizing the kingdom. They soon realize they are hopelessly lost in the forest. So, they seek shelter – at the very house Vilfridr is staying.
The old man welcomes the king, but said his condition for Raudr is that he must tell his life story, “which Raudr promised to do.”[2] The old man put a large ring on Raudr and has him sit in a special chair to tell his story. When Raudr came to the parts of Vilfridr, he begins to lie. The old man told the ring to squeeze him and the chair to stick him with spikes – which they did. Raudr is forced to tell the truth – all of it.
Outraged, the king can not think of a way to kill Raudr that is horrible enough; so, the old man throws Raudr into a boiling pot of water that has been on the hearth.
The old man then reunites the king with his beloved Vilfridr…and then, miracle upon miracles, brought out three children to the happy couple: two boys and a girl. One was missing an ear, one a finger, and the girl her big toe.
Yes, these were the king and queen’s children, thought to be long dead. The old man had been near the palace each time a child was thrown from the window.
Surprised? So was I. It is so fantastical, so frightful, and yet so beautiful! Vilfridr receives back what she lost. She is vindicated beyond reproach…
Our Vindication
The verse above is a strange promise of vindication. Iit comes immediately after a long passage foretelling Israel’s apostasy and God’s wrath toward them; it is followed by a long passage foretelling how God will reveal Himself to His people and punish His adversaries.
Who are His adversaries? The Israelites? Non-Israelites? The passage seems a bit unclear, but it almost seems like everyone is His enemy.
And that, I think, is the crux of the matter. Everyone is His enemy, for everyone has forsaken Him; but nevertheless, He promised to have compassion and to vindicate us.
It’s a shame Christians haven’t added “vindication” to their “Christian-eese” lingo. (I know, I know…it’s hard enough to remember all those “-ations” as it is…) We tend to use “justification” instead. They are similar words, however, the nuances are important. To “justify” means to judge as righteous.[3] God justifies us when we choose to accept Jesus as lord and savior. To “vindicate,” however, means to prove someone blameless. Justification must be provided in order for one to be vindicated.[4]
In order to vindicate us, God had to declare us righteous; but to do that, the guilty had to die. The truth is, we all deserve a fate like Raudr. But rather than throw us into a boiling pot of water to die for our crimes, God chose to send His Son to die for us on the Cross. Only then could we be “blameless” in His sight.
Jesus’ death brought us the vindication God promised through Moses so long ago. Vindication comes at a price, and God paid that price for His wayward people.
Yes, the promise comes at a strange time; although, I’d argue, the vindication promised to us is just as strange, frightening, and beautiful as Vilfridr’s vindication. And, like Vilfridr, it reunited us with our long-lost Love.
Sources
[1] Heiner, “The Story of Vilfridr-Fairer-Than-Vala,” Sleeping Beauties, 200.
[2] Ibid., 201.
