Proclamation:
“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do
not let your heart rejoice, or The Lord will see and disapprove and turn His
wrath away from them.” Proverbs 24:17-18
(NIV)
Explanation:
These words
were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King Solomon. In this proverb Solomon continues to record
the sayings of the wise men of his day.
This is the twenty-eighth of those sayings. Here he tells the people not to gloat or be
glad when their enemy stumbles and falls.
He states that The Lord disapproves of them rejoicing at the suffering
of others.
Application:
Vengeance belongs to The Lord God. We are not to return evil for the evil done
to us. (1 Thessalonians 5:15) The Lord
God said in His Holy Word that He would repay the evil that was done to us.
(Romans 12:19) If He allows us see those
who did us wrong get repaid for their wrongdoing, then we should just watch but
not rejoice at their suffering. If we
rejoice at their suffering, He may stop punishing them. It is not Christ-like for us to rejoice at
the suffering of another. We were taught
to love our enemies (Luke 6:35) and love does not rejoice in iniquity. (1
Corinthians 13:6) Additionally, our
being good to them will add burning coals upon their heads. (Roman 12:20) Revenge is our wrongful and sinful passion;
The Lord God avenges and applies justice.
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