Vengeance Is God’s

Romans 12:19-21, 1 Samuel 24:12, Romans 5:8

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Revenge feels good if someone hurts us. Our natural reaction is to try to pay them back, to make them feel that same sort of pain that we felt. To try to get even with them and settle the score. However, even though revenge might feel good to us, what does God say about revenge? Romans Chapter 12, it says this.

Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” says the Lord. But: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For by doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:19-21)

In response to that, we want to say. But, but, but. But they hurt me so much. But if I let them get away with it, they’re just going to keep doing it to me again and again and again. What does God say? He says, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, not you. Instead, what does he tell us to do? Don’t repay evil with evil, but repay evil with good. This reminds me in some ways of a story that we hear back in the Old Testament and first Samuel Chapter 24 about King David when he was being hunted down by another king by the name of King Saul, and he was on the run.

And at one point, we hear that David and his men are hiding in the back part of a cave. And Saul says he’s looking for David. He needs to go to the bathroom. And so he enters into this cave by himself, not realizing his enemies right there. And David’s friends say the Lord has given Saul and your hands rise up and kill him. David says, No, I can’t do that. This is the Lord’s anointed King. How can I kill him? So what David does is he cuts off a corner of Saul’s garment. And after Saul has left the cave, David finally comes out after Saul is quite a distance away and he calls out to him and he shows him the corner of the garment in his hand and he tells him how close he was to killing him, but that he refrained. David goes on to say this

May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you. (1 Samuel 24:12)

David really says vengeance is God’s, not his, that he isn’t going to hurt his enemy, Saul, No matter how much Saul had hurt him and intended evil towards him. Really interesting to think about the result of all this too. That Saul realized how he had treated David so poorly. How David had shown nothing but mercy and kindness to him. But Saul was acting out of jealousy to kill David.

It’s a good reminder for us as well to the response that people can have to us when we respond with good instead of evil. Yes, maybe their deeds deserve vengeance and judgment. And God says vengeance is mine. He says, As for you, repay evil with good. Not evil with evil.

You can think of the result of that as we show kindness and mercy to our enemy. Maybe they too, will realize what they have done wrong and give up the fight. But how can we do this? The only way we can do this is to remember that vengeance is God’s, but also to remember this to remember God’s mercy that He has shown us. Romans Chapter five it says

But God shows his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Now, we had done everything wrong against God. We were God’s enemies. We were under his wrath in judgment. And yet what did he do? He showed mercy upon his enemies. Mercy upon you and me. By sending Jesus to the cross for us. By allowing his justice to be poured out upon his perfect and Holy Son for us, who didn’t deserve that mercy because of the mercy that God has shown us in Christ. He encourages us now to not respond evil for evil, but respond to evil with good, and the desire to show mercy and kindness to our fellow man in the hopes that they might see the error of their way, they might repent of their sins and also know their Savior’s love. Amen.