Proverbs 24:17
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Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
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The proverb is not complete by itself, for the next verse explains the consequences of rejoicing at his troubles. The Lord will see your selfish and vengeful glee; He will be angry at your wicked attitude; and He will lift His punishment of your enemy (24:18). For then you will have fallen lower than your enemy, all the way to murder of the heart!
We should all know revenge is sin (Rom 12:17-21). We know vengeance is the Lord's prerogative, and we are to return good for evil. But the wise Preacher is going after our hearts. He is crushing those malignant thoughts that enjoy seeing our enemies in trouble.
Do you rejoice - in your thoughts - when your enemy falls? Are you glad - in your secret heart - when your enemy stumbles? These are the sins he condemns! Ah, dear reader, the glorious light of God's word shines deeply! All the way to our inner thoughts!
Pure and holy revenge and retribution is treating your enemy with love and kindness, even in your thoughts, and letting the Lord deal with him. You prove a righteous heart; the Lord is pleased by your actions; and your enemy will face your holy Father (20:22)!
We must rightly divide the word of truth (II Tim 2:15). We must not effeminately apply this verse to the enemies of God. The enemy here is a personal enemy that has offended you or sought your harm. Notice carefully that it is thine enemy. Saints do not love the enemies of God; they are taught by holy example to hate His enemies (11:10; Ex 15:1-21; II Chr 19:2; Job 22:19; Ps 15:4; 31:6; 58:10; 139:19-22; Rev 6:9-11; 18:20; 19:1-6).
Men naturally hate their enemies. They resent anyone who wrongs, slights, or bests them; they want revenge. The Pharisees twisted God's law in an attempt to justify this kind of hatred. But our blessed Lord corrected their heresy by requiring kindness toward our personal enemies, in order to show we are the true children of God (Matt 5:43-48).
The Pharisees also perverted the "eye for an eye" provision of God's law to apply to personal offences. Though God wrote it for civil government only, they used it to justify personal revenge. Jesus again corrected them by teaching the holy wisdom of simply turning the other cheek if our enemy hits us (Matt 5:38-42). Let God be true!
Job, a perfect man, one who rejected evil, whom God boasted about to Satan, was very discreet regarding his enemies. He said he was worthy of God's judgment, "If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul" (Job 31:29-30).
David, after God's own heart, wrote of his enemies, "But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother" (Ps 35:13-14; II Sam 1:11-12,17). Yet they showed their profane character by rejoicing at his adversity (Ps 35:15-16).
Even the best of saints have enemies, for our families, neighbors, colleagues, and church members are but sinners, and this world is no friend to the righteous. Consider your life. Who are your enemies? Your spouse might even by your enemy in this sense at times.
Does someone on the job provoke you? Is there a church member who seems to hate you? Does a family member ignore and slight you? Is there a schoolmate who teases you? Has a neighbor encroached on your property line? Does an employee spread secrets and disrespect about you? Has a former friend turned in vicious hatred and slandered you without a cause? Identify them all. Search your heart carefully.
The great issue is how you will respond. They hate us without a cause; we love them in spite of their hatred. They slander and backbite us; we bless and praise. They ignore and slight us; we greet and commend them. They hurt us; we do them good. They practice evil toward us; we overcome their evil with good (25:21-22; Ex 23:4-5; Matt 5:43-48; Rom 12:14,17-21; I Thess 5:15; I Pet 3:9). See the comments on 25:21.
If you want a spiritual victory today, to please your Heavenly Father, and to be perfect like Him, pray for your enemies! Now! Praying for them will prepare you and keep you from violating this holy proverb. If you do it in sincerity, you will be blessed with peace and joy; and the Holy Spirit will be freed in your life to work through your new man, for you to be a greater saint in the earth. We grieve and quench Him by our hateful and hard thoughts toward our personal enemies (Eph 4:30; I Thess 5:19; James 3:14-17).
Dear saint, what if our Father had not loved us through Jesus Christ, while we were His enemies (Rom 5:6-10)? Can we follow His example a little? A lot? Lord, help us.
Our blessed Lord loved His personal enemies and had human compassion regarding their destruction (Luke 19:41-44). He also vividly showed a glorious spirit by praying for His Father to forgive the soldiers gambling for his garments at the foot of the cross (Luke 23:34). Our beloved brother Stephen, with stones thudding off his body, and the Lord Jesus in His sight, prayed God to forgive the Jews for stoning him to death (Acts 7:55-60). These are our holy examples; let us think, speak, and act like them today! Amen.
Loving your enemy is a commandment of God and one of the chief measures of a true Christian. Such love includes being grieved when your enemy falls or stumbles in life. If you are glad or rejoice when he is struck by adversity, you have sinned against God. The Lord, in this proverb, offers a simple means for spiritual victory in your life. Read on.
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