“When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.’” – 1 Samuel 25:39a
The foolish Nabal had viciously and publicly insulted David. In his flesh, David had been eager to deal with the man himself. He’d gathered his troops to bring death to the house of Nabal. Thankfully, the wise Abigail intervened and persuaded David not to sinfully repay Nabal’s insult with mass murder. God Himself later dealt with Nabal and his ungodly pride, greed, and selfishness. In doing this, the Lord reminded David of a fundamental biblical principle: God’s people must not be in the business of revenge. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and only the Lord, because only He can handle it justly and without sin.
What was clear in the Old Testament was made even more explicit by Jesus. Followers of Jesus are to turn the other cheek. We are to repay evil with good. We are to make peace, not escalate conflict. We are to seek reconciliation and practice forgiveness rather than hold onto bitterness. We are not to indulge our sinful flesh by avenging ourselves. All those who trust Jesus with their life must also trust Him to act with perfect justice in His perfect timing rather than their flawed sense of justice and their preferred timing.
Christians must not be eager to deal in violence, death, and destruction. That is not the way of Jesus. Don’t follow the instincts of your flesh when it cries out for revenge. Don’t follow a culture that so often howls for blood. Follow Jesus to the cross every single day, trusting that God’s coming justice and timing will be perfect and everlasting. #FollowJesus