Vengeance

(Romans 12:17-21), “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Question: How many of you have tried to live by this “code of conduct” but have failed from time to time?

All too often, when we are wronged, usually our first reaction is to get even.

“A college professor gets a call on the telephone at 3 A.M. ‘This is your neighbor, Mr. Smith. Your dog is barking and keeping me awake!’ The professor thanked him kindly and hung up. The next morning, Mr. Smith’s phone rang at exactly 3 A.M. ‘This is the professor. I just wanted you to know that I don’t have a dog!’”

Our Lord teaches us in His Word that we are not to keep a score, but to forgive.

This study is on vengeance’s

• Warnings
• Remedies

Warnings:

There is more at stake than just your hurt, others may be involved.

In (1 Samuel 25), David protected the people by fighting the Philistines. One household that was protected was that of Nabal who was a very rich man. David and his army were in need of food, they were hungry from fleeing Saul. So, he sent messengers to ask help from Nabal. But Nabal, being a selfish, wicked man, responded cruelly and refused to help. David became enraged.

(1 Samuel 25:13), “Then David said to his men, “Every man gird on his sword.” So every man girded on his sword, and David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David…”

Wow! Four hundred men of war against one tiny household?! David was ANGRY and wanted REVENGE!

Nabal’s wife, Abigail, who was innocent, heard of all this and feared. She made haste, gathered food, and went quickly out to meet David who was on his way to destroy everything of Nabal’s (including Abigail).

(1 Samuel 25:18-31), “Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys… Now when Abigail saw David, she hastened to dismount from the donkey, fell on her face before David, and bowed down to the ground. So she fell at his feet and said: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be! And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your maidservant. Please, let not my lord regard this scoundrel Nabal. For as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, your maidservant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. Now therefore, my lord, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, since the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now then, let your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be as Nabal. And now this present which your maidservant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant. For the Lord will certainly make for my lord an enduring house, because my lord fights the battles of the Lord, and evil is not found in you throughout your days. Yet a man has risen to pursue you and seek your life, but the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with the Lord your God; and the lives of your enemies He shall sling out, as from the pocket of a sling. And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

Wow! That was close! David was about to slaughter everything in his path, but God used this one humble, scared, and fragile woman to halt 400 charging and angry men of war!

David was shocked, and realized his rage and vengeance would have devastated innocent lives.

(1 Samuel 25:32-35), “Then David said to Abigail: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand. For indeed, as the Lord God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal!  So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person.”

God ultimately brought His judgement upon Nabal according to His timing.

(1 Samuel 25:36-38), “Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. Then it came about, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.”

Please remember two important truths when you are tempted with vengeance;

• God can do a whole lot better job than you in bringing about the right results
• And remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord;

(Romans 12:19), “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”

David wound up falling in love with Abigail and married her.

(1 Samuel 25:39), “So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.” And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.”

Because of vengeance, David almost killed the woman that was to later be his wife. Remember, there is more at stake than just YOUR hurt. Others may be involved, not by choice. There might be a good chance that innocent people will suffer.

Vengeance causes over-reaction.

In (1 Samuel 25:13), David acts without thinking or praying. He orders everyone to put their swords on, and takes about 400 men against one household. This would have been a massacre. Nabal was the one who should have been confronted, yet David was going to kill innocent people who were not at fault! Vengeance causes over-reaction.

Vengeance turns you into the very evil that was cast upon you.

Nabal was called a son of Belial (the Devil) because of his wickedness and evil. But, because of vengeance, David himself became that same evil for a brief moment (1 Samuel 25:39). Vengeance lowers you to their evil standards.

Vengeance becomes a terrible, uncontrollable monster.

In David’s case, it was not so, because by God’s intervention, it was stopped. But in the life of Samson, we see how it quickly gets out of control (Judges 14-16). The Philistines mock Samson, Samson mocks the Philistines, the Philistines steal from Samson, Samson steals from the Philistines, the Philistines kill Samson’s wife, Samson kills 1,000 Philistines. Both Samson and the Philistines lose in the end. Each act of retaliation brings another. “Revenge does not last long unrevenged.”  The revenge cycle can only be stopped by forgiveness. If not, you may be the one who your uncontrollable rage hurts the most.

Revenge causes you to fall in your own pit.

In the book of Esther, Haman wanted vengeance on Mordecai. He builds gallows just for Mordecai, but in the end, Haman wound up hung in his own gallows.

Remedies:

Show mercy instead of seeking revenge.

David showed mercy on Abigail, and David won in the end. When the people of Israel went up against Moses, Joshua and Caleb, God wanted to destroy all of Moses’ enemies, but Moses pleaded for God’s mercy. Only those with a deep relationship with God and His Word can possess such power of forgiveness and remain firm under such pressure. Remembering the mercy God has shown toward you in your life will greatly help you in overcoming a vengeful spirit.

Remember God is in control and will do a whole lot better job than you can.

(1 Samuel 25:36-38), Now Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was, holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; therefore she told him nothing, little or much, until morning light. So it was, in the morning, when the wine had gone from Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became like a stone. Then it came about, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.

God will make sure justice is done.

By not taking vengeance, you might restore the friendship lost.

David winds up marrying the one he set out to destroy

(1 Samuel 25:40-42), When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, “David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife.” Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, “Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.” So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.

Isn’t it much better that relationships are restored in love, forgiveness and kindness? Isn’t this the kind of people God has called us to be?

“Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”

When vengeance tries to get the best of you, quickly remember our utmost example;