Proverbs 20:22 Commentary and Bible Study

The desire for revenge arises from a sense that we must be our own defenders, since we are bound to have the keenest interest in the cause of justice which concerns ourselves. Surely, we think, no one else is going to be so concerned about our welfare that they mark the wrong done to us and are determined to repay it. When a person lives in a land where the administration of justice is poor, he has little trust in the legal system to settle his case, and therefore he may be tempted to settle matters himself. But when he has confidence in the law he is ready to report wrongs done against him to those in authority. So the Christian is ready to trust the Lord to deliver justice, because he knows that God’s justice is perfect and that it cannot fail. The unbeliever wants justice to be delivered immediately for any wrongs done to him. He is therefore hasty to go to justice. He cannot wait for due process which may take time. The Christian understands that in this life, there is much that is not brought to justice immediately but he believes that the Day of Judgment will not let any wrongs go unpunished. He is therefore content to wait for God’s more perfect justice. The Christian understands something about the nature of this world and what God’s intentions are for it. He knows it to be a world in rebellion against God and he knows that God has decided not to immediately call it account. God’s patience towards the world has worked for the Christian’s advantage, since it is patience that has given him a long enough life in this world to be brought to repentance. He is therefore willing that God’s purposes should continue to be worked out for the elects’ sake. He realises that mercy is higher than justice, and as he has profited more than he can say from mercy, so he hopes that his neighbour can also profit from it. He even hopes that his enemies are among those who will be converted and pardoned by the Lord, for he sees that the wrong done to him is nothing compared to the wrong he has done to God and which he has already been forgiven. He knows also that there is a tendency in him to go beyond justice and to be motivated by an inflated sense of his own importance. Revenge has become a personal matter, driven by pride, which takes disproportionate offence at what is done to him. He will repay twice as much for what is done to him as he would what was done to another. This is the natural response of fallen nature, and the believer must recognise this in himself and restrain himself.We will be held back from revenge by remembering that the Lord is in control. He has already promised to keep us for all eternity. He will allow no harm to come to his children. His care of us is much wiser and better than any care we can take of ourselves, so that to take vengeance away from him and into our own hands is to risk harming ourselves and the misapplication of justice. There should therefore be an instinctive turning to God for protection whenever we are wronged as the very first response we make. His help will avoid our overreaction to problems, and will bring about the best outcome, perhaps even having mercy on our enemies. If not, then his justice will be proportionate, wise, free from pride, and protective towards us.