Introduction
It was Mahatma Gandhi who appreciated the Sermon on the Mount, and who said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. If we keep punishing [i.e seeking revenge on] those we deem cruel, then we’re no better than the bad guys ourselves.”
Christian View
‘Be angry and sin not’ – Eph 4:26.
‘Vengeance is mine said the Lord’ – Rom 12:19, Deut 32:35.
‘Love thy neighbour’ – Mat 5:43-46.
World View
‘Don’t be angry, get even.’
Take revenge. ‘Revenge is sweet’.
Teach them a lesson.
Vengeance – Revenge Defined
In its simplest form, it means ‘retribution’, payback, act of taking revenge (harming), insulting back, reacting to inflict pain – punishment, acts of mischief etc. on perceived or real acts done to oneself. In a more refined sense, it is the ‘Law of Retaliation’: to injure someone or a group to the same degree as they have injured you. These concepts even predate the Old Testament. The Code of Hammurabi ( 1755-1750 BC), a collection of laws found inscribed in stone, mentioned “If a man put out the eye of another, his eye shall be put out.”
Old Testament
The OT features laws for Jews and non-Jews. For example:
Ex 21:23-26 – “But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound and stripe for stripe”.
The OT laws were defined in such absolute terms to provide the offended party an avenue to justice through officially sanctioned laws, so as to prevent the people from taking the law into their own hands. To some it may seem barbaric, cruel, and primitive, but society needed these laws to set the boundaries for rightful living. No one takes any laws seriously unless it clearly defines crimes and the resulting punishments that would be meted out to wrongdoers, and was enforced/upheld, and the hardness of these laws could deter criminals. Indeed, such crimes as adultery, fornication and blasphemy were, in the OT, punishable by death.
Today, in Israel, these laws are not directly applied even though the modern state claims to abide mostly by the OT beliefs. In some societies, cultures and religions, these laws are still applied judiciously in their view. Needless to say, some can be misapplied and conducted for reasons beyond their stated purposes, such as political reasons.
Law Evolves
Over time, in the early days. the Law of Retaliation evolved. The Ancient Greeks defined it as ‘Lex talionis’. It moved to also provide an avenue for recompense – seek compensation in kind – money etc. to settle matters. However, different countries and cultures had different scales of justice to deal with crimes and unintended acts which lead to death etc. In the OT, it can be termed equitable retribution governed by laws.
Let’s look at some biblical examples of the concept of retribution below:
Revenge/retribution by individuals and groups
The Bible accounts recorded many cases of individuals, groups and even the nation taking revenge – retributive action to satisfy themselves of grievances.
Gen 27:41-42 – Esau promised himself that he would kill his brother Jacob for having cheated him of his inheritance.
Judges 15:7 – Samson vowed revenge (his wish was granted by God in Judges 16:28).
2 Sam 3:27 – Joab killed Abner who had murdered his brother Asahel.
Gen 34:25 – Jacob and his sons avenged the rape of Dinah.
Vengeance of the Lord
The Bible also records several instances of the Lord Himself sanctioning retributive action against evil nations which troubled the Israelites.
Isa 1:24 – Therefore the Lord says, The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, and take vengeance on My enemies”.
Ezek 25:12-17 – Against Edom, verse 15 against the Philistines.
These and others were works of executing the judgements that God Himself stated.
We are living in the Christian Age today whereby the Old Law was nailed to the cross when Jesus died (Col 2:14). The new covenant is a better covenant established upon better promises whereby Jesus is our Great High Priest and intercessor (Heb 8:6). Let us understand what Jesus preached.
NT Commandments on the subject
Jesus preached love, forgiveness and reconciliation. He did not preach a vengeful spirit and causing harm in kind to others. He wanted His disciples (us) to be loving and overlook the compulsion to take revenge in the first instance. He taught that the second most important law is ‘love thy neighbour’.
Culture of vengeance
The reality is from the world around us, we are influenced to treat others negatively in life. It seems that several movies whether Chinese, Indian or American, Korean etc. contain themes of taking revenge for honour, for perceived insults and such reasons. We are conditioned by these messages in society to be vengeful, whether at office, homes, driving, games, relationships, friends or to our immediate neighbours etc, or at the very least the idea of revenge is acceptable or even fully justified.
Vengeance is mine
God says, “Vengeance is mine”. Give room for God to act and react, not us (see: Heb 10:30). This is also emphasised in Rom 12:17-19 – ‘Repay no one evil for evil’, and ‘vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord’, and highlighted slightly differently and even counterintuitively in Rom 14:12 – ‘Bless those who persecute you’. In Gen 50:15-22, Joseph was enslaved due to his brothers’ act of collective jealousy; he had ample reason and opportunity to take revenge, and yet he forgave them and provided for his family in times of famine. In 1 Sam 24, David, persecuted by Saul, had the same opportunity to kill Saul and end his persecution, but he refused to slay the king.
Conclusion
God’s children should not seek revenge, whether in the workplace, homes, in society and certainly not in the church. Rather, we should trust in the righteous God to have His way upon those who wilfully hurt and harm us.
Think of countless relationships and friendships wrecked forever by acts of vengeance between the parties involved. Acts of sabotage, bitterness, evil surmising, uncooperative spirit, resentment, acting out vocally, written, social media are some examples of vengeful works mankind have committed against one another.
Instead, let us continue to love those who persecute us, just like the example of the Lord Himself on the cross who said, “Father forgive them”. Sometimes today, justice may take a long time, sometimes against individuals or groups or nations. But it will take place because “Vengeance is mine”, says the Lord. To end this article, let us consider two verses:
Ps 94:1 – Vengeance belongs to the Lord.
1Thess 4: 6. ….Because the Lord is the avenger of all such……