Solomon by divine inspiration wrote Proverbs to raise his son and citizens to greatness of heart – noble and virtuous in thought, word, and deed. Here is one of the keys to such greatness: you should not gloat about trouble in the lives of your personal enemies. This requires character of the highest order, possessed only by exceptional men, true princes. For full understanding, this verse is the second half of a whole proverb. The first half of the proverb reads this way: “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth” (Pr 24:17). Then the second half reads, “Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him” (Pr 24:18). David taught Solomon this wonderful character trait of loving enemies. “False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. 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. But in mine adversity they rejoiced …” (Ps 35:11-15). King Saul was David’s enemy for several years. He tried to kill David on many occasions and caused enormous trouble in his life. Yet David sought to serve him as well as he could. He fully forgave Saul’s outbursts of rage and attempts to kill him. David spared his life several times when he could easily have killed him, and he wept bitterly and eulogized him graciously when Saul eventually died on the battlefield (II Sam 1:17-27). But God Himself is the great example every day. How? He sends sunshine and/or rain on both His friends and His enemies. You show the character of God when you learn to love your enemies and show them kindness, which is totally contrary to the evil heart of man by nature. Such thoughts and actions show you to truly be God’s children (Matt 5:43-48). God hates the selfish cruelty of gloating at calamities of your enemies (Pr 17:5; Zech 1:15). The inspired history of the Old Testament shows numerous cases of even nations being punished for their delight or participation in the troubles of other nations (Ps 137:7-9; Jdgs 16:25-30; Mic 7:10; Isaiah 10:5-15; Lam 4:21-22; Ezek 26:2-3; Hab 1:5-11; etc.).
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 05:26:54 +0000