Who Gets Revenge?

He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should

do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed,

or lay my hand on him, for he is the Lord’s anointed.

1 Samuel 24:6

When my kids were little, it was not unusual to see them huddled together, plotting the imminent demise of someone who had been unkind to one of them – coming together as sisters against “the enemy.”  When I found them in full-vengeance mode, I would sit them down and remind them of this story about David and Saul.

Saul was determined to kill David, mostly because he was jealous that God had promised the kingship to him. Saul tried all kinds of tricks and traps to catch him, then resorted to taking part of his army out to hunt down David like a wild animal.  On two different occasions, David came upon Saul’s camp while they were sleeping.  It was the perfect opportunity for David to kill Saul.  But he refused to shed the blood of the Lord’s anointed.  David knew that God would work out the problem of Saul’s hatred, and would not take revenge.

I taught the girls Paul’s words in Romans 12:19:: “Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord.  I will repay.”  If we give to God our hurts, slights, and anger, He will take care of our enemies – in His way, in His time.