Rejoice Not When Thine Enemy Falleth

It is human nature to be happy when someone we do not like falls – something embarrassing happens, they suffer a loss, they are humiliated. And you want to pump your fist and shout “YES!” “Finally, justice has been done!” And there will be people that have troubled you in the past, and you hope the day will come soon that they get their comeuppance. But here in Proverbs 24:17, 18, we read that the LORD tells you to not rejoice when your enemy falls and to not be glad when he stumbles. And why is that? Because the vengeance business is the LORD God’s, not yours. God will settle all matters in the end, vengeance is His to dispense and not yours.