Vengeance and Recompense

By Pamela Rose Williams

“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” — Hebrews 10:30-31

So many times we run into situations where we just want to pay someone back for the wrong that was done to us. It is human — or should I say — our fleshly nature. That is why it is so important to know how God wants us to handle such situations. We are never told to impute payback upon anyone when they have done us wrong. Instead, just as we see in today’s verse, we are to defer this vengeance to our Almighty Heavenly Father.

I looked a little deeper into the Bible when I read today’s verse, but I also realized that there are a couple of big words in this verse that may need to be defined. I offer the following:

vengeance: revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance [1]

recompense: to pay someone back [2]

So then, we are reminded by the writer in Hebrews that it is not up to us to pay someone back for the harm that they have caused us. Rather it is up to the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35). We see this concept in Scripture elsewhere too:

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. (Romans 12:19)

Not only did Paul speak to the Romans about this, but in his 1st letter to the Corinthians he admonished them for taking each other to court. He said it was better for them to be wronged than to take matters outside of the church to be settled (1 Corinthians 6). He said this because he feared that taking matters outside of the church to be settled would tarnish the testimony for Jesus Christ. He admonishes the Corinthians to stop what they are doing because it does not glorify God. He continues in that chapter to the Corinthians to talk about the other things that they were doing with their body that did not glorify God and he admonishes them to flee these old fleshly habits and instead glorify God in flesh and spirit.

We are reminded time and time again throughout the Bible that we should settle disputes, live in peace and offer and accept forgiveness. We are never told that we should payback anyone for anything. That is not our job. We need to trust that when the Lord says He will “recompense” that He will do exactly that, in His time. Until then we need to strive to live in peace with one another.

If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:18)

Things to Think About and Do

1. Look up Mark 11:25. What does that verse say we should do before we pray?

2. In Psalm 66:18, what does the Psalmist say also hinders prayers?

3. Where in the Bible is the first time that we see God promises vengeance? (hint: two brothers in the Old Testament)

[1] Wikipedia
[2] www.yourdictionary.com