Vengeance Is Mine!
Joseph said to his brothers,
“Do not be afraid, for am
I in the place of God?”
Genesis 50:19
Shortly before the nation of Israel entered the promised
land of Canaan, Moses recited a song in praise of God
(Deuteronomy 32:1-43).
Speaking of those who oppose God, Moses quoted God’s
perspective: “Vengeance is Mine, and recompense” (verse
35). In other
words, wicked will reap what they have sown
(Galatians 6:7). It is not up to men to pay back the wicked
for their deeds, for vengeance belongs to God alone
(Romans 12:19).
Once their father, Jacob, died, Joseph might have been
tempted to exact
revenge on his brothers. But he didn’t.
Years before Moses spoke about vengeance belonging
to God, Joseph seemed to have understood that truth:
“Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?”
He knew that any judgment or retribution must come
from God alone, not from man. To
seek vengeance to
another person is to put ourselves in the place of God
to whom judgment belongs.
Vengeance is a carnal, common response when we have
been wronged. If you have been wronged, meditate on
Paul’s expansion of this theme in Romans 12:17-21.
"The instinct of retribution is the
strongest instinct of the human
heart."
Augustus H. Strong
