not avenging yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
Truth to Learn
There is only one Judge and we need to let Him do His job.
Behind the Words
The word translated “avenging” in the first part of this verse and “Vengeance” in the second part is ekdikeō. This is made up of ek, meaning “out of” or “from” and a form of dike, which means “justice,” “judgment,” or “that which is right.” Hence, ekdikeō means “to hand out your own justice.” In other words, it means to take punitive action against someone whom you have judged to be guilty of causing you harm.
“Wrath” is translated from the Greek word orgē, which refers to “excitement of the mind.” This word can be interpreted as “strong desire,” but it can also be interpreted as “violent passion” or “anger.”
Meaning Explained
Paul now caps off what he has been saying in the past two verses. Not only has he told us that we should be proactive about doing good things to others and peacefully coexisting with them, he now cautions us, “not avenging yourselves.” Why not? Because when we take matters into our own hands we sinful humans are notorious for making incorrect judgments based on our biased perception of the facts. God, on the other hand, is a perfect judge and always judges rightly based on the real truth.
A similar admonition was given to the Jews:
You shall not take vengeance, nor bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)
The second phrase in today’s verse, “but rather give place to wrath” is a literal translation, but it has been the subject of much discussion among Greek scholars as to what it really means. In the Greek text there is a definite article before “wrath” so it reads “the wrath,” which is likely a reference to God’s wrath. Based on all the evidence I would paraphrase the first part of today’s verse as, “instead of stepping in and taking on the responsibility of executing judgment for yourself, back-off and let God decide who’s guilty.” Paul follows this phrase with a quotation from Deuteronomy 32:35,
Vengeance is Mine, and retribution; in due time their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.
God promises that He will take retribution on those who oppose Him and cause harm to His children. But He will do so in a righteous manner, pouring out His wrath on those who deserve it based on truth.
Application
Instead of executing revenge on those whom we think have wronged us, let us humble ourselves before Almighty God and trust that He understands the situation correctly and trust that as our Holy Father, He will do what is right and just.
God, grant us the ability to resist the temptation to retaliate. Give us the love of Christ that we might be forgiving even of those who truly wrong us, and give us the faith to understand that You always judge rightly.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved