May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
– 1 Samuel 24:12
These are the words that David spoke to Saul when Saul was trying to kill David; and David had a chance to kill Saul, but he didn’t do it. He didn’t repay evil with evil. What Saul was doing was absolutely evil toward David, but David refused to do the same in return. Instead, David trusted in the justice of God and say, “May the Lord judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.” This kind of language in 1 Samuel 24 is so similar to the commands we have in Romans 12 when it comes to loving others.
1 Samuel 24:12 teaches us to trust God’s justice instead of seeking revenge.
Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it’s written vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” So to the contrary, just to keep going here in Romans 12, God says, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he’s thirsty, give him something to drink. For by so doing, you’ll heap burning coals on his head.” And then Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
And based on this picture in Romans 12, this picture of David in 1 Samuel 24, I just want to encourage you today, when you are wronged or when you have been wronged in the past, God in his Word encourages you to trust in his justice. Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t seek justice here in the world. This is part of God’s good purpose for governing authorities that carry out justice in the world.
And obviously, we as God’s people are called to do justice and promote justice at the same time. We are not called to respond to evil with evil or to seek revenge against those who have done evil toward us. We’re called to trust in God and his justice and in the ways he is ordained for justice to be carried out in this world. Trusting that in the end, he will show his justice fully and finally. And this is a different way to live in the world when people do evil toward you.
1 Samuel 24:12 teaches us to trust God’s justice over our own.
So, let’s pray for God’s help to overcome evil with good, flowing from the power of Jesus in us who showed us what this looks like when he was dying on a cross, being crucified, killed for no just reason. And he’s praying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He’s praying with love for them.
So God, we pray for the love of Jesus in us, for power from Jesus in us to overcome evil with good. God, we are so thankful that you are infinitely and ultimately just and your justice will reign in the end. Thank you God for the freedom we have from avenging ourselves or seeking revenge because we know you, the just ruler of all, and we have you, Jesus, your Spirit inside of us.
This verse encourages us to respond to wrongdoing with mercy and faith.
So we pray, we pray for those who have done evil or maybe even are doing evil against us right now. We pray, God, that you would forgive them for they know not what they do, God. We pray that you would draw them to yourself and to your mercy and your grace. God, we pray for an end to injustice. God, we know that your justice is one day fully and finally coming, and we long for that.
We pray for that in this world. We pray for just rulers and governing authorities and leaders and laws and practices. God, we pray for that. We pray you help us to work toward that all with ultimate trust in you and your justice, and with resolve to show your mercy in the same way you have shown such mercy to us. Jesus, we praise you for dying on the cross for us and our sin, rising from the dead so that we can have this hope. We pray that you would help us to spread this hope in a world of injustice.
Prayer for the Cham People
God, we pray specifically today for the Cham people of Cambodia, knowing their history, knowing that this Muslim people group in the Khmer Rouge regime was decimated and a hundred thousand people executed. Lord, we pray for the spread of your mercy and your grace and your love among the Cham people of Cambodia, that they might know you Jesus, and that they might experience your salvation and the hope of your coming full and final justice. God, we pray for the spread of this gospel all around the world through us as your people, and we intercede specifically for the Cham of Cambodia today. All of this according to your Word in 1 Samuel 24, and Romans 12. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
