Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he stumbleth;
Chapter 24 has just said that a righteous man may fall and rise again, while the wicked stumble into ruin. Then the warning turns. It moves from the one who falls to the one who is watching. The question this verse forces is not what your enemy deserves, but what your heart does the moment he gets it.
The proverb just before this one warns the wicked man who lies in wait for the righteous. Only then does the subject shift to the onlooker's pleasure.
A wicked man is warned not to lie in wait for the righteous man. If the righteous man falls, he will surely rise, while his enemy stumbles into ruin. And no one should rejoice at the fall even of an adversary, in case the LORD sees it — and He does not see for nothing.
The verse bans two things: the outward rejoicing and the inward gladness. The second half is where it bites. A heart can celebrate in silence, and the LORD still sees it.
How selfish and base to rejoice in the fall of an enemy! It may please the subtle enemy and the flesh too. But do not let your heart be glad that he stumbles. If you do, the LORD will surely see it and be displeased, and turn His anger away from him. And to whom? Let your conscience answer.
Verse 18 supplies the reason: the LORD sees it, it displeases Him, and He turns His anger away from your enemy. The fall of an opponent may spare you real trouble. That is not what this verse tests.
Yet the believer is told not to rejoice when his enemy falls, though this might relieve the believer of much harm (v. 17). Indeed, when anyone falls, we ought to be sorry for him, and pray that his fall might result in turning him to the Lord. But the Lord takes full account of our attitude (v. 18). If our hearts are set on thinking or acting selfishly, we can expect to suffer the consequences.
Job once said the same about himself: he never rejoiced when ruin came on the man who hated him. Commenting on that line, Kelly notes how small and familiar the temptation is.
"If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me, or exulted when evil overtook him" — a very common snare for people. They have a little pleasure when their adversaries come to grief, or are troubled.
If gladness is wrong, something has to take its place. Leslie Grant names two responses to another person's fall, and the reason behind them.
When we see judgment fall on anyone, our attitude should be sorrow for the person and honest judgment of ourselves. Only the grace of God preserves us from the judgment we deserve.
Saul hunted David for years. When Saul died, David sang a lament, not a victory song. The striking thing is what the song leaves out.
The lament of David over Saul reveals a spirit whose absence in us may well humble us. There is not one hidden word in it that suggests triumph over a fallen enemy. There is not one expression of selfish satisfaction at his rescue from Saul's persecution. David passes over the cruel injustice he had suffered from Saul for years, and all his many personal wrongs.
This proverb stops the wrong feeling. The New Testament goes further and asks for the right one.
Still there must be no rejoicing over the fall of the enemy, no gladness when he stumbles. This displeases the Lord. Higher still is the command of the New Testament: "Love your enemies… Repay no one evil for evil… overcome evil with good."
- The fall. Your enemy's fall may spare you real harm. That never makes the gladness right.
- The heart. The command reaches past the celebration to the private pleasure. Quiet satisfaction at an enemy's trouble is a very common snare.
- The sight. The LORD sees it, weighs the attitude, and is displeased.
- The turn. His anger moves off your enemy — and Kelly leaves your conscience to answer where it goes instead.
- The replacement. Sorrow for the person. Prayer that his fall turns him to the Lord. Honest self-judgment, because only grace has kept you from the same judgment.
lest Jehovah see it, and it be evil in his sight, and he turn away his anger from him.
Verse 17 warns us not to gloat when an enemy falls. Verse 18 gives the reason, and it is unsettling: the Lord sees how we feel, and He can turn His anger away from the one who fell. The question is not what we say out loud. It is what our heart does when someone who hurt us goes down.
The proverb goes past what we do to what we feel. It also names where that feeling comes from.
How selfish and base to rejoice in the fall of an enemy! It may please the subtle enemy and the flesh too. But do not let your heart be glad that he stumbles. If it is, the Lord will surely see and be displeased, and He will turn away His anger from him. And to whom? Let your conscience answer.
That last question is the sting of the verse. If the Lord turns His anger away from the one who fell, where does it go?
Our gladness offends Him because He does not share it.
Judgment is not His delight. "As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?"
The fall of an enemy may bring real relief. That does not make our response harmless.
Yet the proverb tells the believer not to rejoice when his enemy falls, even though that fall might spare him much harm (v. 17). Indeed, when anyone falls, we ought to be sorry for him, and pray that his fall might result in turning him to the Lord. But the Lord takes full account of our attitude (v. 18), and if our hearts lean toward selfish thoughts or acts, we can expect to suffer the consequences.
If gladness is the wrong response, what is the right one?
Gloating over the defeat of enemies is disgusting. When we see judgment fall on anyone, our attitude should be sorrow for the person and honest judgment of ourselves. Only the grace of God keeps us from the judgment we deserve.
A grudge does not have to be spoken to be fed. It can be nursed inside for years.
To go to war against our enemies; to watch for them to stumble; to wait for our chance to pour out what we have been nursing inside; to exaggerate their failures, so they receive double for their sins; to be glad inside when we think they have been paid back in their own coin — all of this indulges a spirit completely against the mind of the Lord in this passage. It is against the whole spirit of Christianity. The right to clear the innocent and to punish the guilty belongs to the Lord alone.
This proverb only forbids gladness. The New Testament asks for something more than restraint.
Yet there must be no rejoicing over the fall of the enemy, nor gladness when he stumbles. This displeases the Lord. Still higher is the command of the New Testament, "Love your enemies… Repay no one evil for evil… overcome evil with good."
Saul's death cleared David's path to the throne. David did not treat it as good news.
Still, David's godliness was real, and so were the generous feelings it produced. He did not pretend to feel for Saul's misfortunes and then seize the kingdom without regret as soon as Saul had ceased to exist. David's heart truly melted when he heard that Saul was dead… Whatever Saul's misfortunes, he was the king of Israel to David. Whatever his faults, he was an unfortunate king.
- Turn one — the heart. The proverb aims at the gladness inside us, not just the celebration we show. That gladness pleases the flesh.
- Turn two — God's eye. He is displeased because judgment is not His delight. He wants the wicked to turn and live.
- Turn three — the anger. If God's anger turns away from the one who fell, our conscience must answer where it goes instead.
- Turn four — the mirror. Seeing anyone fall should bring sorrow for them and an honest look at ourselves. Only grace keeps us from the judgment we deserve.
- Turn five — higher ground. Not gloating is only the floor. Loving enemies and overcoming evil with good is the standard. David mourning Saul shows it can be done.