Pro 24:18 | KingComments | STEP | Solomon prohibits his son from gloating when his enemy falls ( ). He must not even be glad in his heart, that is, have any inner satisfaction over it, if his enemy stumbles. These are personal enemies, people who make our life difficult. It is perhaps understandable to be thankful when something happens to our enemy because it frees us from a tormentor, but rejoicing over it is something else. Here it is about rejoicing over the fall of an enemy with the thought that he is getting his due. Gloating plays a role in this. Such rejoicing is forbidden. David did not rejoice over the fall of Saul and also called for ensuring that others would not do so ( ). A former bodyguard of the cruel Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who managed to escape from his grip and then came to know Christ said he did not rejoice over the dictator’s death. The thought of this cruel man being in the place of pain did not give him joy, but sorrow. The Lord Jesus says we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us ( ). In we are told why we are advised not to rejoice in a gloating way over the fall of our enemy. God allowed our enemy to harass us because He had a purpose in doing so. If He causes the enemy to be eliminated and we gloat over that, we are offending a creature of God. That is evil in the eyes of God. Then He can turn His wrath away from our enemy, causing him to act like our enemy again, perhaps in a different guise. We are then not rid of him.

‏ Proverbs 24:18

No Malicious Pleasure

Solomon prohibits his son from gloating when his enemy falls (Pro 24:17). He must not even be glad in his heart, that is, have any inner satisfaction over it, if his enemy stumbles. These are personal enemies, people who make our life difficult. It is perhaps understandable to be thankful when something happens to our enemy because it frees us from a tormentor, but rejoicing over it is something else. Here it is about rejoicing over the fall of an enemy with the thought that he is getting his due. Gloating plays a role in this. Such rejoicing is forbidden.

David did not rejoice over the fall of Saul and also called for ensuring that others would not do so (2Sam 1:20). A former bodyguard of the cruel Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein who managed to escape from his grip and then came to know Christ said he did not rejoice over the dictator’s death. The thought of this cruel man being in the place of pain did not give him joy, but sorrow. The Lord Jesus says we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Mt 5:44).

In Pro 24:18 we are told why we are advised not to rejoice in a gloating way over the fall of our enemy. God allowed our enemy to harass us because He had a purpose in doing so. If He causes the enemy to be eliminated and we gloat over that, we are offending a creature of God. That is evil in the eyes of God. Then He can turn His wrath away from our enemy, causing him to act like our enemy again, perhaps in a different guise. We are then not rid of him.