If I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. Job 31:29 – 30 and verses 40.
For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shall be cut off forever. In the day that thou stood on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou were as one of them. But thou should not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither should thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither should thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. Thou should not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou should not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; neither should thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither should thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon your own head. Obadiah 10 – 15.
As new creature believers in Christ Jesus, the testimony of our conscience (Acts 24:16) ought to play a major role in the relationship standing between us and God as we constantly examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) through the spirit of man (conscience) which is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. Proverbs 20:27.
You heart and the thoughts coming out of it should be guided against evil thinking or thought even as you are called upon to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to set your affection on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. All your bad or evil actions shall not only be judged by the Lord, but the evil thoughts (Romans 2:15) that are coming out of the evil man shall also be judged by him who commands you not to think evil in your heart against your neighbor (Zachariah 8:17), but to love him by the love that does do not only practices evil to his neighbor (Romans 13:10), but it does not think, neither speak evil of him. James 4:11 – 12. You shall eat the fruit of your thoughts — good or evil before God (Jeremiah 6:19): labor therefore to discipline yourself by keeping your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23), and pray consistently unto God that understands your thoughts afar of (Psalms 139:2), who searches and knows the heart (Jeremiah 17:10) by declaring unto man what his thought is (Amos 4:13) to help you order the meditations or the thoughts of your heart and the words of your mouth to be made acceptable before him as David once made supplication before the all-seeing and knowing God. Psalms 19:14.
You are called to be single minded in Christ Jesus, but if your heart is divided (Hosea 10:2), you’re thinking or thoughts pattern of life shall be affected and corrupted in the kingdom – unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. Titus 1:15.
Every vain and evil, wicked and other foolish and ungodly thought are not only sinful (Proverbs 24:9), but they also defile the soul to disqualify man to enter heaven. (Mark 7:23): if you have done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay your hand upon your mouth. Proverbs 30:32. Evil thought in itself is punishable before God, but the rash and evil words which are stored up in the heart and uttered out of the mouth of the evil man, though they are damnable to his own soul, they are also capable of doing great damages like a piercing of a sword to another man’s soul and moral to hurt them (Proverbs12.18): but if we are hurting others with our untamed mouth and evil tongue, we are hurting Christ and grieve the Spirit of God in us and in them by our corrupt communication. Ephesians 4:29 – 30.
We can lose the sweet fellowship and company of good brethren in the Lord (go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceives not in him the lips of knowledge. Proverbs 14:7) if we lack wisdom to speak and answer rightly because our words are not edifying, seasoned with salt, and filled with grace. Colossians 4:6.
Job, in his affliction and troubles of his heart, searched his heart and cross examined himself if he has been guilty of the spiritual law of retaliatory expectation (if I rejoice at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley. Job 31:29 – 30 and verses 40): but there was no such sin found in his heart before God. Note: God will not only expose the man or brother whose heart’s wickedness is covered by deceit (whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shown before the whole congregation. Proverbs 26:26), but he will also rebuke and take vengeance against such for the deceitfulness and evil of his heart against his neighbor – enemy or friend. 1 Chronicles 12:17.
The believer’s joy should be in his God through Jesus by whom he has now received the atonement (Romans 5:11): his joy is of God through the Holy– Spirit that dwells in him, but not in any other things which gives joy of fulfillment, satisfaction or accomplishments to the ungodly men and women of the world. The Lord should be his exceeding joy (Psalms 43:4), to rejoice with trembling in his understanding of God’s unmerited favor and loving-​kindness towards him. Any other rejoicing or boasting outside this ‘God my exceeding joy’ is evil and damnable according to the scripture. Such boasting or rejoicing over financial worth and asset (if I rejoice because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much. Job 31:25), boasting or rejoicing over any man or woman (let no man glory in men. 1 Corinthians 3:21), boasting or rejoicing outside the cross by which he is saved and crucified to the world, and the world is crucified to him (but God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Galatians 6:14), boasting or rejoicing of tomorrow in your proud intentions and purposes without God’s permission (go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. James 4:13 – 16), boasting or rejoicing in your prowess like Nebuchadnezzar once did and was abased (thus says the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-​kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23 – 24), glorying, boasting or rejoicing when troubles and divine vengeance shall knock at the door of your enemies (rejoice not when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles: lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Proverbs 24:17 – 18) for recompense: for the Lord shall surely requite their wrong doings, strange and wicked behaviors on their heads.
We should walk in the steps of Abraham’s faith and comportment, who despite the contentious separation between him and Lot, Abraham stood up for Lot after he was taken captive, and never rejoiced at his captivity and troubles, neither considers it as a punishment from God for his nephew’s ungratefulness towards him. Was Abraham not doubled blessed for standing up for Lot in trouble by Malchizedeck, the eternal priest of God, even though Lot did not merit such military intervention put up by Abraham and his men? Genesis 14:8 – 16. At the news of the death of King Saul, King David of all people should have every cause to rejoice with all Israel before God as they all once rejoiced before the Lord at the fall of Goliath of Gath, but he showed different attitude at the news of the death of his sworn enemy (a) when he takes vengeance of Saul’s death against the Amalekite man (2 Samuel 1:16) who has claimed to have killed King Saul, and (b) he made a great lamentation for Saul and for Jonathan his son, calling for a national mourning. 2 Samuel 1:17 – 27.
God will later on teach Solomon of the wisdom behind such godly attitude of the man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 14:13), and of the sinfulness and inevitable judgment awaiting evil rejoicing of your enemy downfall and punishment from God — he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. Proverbs 17:5b.
Believer is saved and called to live a higher life of an inward transformation in Christ Jesus. His action, reaction, response and rejoicing should glorify God in all things, totally different from that of the uncircumcised in the heart – the worldly and ungodly. Note: whatever makes sad the heart of God in heaven should be bad enough to sadden the heart of his children on earth: whatever rejoices the heart of our Heavenly Father should also be the rejoicing and gladness of the heart of his beloved children in Christ Jesus. When a believer is overtaken in a fault, do you rejoice and be the first to spread the news around? Are watching out for someone to sin or fall, that you might have an evil report about them to spread abroad? You shall soon be cut off and cut away from God, if you don’t repent now — for the terrible one is brought to naught, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of naught. Isaiah 29:20 –21.
When a believer backslides and God is saddened, and his soul has no pleasure in him because of the danger of eternal separation with such at death, what are your comment, action and reaction (like or dislike) on the world’s social media? God is unhappy by the death of any wicked or unrepentant sinner, but do you rejoice that you have once preached to him but he couldn’t make heaven? God is never happy with any backslider who will no longer walk with him and after him (Hebrews 10:38): but he will do everything to bring his lost sheep back to the fold, so that the angels in heaven might once rejoice again for the lost– found soul: what is your attitude as God’s child when a believer who has once gone back to the world is restored back into fellowship? Like the evil-minded Prophet Jonas, are you expecting to see the calamity that will befall the sinners your enemies that you ought to pray for because they did not receive your message? Or you are like David who fasted and prayed (false witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom. I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourns for his mother. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abject gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not: with hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth. Psalms 35:11 – 16) unto God for the conversion and deliverance for his enemies when troubles found them?
You should reflect with a great concern for yourself upon the concern you have for the calamities of others when you are at ease. Did you weep with them that are in trouble to consider yourself being also in the body as those in adversity? Hebrews 13:3.
Did you as a Christian seek to take advantage of the difficult moment and situation someone around you or in your life is going through to slander, abuses, extort, disrespect, rude, conceited, oppressed, upbraided and lord it over them to multiply their sorrow? Do you inflict moral, mental, physical or spiritual violence of any kind on any of your brethren in the days of their calamity? Did you torment them by your unkind words and behaviors, when you ought to encourage and stand by them by your actions and words? Have you not forsaken the fear of God, if you have failed to show pity and comfort to your brethren in calamity? Job 6:14. When God to whom you indirectly affront as the result of your strange and wicked behavior against your brother will call, what shall you answer: and when he will visit, where shall you hide? Note: though those who appears friendly to you but are enemies in their minds towards you should behaves strangely, basely and insulted over you in your adversity, to call it their promotion and freedom: nonetheless, let their distress be your call and action to sympathy and tenderness – not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing unto any man. 1 Peter 3:9.
While the world of the unbelievers is promoting humanity, some Christians are shamelessly callous and inhuman, this is godlessness and irreligion. Lest any perish for lack of knowledge, none of the Lord’s brethren should lack good and godly manners which were not found in the young men around Jobin the days of his calamities (yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spoke against me. All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me: but now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. Job 19:18 – 19: Job 30:1) and was also of no use, neither of any consideration to be manifested or shown by Shimei (and when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of King David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed, come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man. 2 Samuel 16:5 – 8) who was unable to conceal the pleasure and satisfaction he took in seeing King David being humiliated and trouble as he fled and left Jerusalem for Absalom rebellion to overthrow and take the kingdom away from his father into exile as Shimei proudly magnified himself and spoke with such a great hatred unto David and cursed him with a grievous curse, but we know what became of him at the end, being killed for his evil and wicked rejoicing over David’s plight by Solomon’s sword of vengeance by the hand of God. 1 Kings 2:8 –9: 44 – 46.