Proverbs 17:13
13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
We all know people who have returned evil to us for good we did to them. I want to talk to you today about how the Lord repays someone who does that; Someone who returns evil for good.
Uriah the Hittite was one of King David’s mighty men. He was an honorable man. So honorable, in fact, that when the other soldiers could not be home lying with their wives, he refused to go lie with his, even though the King bid him do so. Now we know this story, and we know the reason King David wanted Uriah to go home and lie with Bathsheba was because he himself, King David, had gotten her with child in Uriah’s absence.
King David was a wonderful king, the most highly anointed king up to Jesus spoken of in the Bible. But he had a weakness for beautiful women, and he especially had a weakness for Bathsheba, when he saw her, because he got into idolatry over her. He wanted her so much, he was willing to break the commandments of God to have her, and he did.
Wikipedia states: “The Talmud states two opinions as to who Uriah was. 1) He was a convert to Judaism.[citation needed] 2) He lived amongst Hittites and so is known as a Hittite despite his being born Jewish. (Kiddushin 76b) Either way, he was not actually part of the Hittite nation since he would have been forbidden to marry Bathsheba had he been a Gentile.”
I found this online in my research about David’s mighties, as the mighty men were called, of which Uriah was one:
“David's mighty men were a group of his best thirty-seven fighters (later expanded to around eighty). Although the lists of his mighty men (2 Samuel 23:8-39 & 1 Chronicles 11:10-47) are given after David has become king, many of them may have been the loyal followers who stayed with him when he was fleeing King Saul. At the very least, they fought with him. Uriah's closeness to David is illustrated by how closely he lived to the palace, and his position as one of the mighty men at the front battle lines allowed David to formulate and carry out his plot.”
I always found it incredibly sad that Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s husband, was very devoted to his king. He would have done anything for King David. And he was such an honorable man. He only ever did good to King David.
2 Sam 11: 8-9
8 And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
11 And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.
13 And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
Wikipedia says It was common for warriors in preparation for battle to abstain from sex, as a practice of discipline.
One of the other things I find incredibly sad about this story is that poor, loyal Uriah actually delivered his own death warrant, never suspecting a thing:
14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
So King David, I don’t think out of malice in his case, but because he was trying so desperately to hide his sin, had Uriah the Hittite killed with the sword of the enemy. And of course we think we would never do that. You would never do that, would you? Or would we?
The Swords of others are not the only weapons we assassinate others with. We use the tongues of others to ruin their reputations whenever we gossip, we use the power of others to hire and fire whenever we talk about someone’s work ethic¬, We use their social power to accept or reject any time we influence someone about another’s character…. We use many weapons to return evil for good, but we shouldn’t.
The penalty for returning evil for good is very high. It may feel good in that moment to smear their name, or to cast them away from you in some other way, but the price is exorbitant. Let’s look at the price King David paid – and let’s remember, too, that he was the most highly favored king in the Bible before Jesus. This is another reminder yall, that the rules are the same for everybody.
2 Samuel 12
12 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19 But David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
• So the first thing King David lost – something precious he could never get back – was the son born to him and Bathsheba.
• King David lost the peace from his home and palace. When the sword comes to live at your house, there is no peace, is there?
• He suffered the successive violent deaths of at least two of his sons—Amnon and Absalom – NOT TO MENTION, THE RAPE OF ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS, TAMAR. SO TAMAR’S FUTURE WAS TAKEN, AND TWO OF HIS SONS WERE KILLED. Three¬ precious things he could never get back. So that makes three sons counting the baby. All irreplaceable.
• Remember yall, this is a penalty for idolatry – David refused to kill King Saul who chased him for no reason but jealousy for years, because he felt it would be sinning against God. He would not compromise what he believed was right. But he fell so hard for Bathsheba that he WAS willing to compromise for her, and sin against God. That is the very definition of idolatry. And it was a revelation I got only recently that any time you get into idolatry, you lose something precious to you that you can never get back.
• David’s concubines were taken – and in full view of all Israel.
2 Samuel 12:11
11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
2 Samuel 16:22
22 So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel.
So the price for King David’s disobedience was VERY HIGH – just losing the son he and Bathsheba had would have been a lot, but he lost far more. FAR MORE.
Our sin is UNFAITHFULNESS to GOD, and it hurts Him. And there is a price to pay when we transgress the commands He has given us. And if we get into idolatry, We will always lose something very precious to us that we can never get back.
Proverbs 17:13
13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
A friend of mine whose entire life is devoted to God, who intercedes for lost souls and others for hours every single day told me a story about seeing Proverbs 17:13 in action. Recently, he got a phone call from a former coworker.
A situation happened when they worked together for a large, well-known corporation when an incident happened on the floor where my friend was a supervisor.
There were 2 people in the company who wanted him to lie and blame the incident on a particular person who worked there. He, being a devout Christian, refused to lie and do this. He was demoted, which basically forced him into retirement.
So his friend calls this last week and in the course of conversation, casually mentions that both of these two individuals who tried to force him to lie have had strokes since then, and guess what – they were both forced to take retirement because of the strokes.
He did not take any pleasure in that outcome, he would rather have seen them repent and get saved, but yall, we serve a just God who is very protective over his children. And like when you’re in the woods and you threaten a mama bear’s cubs, it’s gonna bring some real bad stuff to your door step if you mess with them.
A man who is one of the commenters in my comments forums, posted these stories and he was even kind enough (characteristic of him) to find them so I could share them with you -
Recently my old bookkeeper came over to my office in an apparent scam to get a quick $100 from me, without intent to follow thru with completing the books? She said she finished the books and handed them to me, loose papers all over the place, trying to collect the full price. I gave them back to her, reminding her they needed to be inserted in nice neat presentation covers just like last year, also there were mistakes that needed to be corrected. She agreed, but still needed a $100 deposit because she needed gas and had to go buy the covers I expected, and was broke. So I handed her a check for $100 never to see her again.
Months later, after hiring another bookkeeper, my old bookkeeper called me up wanting her job back, with a terrible story of what happened to her. She said she was in the hospital all of this time with a flesh-eating disease that they couldn't find a cure for! She said she almost died! Keep in mind, this is judgment day, in case anyone hasn't heard of things like this happening before...
Next, I recently made a trade-deal with my woodcutter to trade a very nice like-new rifle with a carry case, and ammo box full of ammo. We agreed to trade straight across for 2 cords of wood, and I gave him the rifle and showed him all of the parts, pieces, and purchase receipts ahead of time so he could inspect the items before agreeing.
After personally handling all the merchandise & looking closely at everything I offered him, he then said, "Sure, he'd make that trade and said he'd like to have that gun." So we agreed and went our separate ways. After all the wood was delivered, I gave him his new gun package, and he left.
A few days later he called me back complaining that the 'pawn shop value' of the gun I traded him wasn't the same as the value of the wood he delivered! He said that I "stiffed him"! I could hardly believe my ears! I didn't claim any value amount about the items, asking only if he had 'agreed' to the trade? His choice was either yes or no, nothing else to consider. To claim I "stiffed him" was an unfounded accusation!
I took it to the Lord and asked for mercy over the situation, telling the Lord I didn't mean him any harm whatsoever, but I'd like to go the extra mile with him and give him a gift or something to put a smile on his face. I asked the Lord to please orchestrate a follow-up meeting between us so I could do something nice for him.
So today, the man just called me back and said that his house just burned down with all that he owned, including his wood business, truck, saws, and guns. He said he's living in his car now, so I asked him what he needs to help him out? He said he could sure use a sleeping bag.
And another story (I know some of your love stories, and I do too, when I’m listening to sermons. Well over a decade ago, I was engaged to a man and planning my wedding. One day out of the blue, he told me he did not think we should get married. I was taken completely by shock, as you can imagine.
So I ended the relationship. He turned out to be a liar and I’m pretty sure a cheater as well, judging by what happened shortly afterwards.
I had been completely devoted to him and treated him really, really well. He treated me less than wonderful when I broke off the relationship after he said he did not think we should be together. I don’t know about yall, but I’ve never been one to hang around where I’m not wanted, and he made it abundantly clear he didn’t want me, so I ended It. But you know how it goes, you see a person’s TRUE COLORS when a relationship is ending and they no longer HAVE ANYTHING TO GAIN FROM YOU.
To this day I thank God I did not marry him, but when the relationship ended, I was going to sleep one night and praying for him, as he had told me he had gotten some very bad news. Bad news to the tune of a letter from the iRS that he owed over $18,000 for a prior year when he had not paid any taxes. I really felt for him on that, even if he did break my heart, because I cared about HIM. So I’m laying there praying for him and suddenly the Lord spoke THIS to me:
DO NOT PRAY AGAINST MY JUDGMENTS!!
GASP!
Oh Lord, I’m so sorry! I did not know that’s what that was!! And I stopped praying for him.
Not long after that – in less than a year, he was working on a car (he was a mechanic) and the gas tank blew up and he was burned on his arms and some of his face.
The place where he worked burned down – which was his best friend’s business AND it was because of the gas tank HE was working on. I don’t know how many customers vehicles were destroyed in that fire or if the friend had any insurance on the place.
Within a year he married some other woman, and she filed for divorce six weeks later.
These are just the things I know about. I know God well enough to know there was more. The Lord just does not take it well when you mistreat one of His children that has done only good to you.
Proverbs 17:13
13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
So we can see just from the few stories we have heard, that to return evil for good is a very bad idea. And I want to mention something here – returning evil for good does not just mean some friend you think has done you wrong.
Returning evil for good will have the SAME EFFECT if the person you do it to is:
• Your spouse
• Your parent
• Your child
• Your coworker
• Your friend
• Someone at your church
• Your pastor
• A spiritual leader you see on TV
• Someone you don’t even know
• Someone you just talked to at a customer service center
• ANYONE!!! The rules are the same NO MATTER WHO IT IS!
Sometimes, we return evil for good thinking someone has slighted us or done something they really have not done – Satan can work in people’s minds and make them think things that aren’t true, can’t he? He will try to make you think someone has wronged you so you will strike out at them, because he hates THEM.
So let’s talk for a minute about how we ARE supposed to act, when we think we have been done wrong – the Lord tells us everything we need to know in His Word, yall – how to act, how to react – it’s all in there and it is all TO PROTECT YOU! The commandments are not just made up ideas, they are your protection if you will follow them.
Reading from Romans CHAPTER 12:
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.
(IN OTHER WORDS, TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME) Be not wise in your own conceits.
You know, just that part there helps a lot – Be not wise in your own conceits – DON’T THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING. DON’T GIVE INTO THOSE PRIDEFUL THOUGHTS AND YOU WILL AVOID A LOT OF TROUBLE OR YOURSELF JUST BY DOING THAT. OKAY, LET’S KEEP GOING because Romans Chapter 12 has a lot to say about this subject:
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
IN OTHER WORDS, DO WHAT’S RIGHT, BEING MINDFUL THAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING YOU FOR THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE – they are watching YOU to see if you will do the right thing – if you REALLY BELIEVE WHAT YOU SAY YOU BELIEVE, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO KNOW IF YOU ARE REAL (HONEST AND TRUTHFUL) OR NOT. SHOW THEM THE RIGHT RESPONSE AND YOU HONOR GOD, SHOW THEM THE WRONG ONE, AND YOU JUST HONORED SATAN.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
THIS MEANS IF YOU CAN, WORK IT OUT AND LIVE AT PEACE WITH EVERYONE. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU CANNOT DO THAT, BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE EVERY TIME. IF IT IS EVERY TIME, YOU NEED TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR AT THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IN THESE SITUATIONS AND FIGURE OUT WHY YOU ARE ALWAYS FIGHTING WITH PEOPLE.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
GIVE PLACE MEANS LEAVE ROOM FOR GOD TO DO WHAT IS HIS AND ONLY HIS RIGHT TO DO – REPAY EVIL. WE ARE NOT WITHOUT SIN, SO WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO REPAY EVIL, ONLY HE DOES. IF YOU ENJOY REPAYING EVIL, GO INTO SPIRITUAL WARFARE – YOU CAN BEAT UP DEMONS EVERY DAY AND STILL BE DOING WHAT’S RIGHT!!
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Have you ever fed your enemy and watched their response? It is an incredible feeling!! And sometimes, it breaks the evil spirit operating in them. It won’t break a Jezebel because she has no feelings, but it will break through a wall of hurt and pride if that’s what is causing them to act ugly towards you.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
WE DON’T KNOW WHAT IS IN A PERSON’S SOUL WHEN THEY DO EVIL TO US, but the Lord wants us to give a righteous response and let HIM – the ONLY TRULY RIGHTEOUS JUDGE – decide how they should be repaid. He knows WHY they did what they did to you, and He knows what kind of payback that really deserve. And yall, He is SO much better at this than we are!
And He is repaying evil faster than ever now, because of the lateness of the hour.
We all know people who just thrive on revenge. They are angry, prideful people who just love to show the power they can wield to pay you back. Even if you didn’t do what they think you did. I have an ongoing situation in my life from over a decade ago like this. A Jezebel spirit that just refuses truth, refuses salvation, and is very intent on my destruction. God has protected me and that is the only reason I am still here able to speak to you today, and I praise Him often for that, because many attempts have been made.
I moved to Arkansas because the lord sent me the message “Flee to the mountains, you are in danger!” So I prayed several times in the Presence of the Lord for where I was supposed to go, and every single time, the leading was to here where I am. The urgency was VERY strong as I packed as fast as I possibly could and did everything possible to find a house to rent. The one I rented is far too small and has multiple issues – an oven that does not work, a refrigerator that fills up with swamp water every week. A fireplace with a flue that no longer opens properly. Its old, cramped and poorly maintained, but it did allow me to get moved as fast as I could. And good thing I did, too, because I just found out this week that this person was just about to come after me – again.
So when I am talking to you about not paying someone back who hurt you, please understand that I live every day with holding back from taking revenge. This person wants to and is trying to destroy me. I have had the chance to land a devastating blow to, and I am talking about serious devastation, and I would have been completely in the right making that move in that it would not have required me to do anything “wrong.” I could have shut that person down for at least the next 10 years or so with it had I done it, but the Lord is more important to me than feeling like I got somebody back.
Even returning evil for evil is wrong for a Christian. We are supposed to return good for evil, and so overcome evil with good. When we return evil for evil, we perpetuate the evil, and help the devil’s work on the earth. That’s not what we are supposed to be doing, no matter how much someone hurt us, yall. And this can be very difficult because It requires you to control your flesh in favor of a more godly response. This is what it means to CRUCIFY YOUR FLESH – you refuse to let it have what it wants, you make it submit to what GOD wants instead.
So we are not supposed to return evil for good OR evil for evil. We are supposed to be doing GOOD in the earth, not evil. Period.
So in talking about returning evil for good, Let’s remember that if we gleefully open the gates of destruction on someone who has done only good to us, EVEN IF WE THINK they have done something bad to us, (AND THIS IS WHY WE NEED TO LET GOD REPAY, YALL) we are also opening the gates of destruction on our own lives. And it affects not just us, but our children as well. Those gates may bring the one you disdain sorrow, but they will bring you even more sorrow, for your sorrow will be long term when destruction comes to your house and refuses to leave.
Proverbs 17:13
13 Whoso rewardeth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.
You are welcoming evil into your house to stay. I don’t think King David had any idea the day he sent for Bathsheba, knowing she was the wife of another man, that he was throwing wide the gates of destruction into the palace, into his family, and on himself. He was a highly honored king, used to having whatever he wanted, who loved beautiful women.
He had stayed behind and was laying around the palace when his army went to war – in the time when Kings went to battle. So he wasn’t really where he was supposed to be, and that is always a chance for the devil to tempt us, isn’t it? When we are not where we’re supposed to be.
So we need to be very aware and be careful not to return evil for evil when someone wrongs us – no matter how much it hurts, and we ESPECIALLY need to be careful not to return evil for good or return evil when we THINK someone has done us wrong, because if they really HAVEN’T done us wrong, Destruction will not depart from our house.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Even though striking at your enemies or someone you feel upset at may feel good in the moment, the destruction that can come out of fighting fire with fire can have effects that last a life time. Choose to do right. Do it God’s way. Keep your side of the street clean, and He will avenge you. His ways are SO much better!
