¹² Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them;

¹³ Therefore thus saith the Lord God; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword.

¹⁴ And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.

Edom spent decades acting against the word of God by taking revenge on Israel. Edom never got over being mad about Jacob receiving Esau’s blessing. But sins against humanity, are sins against God. We are called to treat others with kindness and goodness regardless of how others treat us. We will be dealt by God with if we act out of the bounds of His word. There are people today who are still mad over things that are in the past, but what kind of life is that to live? Instead of focusing on revenge, focus on treating others with love and kindness in the way that Jesus would.

What does the Bible say about revenge?

Romans 12:17 – Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 – See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek what is good for one another and for all people.

1 Peter 3:9 – To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you would inherit a blessing.

Leviticus 19:17 – You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him.

How does the Bible say we should we behave?

1 John 4:19 – We love, because He first loved us.

2 Timothy 3:2 – An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching, not overindulging in wine, not a bully, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.

The only thing that can heal our world and the spirit of revenge is the Lord.