Even His Enemies
When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
The Bible makes clear that ultimately obedience to God will be rewarded and sin will be punished. There are examples in the Bible where God thwarted the plans of enemies to give His people peace (for example, Genesis 26:27-28).
And living God’s way of life promotes peace. For example, we recently covered Proverbs 15:1, which shows that “a soft answer turns away wrath.” As Paul explained, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).
But there are times when it is not possible for us to turn an enemy from hatred. Even Christ Himself had enemies. So how are we to understand Proverbs 16:7? We can take it as a promise from God that we can ask for in prayer if we are truly striving to please Him. However, we must also wait patiently, as many of His servants have had to wait, for the timing is in God’s hands.
We do know that ultimately God will turn all enemies into peaceful followers of Christ, or they will be burned up (Malachi 4:1-3). In the end, all evil will be overcome by good (Romans 12:21).
For more about the ultimate reward of those who strive to please God, see the “Kingdom of God” section.
