The armor given to Christ included “garments of vengeance,” with which to bring justice to the earth. Such vengeance cannot be separated from His “righteousness.” Many have interpreted this to mean that vengeance is righteous, when in fact, we should be warned against taking vengeance into our own hands. Vengeance—indeed, any dispensing of justice—when put into the hands of carnal men, easily creates new injustices.

It is for this reason that the New Testament armor, given to the believers, does not include such garments. Though believers are called to judge in the sense of discerning right from wrong, we must be careful about executing judgment without proper authorization. Isaiah 59:18 says,

¹⁸ According to their deeds, so He will repay, wrath to His adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the coastlands He will make recompense.

No doubt the prophet had Deut. 32:35 in mind, which says, “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution.” The Apostle Paul combined Deuteronomy with Isaiah, telling us in Rom. 12:19, “Never take your own revenge… Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” Instead of revenge, we are admonished in the next verses (Rom. 12:20, 21),

²⁰ “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

Here Paul quotes Prov. 25:21, 22. The wisdom of God is thus set forth a thousand years prior to Christ’s coming as the Mediator of the New Covenant. In this matter, Moses knew the truth when he wrote Deut. 32:35. In fact, the mind of God has been revealed since the beginning of time. Truth is on every page, but only those of a New Covenant mindset can know the mind of God.

The word picture created by the author of Proverbs is of a neighbor whose fire has gone out and is in need of a few coals to restart the fire. Neighbors often quarreled, but if one came asking for a few coals, the biblical advice was to “heap burning coals on his head.” In other words, do not be stingy. Give the neighbor a jar full of hot coals, going beyond the call of duty. He will then put the jar of coals on his head and then walk home, contemplating the kindness and generosity of his neighbor.

Such neighborly action could potentially make the “enemy” neighbor ashamed of himself for mistreating his generous neighbor unjustly. Thus, we are to “overcome evil with good.” This is the nature of our own “garments of vengeance.” We are to take revenge [naqam] by repaying good for the evil that has been done to us.

Is There No Justice?

Victims of injustice may then ask if there is no justice at all. Is there no recourse in a court of law? Can a person not be repaid for his losses at the hand of sinners? Yes, of course. The law of God established earthly courts even before the law was given at Mount Horeb. So we read in Exodus 18:25, 26,

²⁵ Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶ They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses; but every minor dispute they themselves would judge.

Moses acted as the Chief Justice in this arrangement. The “able men” were expected to know the law of God and were also expected to discern the mind of God in judging the people. If they should make a mistake, or if the lower judge did not know how to judge a difficult case, the case could be passed up the line to a more knowledgeable judge. Moses essentially represented Christ, who today is our Chief Justice and final Authority.

The people were to try to resolve their own disputes between themselves, but if they failed to come to an agreement, they had the option of appealing their case to the local judge. Hence, as long as the judges were godly, justice would reign. If the judges could be bribed, or if they judged cases according to their own carnal minds, casting aside the law of God, then the whole land would suffer.

The point is that “vengeance is Mine” should not be interpreted to prohibit a judicial system on earth. It prohibited men from taking justice into their own hands. The judges represented God, because they were authorized to apply God’s law in their decisions. In fact, the word elohim is often translated “judges,” as we see in Exodus 21:6, KJV, “his master shall bring him unto the judges” (elohim, “God, or gods”). The NASB renders this, “his master shall bring him to God.”

Either translation is correct, because the judge represented God. The judge was not authorized to judge according to his own law or opinion. He was called to represent God and His law.

The problem, of course, is that judicial systems around the world have rebelled against God by judging according to man’s laws. Legislators pass laws without regard to the laws of God, and thereby violate the rights of God and create injustice toward men. The law of God defines natural rights, and governments are instituted to defend those rights. But when governments, legislators, and judges refuse to recognize God’s rights, injustice is assured.

The real question, then, is how to function peaceably in a secular nation. How does one live in Babylon while in captivity? How does one endure the injustice of men’s judicial systems? Scripture shows believers how to live a righteous life in spite of injustice. Institutional injustice is usually beyond our personal ability to rectify. We are admonished to overcome evil with good.

We are given hope that justice will be reestablished in the earth at the coming of Christ, who alone is able to judge the earth on that level. His judgment will not be devoid of mercy, because mercy and grace are featured in the law, along with double restitution. Most people focus too much on justice without understanding that there is also a law of grace. By not understanding God’s law, their views of Christ’s coming with justice are warped.

The Divine Goal of Justice

Isaiah 59:19 gives us the purpose of Christ’s “wrath” and “recompense,” saying,

¹⁹ So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, for He will come like a rushing stream which the wind [ruach, “wind, breath, Spirit”] of the Lord drives.

All of this wrath and recompense is not designed to destroy or depopulate the earth but to convert them by the power of His Spirit. It is to cause the people to “fear the name of the Lord.” The fear of the Lord is not about quaking in your boots. Godly fear is a recognition of God’s right to rule that which He owns through His labor.

Isaiah foreshadows the great outpouring of the Spirit at the end of the age. The prophet speaks of this often, most notably in Isaiah 32:15, “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high.” Christ’s justice is designed to restore the lawful order so that the people can rejoice, live in peace, and be productive.

Psalm 67:4 says,

⁴ Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the peoples with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth. Selah.

The heart of God is not to destroy enemies but to reconcile them. It is not to condemn sinners but to justify them and cause them to repent. We have a God of Love who dispenses justice according to His loving nature with the goal of restoring all things to Himself.

The Redeemer

Isaiah 59:20 says,

²⁰ “A Redeemer [ga’al] will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.

A redeemer is a kinsman who acts as the guardian of a family, one who is in authority to represent his family in a court of law to ensure that they are protected and receive justice. Jesus came as a near kinsman to those of the seed of Abraham (Heb. 2:16), and so He came through the tribe of Judah. Likewise, He came through “flesh and blood” (Heb. 2:14), so that He would be a kinsman to all. That is why He did not come as an angel, says the author of Hebrews.

Kinsmen have rights that aliens and angels do not have. When Jesus said in John 12:32, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself,” He was declaring Himself to be the great Kinsman-redeemer of all men.

The Hebrew word ga’al (“redeemer”) is spelled gimel, alef, and lamed. The alef and lamed spell El, or God. The gimel literally means a camel but it signifies being “lifted up.” In other words, ga’al means “to lift up God.”

Jesus used this as a prophecy that He would be lifted up on the cross and thereby be the great Redeemer of all men.

One of the responsibilities of a ga’al was to turn the hearts of unrighteous family members back to God. He was not to defend their sin in a court of law but to establish righteousness. If his family member were guilty, he was responsible to cause him to repent. So Isaiah tells us that the Redeemer was to come “to those who turn from transgression in Jacob.”

The New Covenant

Isaiah 59:21 concludes,

²¹ “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”

It is plain that this is a description of the New Covenant. It involves the promise of the Holy Spirit, whose function is to write the law of God on our hearts and put the words of God in our mouths. This was seen by other prophets as well. Jer. 31:33, 34 says,

³³ “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

The New Covenant will not be fulfilled until everyone knows the Lord and needs no one to teach him the law of God. When the law is written on every heart, then all will be in conformity to the nature of God Himself. Isaiah adds that the word of God will be spoken continuously from the mouths of all men.

The scope of God’s New Covenant is such that it is not fulfilled until everyone speaks only what they hear their Father say. The New Covenant is not limited to a few, for God intends to reconcile all of His enemies (2 Cor. 5:19) and to justify all sinners (Rom. 5:18). In the end, He will put all things under His feet so that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:27, 28).