Vindication is God’s prerogative and God’s prerogative alone. Deuteronomy 32:35 – ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay’ – is quoted twice in the New Testament (Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30). Vindication is what God does best. He doesn’t want our help. So when we refuse to punish – and God likes that – it sets him free to decide what should be done. But if we manœuvre our way into his expertise he may well let us do it, but neither divine vengeance nor true justice will be carried out – only our personal grudge.
