Saying 28

Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
    when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the Lord will see and disapprove
    and turn his wrath away from them.

Proverbs 27:17-18

This is not the only place in Scripture where we are told not to gloat over an opponent’s downfall; no sir, not by a long shot. We have a tendency to rejoice over an enemy’s troubles (Psalm 36:15). Obadiah 12 told Edom not to rejoice over Israbl’s fall. David prayed that his enemies would not be given the chance to rejoice over his calamities (Psalm 35:19). Job said he had not erred in this field (Job. 31:29). And David was a good example of one who did not rejoice over his enemies’ misfortunes: see him as he weeps over the death of Saul (11 Samuel 1:11) and over the death of the revolting Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33).

God sees everything that takes place on the earth. He saw Adam and Eve’s sin in the beginning, and He has seen every sin since. Rejoicing over an enemy’s troubles or fall is displeasing to God to the point that in some way He will deal mercifully with him in the future as a result.