Biblical Enemies
Quick Summary
The Bible speaks honestly about enemies, conflict, and harm, but it refuses to let hostility have the final word. From Israel’s struggle for survival to Jesus’ radical call to love enemies, Scripture treats enemies as a real feature of human life while consistently redirecting God’s people toward justice, restraint, and mercy. Biblical teaching on enemies is not about denial or passivity. It is about refusing to let hatred define faith.
Introduction
Enemies are not an abstract idea in the Bible. They are named, faced, feared, and sometimes mourned. Scripture emerged from communities under threat—slavery in Egypt, invasion by empires, internal betrayal, religious conflict, and political violence. To read the Bible faithfully is to recognize that it speaks from inside real struggle, not above it.
At the same time, the Bible steadily reshapes how enemies are understood. Early texts focus on survival and justice within fragile communities. Later voices press toward restraint, prayer, and moral accountability. In the teaching of Jesus, the category of enemy is radically reworked, not erased, but transformed into a site where God’s love is revealed most clearly. Biblical enemies are real, but they are never given ultimate power over the heart.
Enemies in the Hebrew Bible: Survival, Justice, and Restraint
In the Hebrew Bible, enemies are often concrete political or military threats. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and hostile neighboring nations appear repeatedly. Israel’s language about enemies grows out of vulnerability rather than dominance. The psalms frequently cry out to God for protection: “Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord; I have fled to you for refuge” (Psalm 143:9, NRSV).
Yet even in these prayers, limits appear. Israel is warned against vengeance taken into its own hands. “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble” (Proverbs 24:17). Walter Brueggemann notes that biblical lament allows anger to be voiced before God so it does not become destructive action toward others (Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms, p. 52).
The Torah also restricts how enemies are treated. Deuteronomy commands care even for the enemy’s property: “If you see your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must not ignore it; you must take it back” (Deuteronomy 22:1). Such laws refuse to let hostility override basic moral responsibility.
Loving the Enemy in Wisdom and Prophetic Traditions
Wisdom literature pushes further. Proverbs 25:21 instructs, “If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink.” This teaching anticipates later Christian ethics, grounding compassion not in sentiment but in moral discipline.
The prophets expand this vision by insisting that enemies are not the only problem. Injustice within Israel itself is repeatedly condemned. Amos and Isaiah portray God as more concerned with internal exploitation than external threat. Enemies are sometimes instruments of judgment, not simply villains. As John Goldingay observes, the prophets resist simplistic moral binaries, forcing Israel to examine its own violence and unfaithfulness (Goldingay, Old Testament Theology, vol. 2, p. 401).
Jesus and the Radical Reframing of Enemies
Jesus does not deny the existence of enemies. He names them plainly. What changes is how his followers are called to respond. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). This is not presented as an emotional posture but as a practice that reflects God’s character.
Jesus grounds this command in God’s indiscriminate generosity: “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good” (Matthew 5:45). Enemy-love is not about excusing harm. It is about refusing to mirror the violence of the world. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, loving enemies breaks the cycle of retaliation that defines fallen human relationships (The Cost of Discipleship, p. 137).
Jesus himself embodies this teaching. He heals the servant of a Roman centurion, forgives those who crucify him, and welcomes tax collectors and sinners who were widely regarded as enemies of religious purity. At the cross, Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Enemies in the Early Church: Witness Without Retaliation
The early Christian movement inherited Jesus’ teaching in a hostile environment. Christians were marginalized, mocked, and periodically persecuted. The New Testament letters emphasize restraint and trust in God’s justice. Paul writes, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God” (Romans 12:19).
Instead of retaliation, the church is called to witness through endurance. First Peter encourages believers facing slander to respond with integrity rather than aggression (1 Peter 2:12). This posture does not deny injustice. It refuses to let injustice dictate behavior.
Scholars such as N. T. Wright emphasize that early Christian enemy-love was a political act, challenging the logic of empire by demonstrating a different way of power (Paul and the Faithfulness of God, p. 1302).
Meaning for Today
Biblical teaching on enemies resists both naïve idealism and hardened cynicism. Scripture neither denies harm nor sanctifies hatred. It calls for truth, accountability, and moral courage without surrendering compassion.
To take biblical enemies seriously is to acknowledge conflict while refusing to let it define identity. The Bible insists that faithfulness is measured not by how fiercely enemies are opposed, but by whether love, justice, and humility remain intact. This is not weakness. It is a demanding form of spiritual strength.
FAQ
Does the Bible really command loving enemies?
Yes. Jesus explicitly commands love for enemies in Matthew 5:44, grounding it in God’s character rather than human merit.
Does loving enemies mean accepting abuse?
No. Biblical love does not erase boundaries or justice. Scripture consistently condemns oppression and calls for accountability.
Are enemies always external in the Bible?
No. The prophets repeatedly identify injustice within the community as a greater threat than foreign enemies.
Did the early church practice enemy-love?
Historical and textual evidence suggests that early Christians emphasized non-retaliation and moral witness, even under persecution.
Works Consulted
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. SCM Press.
Brueggemann, Walter. The Message of the Psalms. Augsburg.
Goldingay, John. Old Testament Theology. IVP Academic.
Wright, N. T. Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Fortress Press.
