Jesus said to “love your enemies ... [and] do good to those who hate you,” Matthew 5:44, and this is seen by some as a contradiction to the accounts in the Old Testament where Israel was to kill all the inhabitants of certain peoples of the land of Canaan.
Loving your enemies does not mean that you have to approve or accommodate or even allow their evil ways; you may even have to limit what they do by force, which could involve their imprisonment or death--depending on the kind of evil that they seek to do or have done. God ordained government to limit and judge evil; and God himself can and has limited evil, according to His wisdom.
How you treat your enemies depends on the circumstances.
Some enemies are only those who disagree with what you believe, or they just don't like you for some reason. You can have enemies in your own family due to differing beliefs. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ... a man's enemies will be those of his own household,“ Matthew 10:34-36. You would not treat such enemies the same as you would someone who sought to do bodily harm to someone in your family. There may be circumstances where you have to do bodily harm to someone else. In times of war, you may have to kill the enemy, though in different circumstances, you could respond in a less lethal way, and maybe, even show compassion. It depends on the circumstances.
There are times when the enemy has to be dealt with in a just, legal way. And in some cases, the enemy is of such a disposition that they reap the judgment of God. This was the case several times in the Old Testament in which God destroys a people because they have reached a certain degree of evil or injustice. Israel was not to go into Canaan until the people's sins have a reach a full point: “...in the fourth generation they [Israel] shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete," Genesis 15:16. The Amorites, being the people of Canaan, were Divinely appointed to destruction, and God would use Israel to carry out that judgment. God uses nations to judge other nations. Though God could do it directly through other means, as in the days of Noah or the cities of the plain (Sodom, etc.), he also did it with nations against nations.
In the event of war, involving nations, one is not able to love his enemy, for he may have to kill him, lest the enemy kills his countrymen and possesses his country. And some enemies have reached a point of opposition to God that makes them objects of God's wrath. These types of enemies are the ones who are “the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,” Romans 9:22. Though there are circumstances where an individual can show acts of mercy to their enemy (see the account in 2 Kings 6.8-23 concerning the Syrian army and the prophet Elisha), there comes a point where the enemies of God become objects of His vengeance and wrath. We can see this in the book of Revelation with the Christian martyrs: "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Revelation 6:10. Prayers in the Psalms that are harsh against the enemy, praying for their destruction, could be understood in this light, that they are enemies of God, and they shall not prosper against the people of God (unless there is a Divine reason for them to). Depending on the circumstances, one could show grace to their enemy, or they could seek their destruction.
When Jesus seemed to contradict the Old Testament [OT], it should be kept in mind that the Laws of the OT set limits, and one was not to go beyond those limits (but that doesn't mean that they didn't), but also, one was not obligated to go even that far. The “eye for an eye” set a limit: if someone knocked your eye out, you were not to take both of the offender's eyes out as a consequence; however, one didn't even have to take one eye out—you could choose to forgive them instead. One did not have to exact revenge or seek justice, but if they did, there were limits.
The ideal is not to return evil with evil but with good. But again, it depends on the circumstances. The Apostle Paul should be considered as well: “17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 20 Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.' 21 Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:17-21
How you treat your enemies depends on the circumstances.
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