1.10.2008

and their mighty men are defeated

Watched an amazing movie this evening. The movie is a meditation on good and evil, particularly the relentlessness of evil. We live in a broken world filled with evil so evil it can't be imagined. And those working for good can get overwhelmed by that evil.

In 1Sam4, the Israelites get routed by the Philistines. So they march the Ark of the Covenant into camp and cheer its arrival. The Phils actually hear the cheer and are frightened by the knowledge that the Ark is in the camp with the high probability that God is on the side of the Israelites. So what do the Phils do?

They decide to keep fighting the Israelites.

You might have expected the Ark to have made a difference. In most stories like this, the presence of the Ark helps the Israelites rout their enemies. But in this case, tens of thousands of Israelites get slaughtered by the Phils and the people of God are defeated. Same story as No Country. Even those on the side of good can get overwhelmed by evil.

Not because God isn't strong enough to defeat evil, don't take your thinking down that alleyway. Down that alleyway is where evil wins. No, the side of good loses at times because the Lord allows it to happen. You're focused on the battles, yes, won and loss by the Lord's will. Look to the war, though. Relentless or not, evil doesn't win. A blood-stained cross is proof of that.

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