David & The Evil Empire

Synopsis     Psalms 37:23-39:10     9/28/2021 

According to King David, there is a tension that exists between evil and righteousness people. And this tension often breaks out into enmity. The evil attack the righteous because they want to destroy them.  

But it is not the same for the righteous. They are defended by God. For this reason, they do not seek out confrontation with evildoers. Instead, they hope for their rehabilitation.  

David further explained that when he sinned, God punished him. He understood this punishment to be corrective.

But the curious thing about David’s sin is how other sinners reacted. When he sinned, other sinners attacked him. Instead of celebrating his failure and sinfulness, they saw his failure as an opportunity to attack. The evil condemned evil. 

David and the Evil Empire 

This is one essential mark of evil. Ultimately, because evil motivations are driven by personal envy and pride, evil lacks basis for community. Thus, evil is even against itself. For evildoers, the only shared motivation is hatred of God.

The Evil Empire 

The devil brought pride and envy to the garden. But, this destructive force created more than enmity with God. In fact, envy brought enmity between brothers. Thus, Cain killed Abel. In this way, God has destined people who do evil to ultimate failure and destruction.  

From this perspective, my awareness that God has destroyed the power of evil brings a mixture of joy and sadness.  Truly, victory always belongs to the Lord in the unity of goodness and love.  

However, the redeemed rightly feel pity for a world trapped in the tragic cycle of pride and destruction with no natural hope of reconciliation and freedom.  

“But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand.’” Matt 12:25