Evil, from the biblical perspective, is the opposite of good and has no direct connection to morality or sin.
That’s basically what we learnt in our last session.
Then I promised to show you another side of Evil. Here it is:
EVIL IS SMASH
Now don’t get me wrong. I never said The Hulk was evil. He’s pretty awesome. This is a side of evil, many have little idea of. Let me begin with a verse of Scripture:
“Thou shalt break (râ’âh) them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Psalm 2:9
Yep. The word translated in English as “break” was actually “râ’âh,” which means evil.
While evil is the opposite of good. It also means to break. I love the Word “smash.” For one, its the actual application of the word used here. Also, it reminds me of someone.
Let me show you another place In Scripture and then explain my point:
“And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh (reh’ah) all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.”
Daniel 2:40
The Word “breaketh(smash)” used here was translated from the Aramaic (not Hebrew) form of râ’âh which means evil.
Most of us know of the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the kingdom of Iron represented the kingdom of Rome which conquered (smashed) the others.
What’s my point?
Evil is smash. From the above examples, it implied the effect of the iron, hardest of the common metals, when used to smash, break and destroy.
Evil is an agent that can be used to smash, break or destroy. The one on the receiving end can be you, plants, animals, your enemies, your loved ones etc. On that note evil is pretty neutral. It becomes more devastating to you when it’s not about your enemies.
In our previous session, I made note of one thing.
Evil can used. But the outcome of its usage depends on three main factors:
– The User
– The Method
– The purpose.
Let’s refer to evil being smash as a method. Let’s make God the user this time.
GOD USES EVIL TO SMASH
God is not Hulk. Just putting that out there. But He does uses evil to smash. How? He uses evil as a form of judgement.
Let me give you a glimpse of our Lord Jesus going to use evil.
The Lord is Gonna Smash
Do you remember Psalm 2:9? I just gave you that scripture verse seconds ago. That chapter speaks of the Lord dealing out judgement to the nations (who are enemies) with the rod of iron, in His second coming. Let’s not oversell it. No one knows how He will do that, but it won’t be pleasant to them.
God Smashed Egypt
Another place where God smashed with evil was in Egypt, during the time of Moses. Here’s Moses’ testimony:
“And the LORD (YAHWEH) shewed signs and wonders, great and sore (râ’âh), upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes.” (Deuteronomy 6:22)
The terrible yet awesome signs and wonders God performed in Egypt to “convince” Pharaoh to release His people were described by Moses as Great and yet Evil (sore)
God used evil to smash Egypt with His judgement. Everytime God stretched His Hand against the enemies of His people, that was He smashing with evil. This evil can be anything from mild disappointments to great terror.
When your enemies are at the receiving end, you feel like He has judged rightly on your behalf. Now do you see how evil works for you? Evil used by God for you is exhilarating, isn’t it? Would you call that sin?
But what if that evil was directed towards you?
The Smashing Deal
When God signed a treaty (covenant) with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai, they promised to fulfill every bit of it. If they couldn’t, they had no right to blame God for His Smash.
In Judges 2:13-15, after Joshua died, the Israelites rebelled against God. They worshipped Ba’al and Ashtoreth. This means they broke His treaty. What did He do? He sent enemies after them to conquer and oppress them. That was God smashing evil against them:
“Whithersoever they(Israel) went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil (râ’âh), as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.”
Judges 2:15 KJV
This is seen throughout Scripture. When they repent, God then removed the evil and blessed them. The evil can be sickness, defeats, oppression, deaths etc. It’s just something which is not pleasant to the individual or thing involved.
Remember, evil is basically something that is not good or pleasant.
When God Smashed Adam
God used evil first in judging mankind through Adam, when he sinned by disobeying God’s instructions.
God made him experience the evil he ate (tree of knowledge of good and evil)
This evil is what is known to us as mortality. We age, are weak in many ways, vulnerable to sickness, can get hurt, excrete putrid stuff like sweat and whatnot etc.
Creation too experienced evil metered out by God when Adam sinned (Romans 8:20).
In these examples:
Who sinned? Adam, Israelites (Man).
Who committed evil? God. He smashed evil as judgement.
This should get you thinking for a while.
Conclusion
Evil is smash. God uses it to smash out His judgement upon His creation. Concerning the factors I listed about the usage of evil:
User: God
Method: Smash
Purpose: Judgement
However, like Job, there are times where God smashed or allowed on people who didn’t necessarily deserve it. Righteous people too can get smashed. For that, His purpose is quite different. That I’ll try my best to enlighten before the series ends.
But for our next one, we are going to look at what happens if the user of the evil is Mankind (you and I). Stay tuned!!
Shalom !!!
Uche Okorie
Ecclesia Oikodomeo 