THRUST YOUR SPEAR AT EVIL

“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.” (Proverbs 28:4 NKJV)

 

Balak king of Moab became sick with dread when the children of Israel camped in the plain of Moab. Therefore, Balak enticed a prominent diviner, Balaam, into placing a curse upon the children of Israel. However, all Balaam’s efforts to curse God’s children proved abortive.

 

When Balak persuaded Balaam further to curse God’s people, Balaam said to him, “Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them.” (Num. 23:20-21 NKJV). Hallelujah!

 

As a born-again believer, you have been blessed in Christ “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” therefore, no one can curse you (Eph. 1:3 NKJV).

 

Christ has redeemed you from every curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). Therefore, you don’t have any curse on your head. What you now have on your head is God’s blessings.

 

Solomon testifies, “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” (Prov. 10:6 NKJV).

 

When Balaam saw that all his attempts to place a curse upon the children of Israel were unsuccessful, because of his inordinate desire or lust for the king’s gifts, he counselled and taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel by enticing them to eat things sacrificed to idols and their men to commit sexual immorality with the women of Moab (Rev. 2:14).

 

According to the counsel of Balaam, while the children of Israel abode in Shittim, the people of Moab invited them to the sacrifices of their gods, and they ate and bowed to their gods and committed harlotry with the women of Moab. Consequently, the fierce anger of God was aroused against Israel.

 

Numbers 25:

 1 While Israel dwelt in Shittim the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.

 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods.

 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel;

 4 and the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you slay his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” (RSV).

 

While all the congregation of Israel was still weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before God, Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Simeonites brought in Cozbi, the daughter of one of the princes of Midiam and presented her to his brethren in the sight of Moses and all the congregation of children of Israel.

 

What an affront and effrontery!

 

Seeing this deliberate affront or despicable behaviour of Zimri and Cozbi, Phinehas the grandson of Aaron the high priest rose up in anger to confront and deal decisively with this evil.

 

Phinehas took his spear in his hand and went after them in the tent and thrust both of them through her body. Seeing Phinehas’ anger against evil, God’s anger was appeased.

 

Numbers 25:

 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.

 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation, and took a spear in his hand

 8 and went after the man of Israel into the inner room, and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through her body. Thus the plague was stayed from the people of Israel. (RSV).

 

God highly commended Phinehas’ holy anger against evil and rewarded his great zeal for righteousness with a covenant of peace and everlasting priesthood.

 

Numbers 25:

 10 And the LORD said to Moses,

 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.

 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace;

 13 and it shall be to him, and to his descendants after him, the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the people of Israel.'” (RSV).

 

Apparently, the New Testament believers are not expected by God to physically assault or kill any evil doers for the sake of God, just as Phinehas did.

 

The Scripture warns, “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.” (Rev. 13:10 NKJV).

 

However, the believers are not expected to stand aloof with arms akimbo, watching evil thrive and spread in their communities or cities.

 

Evil will always thrive and escalate where and when the righteous do nothing. All that it takes for evil to triumph anywhere is for the righteous there to stand aloof and watch impotently.

 

Sadly, many of God’s people today have become accustomed, complacent, and indifferent to injustice, immorality, corruption, and wickedness in our society. No wonder evil is thriving in our days!

 

Beloved, like Phinehas, God expects you to be angry at evil and take your “spiritual spear” and thrust through the heart of evil in the society.

 

How do you do this?

 

First, by shinning as light in the midst of darkness of this world:

 

When you choose not to conform to the custom or pattern of this evil world, but choose to stand out, walking in the footsteps of Jesus; you are piercing the heart of evil in your community (Rom. 12:2, Phil. 2:14-15).

 

Jesus commands you to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Mt. 5:16 NKJV).

 

Paul admonishes, “Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” (Eph. 5:7-8 NKJV).

 

Second, you pierce the heart of evil by preaching the Gospel of Christ:

 

While believers are children of God, the unbelievers are children of Satan, the author of evil. Every sinner is a tool or agent of evil in the hand of Satan. The unbelievers are under the sway or influence of Satan, the evil one (Eph. 2:1-3, 1 John 5:19).

 

1 John 3:

 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (NKJV).

 

Therefore, your devotion or commitment to winning souls through the preaching or teaching of the gospel of Christ is thrusting your spiritual spear through the heart of evil in your community.

 

Through the preaching of the gospel of Christ you turn men from darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from evil to good, and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18).

 

Third, you pierce the heart of evil when you expose or bring evil to light:

 

Evil thrives and spreads under the covering of darkness. As a light of the world, God expects you to expose evil and not to conceal it, to speak out against evil and not to keep silent, to reproof evil and not to condone it, and to take a public stand against evil and not to be indifferent to it.

 

Ephesians 5:

 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. (NKJV).

 

Lastly, you will begin to pierce the heart of evil in your Community when you begin to enforce the victory of Christ and proclaim the preeminence of Christ over all the forces of evil in your Community.

 

The devil is behind all the evils we see in our society today. Evil is thriving and escalating in our society today because the believers are not wielding their authority in Christ to bind and resist the devil.

 

James admonishes, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (Jas. 4:7 NKJV).

 

Friend, what is your disposition towards the injustice, immorality, corruption, or ungodliness that is staring at you where you are today?

 

Evil is thriving and advancing in our society today because you have not been preaching the gospel of Christ and winning souls for Christ, exposing, rebuking, speaking out against, or taking a public stand against evil, and resisting the devil that is behind evil.

 

The Lord is calling you today to rise up with your “spiritual spear” and pierce through the heart of evil in your home, office, school, church and society, just as Phinehas did. God will surely reward you as He rewarded Phinehas.

 

Solomon writes, “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.” (Pr. 28:4 NKJV).

 

Stop praising the wicked; rather, start contending with them!

 

 

Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for my complacence and indifference to the rise and spread of evil around me. My Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me to daily pierce the heart of evil with my spiritual spear, in Jesus’ name. Amen.