Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

EVIL

A wide range of activities and conditions, both in individuals and communities, from misfortune and despair to wickedness, maliciousness, and corruption.

Although OT writers often refer to evil as a violation of Israel’s covenant with God, in a number of other instances evil refers to an ontological condition. Sometimes evil is used to describe people (Prov. 11:21), their reputations or their names (Deut. 22:14, 19), and their conduct (Ps. 34:13[MT 14]). The word also relates to emotions: those who are sad or anxious are said to be “afflicted with evil” (Prov. 15:15; Gen. 44:34), and “evil is determined” by those who are angry (1 Sam. 20:7). Sometimes even land is described as evil, as when Moses directs his spies to determine whether or not the “land they [the Canaanites] dwell in is good or bad” (Num. 13:19). At the conclusion of the Holiness code God promises to “remove evil beasts from the land” (Lev. 26:6) if the Israelites walk in God’s ways.

Evil also designates human immorality and corruption. According to much Wisdom Literature, evil and wickedness originate in the human heart (Prov. 6:14; Eccl. 8:11), which is evil from youth (Gen. 8:21). Acts of false witness, stealing, murder, and adultery are evil, for the Deuteronomic laws exhort the community to punish such acts by “purging the evil from your midst” (Deut. 19:18-19; 22:21-24; 24:7). The prophetic literature urges individuals and the community to turn from evil ways and to walk in the ways of the Lord (e.g., Amos 5:14-15).

Idolatry is also evil because the individual or the community is unfaithful to the covenant with God (Deut. 4:25; 1 Kgs. 11:6). Because of their idolatry and apostasy, God destroys the dynasties of both Jeroboam and Ahab (1 Kgs. 14:10; 21:29). As punishment for Judah’s sins, God “brings evil from the north, and a great destruction” (Jer. 4:6) in the form of the Babylonian army. When Abimelech tries to appoint himself king in Shechem, God sends an evil spirit as punishment (Judg. 9:23). If the unfaithful repent, however, God will deliver them from evil (Jer. 18:8; 26:3, 13, 19; Jonah 3:10; 4:2).

Within this matrix of good and evil, OT writers often question why the wicked go unpunished and the righteous suffer. Although some texts assure us that the wicked will not go unpunished (Prov. 11:21), others proclaim that the righteous may perish in their righteousness while the wicked prolong their life in their evil-doing (Eccl. 7:15). Using an ancient folktale, the writer of the book of Job presents the dilemma of the inexplicable suffering of the righteous.

In the NT, evil refers to conditions like disease (“evil sores,” Rev. 16:2) and anguish and anxiety (Luke 16:25). Paul refers to the times in which he is living as “the present evil age” (Gal. 1:4). In Matthew even fruit is described as evil: “the bad tree bears evil fruit” (Matt. 7:17).

However, writers in the NT, as in the OT, describe evil primarily as moral corruption and a violation of God’s laws. In his teachings, Jesus makes a clear distinction between evil and good (Matt. 5:45; 13:49), and he describes his opponents, notably the Pharisees, as an “evil and adulterous generation” (12:34, 39). Evil originates in the heart (Mark 7:21-23) and describes a person’s actions (John 3:19), thoughts (Matt. 15:19), and speech (Jas. 3:8).

Contrary to OT writers, NT writers refer to the existence and power of an Evil One who can seduce individuals to do evil. Influenced by the dualism of Persian religion and Hellenistic philosophy, Christianity begins to emphasize the existence of two realms and ages, one good and the other evil. Humans are subject to the powers of the demonic forces and may even be possessed by these evil spirits. Yet the NT writers emphasize that the evil powers are limited by God’s ultimate power (John 12:31; Rev. 12:9; 20:1-3). In contrast to Job, who suffers without a mediator between him and God, the NT writings offer a mediator in Jesus Christ, who, through his death, defeats the Evil One (Heb. 2:14-15).

Henry L. Carrigan, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

EVIL

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)