2 Kings 8:12
‘And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: you will set their fortified citieson fire, you will kill their young men with the sword, their little ones you will smash to pieces, and you will rip up their pregnant women.”‘
This is a concerning passage. Hazael was a servant of a foreign king. He was sent to Elisha to ask a question for the king. At the end of the question, Elisha weeps. This verse is the explanation. He denies it, but Elisha tells him he will be king.
Hazael saw these deeds as evil, but his tune changed when he heard Elisha tell him he would be king. Soon after, Hazael assassinates the present king and he takes the throne.
What concerns me about this passage is the evil people are capable of. One minute, he’s offended that Elisha could accuse him of this, but that emotion is replaced with the thrill that he’ll be king. Novel’s and movies are made of lowly people rising to become that which they would never expect. I’m sure Judas would never thought he would betray Christ.
We may be sitting comfortably, without any concern for our future. But do we have bound up in us the potential for evil? Possibly. Proverbs 22:15 shares an interesting verse, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from.” Good parenting greatly limits the evil within.
I Corinthians 10:12 is a verse that we should all heed, “Therefore the one thinking to stand, let him take heed, lest he fall.” I see two things to learn here; we all have the potential for evil and that being humble and relying on God’s grace can be very helpful.
Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it.” This is important to know. We are capable of evil and we aren’t aware. We need God.
Philippians 2:12 says, “Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Why fear and trembling? Because we know we are capable of evil and we don’t want that. We have been saved even though we could do bad things. We come to God and ask for mercy. He hears those prayers.
The verse states that we work out our salvation. This is the process of sanctification. When we are born again, we are made right with God, perfect in God’s presence. For the rest of our lives, God takes that perfection and works it from the inside out. We will never be perfect, but we will be much better than we used to be.
Having this attitude is a description of the beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, (Matthew 5:3). We know we need God to point out the blind spots we’ve got that could lead to bad things.
Lord, thank You for Your help. You keep us from temptation and evil.