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Amos 5:9 "[It is the Lord] who makes destruction flash forth against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress."

 

So often in the Old Testament, and even in the New, especially in Revelation, we hear of God bringing destruction on evildoers. But I think of God as creative, not destructive. He is love, and His Divine love creates, because love loves having more to love. I think of destruction as the purview of the devil. He hates what God has created and wants to see it destroyed. However, these things can be true at the same time: that God is creative, that the devil is destructive, and that it is God "who makes destruction flash forth against the strong." This is because God and the devil are not equal sparring partners. God is everything, the devil is merely one of His creatures. God will not let his creatures, whether it is the devil or us, destroy any part of His Creation without His permission*, but He will sometimes let us experience the full force of the destruction that the devil wants and our wickedness deserves.

 

God is usually holding back the floodgates of destruction, protecting the world from the full consequences of our sinfulness. But when we grow too proud, too blind, too idolatrous, too wedded to our sin, He will allow the destruction to flash forth. Sometimes it is the only way we will wake up and change. Unfortunately, I think we are in a time in which the floodgates have to open even more than they have. I think more destruction will be coming upon our fortress. We can mitigate the destruction, though, through prayer and sacrifice. We should all be doing those things now more than ever.

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*This is God's permissive will, and yes, He lets us destroy a lot, even the unborn, in service of our free will, but He doesn't let that go on forever.