By Todd Paetznick, September 19, 2024

Nearly every major conflict, historical event, political election, and movie plot uses a good versus evil narrative.  The narrative serves as a way to shape opinions; one side is “good,” which naturally makes the other “evil.”  Rarely will a person choose to side with evil, which is often why one politician attempts to vilify their opponent to get votes.  After all, who would vote to support the villain or evil?  

Origin stories are becoming more common in movies and plays. They offer character development and explain a villain’s thinking and behavior. After learning the villain’s origin, we may feel sympathy for the character, precisely the emotional reaction we are meant to have.  But in many ways, the origin story seems to be a way to justify later bad behavior.  

Bible stories, especially those in the Old Testament, also represent good and evil.  However, by reading Bible stories more closely, we realize that not every villain is all bad and not every hero is all good.  We have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.  God is not on either side of what people consider good or evil.  God is on His own side.

Joshua’s Story

Joshua took over as the leader of Israel after Moses’ death.  Joshua’s assigned task?  Move the people into the Promised Land.  The problem, however, was that other people already inhabited the land, and they would likely need to be removed by force.  In this story, are the Israelites good and the inhabitants of the promised land evil?  Or was it the other way around?

On the eve of Israel’s march against the city of Jericho, Joshua went for a walk by himself to gather his thoughts.  On his walk, he encountered a man he did not recognize holding a sword.  Here’s how the story goes:

“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” He said, “No; rather I have come now [as] captain of the army of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:13-15 NASB20).

Joshua encountered the pre-incarnate Christ. He bowed in worship, and his worship was received. People in the Bible who attempted to worship the angels who appeared to them were always told to stand up.  Joshua was also told to remove his sandals; this command is reminiscent of the one given to Moses during his encounter with God at the burning bush.  

The man’s response to Joshua’s question about which side he was on reveals a great deal about God’s character. God was neither on the side of the Israelites nor their enemies.  The good and evil narrative around the conquering of the promised land gets complicated quickly as Joshua gains a better understanding of God’s attitude toward people.

Who do we consider our enemies?  Who are the evil people in our story?  We may need to reconsider our enemies from God’s perspective.  

A few verses after God said he was neither on the side of the Israelites nor the inhabitants of Jericho, Joshua was told the city was being given to him by God.  “But the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with its king [and] the valiant warriors”(Joshua 6:2).  What happened?  Did God change His mind? Was God no longer neutral?

The original inhabitants of the promised land were the Amorites; they chose a path of rebellion and put themselves over God, which may not be evident from the passage in Joshua.  Yet, despite their rebellion, God was patient with the people of this land for hundreds of years.  But eventually, a line was crossed.  God foretold this event to Abraham hundreds of years before Joshua,  “Then in the fourth generation [of Abraham’s descendents] will return here [to the promised land], for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete”(Genesis 15:16).  

Good and evil are not how God regarded people, even those the Israelites considered their enemies.  God was not on the side of either the Israelites or the Amonites.  He was and remains on His own side.