Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Galatians 6:7

There’s something in all of us that wants to see justice done and the “Good Guy” win over the “Bad Guy.”

Philip Etemese writes, “[In Western movies] after several gunfights, endless tough-talking and evil schemes, someone has to emerge the victor and someone has to go down.”[1] In real life, it feels like we see the Bad Guy win a lot. But a story from the Old Testament of the Bible shows us that God’s watch over evil is sure.

The scene was a grotesquely violent and depraved city called Jericho that God wanted His people to destroy. He even caused the walls of the city to fall right down as the Israelites marched around them. Afterward, God told them never to rebuild the city. Their leader Joshua said, “May the curse of the Lord fall on anyone who tries to rebuild the town of Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son, he will lay its foundation. At the cost of his youngest son, he will set up its gates” (1 Kings 6:26).

About five hundred and thirty years later, during another time of great evil, a man named Hiel rebuilt Jericho. Just as Joshua had said, when Hiel laid the foundation, he lost his firstborn son and when he set up the gates, he lost his youngest son (1 Kings 16:34).

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant,” warns Galatians 6:7. Even in dark and troubled times, remember God’s watch over evil is sure and His Word will not be violated with impunity.

[1] Etemesi, Philip. “The 10 Greatest Western Movie Villains of All Time, Ranked.” ScreenRant, 1 Apr. 2020, https://screenrant.com/greatest-western-movie-villains-ranked/.