Protecting Yourself from the Persistent Dangers of Truth Unapplied to Life: Avoiding and Subjugating the Philistines

After the Children of Israel conquered Canaan, they and the Philistines were almost constantly at warmdash;alternately subjugating but never conquering. Because the Philistines correspond to evil spirits who know truths but to not apply them to life, we do read stories of people sojourning with the Philistines to represent the learning of truth. But there is always grave danger of succumbing to their separation of faith and life. Thus, the Lord did not lead the newly freed Israelites into Philistia even though it was the shortest route to Cannan but led them through the harsh wilderness. The spiritual Philistines attack when we begin to learn new truths. We get excited about them and want to learn more. It is tempting to spend our time learning instead of living. The wilderness represents a life without good or truth, but where spiritual struggles allow the Lord to give us truth that will bond with good in our lives, and thus ultimately lead successfully to the Promised Land.