enmity 10-07-2026

Today is my sister’s birthday. Happy birthday Tammy! While today is a day of celebration for my family, October 7 has now become a memorial day of the unprovoked massacre in Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, just 3 years ago. What word would you use to describe that kind of violence? Hatred. There seems to be a lot of that going around. It’s the go-to posture that justifies attitudes of self-righteousness and even actions of violence. The Bible uses the word hate about 100 times but there’s another word, rarely used, that’s much darker than hate: enmity. Definition: “a deep-seated ill will”. It’s a hatred that’s irreconcilable. We find it first in Genesis 3:15 “And I (God) will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers,”  Hate can be confronted, even consoled, but enmity, especially that of Satan toward you, never. So in the face of Satan’s enmity scripture says “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)