Comfort in Failure?

“Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD.” (Eze 32:31 AV)

The context here is a bit confusing in the sense that we think we cannot relate.  Pharaoh, upon his own death is comforted in that fact that his nation, as well as other oppressors of Israel are in the same boat as he is.  That is, a devil’s hell for all of eternity.  For some odd reason, it brings a hater of God great comfort to see that he is not the only one who is suffering.  It brings him great comfort in knowing that even those whom he led are suffering for following him.  John Gill puts it best when he writes, “…when Pharaoh is brought to the grave, and into the state of the dead, he shall look about him, and see who lie by him; and he shall behold the above mentioned kings of Assyria, Persia, Idumea, and the princes of Tyre and Zidon, and all their mighty armies, generals and soldiers, in the same condition with himself; and this shall be some solace to him in his own death, and at the loss of so great a kingdom, such numerous subjects, and a vast army, that others as rich, as powerful as himself, lie in the same low and miserable condition; though such comfort as this must be poor comfort indeed! and yet this is all the comfort wicked men have in hell, that they have company with them there…”

Believe it or not, I have seen this in marriages and even in churches.  If one party cannot control the relationship, they will make sure the other cannot either.  The other night, my wife and I were watching a show that had a similar theme.  A scientist had invented the ultimate doomsday weapon.  A weapon of mutually assured destruction.  It was designed to automatically engage if normal weaponry failed to deter counter attacks.  It was designed to wipe out all human life on the planet.  If one cannot rule, then no one will.  The verse above is after the fact.  It is the only feeling left after total rebellion fails.  The heart above is the heart of a completely helpless rebel.  Knowing there is no satisfaction from victory in rebellion, the only solace is that all others who failed share in the same fate.  I have seen churches die both a quick and slow death because they cannot agree on authority.  One party tries to control the other and the other is so embittered they destroy the church on the way out the door.  I have seen this in marriages.  A struggle of the will that only results in the destruction of both.

In the case of our rebellion against God, God cannot be destroyed.  He cannot lose.  This is just not a possibility.  He is an immovable object.  He is absolute.  What is really sad is the reality all those who try will have only one comfort for the rest of eternity.  At least they didn’t fail alone.  What a feeling.  How truly pitiful.  “I am a loser.  But at least I am not the only one.”  That is the only comfort those who reject God will have for all of eternity as they share the torments of a devil’s hell.  For the saint who believes he or she can bargain with God, you cannot.  God wins every time.  When you come to the end of yourself you can think one of two things.  Like the prodigal, you can either return to the LORD, or you can find comfort in the company of the swine.  The choice is yours.