The Book of Eli

I saw The Book of Eli over the weekend. When was the last time you saw a Hollywood film about the power of Gods Word, the Bible? That was the most surprising thing about the movie. God's Word helps the blind to see, guides the perplexed, and makes some sense out of chaos. We are talking mega chaos here. Eli, played masterfully by Denzel Washington, has walked 30 years from east coast to west coast in a bleak, barren post apocalyptic world. It's a violent place where there is no law and order except what is established by threats and thuggery. Things we take for granted today are things that are of great value in Eli's world. Shampoo, moist towelettes, and, of course, water are the kinds of things you can lose your life over. Eli walks through this world with his ancient, beat up ipod, his weapons, and his Bible. It is the last Bible in the country. The rest were burned in whatever happened 30 years before. It is implied that Christians were blamed for something and their Bibles confiscated and destroyed. Eli was chosen by God; he heard God's voice telling him to take his big, leather bound King James Bible and head west. Like Abraham, that's all he heard, hit the road. He obeys. He follows God's word. He reads it daily. He prays. Like an Old Testament judge, he metes out a kind of Old Testament justice in a world of callous injustice. This is a violent movie but it is a violent time. God is in the midst of the violence like He is in the Old Testament, another very violent time. But even though the world is in ruins and it appears a great time of judgment has fallen on it - God has not given up on us. He reserves the right to have the last word and it is a word of redemption and hope.