Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Dr. Michael L. Ford
10 June 2006

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live:” Ezekiel 33:11a
	It has already been noted, and by journalists without
clear attachment to faith in the Scripture, that
al-Zarqawi lived by the sword and he died by the
sword. (Matthew 26:52) This ruthless gangster turned
terrorist was both anti-Jewish and anti-Christian, so
on both accounts he was also at odds with the true and
Living God. Not only that, he had such great capacity
for making enemies, even among his own kind, that the
sureness of his destruction was always less in doubt
than the direction from which death would come. But my
comments about his passing are not concerned with
either rejoicing over his death or speculation
concerning the future of his terrorist organization.
	I am concerned only with the proper Christian
response to the death of the person who renamed
himself Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. You see, the man who
courted death under the delusion he would gain seventy
dark eyed virgins as a martyr of Allah is without a
doubt in eternal torment today as one of those who
passed into eternity without the Lord Jesus Christ as
their Savior. How can any person who believes the
truth of the biblical message take any pleasure in the
death of even a person as evil as Zarqawi knowing not
only the fate that awaits but also that their Lord
derives no satisfaction from their ending?
	As a professional soldier, given the opportunity, I
would not have hesitated to shoot Zarqawi. But
deriving pleasure from the act or his death are things
contrary to the Spirit of Christ indwelling the
believer. It is testimony to the continuing presence
of that Spirit influencing the American people that
soldiers arriving on the scene were willing to save
Zarqawi’s life by giving him medical attention after
he survived the initial bomb attack. There is a
nobility in such actions because the ethics that seeks
to save the life of a defeated enemy flows down from
the Throne of God. It is testimony of the greater
willingness of the Most High to save the souls of men
whose life’s actions has been enmity against God.

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