50. From various things that the Word, when spiritually understood, tells us about the Philistines, we can determine that they are those who are devoted to faith but not to caring. This we can tell both from their arguments with the servants of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 21, 26, and from their wars with the children of Israel in Judges, Samuel, and Kings. In fact, all the wars described in the Word have a spiritual meaning; they reflect and symbolize spiritual wars. And since this form of religion, which is one of faith divorced from caring, is constantly trying to invade the church, the Philistines remained in the land of Canaan and often attacked the children of Israel.