Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the first two points from part 1: recognizing imminent danger and utter helplessness, using the siege of Jabesh Gilead as a parallel to modern America.

Alright, let's open our Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 11. Today we're on part 2 of the message that I began last week on four things that are needed for renewal and restoration. So notice, if you would, 1 Samuel chapter 11, and let's read at least through verses 1 through 8. Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all of your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel, and then if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field. And Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was greatly kindled. And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on all the people, and they came out with one consent. And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

Well, may I begin by telling you that every American, and especially every Christian, should eagerly desire a renewal and a restoration of our nation. I suppose that really and truly only the old heads remember what we used to be before the modern transformation of our nation into a multicultural, multi-faith, multi-lingual, and multi-allegiance nation. So only the old heads remember these things. Most of the children and younger folks that have been born in the last 40 years have no idea what this nation used to be. And I've often said that I believe that my generation, our generation, was the last generation that really tasted the last little bit of freedom that we had in this country. And so today we're not really a nation. And when I say that, when you look at the biblical definition of a nation, a nation in the Bible is someone that comes from the same ancestor. They speak the same language. They have the same culture. They basically have the same faith. In that sense of the word, today we're not a nation. What we are, we are an empire of divided people ruled over by an elite who are concerned only with their power and their position and their wealth.

I want to give you a quote by President Theodore Roosevelt. And then I'm going to add my two cents to his quote. I want you to listen carefully to what he said. In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American.

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he's an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room but for one flag, the American flag. We have room but for one language here, and that is the English language. And we have room but for one sole loyalty, and that loyalty is to the American people. Well, I would certainly add to that and I would say that our first and foremost loyalty is to the sovereign God of heaven and earth and to His law and to His word. I'm going to show you, basically, from scripture today, the only real source of unity is God and His law.

So we can ask these questions then. What will it take to bring us back to where we should be? What will it take for renewal and restoration? What will it take to transform this nation into what it was in the beginning, even when men were men and women were women? What in the world will it take, then, to bring us back to a biblical work ethic, biblical money, and biblical morality? The answer is it's going to take a real work of God in the lives of our people. In fact, the scripture teaches us we must be turned and we must be quickened. I want you to hold 1 Samuel chapter 11, but I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would please, to begin with, to Psalm 80. Psalm 80. And we're going to look at Psalm 85, one verse there. But I want you to look in Psalm 80 at what is repeated here several times. So look in Psalm 80, beginning there with verse 3.

Note what the psalmist prays for. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Note how plain that is. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

Now skip down to verse 7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. Now skip down to verse 19. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved. So three times already now we have been given this same exact truth. So look, if you would, now to Psalm 85, but hold Psalm 80. Psalm 85, look if you would please at verse 4. He says, Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. But note now, four times, Turn us, O God. Now if you go back to Psalm 80 and look at verse 18, he said, So will we not go back from thee? Quicken us, and we will call upon thy name. So four times, three times in Psalm 80, once in Psalm 85, the psalmist said, turn us, O God, and we shall be saved. And then he said, quicken us, O God, and we shall call upon thy name.

So the truth is, if God does not quicken us, if God does not turn us, then we will never be quickened, and we will certainly never be turned. We will continue down the road to self-destruction. Now, I want to remind you concerning the two points that I covered last week. I just want to emphasize that each of these points are found in 1 Samuel chapter 11. So the very first point that I made last week is in order for there to be a renewal and a restoration, there must be a realization of what I would call an imminent danger, an imminent danger, a present danger. Because here Nahash the Ammonite has encircled the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead. They cannot defend themselves and they are either going to have to surrender to him and to his demands or else be killed. It's just that simple. So when I talk about recognizing the imminence of present danger, we haven't really been looking at that in our lives. Thankfully, in one sense of the word, some people are getting awakened because more people now are observing all the murders, all the rapes, all the robberies, all the muggings, all the violence, all the riots. Everything is going on that never used to happen in this country whatsoever.

In fact, I don't even remember a riot when I was a child or when I was a teenager, even when I was a young adult. Those things have come later on. But in progress, this metal building. OK, so frankly, the metal building, that's probably the reason. OK, so we keep whining and crying, and I understand this about inflation. And so many people think that inflation happens to be higher prices, when higher prices happen to be the result of inflation. What causes inflation is the fact that the Feds continue to print fiat money, money with nothing backing it, and the more money that you print, the less valuable that money that you have that has already been printed.

In other words, it keeps decreasing in value and consequently, it requires more and more money because the money is more and more worthless. I told someone when I first bought my very first new car, when I was 16, it cost me $3,000, and that was a brand new car at 16. So, obviously, we have all kinds of problems going on in this country. When you consider what you and I would call the government schools, or the public schools, what we're actually doing is we are indoctrinating morons and idiots that cannot read and cannot think. And consequently, this newer generation and the ones before it are now thinking somehow that socialism and communism happen to be the answer to all of our problems. And so the elite then, those who are in control, are actually seeking for total control over every aspect of our lives. And we just simply sit silently by without even speaking out. So the truth is, I don't think Americans, and especially even Christians, have their backs up against the wall yet. Because so many people tend to think that as long as we have our beer, our ball games, and our picnics, and our entertainment, then all is well. And the truth of the matter is that is certainly not so, not by any stretch of the imagination. So every aspect of our life today is licensed. Now I want you to stop and think about this. If you want to know the definition of a license, you may look it up in Black's Law Dictionary, or Bouvier's Law Dictionary, or any law dictionary. And you're going to find this definition of license: permission from a competent authority to do that which otherwise would be unlawful to do. Now stop and think about this. We have a marriage license.

You mean it is now unlawful to get married without permission from the state? We have a driver's license. You mean it's unlawful to drive an automobile without permission from the state? How about a hunting license? It's now unlawful to hunt without a hunting license, permission from the state. What about a fishing license? What about a license? And if you are a professional, if you are a worker, you have to have a license. Doctor? Nurse? Mechanic? It doesn't matter.

And all that is telling us is this. Every aspect of our lives is happened to be controlled or being controlled. Just stop and think about this. Why in the world would you need a license? Why in the world would you need permission to do what God has commanded you to do? To marry? Why would you need a license to do what God has commanded you to do? To work? Why would you need a license to do what God has commanded you to do? To support your family? I'm just simply pointing out the fact that none of this would be needed or necessary if we were following biblical law. So let me just give you a quick illustration. God's law, of course, is far more conservative than state law.

For instance, according to state law in Georgia and probably other places as well, if I happen to go hunting and I see a doe and here is her yearling, a little buck. And so he's got little antlers about two inches above his head. According to Georgia law, if it was a doe day, I could kill the doe and I could also kill the little buck on the same day. According to God's law, God says, no, you cannot kill the mother and the young on the same day. So in other words, I'm just simply pointing out the fact if people would follow the Word of God and obey God and His law, then a lot of these other laws would certainly not be absolutely necessary whatsoever.

So I'm just saying we have to realize that there is indeed an imminent danger, a present danger, and look at the tyranny, look if you would, at every aspect of control that is being pressed upon us. And the second point that I made last week is this. There must be a recognition or realization of our utter helplessness. These people had absolutely no way to defend themselves. He had surrounded their town. And today, we're surrounded by psychopathic politicians who want to be a Nahash. They want to put out our right eyes. They want to keep us from defending ourselves. So, may I just remind you that in Bible times, they fought with swords and spears, but they also had a shield. They held a shield in the left hand, which covered their face and their left eye, but that right eye was on the right hand side of the shield, with the right hand holding the sword so they could fight. So when that right eye was plucked out, then of course it was leaving the individuals defenseless. So the point being is that's exactly the way the politicians and our congressmen want us to be, absolutely defenseless. They want us to be their slaves, they want us to be their tributaries, but they do not want us to be able to resist them.

So I hope these two points were fully understood. So that brings me to the third point today. And I want you to look at verse 6. Look at it. And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was greatly kindled. Here's the third thing that is needed. There must be a real sense of righteous indignation and anger. Note, if you would, and his anger was greatly kindled.

The Need for Righteous Indignation

The third requirement is a Holy Spirit-produced anger against sin and tyranny, as seen when Saul's anger was kindled by the Spirit of God.

Now I can hear an objection being shouted at this particular point that anger is extremely wicked and vile and ought not to be in any Christian. Well, I'm going to tell you that is not only a weak and wicked, but also an unbiblical position. I'm going to show you that from the Bible. We've been trained and we've been taught from our youth that we're never to be angry and that we're never to be upset and we are to control ourselves in every situation. Now, it is true that human anger is usually wicked and wrong and sinful. But that does not negate the fact that there is a righteous and a godly and biblical anger. And I can show you from the Bible where anger is even commanded. Now, anger is a normal, natural human emotion. And since it is a normal, natural human emotion, it may be either used in a biblical manner or it may be used in an unbiblical manner. When we use our anger against each other instead of aiming that anger at sin, that is when we become sinful and wicked in ourselves.

Biblical Basis for Righteous Anger

Weaver demonstrates from Scripture that anger is not inherently sinful, citing God's anger, Christ's anger, and the command to be angry without sinning.

So it is true that wicked anger stems from fallen individuals. You cannot have an unbiblical anger without having an unbiblical person. And it is true, you've heard the old adage, well, we must hate the sin, but love the sinner. But have you ever stopped to think there would not be any sin if there were not sinners? And so obviously, you're going to have sinners who are producing a wicked and ungodly and unbiblical anger. So when we talk about sin, you have to remember that sin is not some ethereal, indefinable essence that's somehow floating around somewhere in the atmosphere. No, sin is definable because the Bible says in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 4, whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. So if someone is not transgressing God's law, it is not sin. Sin is defined by the law of God. Now, we know that because the Bible tells us in Romans 3 and verse 20, Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. By the law is the knowledge of sin.

So now if you try to tell me, Pastor, anger is sinful in and of itself. If you tell me that, then you have a major theological problem. How is that? Well, we know that God is infinitely holy, infinitely righteous, and there's absolutely no sin in God whatsoever. And yet the truth of the matter is, we read over and over of God's anger in the Bible. Let me show you. I want you to hold 1 Samuel chapter 11, but look in your Bibles first of all to the book of Numbers chapter 32, and look if you would please at verse 10. Numbers chapter 32 and verse 10. Look at this. And the Lord's anger was kindled at the same time, and he sware, saying, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt from twenty years old and upward shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me. But note, if you would, and the Lord's anger was kindled. Now skip down to verse 13. And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel. And he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until all that generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed. So now we're reading about God's anger. Was God sinful? Was God unholy? Because the Bible says that he was indeed full of anger. I was pointing out the fact that the third thing we needed was a righteous anger based upon 1 Samuel 11 verse 6.

When King Saul heard these tidings, his anger was kindled greatly. And I was pointing out that anger in and of itself is a natural, normal human emotion. And the fact that anger can be sinful, but not all anger is necessarily sinful. And if you say that all anger is sinful, then you have problems because I was just showing how the Bible speaks about the anger of the Lord. And we're in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 16 now. Deuteronomy chapter 32, look if you would at verse 16. Notice what the Bible says, Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 16. Here it is. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. So now we're talking about God's anger. And if God is holy, then his anger is not sinful. So now look in Deuteronomy chapter 32, beginning there with verse 21. Look at this. He said, They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities, that is their idols. Now I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people.

I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. So again, God is speaking about his anger. You don't have to turn there, but Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 3, the word of God says, Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. So over and over, we're reading about God's anger. How about this passage? Psalm 7, verse 11. The Bible says God judgeth the righteous, but God is angry with the wicked every day. So notice, if you would, the Bible teaches very plainly that God the Father is angry and it is a righteous, holy anger.

Let me show you another one. I want you to hold 1 Samuel, but turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Mark, chapter 3. Mark, chapter 3. And look, if you would, beginning there with verse 1, note what is said plainly concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Mark, chapter 3. Mark 3 and verse 1. And he entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there which had a withered hand. Now we're talking about the Lord Jesus. And they watched him, that is the Pharisees and the scribes, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?

But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. So note, if you would, our Lord was angry. So if you try to tell me that all anger is inherently sinful, then you're going to have to re-evaluate your thinking because the Bible tells us over and over about the anger of God and our Lord Jesus Christ was angry as well. Moreover, I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, and let me show you a verse where God commands us to anger. Look at what he says, Ephesians chapter 4, and I want to read verses 26 and 27. Ephesians 4 verse 26. Look what he says. Be ye angry, and sin not.

Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Now look at the word angry. He says, be ye angry. The word angry there is the word orgizō. So in the Greek, it means to be angry, to be provoked into anger, and to be wrathful. Wow. Moreover, the Greek construction is this is a present passive imperative and an imperative is a command. So literally we're being commanded in verse 26 to be angry and not to sin and let not the sun go down upon our wrath. If we are angry and sin, if we have a sinful anger, not only does the sun go down upon our wrath, but then we end up giving place unto the devil. So God is commanding us in verse 26 literally to be provoked to anger and to be angry and to be filled with wrath against sinning. So if we sin in our anger, then we're giving place to the devil.

Now, I want you to look at three other passages. One of them is right here in Ephesians chapter 4. You'll skip down to verse 31, because this should create a question in your mind. Verse 31, he says, Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. Wow. Now we're commanded to anger in verse 26 and now in verse 31 it is to be put away. Now if you'll turn right over to the book of Colossians and look in chapter 3 and verse 8, chapter 3 and verse 8, look at this, But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Once again, he said this anger is to be put off. Skip down to verse 21. He said, Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. So notice, if you would, one portion of the scripture we're commanded to anger, and another portion of scripture tells us that we are to put off anger.

So you have to ask this question. Is there a contradiction? The answer is no. So you ask, then, how is it explained? Well, the answer is very simple. We are to put on a righteous, biblical anger, but we are to put off an unrighteous and unbiblical and humanistic and fleshly anger. So a biblical and righteous anger is designed by God to deal with sin. That's why God tells us that we are to reprove, we are to rebuke, we are to expose, and we are to judge sin in a biblical manner.

On the other hand, fallen man always perverts anger into a fleshly and sinful act. So the anger that is to be put off and put away is the fleshly, unbiblical anger, and, of course, that which is to be put on is a righteous anger. Now, if you look in your Bibles, turn there, if you would, to the Book of Proverbs. Now, I want you to look in Proverbs, chapter 25, and we're going to look at verse 23. And then, of course, we're going to also ask you to stay there in the Book of Proverbs, because we'll be looking at several of the passages. We'll look in Proverbs, chapter 25, and notice if you would read verse 23. Here we go. Proverbs 25, verse 23.

Two Sinful Perversions of Anger

Sinful anger manifests as volcanic explosion or internalization, both of which lead to further sin and health problems, unlike righteous anger which targets sin.

On the other hand, fallen man always perverts anger into a fleshly and sinful act. So the anger that is to be put off and put away is the fleshly, unbiblical anger, and, of course, that which is to be put on is a righteous anger. Now, if you look in your Bibles, turn there, if you would, to the Book of Proverbs. Now, I want you to look in Proverbs, chapter 25, and we're going to look at verse 23. And then, of course, we're going to also ask you to stay there in the Book of Proverbs, because we'll be looking at several of the passages. We'll look in Proverbs, chapter 25, and notice if you would read verse 23. Here we go. Proverbs 25, verse 23.

The north wind driveth away rain: so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. Now is a backbiting tongue sinful? And the answer is yes. Well, what does it take to drive away a backbiting tongue? An angry countenance. Now, would that be a sinful anger? Of course not. It would be a biblical anger.

Now, let me tell you how we sin in two different ways in relationship to our anger. The very first way that we sin against God is when we explode in our anger like a powerful grenade. When we turn to those who hurt us, who insult us, who provoke us, or just happen to be in our way. So, a volcanic eruption is a good illustration. Because in the volcano, you have below the lava that is boiling, boiling, boiling, boiling. And once it reaches a certain temperature or a certain degree of volume, all of a sudden it erupts and blows out. And there you have all the poisonous fumes and all the poisonous gases, as well as the hot devastating lava as well. So, what we do, we act like a volcano. That's when we rip somebody to shreds, we cuss them out, so to speak, we go up one side and down the other, we tell them off, or use an expression, we give them a piece of our mind, and someone has aptly said, that's why we don't have much mind left, we've given pieces of it to too many people.

Well, that's probably true. But I read years ago about one woman who was confessing to her pastor and said, yes, she had a very, very bad temper and she got angry very quickly. But thankfully it was over with quickly. And he responded, yes. And so was the shotgun blast. But it blows apart everything in front of it. But you see, we have this volcanic eruption. And that's what we do many, many times. Let me show you.

Look in Proverbs chapter 14 and verse 17. Proverbs 14 verse 17. Take a look at what the scripture says. He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly: and a man of wicked devices is hated. Notice he that is soon angry. Lord, you can't control your anger. You can't control yourself. You're dealing foolishly. Look now, if you would, in Proverbs 22. And let's go there to verse 24 and 25. Look at this. Proverbs 22, verse 24, 25. God says make no friendship with an angry man.

And with a furious man thou shalt not go. Why? Look at it, lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul. So God says make no friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not go. Now look in Proverbs 29 and verse 22, just showing you this anger, Proverbs 29 verse 22, he says, An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression. So an angry man's always stirring up trouble, and a furious man, he said, always abounds in transgression. So this is the type of anger, this volcanic anger that is erupting all the time that creates all these problems.

Now, so, let me give you the second way that we turn anger into a sinful anger, and that is through internalization. Internalization. Why is it that we internalize our anger at times? I'm going to explain that. Usually, we explode. Usually, we're like that volcano. But there are times when you think, well, maybe I shouldn't explode. Maybe this is not proper. Maybe this is not the course. Maybe this is not the right way to handle this. Well, let me let me tell you, you can explode in front of the wrong person. We normally explode with people that we believe that we can get away with it. What do you think would happen to me? Being 81 years of age, if I exploded and cussed out a young man in his thirties who happens to be a martial art expert, well, you know, it would not necessarily be wise to explode.

I mean, he might there might be some very serious repercussions. He might knock me out. He might put me in the hospital. He might kill me. So I'm just saying there are times when, you know, you and I are not going to explode like that. So what we do is this. We internalize that anger. So here we go. So I can't whip Steve and I'm afraid to explode in front of him because he might do me harm.

And so what do I do? I'm really angry with him. I'm really upset. I'm really mad. And so here's what I do. I say to myself as I smile at him. Yeah, you just a little boy. I'm going to get you back. I'm planning it right now. Your day's coming. Just hang on. I'm smiling. And I've internalized all that anger and that internalization of anger always produces colitis, digestive problems, ulcer, insomnia, and a host of other diseases or problems, physical as well as mental and emotional. And then the truth of the matter is all the internalization of anger always leads to bitterness and resentment. In other words, unbiblical anger never helps anything. It always produces more sin and more problems.

Saul's Spirit-Inspired Anger

The Spirit of God came upon Saul, producing a furious, consuming anger against Nahash's barbarity and a determination to rescue the helpless.

Now, I want you to go back to 1 Samuel chapter 11 and verse 6, and I want you to look at our text. Look at this. 1 Samuel 11 verse 6, And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was greatly kindled. Wow! What produced this anger? The Spirit of God. If the Holy Spirit of God produced the anger, then obviously it is not an unbiblical anger. It is something that God the Spirit produced in the life of Saul.

Now, the Hebrew word for anger here is the word charah, which means to be hot, to be furious, to burn with anger, to be incensed. In other words, he was eaten up with anger. Look at the verse, verse 6 again, and his anger was kindled greatly. Now the word greatly is the word meod in the Hebrew, and it means exceedingly, abundantly, greatly, and to a great degree.

So the Holy Spirit of God came upon King Saul and infuriated him against Nahash and against the Ammonites for what they were doing. In other words, Nahash has now given such an insolent and a barbarous proposition. You come out to me, I'll make you slaves. Yeah, you can be my tributaries, but I'm going to do more than that. I'm going to put your right eye out. I'm going to fix it where you can never resist me. You can never fight against me. And moreover, it's going to be a reproach upon all Israel. He was thinking no one was going to come to help these people in Jabesh Gilead. And so he's now incensed against Nahash, against the Ammonites for what they're trying to do, and destroy a people which have no means of fighting back. And so he's very upset. Moreover, now Nahash is dishonoring God, dishonoring the nation.

And he could be also angry with the people of Jabesh Gilead because he could ask, why did they not let us know about this sooner? Why did they wait until they were surrounded before they got in this position? Do you realize this is a truth that we need to understand. Most of the time, the reason we don't ask for help is because of our stinking pride. We don't want to appear weak. We don't want to appear helpless. We don't want to appear impotent. But the truth of the matter is this, if we need help, we need to go ahead and ask for help as early as possible. And these people of Jabesh Gilead, they waited until they were surrounded.

And Saul certainly had, I think, a right idea that they should not have waited so long. But the Spirit of God came upon King Saul in such a way that his anger was greatly kindled over the entire situation. I believe at the same time, the Holy Spirit who not only produced that anger in King Saul, gave him courage and also gave him determination and also gave him faith to work and to relieve the people in Jabesh Gilead. So let me give you a quick application of this one particular point. Do you realize this is an application of God's law when it tells us that we are to love our neighbor as ourself? Did you know that that phrase occurs nine times in the Bible? The first time it occurs is Leviticus 19 in verse 18. Let me just read it for you. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Application: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Righteous anger is an application of the command to love your neighbor, compelling us to defend the defenseless as we would defend ourselves.

Now, there are eight more times that this is given to us in the New Testament. I'm not going to give you all of those times, but I certainly want to give you three of them. OK, so in Romans chapter 13 and verse 9, the Bible says this: For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Wow. And then again, in Galatians 5 in verse 14, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. And then, of course, in James 2 in verse 8, where he said, If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. So over and over in the New Testament, the Bible tells us that we're to love our neighbors as ourselves. What does that mean? Well, let me ask you, if I came up and attacked you, would you defend yourself?

Would you fight back? And you say, well, of course I would. Well, let's suppose, Steve, I went over and attacked Donna. Now, if I attacked you, you'd defend yourself. But what about Donna? If I attacked her, would you be willing to come to her aid? You see what I'm saying? Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. So if you're willing to defend yourself, you should also be willing to defend your neighbor. You should be able to defend those who are defenseless, those who are innocent, and those who need help. That is for sure.

So the Bible teaches us that there must not only be a recognition of our present danger, a recognition of our helplessness, but there must be a real, genuine, Holy Spirit-inspired, godly anger. And that's the problem that we have today. No one wants to really get angry at what's going on. We don't want to get angry at tyrants. We don't want to get angry at our economy. We don't want to get angry about anything and everything. But notice if you would, it was the Holy Spirit who stirred up this anger.

The Need for the Fear of the Lord

The fourth requirement is the fear of the Lord falling on the people, which unites them to act with one consent, as seen in Saul's summons.

Now here's the fourth thing. I want you to look in 1 Samuel 11 and verse 7. Look at this. And he, that is Saul, took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them through all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people and they came out with one consent. The fourth thing we need is a righteous realization of the fear of the Lord.

Now, I want to read just a short comment from Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary. This is what he said. This particular form of war summons was suited to the character and habits of an agricultural and pastoral people. A similar one, and the annunciation that accompanied it, carried a terrible threat to those that neglected to obey it. Saul conjoins the name of Samuel with his own to lend a greater influence to the measure and to strike greater terror into all the condemners of the order. And so anyone who condemned the order would be fighting Samuel and Saul also.

But note if you would, he cut this oxen in pieces and sent it to all the tribes. Now, there is a scripture that deals with this. You will find it in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 31. It is part of the curse when people disobey. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 31, look at what the Word of God says. Deuteronomy 28 and verse 31. Look what God says.

Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof. Thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee. Thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. So notice if you would, thine ox shall be slain before thy face. In other words, if you don't do something, the enemy is going to prevail.

So I've got one more quote that I want to give you right here. And I want to add one thought to this quote. This quote comes from Matthew Henry. Listen to this. He said the effect of this summons was that the militia, or trained bands of the nation, came out as one man.

Now let me just stop there. He said the militia or the trained bands. Do you realize, although we talk about the nation of Israel, each tribe was a mini-nation in and of itself. And each tribe had its own militia, had its own trained men. You remember, I hope, that when the children of Israel, before they got into Canaan land, Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh said, we want the land on this side of the river, on the east of Jordan, because it's good for cattle. We don't want the land over across Jordan where we're supposed to go. Moses said, look, you may have this land if your men will go over and fight until this other land is conquered.

And they said, that's exactly what we will do. So Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had trained armies, militiamen. So listen to what he said now. I'm quoting. I haven't finished it. The effect of this summons was that the militia or trained bands of the nation came out as one man. And the reason given is because the fear of the Lord fell upon them. Saul did not affect to make them fear him, but they were influenced to observe his orders by the fear of God and regard to him who had made Saul their king and them members one of another. Note, he says, religion and the fear of God will make men good subjects, good soldiers, and good friends to the public interest of the country. Those that fear God will make conscience of their duty to all men, particularly to their rulers. And I added to this, and I would add to their Christian rulers, because the Word of God does require Christian rulers. So the militia then came together as one man.

Now, they had already had a place of rendezvous. It was Bezek. And stop and think about this. So Saul then cut this oxen up, sent it to all these different tribes, 300,000 Israelites came and 30,000 Judeans came as one man to one place at the same time.

Why? And the Bible tells you in verse 7 that the fear of the Lord fell on the people and they came out, the Bible says, with one consent. Now, it's only the fear of the Lord falling upon us that is going to unite us and make us work together for the salvation of our land, for the salvation of our society, for the salvation of our homes, our churches, even for a nation. It takes the fear of the Lord falling upon us. All of these programs, all of these schemes, all of these plans of man are going to ultimately fail. They may provide a lot of excitement and they may provide a lot of danger and they may provide a lot of death, but they are ultimately going to fail. It is only the fear of God that can bring forth unity. Let me show you. I want to show you something about the fear of God. So if you go back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 35, Genesis 35, and look if you would please at verse 5. You remember how Genesis chapter 35 and verse 5, Jacob and his family are trying to get away because Simeon and Levi have gone in to the men of Shechem and murdered them and killed them all.

The Fear of the Lord in Scripture

Weaver traces the fear of the Lord as a protective and unifying force in Genesis, 2 Chronicles, Acts, and 2 Corinthians, emphasizing its role in motivating obedience.

Now, it's only the fear of the Lord falling upon us that is going to unite us and make us work together for the salvation of our land, for the salvation of our society, for the salvation of our homes, our churches, even for a nation. It takes the fear of the Lord falling upon us. All of these programs, all of these schemes, all of these plans of man are going to ultimately fail. They may provide a lot of excitement and they may provide a lot of danger and they may provide a lot of death, but they are ultimately going to fail. It is only the fear of God that can bring forth unity. Let me show you. I want to show you something about the fear of God. So if you go back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 35, Genesis 35, and look if you would please at verse 5. You remember how Genesis chapter 35 and verse 5, Jacob and his family are trying to get away because Simeon and Levi have gone in to the men of Shechem and murdered them and killed them all.

Now, Jacob's idea was this. Boys, you've won the battle, but you've stirred up a hornet's nest. You haven't won the war. And so Jacob and his family's going back to Bethel, getting away from there. And look in Genesis 35 in verse 5. And they journeyed: and the terror of God, or the fear of God, was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob. So why was Jacob and his family not destroyed when those boys slew the men of Shechem? And the answer is, because the fear of God fell upon them. If you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles, chapter 17, 2 Chronicles, chapter 17, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, look if you would, 2 Chronicles, chapter 17, and look if you would please at verse 10. 2 Chronicles 17 and verse 10. Look what the Bible says. Here it is. And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

So God is able to put his fear upon the nations that surround us, that they will not attack us. Now, I want to go to the New Testament. If you would turn over, please, to Acts chapter 19 and look at verse 17. Acts chapter 19 and verse 17. Acts 19 and verse 17. Look at it.

And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. So now the fear of God has fallen in such a way that the Lord Jesus Christ is magnified. Notice if you would, the fear of God fell upon Jacob and his company and protected them. The fear of God fell upon Jehoshaphat and he was free from war, and now the fear of God has fallen, and the Lord Jesus Christ is magnified. If you would turn right over to 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, and verse 11. 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. Look, if you would please, at verse 11. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 11. Notice what the Apostle Paul says, Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. Notice he said, knowing therefore the terror of the Lord. The word terror there is the Greek word phobos. It is where we get our English word phobia from. And the word phobos literally means a fear, a dread, or a terror. So you could read that knowing, therefore, the fear of the Lord, or the terror of the Lord, or the dread of the Lord, we persuade men. So anytime you see the word phobia in another word, it means fear of whatever word is before it. So hydrophobia is a fear of water. Arachnophobia would be a fear of spiders. Canine phobia would be a fear of dogs. I'm just simply pointing out the fact here is the word phobia.

Now, the interesting thing is the fear of the Lord fell and it united all of these people so that they came out as one man to one place at the same time to protect innocent people and to prevent Nahash from doing that which he was going to do. In fact, you can read the rest of it. Saul defeated the Ammonites left and right. Put these four things together, four things that are needed. We need, number one, to have an awareness of our present and imminent danger. We need to have an awareness of our utter helplessness. We need to have a realization of a real, genuine, biblical anger. And then we need the fear of the Lord to fall upon all of his people.

Applications and Conclusion

The fear of the Lord should drive our actions, diminish sinful anger, and unite our hearts. Weaver calls for prayer that God would unite our hearts to fear His name for national restoration.

So let me make some applications. Here's the first one. The fear of the Lord should drive us, motivate us, and control us. In other words, we should learn to act under his principles, his precepts, his truth. We move when he says move. We stay when he says stay. Just like the pillar of a cloud led them in the daytime and the pillar of fire by night. When the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire stayed, they stayed.

When it moved, they moved. So that's what I'm talking about. We need to have the grace and the mercy of God and the fear of God in our lives like that. The second thing is this. A proper fear of the Lord will result in a diminishing of our natural fleshly anger and a desire to have a biblical and righteous anger that will deal with the sin and with the wickedness and resolve it in a biblical manner.

So I've often said this. If you can't be part of the solution, don't be part of the problem. Your anger, unless it is directed at sin and a biblical resolution, would be wrong. Because anger is designed to correct the problem and to deal with the sin. Let me make this statement. I want you to think about it. We cannot be more compassionate and more merciful than God. Adam Smith, who wrote The Wealth of Nations, made this statement. Listen to it.

Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent. Think about that. Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent. All you have to do to understand that statement is look at the mercy that has been shown to the murderers and the rapists and the robbers by our judicial system where they have been released and raped and robbed and murdered again over and over and over. The man that murdered the young white lady in Charlotte, North Carolina, had been arrested 33 times and was released. Wow. So mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent. Do you realize that God forbids mercy and pity upon some people? In Deuteronomy chapter 19 verse 13, God says this concerning the murderer.

He said, Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. So we must be like Saul. We must be filled with a righteous anger when the lives and freedoms of innocent men and women are endangered by tyrants. Look at what is happening to the children in this country. Think about that. Look at the children that are being trafficked. Look at the children that are being led astray. Wow. At the same time, we must seek the fear of the Lord to fall upon his people.

David had a very unusual prayer request. In Psalm 86 and verse 11, listen to what he prayed. Here it is. He said, Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth. Now listen to the latter part. Unite my heart to fear thy name. So if I'm praying, Lord, unite my heart to fear thy name. If Steve is praying, unite my heart to fear thy name. If Lorraine is praying, unite my heart to fear thy name, and Donna and Alice are praying, unite my heart to fear thy name, how long do you think it's going to take us to be united? Because we want to be united in the Lord. Unite our heart to fear thy name. Now, what will it take to restore our nation? Our society?

I want you to put these four things together and meditate upon them this week. Here's what it's going to take. A realization of our present imminent danger. A realization of our utter helplessness. A realization of our need for a real, genuine, biblical, Holy Ghost anger. By the way, when you get angry, you're ready to do something. And then lastly, it's going to take the fear of the Lord falling upon our people and uniting us, because then we will come together to vindicate our God, to vindicate his cause, to vindicate his people and to work and pray for their benefit and their blessings. Dwell upon these four truths. We need them in our lives. We need each one of them.

Father, help us, we pray today, in the name of Jesus Christ. Teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. In thy holy name we ask.