Clean Transcript

So, You Say You Want Justice?

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• Let's open our Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 7. 1 Samuel chapter 7, beginning there with verse 1. And then we're going to read from 1 Samuel chapter 8. The message is entitled, "So, You Say You Want Justice." 1 Samuel chapter 7, beginning with verse 1.

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• "Now the men of Kirjath-Jearim came and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-Jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only. And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD.

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• And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah." Now if you would turn over to 1 Samuel chapter 8, beginning with verse 1. We read, "And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

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• Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abiah: and they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways.

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• Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. I want to talk briefly today about judges, and I want you to understand that judges did indeed play a unique role in the Bible. They were men that were specifically ordained of God and designated by God so that they may bring forth true justice. Now, in order to understand the true role and worth of judges, one must understand the true meaning of justice. The Hebrew word for justice is the word tzedakah.

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• It is translated in our Bibles 128 times as righteousness. It is translated right nine times and righteous acts three times. The other times it is simply translated as justice. Justice refers then to righteousness in government, in law, in personal and ethical situations. Let me just kind of spell it out for you. Here it is. If something is righteous, it is just. If something is just, it is righteous. Justice and righteousness are one and the same thing.

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• You cannot separate these thoughts. You cannot separate these concepts. Justice is just simply doing what is right. And doing what is right is doing that which is just. Now, when you talk about justice, you have to ask a question. Justice—by whose standard? Or justice by what standard? You could equally ask that question, righteousness by whose standard or righteousness by what standard? Obviously, there must be a standard, and someone must have the authority to institute that standard. Let me give you what one author pointed out, and he pointed out rightly so. He said, if some men are to have authority over others, the source of authority must come from somewhere. It must come from somewhere where the seat of authority over all men lies. It must transcend mankind if it is not to be simply some men, even a majority, imposing their will upon others.

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• The only reasonable source of that kind of authority is God Himself, and the only reasonable definition of how that authority is defined is by God's own revelation in Scripture. And certainly that author is correct. The only reasonable, logical source of authority is God. And the only reasonable and logical standard is God's revelation in Scripture. So we ask then, who sets the standard? Who defines justice? Who defines righteousness? And the answer is God, the sovereign God of heaven and earth.

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• You remember, Abraham recognized this principle in Genesis 18:25. You remember there when he was interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah, and he said this, "That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee." And then he said, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" And certainly God's going to do right. When he said, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" he could say equally, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justice?"

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• You see, Scripture points out—hope he quoted it—in James 4:12, the Bible says, "There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy." In Isaiah 33:22, we read, "For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us." Who is the judge? Who is the lawgiver? Who is the king? And the answer is, it is God. God is the sovereign. He is the lawgiver, and He is the Judge of judges. When God instituted the office of judge, He did so that men would be judged by His law and that true justice would issue forth then from the judges, from the men who held the office of judges. God is in charge. His word is final. God has revealed Himself for us in the Bible.

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• Now, I'm just trying to lay a foundation for what I want to teach you today. I want you to understand that as Christians, we must affirm that our all-wise God has revealed Himself in His completed revelation of Himself in the 66 books of the Old and New Testament. Everything in the Bible is adequate in content and in clarity that we may know what salvation is, that we may know what sanctification is, that we may know everything that we need to live holy and godly lives.

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• Do you remember one of the cries of the Reformation was, Sola Scriptura? Sola Scriptura literally means the Scriptures alone. The phrase Sola Scriptura refers to the fact that the Bible is the comprehensive and completed revelation of the will of God for us, and it is by that book in which we are thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Bible is complete, it is perfect, it is all-embracing, it is all-sufficient. It is given to us by God.

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• It does not need amendment. It does not need correction. It does not need supplementation. It is complete in and of itself. Let me read to you what the Westminster Confession of Faith says concerning sola scriptura. The Westminster Confession of Faith says, "The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new

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• revelations or traditions of men." Now what does the Westminster Confession say? Everything that we need is expressly set down in Scripture or it may be deduced from the principles of Scripture. So what then was the purpose for judges in the Bible? The answer is, so that men may be judged by God's authoritative and perfect standard, that is, His law. It is from His law, it is from His word that justice and righteousness issue forth.

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• Now, let me ask that you hold 1 Samuel please, but I want you to look in your Bibles to two passages. The first one is Deuteronomy chapter 16, and look if you would please at verse 18. Deuteronomy 16:18. And then we're going to 2 Chronicles chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 16 and look in verse 18. Look what God says. Deuteronomy 16:18, "Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment." God says you're to institute judges and officers, why? That they may judge according to just judgment. Then if you'll look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 19, let's begin reading there with verse 5. 2 Chronicles 19:5. Notice what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 19:5, "And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city." Now look, "And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.

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• Notice what judges are to do. They are to represent God. They are to judge according to God's law, and they are not to judge for man, they are to judge for God.

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• Now, the interesting thing is, the Hebrew word for judge is the word shafat, which is translated as judge 119 times in our Bible. The Hebrew word judge or shafat literally means to rule, to govern, to plead, to execute judgment. And the same exact Hebrew word is used in Ezra 7:25. And I want you to look at that passage please. Turn to the book of Ezra. Ezra and Nehemiah. Notice if you would please, Ezra chapter 7 and verse 25, right after 2 Chronicles, you have Ezra, and then Nehemiah. Notice Ezra 7:25. I want you to note a prerequisite for judgeship. Here it is. Ezra 7:25, "And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river." Now look at the prerequisite. "...all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not." Now he says the prerequisite is they must know the law of God.

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• If you institute any judge, Ezra, that doesn't know the law of God, you must teach him the law of God before he can be the judge. Why? Because God wanted true judgment to issue forth. How in the world can one execute true justice or true righteousness if he does not know the law of God? What was the responsibility of judges? Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 25:1 and notice what God tells the judges that He requires them to do. Deuteronomy chapter 25 and verse 1. God says this. Deuteronomy 25:1, "If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked." Wow, isn't that simple? God said, I have instituted judges so that they may justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.

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• Well, let me ask you a question. Who defines what righteousness is? And who defines what wickedness is? Who determines that? And the answer comes back, of course, it is God Himself. Let me tell you why I read 1 Samuel chapter 7 to begin with. Because in 1 Samuel chapter 7, the reason I read it beginning with verse 1 to begin with is because in this chapter Samuel is judging Israel. If you read the preceding chapters you would find out that Israel has had a war with the Philistines and have been defeated. The Ark of God was taken. Finally, God smote the Philistines. They sent the Ark back. And now the Ark is at Kirjath-Jearim. You remember, of course, what happened to the lords of the Philistines. God smote them with emerods, the Bible says, and they were very anxious to get the ark back. So it comes back here, and it rests in Kirjath-Jearim for 20 years. During that time, Israel falls into idolatry.

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• She begins worshiping Baalim and Ashtaroth. Look at it, if you would please, verse 3. "And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." Now note, if you would, Samuel is about to judge Israel. How is he going to judge them? He's going to judge them either by their disobedience to or obedience to the law of God. In other words, he's judging them if their lives are in contrast to the law of God or if their lives are in conformity to the law of God. Well, he says very obviously, your lives are not in conformity because you're following Ashtaroth and all these other gods. If you want to return to God, you must repent of those sins. You must turn from those false gods. Well, when they did meet at Mizpah, they gathered themselves together.

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• Guess what? The Philistines said, you know, now's a good time to wipe them out. Look in verse 5. "And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines." And the next verse says they cried unto the LORD.

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• Now, what did God do? God heard the voice of Samuel. He heard the voice of the people after they repented and turned from their sins. Samuel offered the sacrifice. Samuel interceded. And then God gave a miraculous deliverance from their enemies. Look, if you would please, in verse 15, the Bible says, "And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places.

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• And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD." So God then had graciously delivered the children of Israel now from the Philistines. He destroyed them by a mighty and miraculous act. And what does Samuel do? He just continues to judge Israel. Now, interestingly, when Samuel gets old, he makes his two sons judges. And we read about that in 1 Samuel chapter 8. But unlike Samuel, these two boys were unethical.

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• They were greedy for filthy lucre. They took bribes. They perverted judgment. But I want you to note what the people of Israel did in light of that. Look in chapter 8 of 1 Samuel verse 1. "And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

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• Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abiah: and they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment." Now watch what happens. "Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways.

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• Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD." Now, it's interesting that the people did not come to Samuel and say, "Samuel, your sons are wicked. Rectify the situation. Give us better judges or give us judges in their place." They didn't come to Samuel and say, "Samuel, we don't know what to do, but you're the prophet of God. You're the one that's God-ordained to be the judge. Now, Samuel, this is your problem. You cry and intercede to God and you find out what God would have you to do." No, they didn't do any of those things. They just said, "Now, look, you come and we've come to you, we want a king. We want a king that we might be like other nations." Now, let me just tell you very quickly, the children of Israel were sinful and wicked and in rebellion to God when they asked for a king.

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• Why? Because God was their king. If you look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 12:12, Samuel points this out to them. Notice 1 Samuel 12:12. He said, "And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king." God was the king of Israel. And now the children of Israel come and say, "We want a king to rule over us like other nations. We want a man to be our king." Now look in 1 Samuel 8, verses 7 and 8.

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• Here it is spelled out very plainly for you. "And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee." Now what did God say? God said, "Samuel, they haven't rejected you, they rejected me, that I should not reign over them." Now we read in 1 Samuel 12:12 where God was their king, but if you'll turn back to 1 Samuel 12 and look at verse 19. Here the people once again confess and acknowledge that when they asked for a king, it was sin and rebellion. 1 Samuel 12:19, "And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king."

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• So they are acknowledging now that they have sinned in asking a king. Now, why did Israel want a king? What were their motivations? Well, if you'll go back to 1 Samuel 8 and look in verse 5, and then to verse 20. Verse 5, 1 Samuel 8, "And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways.

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• Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Now verse 20, "That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles." So they wanted a king, number one, to judge them, number two, to fight their battles, and number three, that they may be like other nations. Well, I suppose you could call this latter national peer pressure. They wanted to be like all the other people around in the countries surrounding them. If you would hold 1 Samuel 8, but turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 4, let me point out that Israel was not to be like all of the other nations, but Israel was to be exceedingly different. That's why they did not have a king like all the other nations, because God was their king. So in Deuteronomy chapter 4, look there beginning with verse 4. Deuteronomy 4:4. The Bible says, "But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.

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• Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them;

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• Now look, "for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them?" He's their King. "...as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?"

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• So Israel was to be totally and completely different. And yet they said, "We don't want to be different. We want to be like all of the other nations."

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• Now I want to just emphasize one simple point today. They said, "Make us a king that he may judge us." So you have to ask, what are the implications in their desire to have a king? If you were to ask, how had Israel previously been judged? Here's the answer. Israel had previously been judged by judges that God raised up—judges who would defend and deliver Israel and would execute judgment according to His law. How long did those judges rule over Israel?

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• And the Bible says they ruled for 300 years. In Judges 11:26, the Bible tells us 300 years they ruled.

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• Now all of a sudden Israel no more wants the judges that God has raised up and the judges that God has given. They wanted a king, so that they may be like other nations and the king would fight their battles and the king could judge them. You know what the Bible says in Hosea 13:11? God says this, "I gave them a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath." Wow.

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• Let me tell you something, folks. Sometimes God gives us what we want. And when we get it, we find out we really didn't want it to begin with. If you look in your Bibles to Psalm 78, let me just show you an illustration of what I'm talking about. You remember in Psalm 78, the Bible is telling us about an illustration how God sovereignly, miraculously provided the manna for the children of Israel. Remember, that manna was a perfect food. But, you know, the children of Israel got tired of eating that manna and they decided they wanted some meat. They wanted some flesh and particularly they wanted quail. Well, look in your Bible, Psalm 78, beginning there of verse 23. The Bible says, Psalm 78:23, "Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven, and had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.

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• He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven: and by his power he brought in the south wind. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea: And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations. So they did eat, and were well filled: for he gave them their own desire; They were not estranged from their lust. But while their meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel." Isn't that amazing?

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• And they said, "Lord, we're just so sick and tired of everything you're providing for us. What we want is meat." God said, "All right, I tell you what, I'll give you some meat. You want it so badly." And God gave it to them. And while it was in their mouth, God killed them. God judged them. You know, I think I'd have tended to want more manna, wouldn't you? I'd say, "You know, I like that bowl of cornflakes, Lord, just give me some more of that." Well, Israel wants a king. God says, "Fine, I will give you a king."

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• But if you go back to 1 Samuel chapter 8, He tells Samuel to warn the children of Israel and to show them the manner of the king that they will have. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 8 and let's begin with verse 9, and as I read this I just want to emphasize one word with my voice and that's the word take. Watch this. 1 Samuel chapter 8 verse 9, God says to Samuel, "Now therefore hearken unto their voice:

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• howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

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• He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day." Wow. Hmm. What's their king going to do? He's going to take, take, take, take. The word take occurs six times in this brief passage. And if you included it with every item, it would be far more than six times he's going to take.

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• Let me just sum up what God is telling us what is going to happen when men reject Him. Here's what we're going to have. Verse 11, we're going to have unbiblical military conscriptions. We're going to have a draft. You're going to be just taken from you. Verses 12 through 16, there's going to be compulsory labor battalions for state service. You're going to end up working for the government whether you like it or not. In verse 14, the state will expropriate your property and your livestock—eminent domain. You got it. We want it. We'll take it. Whether you like it or not. And we'll consider giving you what we call a fair price, not necessarily what it's worth, but you're going to lose your property. Government will demand tithes and taxes in every area, according to verse 15. Why? It's playing God. It wants to be tithed to as God. And then, of course, fifthly, there will be the loss of liberty in a multitude of areas, according to verse 17.

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• And I want you to notice verse 17. There's an interesting word there. He says, "He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants." There's an interesting word there for servants. It's the Hebrew word ebed. Guess what the word ebed literally means. It means servant, bondman, slave. You shall be his slave.

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• Now there are a few words that can really sum up 1 Samuel chapter 8. And here are those few words. Tyranny, totalitarianism, and despotism.

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• Now, let's ask a question. Why would a king do such a thing? What is so devastating about human government? Let me ask this question another way. How could such a thing happen in a Christian nation? I want you to remember now that Israel was God's covenant people. They were to be a special nation and a people dedicated to Him. How could such a thing happen in a covenant nation? How could such a thing happen in a Christian nation?

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• Let me explain something to you. The answer is very simple. The only way that you can understand 1 Samuel chapter 8 is you must view it as a transition from one law structure to another law structure. You must see that it is a transition from God as king to man as king. You must also remember this, that a king rules by his law. So it's not just simply a transition from God as king to man as king. It is a transition from God's law system to an alien or a humanistic law system. When you reject God, you reject His law. When you receive man, you receive his law. Now what God is telling us in 1 Samuel chapter 8 is this. Under God's law, you have liberty and freedom and limited civil government, private property, the right of self-defense, and the right of self-government. Under man's law, man endeavors to rule over, regulate, and dictate every area of life. Why? Well, if the king is God, if the president is God, if the state is God, or believes it is God, it believes it must be sovereign over every aspect of life, and therefore, it believes it has the right to tell you what to do from the womb to the tomb or from the

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• cradle to the grave. It's just that simple. Man's government always becomes an idolatrous government and an alien law system. You know what God said in Hosea 7:7?

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• Now listen, He's talking about these kings of Israel. Here's what He said. "They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me." Why should they call upon God? They think they are God. That's what He's telling us. That is what has happened. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, when you see the transition from God as king to man as king, from God's law system to man's law system, that's why in Psalm 2:2-3, God says, "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

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• Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." We don't want God's law. We want our law. Now, listen carefully. Civil rulers may give lip service to Christ, the Bible, and Christianity, even today, but I can assure you none will implement or apply the law of God. Like King Saul, they talk a big talk, but they do not walk the walk. You know what the Bible says about King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:11? Listen to what God said. God said, "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments." How do we know that Saul turned back from God? He didn't keep God's commandments. He didn't obey God.

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• I never cease to be amazed at how gullible, and I'll go ahead and use another word, how stupid, professing Christians can really be when it comes to politics. You know, all a man has to do is say, "I'm a born again Christian." And people go crazy. They never examine his life. They never examine his legislative acts, they never look at what he does, they'll listen to what he says. You know, Obama claims to be a Christian.

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• And I read an article where he spoke and he said it's absolutely impossible and ridiculous to think about applying biblical law in America today, because we're such a diverse society. Oh, this is what I'm saying. It doesn't matter what people say. We never examine their voting records or what they do. We just listen to what they say. You know what the Bible says in Isaiah 8:20? Here's what the Bible says: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." If a man doesn't speak according to God's law, if a man doesn't speak according to God's word, he has no light. If you took all of our congressmen, and our president, and our judges, who claim to be Christian, and look at their voting records, and look at their rulings, and look at their executive orders, how many of them do you think would fit in and square with biblical law? Zilch. None. Now, let me just point out. God gave us judges.

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• So they might execute justice according to his law. Let me show you what happened in Israel. I'm going to show you it also happened in America. So look in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 17. 2 Kings 17. And look at verses 7 and 8. 2 Kings 17:7-8. This is what happened in Israel. And this is what has happened in America. Here it is, 2 Kings 17, beginning there with verse 7. "For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods." Now, wait a minute.

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• Underline that, mark it down. They feared other gods. How do we know they feared other gods? How do we know they turned to idolatry? Well, watch verse 8. "And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made." How do we know they turned to other gods? Because they turned to alien law systems. They were walking according to the laws, the statutes of the heathen and the statutes of the kings of Israel, which they made, which were contrary to God's law. Remember, I told you that when a man turns from God, he also turns from God's law. Because a king rules by his law.

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• Now, unhappily, the same thing happened in Judah. Look, if you would, 2 Kings 17:19. Here it is. 2 Kings 17:19, "Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made." Wow! So here's what Israel did. Israel rejected God's law and took the laws of the heathen and made it their law. And so Judah now, in her stupidity, in her rebellion, comes by and rejects God's commandments and God's law and says, "We're going to adopt the laws of Israel." And the laws of Israel were totally heathenistic. Well, what was Israel doing? Following an alien law system. What was Judah doing? Following an alien law system.

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• Let me just spell it out for you. Those who refuse to be ruled by God's law will inevitably be ruled by tyrants. There's really no other alternative. You're either ruled by God or by man. I find it so absolutely fascinating and so amazing that people will sit back and criticize God's laws, which are so limited and so few, and then turn around and embrace man's laws that are so endless, countless.

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• And all of the bureaucracies and all the regulations, it is unbelievable. There is not an American living today, I don't care if he's been in politics all of his life, there's not an American living today who knows all the laws of this land. There's not an American who's living today that has obeyed all the laws of this land. When you reject God and His law, you condemn yourself to be ruled by man and by tyrant.

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• Now, let me ask you a question. Think about this. Did Israel all of a sudden say, "Well, I'm going to turn my back against God and I'm going to follow this idol over here." Is that what happened? No. No. What they did was a synthesis. They began by saying, "You know, I like what that nation does over there and I like what they said. We ought to make that part of our law. Well, we'll begin incorporating it in with God's law here." And you keep incorporating and keep incorporating and keep incorporating until all of a sudden God's law is pushed out. And all you have now is simply the law of man. You know, they may have taken the attitude that, "Well, I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll keep the law of God, but we'll just add to it."

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• And the truth of the matter is this, folks. The more you add to it, the less it is the law of God. It becomes the law of something else.

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• Now, look in 2 Kings 17. This is so clear. I don't know how we miss it, but look at 2 Kings 17, beginning there, verse 33. 2 Kings 17:33. In fact, let's read verse 32. 2 Kings 17:32.

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• "So they feared the LORD." Wow. Isn't that amazing? "So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places." That is idolatry. "They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence."

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• Now, here's what they said. "Oh, we're God's people. But we're worshipping Baal over here and we're worshipping Ashtaroth. But we're God's people. We're a Christian—we're a covenant nation. We're God's people, but I don't see anything wrong with abortion, do you? I don't see anything wrong with sodomy. I don't see anything wrong with socialism. But now we're God's people." You see what I'm saying? That's exactly what they were. They said we fear the LORD, but they're worshipping other gods. Watch verse 34. Here's the climax. Here's the fulfillment. Verse 34, "Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel." They said they feared the LORD, but God says they don't fear me. And the evidence that they don't fear me is they don't obey my commandments. It got to the point where Israel had completely and totally apostatized from the Lord and His word.

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• There was no judgment. There was no justice, there was no truth, there was no equity in the land. Listen to what God said in Isaiah 59:14. God said, "And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter." In Isaiah 59:4, God declares, "None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth:

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• they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity." What did Israel do? What did Judah do? They apostatized. They forsook God and His law. And we have done exactly the same thing. I know that there are some who try to say that America was never a Christian nation. But that's not true. And the truth of the matter is, the beginning of this country was founded upon the word of God and specifically the law of God.

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• Let me just give you a couple of illustrations. The Connecticut towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor adopted this Constitution on January the 14th, 1639. Here's the Articles of Constitution of Connecticut. Article 1. Just know what they said. "...that the Scriptures hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they are to perform to God and men, as well in families and commonwealths"—that is civil governments—"as in matters of the church." Article 2. "...that as in matters which concern the gathering and ordering of a church, so likewise in all public offices which concern civil order, as the choice of magistrates and officers, making and repealing laws, dividing allotments of inheritance, and all things of like nature, they would all be governed by those rules which the Scriptures held forth to them." Wow! They went further and said this, "...considering with ourselves the holy will of God and our own necessity that we should not live without wholesome laws and civil government among us, of which we are altogether destitute, do in the name of Christ and in the sight of God combine ourselves together to erect and

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• set up among us such government as shall be to our best discerning agreeable to the will of God." Now what did those commonwealths say? We're going to begin our government based upon the Word and the will of God. Here's the New Haven Colony Charter of April 3rd, 1644. Boy, you talking about bluntly stated? Here it is. Quote, "...the judicial laws of God as they were delivered by Moses are to be a rule to all the courts in this jurisdiction." What? The judges were to rule according to the Bible. Yeah, that's it. Here's the charter of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Of course, Roger Williams left Massachusetts, you remember, because he wanted religious freedom and he founded Providence Plantation. And that's where the first Baptist church was established there in 1639. And here's what the Royal Charter and Patent say.

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• "We submit our persons, lives, and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, and to all those perfect and most holy, absolute laws that he has given us in his holy word... that they, pursuing with peaceable and loyal minds, sober, serious, and religious intentions of godly edifying themselves and one another, in the holy Christian faith and worship, together with the gaining over and conversion of the poor ignorant Indian natives, a most flourishing civil state may stand, and best be maintained, grounded upon gospel principles." Can't be any clearer. The United States Supreme Court on February 29, 1892, in the case of the Church of the Holy Trinity v. the United States, Justice Josiah Brewer rendered the High Court's decision.

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• He said this, "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise. And in this sense, and to this extent, our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian." Wow.

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• Now I could multiply illustrations. I could go back and quote the charters and the constitutions of all of the original states, all of them required their civil rulers to be Christians and profess a belief in the inspiration of the Bible and a belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. But let's ask, what has happened in our country? What has happened in America? Why are men and women imprisoned for non-crimes?

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• Why do murderers walk free or get to live out their natural lives at taxpayer expense? Why do rapists and pedophiles and sexual deviants and perverts have the protection of the law? And if you touch one of them or insult one of them, you're the criminal. And you're thrown in prison. How is it that when one of those perverts is arrested, usually shortly he's released and able to continue his perversion and his ungodliness? Why is it that if you stand for truth and righteousness in this country and you're sent to prison, you spend a much longer time in prison for standing for truth and righteousness than if you'd robbed a bank? Why? What in the world has happened in this country?

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• It looks like we have gone stark raving mad. There's no common sense. There's no justice. There's no righteousness. What in the world is wrong? Here's what is wrong. We have apostatized. We've left God. We've left God's law. We've forsaken God. We've forsaken truth and righteousness. And if you and I are genuinely tired and sick of error and falsehood and injustice and humanism, then we need to repent and turn to the Lord and seek Him and ask Him to bring our lives in conformity to His Word. We've got to ask several questions, folks.

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• One of the first ones, who's in charge? Who gets to define right and wrong? Who gets to define justice and injustice? Who gets to define righteousness and unrighteousness? Is it God or is it man? Whose law system will we follow? So you say you want justice? You can't have justice without God and His laws.

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• Now let me make just a quick application or two. One of the first questions we've got to ask is this, what can we do?

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• Now it should be obvious, we cannot control Congress. We cannot control the courts. We cannot control the Oval Office. I wish we could, but we cannot. We cannot even vote and have our vote counted in this country. It may be counted, but not necessarily for the one we voted for. What can we do? First, let me tell you. We must learn to pray those imprecatory prayers in the Bible. We must learn to pray like David: "Lord, break their teeth, break their arm, cast them out." We must learn to pray against the wicked and their wicked schemes and their wicked plans. We must also learn to pray like David did in Psalm 119:126, when he said, "It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law." Dear Lord God, it's time for you to do something. They made void thy law.

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• The word void is the Hebrew word parar, which means to make void, to make ineffectual, to frustrate, to violate, to dissolve. What has man's law done in this country? It has frustrated and dissolved the law of God. Consequently, you can't have righteousness. You can't have justice. We need to be concerned more about God's honor and God's glory. And let me tell you something, when you talk about justice, you've got to understand that God is far more interested in justice than you and I are. He's far more interested in righteousness than we are. Pray with David, "It's time for thee, O LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law." God overthrew them. And on the other hand, you can pray, "And establish thy kingdom and establish thy righteousness." Did not he teach us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"? Sure. Establish thy people, establish thy righteousness, establish thy Son.

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• Secondly, we must understand that how we act is significant. It does mean something whether we obey or disobey God. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:4, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them." Now God says if you forsake my law, you're praising the wicked. If you keep the law, you're contending with them. And the word contend in the Hebrew is the word garah, which literally means to strive with, to fight against, to wage war. Did you realize that our personal obedience is actually waging a war against the disobedient and the rebellious?

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• We're fighting against them by being personally obedient. You say, "Well, my personal obedience doesn't mean too much." Well, I tell you what, it would have meant something if you had been in Sodom and Gomorrah just looking for ten righteous people, wouldn't it? If God would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah if he found ten righteous, there's more than ten in this room. Yeah, it does matter how we act. It does matter how we live. It does matter whether or not we're obedient or disobedient.

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• So we need to learn to pray the imprecatory prayers. We need to learn to be holy and godly ourselves. We need to keep God's law if nobody else does.

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• Thirdly, we must hold on to the reality that God is merciful toward His people and that if we repent, He will bless us again. I want you to turn to one last passage. I want you to look in Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1. So you say you want justice. Well, look in Isaiah chapter 1 at what God has to say. Isaiah chapter 1, and let's begin reading there in verse 19. We'll read through verse 27. Isaiah 1:19. Look what God says. Isaiah 1:19.

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• "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:" You've got to be willing and obedient. "But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers." Almost sounds like America, doesn't it? "Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:"

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• We don't have a pure economic system. Oh, look at verse 23. "Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them."

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• Now watch, he's talking about a nation, he's talking about a people who've totally apostatized, who've rejected him and rejected his law. Verse 24, "Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning:

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• afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness." God says, look, if you repent, I'll judge the wicked. I'll take care of the problem. And I'll give you judges and counselors as at the beginning. I'll restore my law. Because I'll be your king. We need to learn to pray those imprecatory prayers. We need to learn to be obedient. We need to trust in God's abundant mercy. And realize if we repent and seek him and turn from our wicked ways,

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• He will hear from heaven, and forgive our sins, and heal our land. If you say you want justice, you must apply God's law to every area of your life, and every area that you have control over. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would speak to us and help us and teach us, build us up in the most holy faith, make us, Lord, to be the people we should be by your grace. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T00:19:23Z