Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: A Time Of Need

Why Have You Done This? - Part 2 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2026-01-05

Synopsis: In this second part of the message, Pastor John Weaver continues to answer the question 'Why have you done this?' from Judges 2, applying Israel's disobedience to modern America and the church. He adds three more reasons to the two from Part 1: profession without possession (many in the covenant community are unsaved), compromise without conviction (lack of firm biblical convictions leads to idolatry), and defeat without deliverance (God's hand turns against the disobedient). The message calls believers to stand fast in the faith, obey God's Word, and not follow the pattern of Israel's unfaithfulness.

[John Weaver] All right. Well, we're glad once again to have the Fargos here. So that's whom, Steve, the city of Fargo was named after, Casey. No, he was named after the city. Because the city existed before he did. Okay. Yeah. All right. Well, let's open our Bibles. Say that again. Sorry. I just realized we were recording. Okay. All right. Okay. Let's open our Bibles into the book of Judges chapter two, and we're going to read several verses here. And Lord willing, we're going to be doing the second part of the message.

[John Weaver] Why have you done this? So judges two verse one and an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bokem and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt and have brought you into the land, which I swear to your fathers. And I said, I will never break my covenant with you and you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land. You shall throw down their altars.

[John Weaver] But you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? Wherefore, I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides and their God shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass when the angel of the Lord spake these words to all the people, all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice and wept. And they called the name of that place, Boquim, and they sacrificed there unto the Lord. And when Joshua had let the people go, The children of Israel went every man into his inheritance to possess the land. And the people serve the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died being 110 years old.

[John Weaver] And they buried him in the border of his inheritance, and Timnath-Herez, and the Mount of Ephraim on the north side of the hill, Geash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers. And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them up out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods, the gods of the people that were round about them and bowed themselves unto them and provoke the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtoreth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel.

[John Weaver] And he delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoil them. And he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

[John Weaver] Now look at verse 15. Whethersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil. As the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them, and they were greatly distressed. You remember verse 2, God has given clear and concise commands and instructions to Israel, and yet they disobeyed. His commands could not have been misunderstood, and so consequently, God said you are not to make a league with the inhabitants of this land. Now the word league means a covenant. They were not to make any covenants. They were also to throw down the pagan altars, but they disobeyed. And so God asked this question in verse two, why have you done this? So let's ask the question. Why did Israel disobey? And we can also ask, why did America and why does America disobey? We can also make it more personal and ask, why do you disobey? Why does your family disobey? Why does your church disobey? Why does your society disobey? Why does your nation disobey? In other words, the point I want to make is each one of these points happen to be applicable to our society and to our nation today.

[John Weaver] So I pointed out in the very first message that America, like Israel, was indeed a covenantal nation. And of course, I quoted numerous articles. But if you would take the time to examine the original constitutions and charters and covenants, you'll find how that they were indeed in league with God, seeking to obey him and make his laws their laws. So although I quoted several, allow me to quote one more. And here it is.

[John Weaver] The Massachusetts Bay Colony, through the work of John Cotton, who was a Puritan preacher, developed a legal framework known as Moses, His Judicials in 1636, which was intended to be a set of laws agreeable to the word of God and was influential in shaping the colony's legal system, though it was not formally adopted as the state's official laws. This draft was part of a broader effort by Puritan reformers to base colonial governance on biblical principles and specifically the Mosaic Law. I also pointed out in this chapter we have a strong contrast and that contrast is between the absolute faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of His people. And when you and I stop and think about our own unfaithfulness, in light of the fact that God has been so merciful and saved us, and so gracious unto us and supplied our every need.

[John Weaver] And yet the truth of the matter is we still remain unfaithful. It should exceedingly humble us before him and encourage us to plead for forgiveness and for mercy as well. So seemingly, even in this day and age, this truth does not affect the average Christian. Because in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, The Apostle Paul said it like this. Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of a steward that a man be found faithful. So everything that God has given you, whether it's financial, whether it's talents, whether it's abilities, you are a steward over those things for God and for his honor and glory.

[John Weaver] Now, if you will go back to verse one and the angel, the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bokin and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt and I brought you under the land, which I swear to your fathers. And I said, I will never break my covenant with you. Note, if you would, again, this angel happened to be a Christophany. That is, it is a pre-incarnate appearing of Jesus Christ in the old Testament before he became flesh.

[John Weaver] Sometimes the word theophany is used, but the word theos is the word God. In other words, it would just be an occurrence or an occasion where God manifested himself. Well, we know that this angel happened to be the Lord because he said, I made you go up out of Egypt. And he also said, I brought you into the land, which I swear to your fathers. We know it was God who swore unto their fathers.

[John Weaver] And then he said, I will never break my covenant with you. So it was God. who brought the covenant and of course entered into that covenant with the nation itself. So God has never ever broken his covenant. God has never broken his word. God has never lied. Israel did break the covenant multitudinous times, but God did not. And the reason God did not break that covenant is very simple. And that is because God is faithful. He is the faithful God. So he is faithful in his blessings and he is also faithful in his cursings. Read Deuteronomy chapter 28 and Leviticus chapter 26 and you will find where God has made all of these promises to bless those who obey and to curse those who disobey.

[John Weaver] So I gave you two points last week. The first reason that I gave as to the answer to this question, why have you done this? was simply because they had remorse without repentance. That is, they came and they wept before the Lord, they were weeping aloud, and they were sorry that they were in that situation. But may I point out the fact that weeping, crying, wailing, gnashing of teeth does not necessarily mean that someone is genuinely repented. Because repentance then is a change of mind which leads to a change in conduct.

[John Weaver] Metanoia is the Greek word. Meta means with and change. And noiao is the Greek word for mind. So you actually change your mind is what it amounts to. And you change your mind in relationship to God, in relationship to sin, in relation to yourself. In fact, you change your mind on a lot of things. So real genuine repentance will always lead to obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, the second point was this. They had leaders without leadership. Because after Joshua and all those elders died off, then other leaders came along that were not interested in leading in biblical principles or obeying the commands of God. And consequently, they led the people into idolatry. So it's the same thing today. We have now leaders, but they are willing to lead us into socialism, communism, fraud, debt, war, wickedness, and immorality.

[John Weaver] So just like Israel had their Jeroboams, Judah had their Manasseh, so we have our Jeroboams and our Manasseh as well. So you remember in closing last week, I asked, how many politicians do you know that have come to the conclusion that David came to in 1 Samuel chapter 23, in the first three verses, and five times David claimed direct inspiration for this one simple truth where David said, he that ruleth over men must be just ruling in the fear of God. So it's impossible for anyone to rule justly unless he's ruling in the fear of God.

[John Weaver] So today we're going to pick up from there and I'm going to give you the third reason, the third answer as to why they did what they did. So our Lord asks, why have you done this? And if you look in verse 10, you will see it. So just like Israel back then, we have professions without possession. Look in verse 10. And also all that generation were gathered under their fathers. And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. Now, years back, I preached a message which I just simply titled, Another Generation. And it seems like we in America are in that another generation today.

[John Weaver] In fact, we have turned so much from the foundation that our founding fathers have laid. We've turned from the worship of God. We've turned from the principles of the word of God. And we've embraced secularism and humanism. And we've basically deserted biblical principles. I'm going to point out the fact that we have the same problem today that they had back then. We had professions from individuals that did not have possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, R.A.

[John Weaver] Torrey happened to be an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. He was born in 1856 and he died in 1928 and he said this, he believed that one of the greatest mission fields was our churches and that 90% of our church members were lost. Ray Comfort, a modern-day evangelist, has said basically the same thing. He says that 90% of the church members are lost. And I knew one pastor. He's now dead.

[John Weaver] He had a rather large work. He had 5,000 members in his church. And he made the statement If he could get 10% of them to heaven, he would be happy. And of course, the truth is he could not get even one to heaven, any of himself. But what he meant was, he was just hoping and praying 10% of that large congregation would end up with the Lord.

[John Weaver] Which would mean 90% of them were lost. So, when you examine modern day Christians, and you compare their lives with the unsaved, you will notice that there's not very much difference. Professing Christians today are just as worldly, just as deceitful, just as fraudulent and just as cunning as the unsaved. And the only difference is that they attend church, but not so regularly and not so faithfully. And amazingly, the divorce rate is about equal between the unsaved and also professing Christians as well. So the truth of the matter is this most professing Christians live by their feelings, live by their emotions or live by sentimentality rather than the principles from the word of God.

[John Weaver] I've said so many times that this is one of our great problems. We live by circumstances. We live by situations. We live by feelings and emotions rather than the principles in the word of God. So emotions change. Circumstances change. Situations change. Feelings change. But the principles of the word of God are eternal and they never change.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look back at verse 10, because I'm talking about being a professor without actually possession. And look what he said. And also all that generation were gathered under their fathers. And there arose another generation after them. Here it is, which knew not The Lord. Wow. They knew not the Lord. So here they are in a covenant nation and they are supposedly a covenant people.

[John Weaver] And yet they are unsaved. They knew not the Lord. Let me show you what I'm talking about. If you will hold judges to but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter nine and look if you would at verse six Romans chapter nine. In verse 6, the Apostle Paul explains this very clearly for us. So in Romans chapter 9, in verse 6, he says this, Not as though the word of God had taken none effect. And then he says this, For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel.

[John Weaver] In other words, just because you were in a covenant nation, and among the covenant people did not mean that you were saved. It did not mean that you were actually a believer. And so clearly you could have individuals in the nation Israel who were lost, who were in that covenant nation, and yet they did not know the Lord. Likewise, you can have people in a church even where the Word of God is preached. And once you join the church, you are actually in a covenant with God as well and a covenant with the other people. In fact, some churches have covenants posted on their church walls. But just because you are in that covenant group does not mean that you're saved. You can be a church member and then lost. You can be baptized and lost. You can be a Sunday school teacher and lost. You can even be a preacher and be lost.

[John Weaver] Because you can have a profession without a possession. And so not everyone is born quote unquote again. Not everyone has Jesus Christ. And so consequently you cannot ride to heaven on the coattails of anyone else. You're not saved by association. You're saved only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation comes by grace through faith in him and in him alone. So let me show you if you will turn right on over now, since you're in the New Testament to first Corinthians chapter 10.

[John Weaver] Now I can ask you this question. And so he said, they're not all Israel who are off Israel. And notice if you would, what the scripture says right here after he said judges chapter two, that they did not know the Lord. So look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. The Bible says, But with many of them God was not well pleased. So think about this question before we go any further. If with many of them God was not well pleased, with how many of them was God well pleased? Well, look at it in verse 5. But with many of them God was not well pleased.

[John Weaver] And here's how He showed His displeasure. For they were overthrown in the wilderness. He says, now these things are, were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted neither be idolaters as were some of them, as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication as some of them committed and fell in one day, three and 20,000. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of the serpent. Neither murmur you, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happen to them for examples, and they're written for our admonition, upon whom the end of the world are come.

[John Weaver] Now, the question is this. How many of these people was God well pleased with? And the answer is two. Joshua and Caleb, because the rest of them were overthrown in the wilderness.

[John Weaver] Now, if you will turn right on over to the book of Hebrews chapter four, Hebrews chapter four, you will see again what the word of God says in regard to these people. Look at it. Hebrews chapter four, verse one. Let us therefore fear. Watch now, lest a promise being left of us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached," look at this,"...as well as unto them," we're talking about those who were overthrown,"...but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." So, they had the truth, but it did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith.

[John Weaver] So just because someone hears the word externally, does not mean that he is saved. Just because someone can hear the word on a regular basis audibly, does not mean that he is saved. So, the Israelites heard the commands of God, they heard the word of God, they even heard the actual voice of God, and yet it was not mixed with faith, and so therefore they perished. Now it is true that the Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But the hearing is far more than an external audible hearing. It is hearing in faith and it's receiving it as it is indeed the very word of God and receiving it in obedience. So the external and the audible hearing of the word of God does not say it is a spiritual and the internal hearing. that is exercised in faith that actually saves us.

[John Weaver] So I want you to go back to the book of Judges chapter two and look at verse 10 again. This to me is astounding. We can understand the first part, but here it is. And also all that generation were gathered under their fathers. And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord. Hang on, look at this. And yet the works which he had done for Israel. So they were not only not saved, they did not even know the works that God had done for Israel. Now, they did not know the Lord personally. They did not know the Lord providentially. It's almost difficult to conceive that from one generation to another, everything was lost. Their faith was lost. Their knowledge of history and truth happened to be lost as well. It is almost inconceivable to think of the fact that there were Israelites who did not know about the deliverance from Egypt, who did not know about the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea. who did not know about the wanderings of the wilderness and the great provision that God made for these people.

[John Weaver] It's inconceivable that they'd never even heard of the manna that God sovereignly provided, or how God dried up the Jordan so they could cross it and conquer Jericho. It's almost inconceivable to think that they were absolutely, totally ignorant of their history. But that's what the Bible says. They did not know the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. They had forgotten everything. And so it's also inconceivable to realize that most Americans and most Christians have no idea of the causes for the war of independence. Neither do they know the marvels and the miracles that God wrought for us in order to deliver us from the tyranny of George III and Parliament. We are absolutely, totally, completely ignorant. We don't even know anything about the War of 1812 when England attacked us again. And, of course, during that war they burned the White House. They captured a lot of Americans. And moreover, we're just as ignorant today concerning the war of northern aggression.

[John Weaver] And by the way, that war commonly referred to the Civil War, which is not a good name because it was not a civil war. But the truth of the matter is this, it had absolutely nothing to do with slavery.

[John Weaver] Now, I could prove that a number of ways, but that's not my message. But listen to me very carefully. The truth is that most Christians and most southerners do not even know about a set of books known as the War of the Rebellion. This set of books is a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies and it consists of 128 volumes including a general index and an accompanying atlas.

[John Weaver] This collection was organized between 1881 and 1901. Let me tell you something, and of course you know that I preached a series of messages, I think 13, on where we are and how we got here, dealing with history, and especially the war of northern aggression. But do you realize it is possible for you to sit down and open these volumes And you can read the correspondence between General Beauregard and Major Anderson at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. You can read the correspondence before the bombing, during the bombing, and after the bombing when the fort surrendered. General Beauregard wrote a letter to Major Anderson and asked him to surrender.

[John Weaver] He said, you may keep your flag, you may keep your arms, you just need to leave this property. And Major Anderson wrote back that he could not submit, he could not do that. And General Beauregard wrote back, he said, dear Major Anderson, it is my distinct honor to be able to open fire upon you at 12 o'clock noon. In other words, he said, we're going to start at 12 o'clock noon. And then when one shell happened to hit an ammo supply and a fire got started in the fort, Beauregard ceased firing, sent men over there and asked Major Anderson if they needed help putting the fire out.

[John Weaver] You don't ever read about anything like that. You don't ever hear anything like that. And yet, that's exactly what happened. It's all contained in the official records. 128 volumes. Now you say, I can't afford 128 volumes. You don't have to buy them. They're in most libraries. When I use those volumes, I went to my little local library in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and they had them in a special room and they would put you in that room and let you read those books. They would watch you because those books were extremely valuable. But today you can buy those same volumes on CD, which is much, much cheaper. I'm just simply saying, It's astounding to me how ignorant we are of our own history. So here's my question. Do you know why we learn our history from the victors?

[John Weaver] And the answer is because we're too lazy and too indolent to research and study for ourselves. You have to understand the victor is always going to elevate his side and his views, and he's going to downplay and denigrate the side of his enemies. If you want real truth, you're not going to get it from a public school. You're not going to get it from a government or state college. It's not going to happen. The only way you're going to get truth is to do your own research in the original documents.

[John Weaver] Now, you may object and say, well, I'm not really interested in history either. Well, let me ask you this. If you're not interested in history, are you interested in the providence of God? I remember when I was A boy, I could not figure out why I needed to know that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. I didn't know why I needed to know 1776 or 1812 or anything like that until God saved me and showed me the absolute truth. So I can ask this another way. Do you want to know the secretive will of God? You know, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, the secret things belonging to the Lord our God, but the things which he has revealed belong unto us and our children forever that we may do them. Well, how in the world would you know the secret of things of God? Here's the answer. The secret of things of God are revealed to us in history. History is nothing less than the eternal decree of God coming to pass in time.

[John Weaver] So history is important because history is the revelation of God's secretive will that He began before the world was ever formed. It was His eternal decree and He brings it to pass in time. So please understand this. History is not cyclical. History is linear. That is, it goes in a straight line. Because you read Genesis 1.1, in the beginning was the world. In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth. And then, of course, when it ends in the book of Revelation, the angel of the Lord says, and time shall be no more. So you have a point of beginning and you have a point of ending. So many people say, well, history is cyclical. It goes around in circles. No, it doesn't go around in circles.

[John Weaver] The reason it seems like that is because men commit the same sins over and over and God judges them in the same way over and over. So it's not cyclical. It's just men, fallen men, depraved men, committing the same sins and receiving the same judgment over and over. So we have today in our churches, just like Israel, we have those who profess, but they do not possess. And so that is one reason when our Lord asks, why have you done this? It's not just remorse without repentance. It's not just leaders without leadership. It is also profession without possession. And here's the fourth one. If you look in verses 10 through 13 again, we have compromise without conviction. Look at this. And also that Generation were gathered into their fathers and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord nor yet the works which he'd done for Israel and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam Look now and they forsook the Lord God of

[John Weaver] their fathers which brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods of the gods of the people that were around about them and bowed themselves into them and provoked the Lord to anger and and they forsook the Lord and served Baal in Ashtoreth." Wow! Do you understand that the reason there is so much compromise with evil, with immorality and idolatry, is because there are no real convictions by the people of God.

[John Weaver] Now conviction is not a preference. A conviction is something that is fixed and it is firm. It is so strong that it is not going to be changed. There is no argument, however clever, that's going to change a conviction. There is no oratory that is however great that's going to change a conviction. There is no begging, no beseeching, that's going to change a conviction. A conviction is from received and recognized truth. We have received the truth, we recognize it as truth, We know it is truth and we are not going to change.

[John Weaver] Now, in one sense of the word, convictions could be instantaneous in the fact that God can sovereignly and supernaturally open our eyes so that we can see. But the truth of the matter is, once we begin to see truth, those convictions are developed more fully They become more mature and we hold them to a greater degree as we live and understand exactly what God is doing. So certainly nothing can be matured unless it was there originally and initially. So obviously, as you look around today, there are millions of areas in which professing Christians have compromised the word of God. There's no conviction.

[John Weaver] So here are some questions. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God? If you do, and if these are convictions, you will die before you will deny those. You will not falter, you will not fail, you will not back up, you will not back down, you will hold these truths to the death. Now, Israel had no such convictions. That's why the bible says they forsook the lord god of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of egypt and followed other gods They forsook the lord god and served baal and ashtaroth Wow I want to show you The very lack of convictions shows you How quickly they compromise if you look back in your bibles very quickly to the book of exodus chapter 32 in exodus chapter 32 This is the chapter where we read about Aaron making the golden calf. Okay? He told the people, take off your golden earrings.

[John Weaver] And of course, he formed it, he fashioned it. Moses was up in the mountain. He was supposed to be up there 40 days and 40 nights. Well, even the 40 days had not expired. They had just come out of Egypt. They had just got to this mountain. And I want you to look what happens. Exodus chapter 32 verse 7 and the Lord said to Moses go get thee down for five people Which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. Look at this They have turned aside quickly out of the way, which I commanded them and have made them a molten calf and have worshipped and have sacrificed thereunto and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Yes, less than 30 days they had turned aside and made a golden calf.

[John Weaver] Where were their convictions that their God was the one true and living God? Where? Look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter two, if you would please, and verse 17. Judges two and verse 17. Again, we're talking about, well, let's read verse 16. Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoil them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges.

[John Weaver] But they went a whoring after other gods and bowed themselves unto them. They turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord. But they did not so. So here's a good question. What would it take to get you to compromise? Does every man have his price? Would you deny Christ for five million bucks? You say, no, I would never do that. How about 10 million? How about 20 million? Would you sell out your people for measly a hundred thousand bucks?

[John Weaver] We have politicians that do that even for less. Wow. Would you sell out your people or would you compromise? For power? For fame? For lust? God tells us that we are to be faithful unto death. Faithful men are difficult to find. One of my daily prayer requests is the Lord will make me faithful and faithful unto death. So mark this truth down in your hearts. Without convictions, there is only compromise. Without divine convictions, there is only devilish compromise.

[John Weaver] Now, I will remind you of the points of this message that I've covered so far. And there's a reason. I've showed you where our Lord asks, why have you done this? And the answer according to our text is they had remorse without repentance. They had leaders without leadership. They had profession without possession. They had compromise without conviction. Now here's my question. Where do these things lead? What is the end result of these four grievous errors and sins.

[John Weaver] Well, this brings me to the fifth and final point. They will bring us. To defeat without deliverance, so if you look back in Judges two verses 14 and 15. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. And he delivered them into the hands of the spoilers that spoil them. And he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whether so ever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, as the Lord had sworn unto them, and they were greatly distressed. So without deliverance, there is only defeat. Without divine deliverance, there can only be deadly defeat. So without God's sovereign protection and preservation, Israel was easily defeated. And so I must say this without God's sovereign protection and preservation, America will be easily defeated.

[John Weaver] I've read so much where, oh, we are afraid of China. China is so great. Not this kind of thing. No, no, no. Listen, God does not necessarily have to use China to whip us. He could use dinky little Cuba if he wanted to. Because once God withdraws his power, his protection, his preservation, you are helpless. Wow. I just read where Trump said that Russia was a paper tiger.

[John Weaver] Well, I think his assessment is wrong. But the truth of the matter is, I'm going to show you that leads to destruction in and of itself. If you will turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Joshua chapter 7. Write back just one book, Joshua chapter 7. You know the story of how God had given Jericho into the hands of his people, a great and mighty city. And God had said, look, the city is cursed. The city is cursed. Don't touch anything. Everything is dedicated to destruction. And Aiken is the one who saw the Babylonian garment, the wedge of gold and silver, and he stole them and hid them under his tent. Well, some of the soldiers came and said, AI is the next town. It's a small little town. We don't need the whole army. Don't make them work. Just a few of us can take care of AI.

[John Weaver] And so they went up against AI, and guess what happened? AI came out and defeated them, and they ran Like scalded dogs with their tails tucked between their legs and that 36 Israelites were killed And I want you to look what happened. Joshua, of course went to prayer and in Joshua chapter 7 Verse 10 and the Lord said to Joshua get thee up Wherefore lies thou thus upon thy face now look what God says Israel hath sinned And they have also transgressed my covenant, which I commanded them for. They've even taken the curse thing and have also stolen and dissembled also. And they put it even among their own stuff. Therefore, the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turn their backs before their enemies because they were cursed. Look at this.

[John Weaver] Neither will I be with you anymore Except you destroy the occurs from on you. What did he say? This is it You will have no more victories period unless you deal with this sin unless you deal with this rebellion. That is it God says I'm just not going to do it. You are not going to be blessed anymore. You're not going to have victory anymore That's all there is And of course, you know Joshua did indeed deal with it And Achan and his family were put to death. Someone says, wow, you mean Achan and his whole family was put to death because he stole?

[John Weaver] Well, it was more than stealing. Number one, it was stealing against the Lord and from the Lord. Number two, it had been cursed. Number three, his theft caused the death of 36 men. Number four, His family had to be privy to it because it was buried under His tent. You can't do that without everybody knowing about it. And so, yes, they were stoned to death because they had sinned against God. That is for sure. Now, victory is dependent upon the Lord. If He withholds His hand, there is no victory. There is only defeat, death and destruction. You remember that passage in Psalm 127, verse 1, Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17. And let me show you another curse that is connected to this. And here is why I'm telling you that President Trump said that That Russia was a paper tiger He said we have the greatest army. We have the greatest military power. We have the greatest is we have the greatest that well look at this Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 5 Thus saith the Lord cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departed from the Lord For he shall be like a heath in the desert and shall

[John Weaver] not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land not inhabited. Now he says, blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is, for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and shall not see when he cometh. But her leaves shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. So God says there's a curse upon man who trust in man and makes flesh his arm.

[John Weaver] I got news for you. If we did have the greatest military, if we did have the greatest armies, if we did have the greatest power, it is still nothing. If that's what we're trusting in, because we're under the curse of God and all that will fail and all that will fall. So clearly, clearly, Our preservation, our protection is in God's hand. And when God withdraws that protection, that preservation, we are going down just like Israel did.

[John Weaver] And so they forsook the Lord. Look at verse 15 again. Back in Judges chapter 2, look at this. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil. As the Lord had said, And as the Lord had sworn unto them, and they were greatly distressed, didn't matter where they went, did not matter what they did, the hand of the Lord was against them.

[John Weaver] Now, here's what I want you to remember. Our Lord asked Israel, why have you done this? And the answer he's given us And Judges 2 is this. They had remorse without repentance. They had leaders without leadership. They had professions without possession. They had compromise without conviction. And all that led to defeat without deliverance. So here are the applications. The first one is this. always follows disobedience. Death and destruction always follow disobedience.

[John Weaver] The curse of God is upon individuals who forsake him and his word. I hope you remember Proverbs 8 and verse 36. Our Lord, whose wisdom personified, said this, Whoso findeth me, findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. The last part of that verse is this, where he says, All they that hate me love death. So when you stop and think, the only thing any government or any nation can provide, apart from God and His truth and His word, is a society of death. There is no life, there is no protection, there is no preservation apart from God.

[John Weaver] Now here's a second application. This message should encourage us to faithfulness, obedience, and steadfastness in the faith. I want to give you one verse. I want to quote it. Then I want to show you at least five other verses, and I want you to follow me. The first verse I would like to quote is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in verse 58. Where the apostle Paul said, therefore. Dearly beloved, or therefore, my brethren. Be steadfast. Unmovable.

[John Weaver] Always abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know, your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now listen to what it said. Be ye therefore steadfast, unmovable.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. I want you to follow me. I want you to see five verses. Before I show you these five verses, I want to tell you about the Greek word that each of these verses has in it, and how that each time it is translated as stand fast. The Greek word is the word steko, and it means to stand fast, to stand firm, to persevere, to persist in, and to keep standing. So look at it in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13. Look what the word of God says. Watch ye. Stand fast in the faith. Quit ye like men. Be strong. Stand fast in the faith. Then if you will turn right over to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and look if you would please at verse 1. Here it is again the Greek word stiko. Stand fast therefore the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Stand fast. Stand fast.

[John Weaver] Look in the book of Philippians chapter 4 and verse 1. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 1 The Apostle Paul writes therefore my brethren dearly beloved and long for my joy and crown so stand fast in the Lord my dearly beloved Isn't this sounding how many times we're encouraged to stand fast Look if you would in first Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 8 first Thessalonians 3 and verse 8 Again, the apostle says it like this, for now we live if you stand fast in the Lord. So we have been admonished to stand fast in the faith, stand fast in liberty, stand fast in the Lord. Oh, look in second Thessalonians chapter two and verse 15. Second Thessalonians two in verse 15, he says, therefore, brethren, stand fast.

[John Weaver] and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle." Stand fast. Do not give in, do not give out, do not give up, do not quit, do not pitch in the towel. Stand fast. Stand fast. Notice if you would, stand fast.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to me very carefully. I said this this morning. I cannot control anyone. I can't make Steve do right. I can't make Leah do right. I can't make Alice do right. I can't control anyone. But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself by His grace, by His power, by His help, by His mercy. So if each of us took the attitude I am going to stand fast. I am not going to be like these individuals in Judges chapter 2. I'm going to obey the Lord. I'm not going to forsake Him. I'm not going to forsake His Word. I'm not going to forsake His truth. I will stand fast in the Lord.

[John Weaver] That is exactly what you and I should do. We're going to find that when we stand fast, we're going to find the blessings of God. If we are the compromisers, we're going to discover the curses of God. In the book of Zechariah, chapter one, there's an interesting verse where God says to those people, be not as your fathers. And he's talking about these individuals who compromised, who forsook Him. So we do not want to be like other people. We do not want to be like those who forsake God. We want to be those who stand fast in the faith, stand fast in the Lord, stand fast in the liberty, stand fast in the truth that He's given us.

[John Weaver] So why have you done this? And the answer is, because they disobeyed in all of these areas and refused to do that which is right. Do not be like these people. Obey and bring your life in conformity to his word. So let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your help, for your grace, for your mercy, for your truth. Enable us to stand, Lord, Not to compromise, not to give in, not to give up, not to give out, not to quit. Just keep on keeping on by your grace and mercy. Give us, Lord, that which we need. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us, Lord, and we shall call upon Thy name. And, Lord, we cannot stand apart from Thee and without Thee, for we understand without Thee we can do nothing. We ask for your grace, your mercy, your power, your preservation, your protection. And Lord, that you would indeed bless us as we serve thee. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

[John Weaver] you you you

Why Have You Done This? - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	dauWr2jMWSs
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: A Time Of Need
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-01-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 054: Why Have You Done This? — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	73

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver opens with a lighthearted remark, then reads Judges 2:1-15, reviewing the first two reasons for Israel's disobedience: remorse without repentance and leaders without leadership.

All right. Well, we're glad once again to have the Fargos here. So that's whom, Steve, the city of Fargo was named after, Casey. No, he was named after the city. Because the city existed before he did. Okay. Yeah. All right. Well, let's open our Bibles. Say that again. Sorry. I just realized we were recording. Okay. All right. Okay. Let's open our Bibles into the book of Judges chapter two, and we're going to read several verses here. And Lord willing, we're going to be doing the second part of the message.

Why have you done this? So Judges 2, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Judges 2:1-15

"And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars." "But ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old." "And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtoreth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel." "And he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies."

Now look at verse 15:

Scripture Reading — Judges 2:1-15

"Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed."

You remember verse 2, God has given clear and concise commands and instructions to Israel, and yet they disobeyed. His commands could not have been misunderstood, and so consequently, God said you are not to make a league with the inhabitants of this land. Now the word "league" means a covenant. They were not to make any covenants. They were also to throw down the pagan altars, but they disobeyed. And so God asked this question in verse 2, "Why have you done this?" So let's ask the question. Why did Israel disobey? And we can also ask, why did America and why does America disobey? We can also make it more personal and ask, why do you disobey? Why does your family disobey? Why does your church disobey? Why does your society disobey? Why does your nation disobey? In other words, the point I want to make is each one of these points happen to be applicable to our society and to our nation today.

So I pointed out in the very first message that America, like Israel, was indeed a covenantal nation. And of course, I quoted numerous articles. But if you would take the time to examine the original constitutions and charters and covenants, you'll find how that they were indeed in league with God, seeking to obey him and make his laws their laws. So although I quoted several, allow me to quote one more. And here it is. The Massachusetts Bay Colony, through the work of John Cotton, who was a Puritan preacher, developed a legal framework known as "Moses, His Judicials" in 1636, which was intended to be a set of laws agreeable to the word of God and was influential in shaping the colony's legal system, though it was not formally adopted as the state's official laws. This draft was part of a broader effort by Puritan reformers to base colonial governance on biblical principles and specifically the Mosaic Law. I also pointed out in this chapter we have a strong contrast and that contrast is between the absolute faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of His people. And when you and I stop and think about our own unfaithfulness, in light of the fact that God has been so merciful and saved us, and so gracious unto us and supplied our every need.

And yet the truth of the matter is we still remain unfaithful. It should exceedingly humble us before him and encourage us to plead for forgiveness and for mercy as well. So seemingly, even in this day and age, this truth does not affect the average Christian. Because in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, the Apostle Paul said it like this: "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." So everything that God has given you, whether it's financial, whether it's talents, whether it's abilities, you are a steward over those things for God and for his honor and glory.

Now, if you will go back to verse 1: "And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you." Note, if you would, again, this angel happened to be a Christophany. That is, it is a pre-incarnate appearing of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament before he became flesh. Sometimes the word "theophany" is used, but the word "theos" is the word God. In other words, it would just be an occurrence or an occasion where God manifested himself. Well, we know that this angel happened to be the Lord because he said, "I made you go up out of Egypt." And he also said, "I brought you into the land, which I sware unto your fathers." We know it was God who swore unto their fathers.

And then he said, "I will never break my covenant with you." So it was God who brought the covenant and of course entered into that covenant with the nation itself. So God has never ever broken his covenant. God has never broken his word. God has never lied. Israel did break the covenant multitudinous times, but God did not. And the reason God did not break that covenant is very simple. And that is because God is faithful. He is the faithful God. So he is faithful in his blessings and he is also faithful in his cursings. Read Deuteronomy chapter 28 and Leviticus chapter 26 and you will find where God has made all of these promises to bless those who obey and to curse those who disobey.

So I gave you two points last week. The first reason that I gave as to the answer to this question, "Why have you done this?" was simply because they had remorse without repentance. That is, they came and they wept before the Lord, they were weeping aloud, and they were sorry that they were in that situation. But may I point out the fact that weeping, crying, wailing, gnashing of teeth does not necessarily mean that someone is genuinely repented. Because repentance then is a change of mind which leads to a change in conduct. "Metanoia" is the Greek word. "Meta" means "with" and "change," and "noieo" is the Greek word for mind. So you actually change your mind is what it amounts to. And you change your mind in relationship to God, in relationship to sin, in relation to yourself. In fact, you change your mind on a lot of things. So real genuine repentance will always lead to obedience.

Now, the second point was this. They had leaders without leadership. Because after Joshua and all those elders died off, then other leaders came along that were not interested in leading in biblical principles or obeying the commands of God. And consequently, they led the people into idolatry. So it's the same thing today. We have now leaders, but they are willing to lead us into socialism, communism, fraud, debt, war, wickedness, and immorality.

So just like Israel had their Jeroboam, Judah had their Manasseh, so we have our Jeroboams and our Manassehs as well. So you remember in closing last week, I asked, how many politicians do you know that have come to the conclusion that David came to in 1 Samuel chapter 23, in the first three verses, and five times David claimed direct inspiration for this one simple truth where David said, "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." So it's impossible for anyone to rule justly unless he's ruling in the fear of God.

Profession Without Possession

The third reason: many in Israel and in modern churches profess faith but do not truly know the Lord. Weaver cites Romans 9:6 and 1 Corinthians 10 to show that not all in the covenant community are saved.

So today we're going to pick up from there and I'm going to give you the third reason, the third answer as to why they did what they did. So our Lord asks, "Why have you done this?" And if you look in verse 10, you will see it. So just like Israel back then, we have professions without possession. Look in verse 10: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." Now, years back, I preached a message which I just simply titled, "Another Generation." And it seems like we in America are in that another generation today. In fact, we have turned so much from the foundation that our founding fathers have laid. We've turned from the worship of God. We've turned from the principles of the word of God. And we've embraced secularism and humanism. And we've basically deserted biblical principles. I'm going to point out the fact that we have the same problem today that they had back then. We had professions from individuals that did not have possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, R.A.

Torrey happened to be an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. He was born in 1856 and he died in 1928 and he said this, he believed that one of the greatest mission fields was our churches and that 90% of our church members were lost. Ray Comfort, a modern-day evangelist, has said basically the same thing. He says that 90% of the church members are lost. And I knew one pastor. He's now dead. He had a rather large work. He had 5,000 members in his church. And he made the statement, if he could get 10% of them to heaven, he would be happy. And of course, the truth is he could not get even one to heaven, any of himself. But what he meant was, he was just hoping and praying 10% of that large congregation would end up with the Lord.

Which would mean 90% of them were lost. So, when you examine modern day Christians, and you compare their lives with the unsaved, you will notice that there's not very much difference. Professing Christians today are just as worldly, just as deceitful, just as fraudulent and just as cunning as the unsaved. And the only difference is that they attend church, but not so regularly and not so faithfully. And amazingly, the divorce rate is about equal between the unsaved and also professing Christians as well. So the truth of the matter is this: most professing Christians live by their feelings, live by their emotions or live by sentimentality rather than the principles from the word of God. I've said so many times that this is one of our great problems. We live by circumstances. We live by situations. We live by feelings and emotions rather than the principles in the word of God. So emotions change. Circumstances change. Situations change. Feelings change. But the principles of the word of God are eternal and they never change.

Now, I want you to look back at verse 10, because I'm talking about being a professor without actually possession. And look what he said: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord." Wow. They knew not the Lord. So here they are in a covenant nation and they are supposedly a covenant people. And yet they are unsaved. They knew not the Lord. Let me show you what I'm talking about. If you will hold Judges 2 but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 9 and look if you would at verse 6. Romans chapter 9, in verse 6, the Apostle Paul explains this very clearly for us. So in Romans chapter 9, in verse 6, he says this: "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect." And then he says this: "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel."

In other words, just because you were in a covenant nation, and among the covenant people did not mean that you were saved. It did not mean that you were actually a believer. And so clearly you could have individuals in the nation Israel who were lost, who were in that covenant nation, and yet they did not know the Lord. Likewise, you can have people in a church even where the Word of God is preached. And once you join the church, you are actually in a covenant with God as well and a covenant with the other people. In fact, some churches have covenants posted on their church walls. But just because you are in that covenant group does not mean that you're saved. You can be a church member and then lost. You can be baptized and lost. You can be a Sunday school teacher and lost. You can even be a preacher and be lost.

Because you can have a profession without a possession. And so not everyone is born, quote unquote, again. Not everyone has Jesus Christ. And so consequently you cannot ride to heaven on the coattails of anyone else. You're not saved by association. You're saved only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation comes by grace through faith in him and in him alone. So let me show you if you will turn right on over now, since you're in the New Testament, to 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

Now I can ask you this question. And so he said, "They're not all Israel who are of Israel." And notice if you would, what the scripture says right here after he said Judges chapter 2, that they did not know the Lord. So look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"But with many of them God was not well pleased."

So think about this question before we go any further. If with many of them God was not well pleased, with how many of them was God well pleased? Well, look at it in verse 5:

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"But with many of them God was not well pleased."

And here's how He showed His displeasure:

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"For they were overthrown in the wilderness."

He says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

Now, the question is this. How many of these people was God well pleased with? And the answer is two. Joshua and Caleb, because the rest of them were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now, if you will turn right on over to the book of Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 4, you will see again what the word of God says in regard to these people. Look at it. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1: "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." So, they had the truth, but it did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith.

So just because someone hears the word externally, does not mean that he is saved. Just because someone can hear the word on a regular basis audibly, does not mean that he is saved. So, the Israelites heard the commands of God, they heard the word of God, they even heard the actual voice of God, and yet it was not mixed with faith, and so therefore they perished. Now it is true that the Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." But the hearing is far more than an external audible hearing. It is hearing in faith and it's receiving it as it is indeed the very word of God and receiving it in obedience. So the external and the audible hearing of the word of God does not say it is a spiritual and the internal hearing that is exercised in faith that actually saves us.

So I want you to go back to the book of Judges chapter 2 and look at verse 10 again. This to me is astounding. We can understand the first part, but here it is: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." So they were not only not saved, they did not even know the works that God had done for Israel. Now, they did not know the Lord personally. They did not know the Lord providentially. It's almost difficult to conceive that from one generation to another, everything was lost. Their faith was lost. Their knowledge of history and truth happened to be lost as well. It is almost inconceivable to think of the fact that there were Israelites who did not know about the deliverance from Egypt, who did not know about the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, who did not know about the wanderings of the wilderness and the great provision that God made for these people.

Historical Ignorance

Israel forgot God's works; similarly, Americans and Christians are ignorant of their own history, including the War of Independence and the War of Northern Aggression. Weaver emphasizes the importance of studying original documents.

It's inconceivable that they'd never even heard of the manna that God sovereignly provided, or how God dried up the Jordan so they could cross it and conquer Jericho. It's almost inconceivable to think that they were absolutely, totally ignorant of their history. But that's what the Bible says. They did not know the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. They had forgotten everything. And so it's also inconceivable to realize that most Americans and most Christians have no idea of the causes for the war of independence. Neither do they know the marvels and the miracles that God wrought for us in order to deliver us from the tyranny of George III and Parliament. We are absolutely, totally, completely ignorant. We don't even know anything about the War of 1812 when England attacked us again. And, of course, during that war they burned the White House. They captured a lot of Americans. And moreover, we're just as ignorant today concerning the war of northern aggression.

And by the way, that war commonly referred to as the Civil War, which is not a good name because it was not a civil war. But the truth of the matter is this, it had absolutely nothing to do with slavery. Now, I could prove that a number of ways, but that's not my message. But listen to me very carefully. The truth is that most Christians and most southerners do not even know about a set of books known as the "War of the Rebellion." This set of books is a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies and it consists of 128 volumes including a general index and an accompanying atlas. This collection was organized between 1881 and 1901. Let me tell you something, and of course you know that I preached a series of messages, I think 13, on where we are and how we got here, dealing with history, and especially the war of northern aggression. But do you realize it is possible for you to sit down and open these volumes and you can read the correspondence between General Beauregard and Major Anderson at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. You can read the correspondence before the bombing, during the bombing, and after the bombing when the fort surrendered. General Beauregard wrote a letter to Major Anderson and asked him to surrender.

He said, "You may keep your flag, you may keep your arms, you just need to leave this property." And Major Anderson wrote back that he could not submit, he could not do that. And General Beauregard wrote back, he said, "Dear Major Anderson, it is my distinct honor to be able to open fire upon you at 12 o'clock noon." In other words, he said, "We're going to start at 12 o'clock noon." And then when one shell happened to hit an ammo supply and a fire got started in the fort, Beauregard ceased firing, sent men over there and asked Major Anderson if they needed help putting the fire out. You don't ever read about anything like that. You don't ever hear anything like that. And yet, that's exactly what happened. It's all contained in the official records. 128 volumes. Now you say, "I can't afford 128 volumes." You don't have to buy them. They're in most libraries. When I use those volumes, I went to my little local library in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and they had them in a special room and they would put you in that room and let you read those books. They would watch you because those books were extremely valuable. But today you can buy those same volumes on CD, which is much, much cheaper. I'm just simply saying, it's astounding to me how ignorant we are of our own history. So here's my question. Do you know why we learn our history from the victors?

And the answer is because we're too lazy and too indolent to research and study for ourselves. You have to understand the victor is always going to elevate his side and his views, and he's going to downplay and denigrate the side of his enemies. If you want real truth, you're not going to get it from a public school. You're not going to get it from a government or state college. It's not going to happen. The only way you're going to get truth is to do your own research in the original documents.

Now, you may object and say, "Well, I'm not really interested in history either." Well, let me ask you this. If you're not interested in history, are you interested in the providence of God? I remember when I was a boy, I could not figure out why I needed to know that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. I didn't know why I needed to know 1776 or 1812 or anything like that until God saved me and showed me the absolute truth. So I can ask this another way. Do you want to know the secretive will of God? You know, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." Well, how in the world would you know the secret things of God? Here's the answer. The secret things of God are revealed to us in history. History is nothing less than the eternal decree of God coming to pass in time.

The Importance of History

History reveals God's secret will; it is linear, not cyclical. Men repeat the same sins and receive the same judgments.

So history is important because history is the revelation of God's secretive will that He began before the world was ever formed. It was His eternal decree and He brings it to pass in time. So please understand this. History is not cyclical. History is linear. That is, it goes in a straight line. Because you read Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And then, of course, when it ends in the book of Revelation, the angel of the Lord says, "And time shall be no more." So you have a point of beginning and you have a point of ending. So many people say, "Well, history is cyclical. It goes around in circles." No, it doesn't go around in circles.

The reason it seems like that is because men commit the same sins over and over and God judges them in the same way over and over. So it's not cyclical. It's just men, fallen men, depraved men, committing the same sins and receiving the same judgment over and over. So we have today in our churches, just like Israel, we have those who profess, but they do not possess. And so that is one reason when our Lord asks, "Why have you done this?" It's not just remorse without repentance. It's not just leaders without leadership. It is also profession without possession. And here's the fourth one. If you look in verses 10 through 13 again, we have compromise without conviction. Look at this: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtoreth." Wow! Do you understand that the reason there is so much compromise with evil, with immorality and idolatry, is because there are no real convictions by the people of God.

Now conviction is not a preference. A conviction is something that is fixed and it is firm. It is so strong that it is not going to be changed. There is no argument, however clever, that's going to change a conviction. There is no oratory that is however great that's going to change a conviction. There is no begging, no beseeching, that's going to change a conviction. A conviction is from received and recognized truth. We have received the truth, we recognize it as truth, we know it is truth and we are not going to change.

Compromise Without Conviction

The fourth reason: Israel lacked firm convictions, leading to idolatry. Weaver defines conviction as fixed, firm truth that one will not compromise, even unto death.

Now, in one sense of the word, convictions could be instantaneous in the fact that God can sovereignly and supernaturally open our eyes so that we can see. But the truth of the matter is, once we begin to see truth, those convictions are developed more fully. They become more mature and we hold them to a greater degree as we live and understand exactly what God is doing. So certainly nothing can be matured unless it was there originally and initially. So obviously, as you look around today, there are millions of areas in which professing Christians have compromised the word of God. There's no conviction.

So here are some questions. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God? If you do, and if these are convictions, you will die before you will deny those. You will not falter, you will not fail, you will not back up, you will not back down, you will hold these truths to the death. Now, Israel had no such convictions. That's why the Bible says they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods. They forsook the Lord God and served Baal and Ashtoreth. Wow. I want to show you the very lack of convictions shows you how quickly they compromise. If you look back in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Exodus chapter 32. In Exodus chapter 32, this is the chapter where we read about Aaron making the golden calf. Okay? He told the people, "Take off your golden earrings."

And of course, he formed it, he fashioned it. Moses was up in the mountain. He was supposed to be up there 40 days and 40 nights. Well, even the 40 days had not expired. They had just come out of Egypt. They had just got to this mountain. And I want you to look what happens. Exodus chapter 32, verse 7:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 32:7-8

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

Yes, less than 30 days they had turned aside and made a golden calf.

Where were their convictions that their God was the one true and living God? Where? Look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 2, if you would please, and verse 17. Judges 2 and verse 17. Again, we're talking about, well, let's read verse 16: "Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges." "But they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so." So here's a good question. What would it take to get you to compromise? Does every man have his price? Would you deny Christ for five million bucks? You say, "No, I would never do that." How about 10 million? How about 20 million? Would you sell out your people for measly a hundred thousand bucks?

We have politicians that do that even for less. Wow. Would you sell out your people or would you compromise? For power? For fame? For lust? God tells us that we are to be faithful unto death. Faithful men are difficult to find. One of my daily prayer requests is the Lord will make me faithful and faithful unto death. So mark this truth down in your hearts. Without convictions, there is only compromise. Without divine convictions, there is only devilish compromise.

Defeat Without Deliverance

The fifth and final point: these sins lead to defeat. When God withdraws His protection, no military might can save. Weaver cites Joshua 7 and Jeremiah 17:5 to show the curse of trusting in man.

Now, I will remind you of the points of this message that I've covered so far. And there's a reason. I've showed you where our Lord asks, "Why have you done this?" And the answer according to our text is they had remorse without repentance. They had leaders without leadership. They had profession without possession. They had compromise without conviction. Now here's my question. Where do these things lead? What is the end result of these four grievous errors and sins.

Well, this brings me to the fifth and final point. They will bring us to defeat without deliverance. So if you look back in Judges 2, verses 14 and 15: "And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed." So without deliverance, there is only defeat. Without divine deliverance, there can only be deadly defeat. So without God's sovereign protection and preservation, Israel was easily defeated. And so I must say this: without God's sovereign protection and preservation, America will be easily defeated.

I've read so much where, "Oh, we are afraid of China. China is so great." Not this kind of thing. No, no, no. Listen, God does not necessarily have to use China to whip us. He could use dinky little Cuba if he wanted to. Because once God withdraws his power, his protection, his preservation, you are helpless. Wow. I just read where Trump said that Russia was a paper tiger.

Well, I think his assessment is wrong. But the truth of the matter is, I'm going to show you that leads to destruction in and of itself. If you will turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Joshua chapter 7. Write back just one book, Joshua chapter 7. You know the story of how God had given Jericho into the hands of his people, a great and mighty city. And God had said, "Look, the city is cursed. The city is cursed. Don't touch anything. Everything is dedicated to destruction." And Achan is the one who saw the Babylonian garment, the wedge of gold and silver, and he stole them and hid them under his tent. Well, some of the soldiers came and said, "Ai is the next town. It's a small little town. We don't need the whole army. Don't make them work. Just a few of us can take care of Ai."

And so they went up against Ai, and guess what happened? Ai came out and defeated them, and they ran like scalded dogs with their tails tucked between their legs and that 36 Israelites were killed. And I want you to look what happened. Joshua, of course went to prayer and in Joshua chapter 7, verse 10: "And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?" Now look what God says: "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed." Look at this.

Scripture Reading — Joshua 7:10-12

"Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you."

What did he say? This is it: You will have no more victories period unless you deal with this sin unless you deal with this rebellion. That is it. God says, "I'm just not going to do it. You are not going to be blessed anymore. You're not going to have victory anymore. That's all there is." And of course, you know Joshua did indeed deal with it. And Achan and his family were put to death. Someone says, "Wow, you mean Achan and his whole family was put to death because he stole?"

Well, it was more than stealing. Number one, it was stealing against the Lord and from the Lord. Number two, it had been cursed. Number three, his theft caused the death of 36 men. Number four, his family had to be privy to it because it was buried under his tent. You can't do that without everybody knowing about it. And so, yes, they were stoned to death because they had sinned against God. That is for sure. Now, victory is dependent upon the Lord. If He withholds His hand, there is no victory. There is only defeat, death and destruction. You remember that passage in Psalm 127, verse 1: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17. And let me show you another curse that is connected to this. And here is why I'm telling you that President Trump said that Russia was a paper tiger. He said we have the greatest army. We have the greatest military power. We have the greatest this, we have the greatest that. Well look at this: Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 5: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited."

Now he says, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." So God says there's a curse upon man who trust in man and makes flesh his arm. I got news for you. If we did have the greatest military, if we did have the greatest armies, if we did have the greatest power, it is still nothing. If that's what we're trusting in, because we're under the curse of God and all that will fail and all that will fall. So clearly, clearly, our preservation, our protection is in God's hand. And when God withdraws that protection, that preservation, we are going down just like Israel did.

And so they forsook the Lord. Look at verse 15 again. Back in Judges chapter 2, look at this: "Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed." Didn't matter where they went, did not matter what they did, the hand of the Lord was against them. Now, here's what I want you to remember. Our Lord asked Israel, "Why have you done this?" And the answer he's given us in Judges 2 is this. They had remorse without repentance. They had leaders without leadership. They had professions without possession. They had compromise without conviction. And all that led to defeat without deliverance. So here are the applications. The first one is this: death and destruction always follows disobedience. Death and destruction always follow disobedience.

Applications and Call to Stand Fast

Weaver applies the message: death follows disobedience; believers must be steadfast, unmovable, standing fast in the faith. He cites 1 Corinthians 15:58 and five other 'stand fast' verses.

The curse of God is upon individuals who forsake him and his word. I hope you remember Proverbs 8 and verse 36. Our Lord, whose wisdom personified, said this: "Whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." The last part of that verse is this, where he says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 8:36

"All they that hate me love death."

So when you stop and think, the only thing any government or any nation can provide, apart from God and His truth and His word, is a society of death. There is no life, there is no protection, there is no preservation apart from God.

Now here's a second application. This message should encourage us to faithfulness, obedience, and steadfastness in the faith. I want to give you one verse. I want to quote it. Then I want to show you at least five other verses, and I want you to follow me. The first verse I would like to quote is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in verse 58. Where the apostle Paul said, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

Now listen to what it said. "Be ye therefore stedfast, unmoveable." Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. I want you to follow me. I want you to see five verses. Before I show you these five verses, I want to tell you about the Greek word that each of these verses has in it, and how that each time it is translated as "stand fast." The Greek word is the word "steko," and it means to stand fast, to stand firm, to persevere, to persist in, and to keep standing. So look at it in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13. Look what the word of God says: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." Stand fast in the faith. Then if you will turn right over to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and look if you would please at verse 1. Here it is again the Greek word "steko." "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Stand fast. Stand fast.

Look in the book of Philippians chapter 4 and verse 1. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 1: "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." Isn't this sounding how many times we're encouraged to stand fast? Look if you would in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 8. 1 Thessalonians 3 and verse 8: "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." So we have been admonished to stand fast in the faith, stand fast in liberty, stand fast in the Lord. Oh, look in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 15. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 15, he says, "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." Stand fast. Do not give in, do not give out, do not give up, do not quit, do not pitch in the towel. Stand fast. Stand fast. Notice if you would, stand fast.

Now, listen to me very carefully. I said this this morning. I cannot control anyone. I can't make Steve do right. I can't make Leah do right. I can't make Alice do right. I can't control anyone. But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself by His grace, by His power, by His help, by His mercy. So if each of us took the attitude I am going to stand fast. I am not going to be like these individuals in Judges chapter 2. I'm going to obey the Lord. I'm not going to forsake Him. I'm not going to forsake His Word. I'm not going to forsake His truth. I will stand fast in the Lord.

That is exactly what you and I should do. We're going to find that when we stand fast, we're going to find the blessings of God. If we are the compromisers, we're going to discover the curses of God. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 1, there's an interesting verse where God says to those people, "Be not as your fathers." And he's talking about these individuals who compromised, who forsook Him. So we do not want to be like other people. We do not want to be like those who forsake God. We want to be those who stand fast in the faith, stand fast in the Lord, stand fast in the liberty, stand fast in the truth that He's given us.

So why have you done this? And the answer is, because they disobeyed in all of these areas and refused to do that which is right. Do not be like these people. Obey and bring your life in conformity to his word. So let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your help, for your grace, for your mercy, for your truth. Enable us to stand, Lord, not to compromise, not to give in, not to give up, not to give out, not to quit. Just keep on keeping on by your grace and mercy. Give us, Lord, that which we need. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us, Lord, and we shall call upon Thy name. And, Lord, we cannot stand apart from Thee and without Thee, for we understand without Thee we can do nothing. We ask for your grace, your mercy, your power, your preservation, your protection. And Lord, that you would indeed bless us as we serve thee. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Weaver prays for God's help to stand fast, not compromise, and to obey His Word.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Covenant Faithfulness and Unfaithfulness

Summary: God is absolutely faithful to His covenant, but His people are unfaithful. This contrast should humble believers and drive them to seek mercy.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'I pointed out in this chapter we have a strong contrast and that contrast is between the absolute faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of His people.'

Profession Without Possession

Summary: Many in the covenant community (Israel then, churches now) profess faith but are not truly saved. Salvation is by grace through faith alone, not by association.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'You can have a profession without a possession... You're saved only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation comes by grace through faith in him and in him alone.'

Compromise Due to Lack of Conviction

Summary: Without firm, fixed convictions based on God's Word, people quickly compromise and turn to idolatry. Convictions are not preferences; they are unchangeable truths.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'Without convictions, there is only compromise. Without divine convictions, there is only devilish compromise.'

Divine Judgment and Defeat

Summary: Disobedience leads to God's hand being against His people, resulting in defeat regardless of human strength. Trusting in military might brings a curse.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Judges 2:15 and Jeremiah 17:5, saying: 'Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil... Cursed be the man that trusteth in man.'

The Call to Stand Fast

Summary: Believers are repeatedly commanded to stand fast in the faith, in liberty, and in the Lord, not giving in to compromise or forsaking God.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 15:58 and five other verses using the Greek word 'steko' (stand fast), urging: 'Stand fast. Do not give in, do not give out, do not give up, do not quit.'

Historical Ignorance and Its Consequences

Summary: Forgetting God's works in history leads to repeating the sins of the past. Studying original documents is essential to know truth.

Evidence: Weaver laments: 'It's almost inconceivable to think that they were absolutely, totally ignorant of their history... most Americans and most Christians have no idea of the causes for the war of independence.'

Key Arguments

Not All Israel Are True Israel

Summary: Being part of the covenant nation or church does not guarantee salvation. Many in Israel did not know the Lord, just as many church members today are lost.

Evidence: Weaver cites Romans 9:6: 'For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel,' and applies it to modern church membership.

Hearing the Word Must Be Mixed with Faith

Summary: External hearing of God's Word does not save; it must be received with faith and obedience. Israel heard God's voice but perished because they lacked faith.

Evidence: Weaver references Hebrews 4:2: 'the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.'

Convictions Prevent Compromise

Summary: True convictions, based on received and recognized truth, are unshakeable. Without them, people quickly turn to idolatry and sin, as Israel did with the golden calf.

Evidence: Weaver points to Exodus 32:7-8, where Israel 'turned aside quickly' to worship the golden calf, showing their lack of conviction.

God's Withdrawal Leads to Certain Defeat

Summary: When God removes His protection, no human power can stand. The defeat at Ai (Joshua 7) illustrates that sin causes God to withdraw, leading to defeat.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Joshua 7:12: 'Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.'

Trusting in Human Strength Brings a Curse

Summary: Relying on military might or human power instead of God invites a curse. America's trust in its military is misplaced if it forsakes God.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jeremiah 17:5: 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm,' applying it to national pride in military strength.

The Necessity of Personal Steadfastness

Summary: Each believer must take personal responsibility to stand fast in the faith, regardless of others. This is the antidote to the pattern of Judges 2.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'I cannot control anyone... But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself... I will stand fast in the Lord.'

Scripture References

Judges 2:1-15

Context: The primary text of the message, read at the beginning, detailing Israel's disobedience and God's question 'Why have you done this?'

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

Context: Cited to emphasize that stewards of God's mysteries must be found faithful.

Deuteronomy 28

Context: Mentioned as containing God's promises to bless obedience and curse disobedience.

Leviticus 26

Context: Mentioned alongside Deuteronomy 28 as containing blessings and curses.

1 Samuel 23:1-3

Context: Referenced from Part 1, where David says a ruler must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

Romans 9:6

Context: Used to show that not all physical descendants of Israel are true Israel, supporting the point of profession without possession.

1 Corinthians 10:5-11

Context: Read to show that God was not pleased with most of Israel, who were overthrown in the wilderness as examples for us.

Hebrews 4:1-2

Context: Cited to prove that the gospel preached to Israel did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith.

Romans 10:17

Context: Quoted to explain that faith comes by hearing, but the hearing must be internal and spiritual, not just external.

Deuteronomy 29:29

Context: Cited to introduce the idea that the secret things of God are revealed in history.

Genesis 1:1

Context: Mentioned as the beginning point of linear history.

Revelation (time shall be no more)

Context: Referenced as the ending point of linear history.

Exodus 32:7-8

Context: Read to illustrate how quickly Israel turned aside to idolatry, showing lack of conviction.

Judges 2:16-17

Context: Read to show Israel's pattern of turning quickly from God's ways despite judges.

Joshua 7:10-12

Context: Read to demonstrate that sin causes God to withdraw His presence, leading to defeat.

Psalm 127:1

Context: Quoted to emphasize that unless the Lord builds and keeps, human effort is vain.

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Context: Read to show the curse on those who trust in man and the blessing on those who trust in the Lord.

Proverbs 8:36

Context: Quoted to show that those who hate wisdom love death.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Context: Quoted as the primary call to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the Lord's work.

1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:15

Context: Five verses using the Greek word 'steko' (stand fast), cited to reinforce the call to stand firm in faith, liberty, and the Lord.

Historical References

Massachusetts Bay Colony and John Cotton's 'Moses, His Judicials' (1636)

Context: Weaver quotes an article about the Puritan effort to base colonial governance on Mosaic Law, as an example of America's covenantal foundation.

R.A. Torrey (1856-1928)

Context: Mentioned as an evangelist who believed 90% of church members were lost.

Ray Comfort

Context: Mentioned as a modern evangelist who also says 90% of church members are lost.

War of Independence (American Revolution)

Context: Weaver laments that most Americans are ignorant of the causes and miracles of the War of Independence.

War of 1812

Context: Mentioned as another historical event Americans are ignorant about, including the burning of the White House.

War of Northern Aggression (Civil War)

Context: Weaver argues it was not a civil war and had nothing to do with slavery; he references the 'War of the Rebellion' official records (128 volumes).

Correspondence between General Beauregard and Major Anderson at Fort Sumter

Context: Weaver recounts details from the official records to illustrate the chivalry and truth not taught in mainstream history.

President Trump's statement that Russia is a paper tiger

Context: Weaver disagrees with this assessment, using it to warn against trusting in military might.

Important Quotes

Why have you done this?

Significance: The central question of the message, taken from Judges 2:2, which Weaver uses to examine Israel's and modern disobedience.

Without convictions, there is only compromise. Without divine convictions, there is only devilish compromise.

Significance: Succinctly captures the fourth point, emphasizing the necessity of firm biblical convictions to avoid compromise.

History is nothing less than the eternal decree of God coming to pass in time.

Significance: Defines Weaver's view of history as the outworking of God's sovereign will, underscoring its importance.

You can have a profession without a possession.

Significance: Key phrase summarizing the third point that many in the church profess faith but do not truly possess Christ.

Stand fast. Do not give in, do not give out, do not give up, do not quit, do not pitch in the towel.

Significance: The urgent application of the message, calling believers to unwavering steadfastness.

Death and destruction always follows disobedience.

Significance: A concise summary of the consequence of forsaking God, forming the first application.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to have a profession of faith without true possession of Christ? How can we examine ourselves to ensure our faith is genuine?

Context: Based on the third point, where Weaver warns that many in the church may be lost despite their profession.

Why is historical ignorance dangerous for Christians and nations? How can we recover a knowledge of God's works in history?

Context: Weaver laments that Israel and modern Americans forgot God's works, leading to repeated sins.

What is the difference between a preference and a conviction? How can we develop and maintain biblical convictions?

Context: Weaver defines conviction as fixed and firm, contrasting it with compromise.

In what areas are Christians today most prone to compromise without conviction? How can we guard against this?

Context: Weaver asks rhetorical questions about denying Christ for money or power, challenging listeners to consider their own price.

How does trusting in military or human strength bring a curse according to Jeremiah 17:5? What should nations and individuals trust in instead?

Context: Weaver applies the curse of trusting in man to America's reliance on its military.

What does it practically mean to 'stand fast' in the faith, in liberty, and in the Lord? How can we encourage one another to do so?

Context: Weaver cites multiple 'stand fast' verses and urges personal steadfastness.

How does the pattern of Judges 2 (remorse without repentance, leaders without leadership, etc.) manifest in our churches and nation today?

Context: Weaver systematically applies each point to contemporary society.

Applications

Examine Your Salvation

Summary: Ensure that your profession of faith is accompanied by genuine possession of Christ. Do not rely on church membership or association for salvation.

Evidence: Weaver warns: 'You can have a profession without a possession... You're saved only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.'

Study History to Know God's Works

Summary: Diligently study history, especially original documents, to understand God's providence and avoid repeating past sins.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'The only way you're going to get truth is to do your own research in the original documents.'

Develop Firm Biblical Convictions

Summary: Cultivate convictions based on God's Word that are unshakeable, so that you will not compromise when tested.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'A conviction is something that is fixed and it is firm... you will die before you will deny those.'

Trust in God, Not Human Strength

Summary: Do not put confidence in military, political, or personal power; trust solely in the Lord for protection and victory.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Jeremiah 17:5: 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man,' and applies it to national pride.

Stand Fast in Personal Obedience

Summary: Take personal responsibility to obey God and stand firm in the faith, regardless of what others do.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'I cannot control anyone... But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself... I will stand fast in the Lord.'

Repent Genuinely, Not Just Emotionally

Summary: True repentance involves a change of mind that leads to changed conduct, not just sorrow or tears.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'Repentance then is a change of mind which leads to a change in conduct.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:21:53Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T07:01:51Z

Clean Transcript

Why Have You Done This? - Part 2 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

All right. Well, we're glad once again to have the Fargos here. So that's whom, Steve, the city of Fargo was named after, Casey. No, he was named after the city. Because the city existed before he did. Okay. Yeah. All right. Well, let's open our Bibles. Say that again. Sorry. I just realized we were recording. Okay. All right. Okay. Let's open our Bibles into the book of Judges chapter two, and we're going to read several verses here. And Lord willing, we're going to be doing the second part of the message.
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Why have you done this? So Judges 2, verse 1: "And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars."
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"But ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old."
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"And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtoreth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel."
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"And he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies."
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Now look at verse 15: "Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed." You remember verse 2, God has given clear and concise commands and instructions to Israel, and yet they disobeyed. His commands could not have been misunderstood, and so consequently, God said you are not to make a league with the inhabitants of this land. Now the word "league" means a covenant. They were not to make any covenants. They were also to throw down the pagan altars, but they disobeyed. And so God asked this question in verse 2, "Why have you done this?" So let's ask the question. Why did Israel disobey? And we can also ask, why did America and why does America disobey? We can also make it more personal and ask, why do you disobey? Why does your family disobey? Why does your church disobey? Why does your society disobey? Why does your nation disobey? In other words, the point I want to make is each one of these points happen to be applicable to our society and to our nation today.
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So I pointed out in the very first message that America, like Israel, was indeed a covenantal nation. And of course, I quoted numerous articles. But if you would take the time to examine the original constitutions and charters and covenants, you'll find how that they were indeed in league with God, seeking to obey him and make his laws their laws. So although I quoted several, allow me to quote one more. And here it is.
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The Massachusetts Bay Colony, through the work of John Cotton, who was a Puritan preacher, developed a legal framework known as "Moses, His Judicials" in 1636, which was intended to be a set of laws agreeable to the word of God and was influential in shaping the colony's legal system, though it was not formally adopted as the state's official laws. This draft was part of a broader effort by Puritan reformers to base colonial governance on biblical principles and specifically the Mosaic Law. I also pointed out in this chapter we have a strong contrast and that contrast is between the absolute faithfulness of God and the unfaithfulness of His people. And when you and I stop and think about our own unfaithfulness, in light of the fact that God has been so merciful and saved us, and so gracious unto us and supplied our every need.
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And yet the truth of the matter is we still remain unfaithful. It should exceedingly humble us before him and encourage us to plead for forgiveness and for mercy as well. So seemingly, even in this day and age, this truth does not affect the average Christian. Because in 1 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, the Apostle Paul said it like this: "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." So everything that God has given you, whether it's financial, whether it's talents, whether it's abilities, you are a steward over those things for God and for his honor and glory.
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Now, if you will go back to verse 1: "And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you." Note, if you would, again, this angel happened to be a Christophany. That is, it is a pre-incarnate appearing of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament before he became flesh.
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Sometimes the word "theophany" is used, but the word "theos" is the word God. In other words, it would just be an occurrence or an occasion where God manifested himself. Well, we know that this angel happened to be the Lord because he said, "I made you go up out of Egypt." And he also said, "I brought you into the land, which I sware unto your fathers." We know it was God who swore unto their fathers.
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And then he said, "I will never break my covenant with you." So it was God who brought the covenant and of course entered into that covenant with the nation itself. So God has never ever broken his covenant. God has never broken his word. God has never lied. Israel did break the covenant multitudinous times, but God did not. And the reason God did not break that covenant is very simple. And that is because God is faithful. He is the faithful God. So he is faithful in his blessings and he is also faithful in his cursings. Read Deuteronomy chapter 28 and Leviticus chapter 26 and you will find where God has made all of these promises to bless those who obey and to curse those who disobey.
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So I gave you two points last week. The first reason that I gave as to the answer to this question, "Why have you done this?" was simply because they had remorse without repentance. That is, they came and they wept before the Lord, they were weeping aloud, and they were sorry that they were in that situation. But may I point out the fact that weeping, crying, wailing, gnashing of teeth does not necessarily mean that someone is genuinely repented. Because repentance then is a change of mind which leads to a change in conduct.
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"Metanoia" is the Greek word. "Meta" means "with" and "change," and "noieo" is the Greek word for mind. So you actually change your mind is what it amounts to. And you change your mind in relationship to God, in relationship to sin, in relation to yourself. In fact, you change your mind on a lot of things. So real genuine repentance will always lead to obedience.
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Now, the second point was this. They had leaders without leadership. Because after Joshua and all those elders died off, then other leaders came along that were not interested in leading in biblical principles or obeying the commands of God. And consequently, they led the people into idolatry. So it's the same thing today. We have now leaders, but they are willing to lead us into socialism, communism, fraud, debt, war, wickedness, and immorality.
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So just like Israel had their Jeroboam, Judah had their Manasseh, so we have our Jeroboams and our Manassehs as well. So you remember in closing last week, I asked, how many politicians do you know that have come to the conclusion that David came to in 1 Samuel chapter 23, in the first three verses, and five times David claimed direct inspiration for this one simple truth where David said, "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." So it's impossible for anyone to rule justly unless he's ruling in the fear of God.
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So today we're going to pick up from there and I'm going to give you the third reason, the third answer as to why they did what they did. So our Lord asks, "Why have you done this?" And if you look in verse 10, you will see it. So just like Israel back then, we have professions without possession. Look in verse 10: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." Now, years back, I preached a message which I just simply titled, "Another Generation." And it seems like we in America are in that another generation today.
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In fact, we have turned so much from the foundation that our founding fathers have laid. We've turned from the worship of God. We've turned from the principles of the word of God. And we've embraced secularism and humanism. And we've basically deserted biblical principles. I'm going to point out the fact that we have the same problem today that they had back then. We had professions from individuals that did not have possession of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, R.A.
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Torrey happened to be an American evangelist, pastor, educator, and writer. He was born in 1856 and he died in 1928 and he said this, he believed that one of the greatest mission fields was our churches and that 90% of our church members were lost. Ray Comfort, a modern-day evangelist, has said basically the same thing. He says that 90% of the church members are lost. And I knew one pastor. He's now dead.
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He had a rather large work. He had 5,000 members in his church. And he made the statement, if he could get 10% of them to heaven, he would be happy. And of course, the truth is he could not get even one to heaven, any of himself. But what he meant was, he was just hoping and praying 10% of that large congregation would end up with the Lord.
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Which would mean 90% of them were lost. So, when you examine modern day Christians, and you compare their lives with the unsaved, you will notice that there's not very much difference. Professing Christians today are just as worldly, just as deceitful, just as fraudulent and just as cunning as the unsaved. And the only difference is that they attend church, but not so regularly and not so faithfully. And amazingly, the divorce rate is about equal between the unsaved and also professing Christians as well. So the truth of the matter is this: most professing Christians live by their feelings, live by their emotions or live by sentimentality rather than the principles from the word of God.
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I've said so many times that this is one of our great problems. We live by circumstances. We live by situations. We live by feelings and emotions rather than the principles in the word of God. So emotions change. Circumstances change. Situations change. Feelings change. But the principles of the word of God are eternal and they never change.
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Now, I want you to look back at verse 10, because I'm talking about being a professor without actually possession. And look what he said: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord." Wow. They knew not the Lord. So here they are in a covenant nation and they are supposedly a covenant people.
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And yet they are unsaved. They knew not the Lord. Let me show you what I'm talking about. If you will hold Judges 2 but turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 9 and look if you would at verse 6. Romans chapter 9, in verse 6, the Apostle Paul explains this very clearly for us. So in Romans chapter 9, in verse 6, he says this: "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect." And then he says this: "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel."
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In other words, just because you were in a covenant nation, and among the covenant people did not mean that you were saved. It did not mean that you were actually a believer. And so clearly you could have individuals in the nation Israel who were lost, who were in that covenant nation, and yet they did not know the Lord. Likewise, you can have people in a church even where the Word of God is preached. And once you join the church, you are actually in a covenant with God as well and a covenant with the other people. In fact, some churches have covenants posted on their church walls. But just because you are in that covenant group does not mean that you're saved. You can be a church member and then lost. You can be baptized and lost. You can be a Sunday school teacher and lost. You can even be a preacher and be lost.
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Because you can have a profession without a possession. And so not everyone is born, quote unquote, again. Not everyone has Jesus Christ. And so consequently you cannot ride to heaven on the coattails of anyone else. You're not saved by association. You're saved only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation comes by grace through faith in him and in him alone. So let me show you if you will turn right on over now, since you're in the New Testament, to 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
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Now I can ask you this question. And so he said, "They're not all Israel who are of Israel." And notice if you would, what the scripture says right here after he said Judges chapter 2, that they did not know the Lord. So look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, beginning there with verse 5. The Bible says, "But with many of them God was not well pleased." So think about this question before we go any further. If with many of them God was not well pleased, with how many of them was God well pleased? Well, look at it in verse 5: "But with many of them God was not well pleased."
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And here's how He showed His displeasure: "For they were overthrown in the wilderness." He says, "Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."
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Now, the question is this. How many of these people was God well pleased with? And the answer is two. Joshua and Caleb, because the rest of them were overthrown in the wilderness.
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Now, if you will turn right on over to the book of Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 4, you will see again what the word of God says in regard to these people. Look at it. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1: "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." So, they had the truth, but it did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith.
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So just because someone hears the word externally, does not mean that he is saved. Just because someone can hear the word on a regular basis audibly, does not mean that he is saved. So, the Israelites heard the commands of God, they heard the word of God, they even heard the actual voice of God, and yet it was not mixed with faith, and so therefore they perished. Now it is true that the Bible says in Romans 10 and verse 17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." But the hearing is far more than an external audible hearing. It is hearing in faith and it's receiving it as it is indeed the very word of God and receiving it in obedience. So the external and the audible hearing of the word of God does not say it is a spiritual and the internal hearing that is exercised in faith that actually saves us.
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So I want you to go back to the book of Judges chapter 2 and look at verse 10 again. This to me is astounding. We can understand the first part, but here it is: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." So they were not only not saved, they did not even know the works that God had done for Israel. Now, they did not know the Lord personally. They did not know the Lord providentially. It's almost difficult to conceive that from one generation to another, everything was lost. Their faith was lost. Their knowledge of history and truth happened to be lost as well. It is almost inconceivable to think of the fact that there were Israelites who did not know about the deliverance from Egypt, who did not know about the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, who did not know about the wanderings of the wilderness and the great provision that God made for these people.
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It's inconceivable that they'd never even heard of the manna that God sovereignly provided, or how God dried up the Jordan so they could cross it and conquer Jericho. It's almost inconceivable to think that they were absolutely, totally ignorant of their history. But that's what the Bible says. They did not know the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. They had forgotten everything. And so it's also inconceivable to realize that most Americans and most Christians have no idea of the causes for the war of independence. Neither do they know the marvels and the miracles that God wrought for us in order to deliver us from the tyranny of George III and Parliament. We are absolutely, totally, completely ignorant. We don't even know anything about the War of 1812 when England attacked us again. And, of course, during that war they burned the White House. They captured a lot of Americans. And moreover, we're just as ignorant today concerning the war of northern aggression.
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And by the way, that war commonly referred to as the Civil War, which is not a good name because it was not a civil war. But the truth of the matter is this, it had absolutely nothing to do with slavery.
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Now, I could prove that a number of ways, but that's not my message. But listen to me very carefully. The truth is that most Christians and most southerners do not even know about a set of books known as the "War of the Rebellion." This set of books is a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies and it consists of 128 volumes including a general index and an accompanying atlas.
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This collection was organized between 1881 and 1901. Let me tell you something, and of course you know that I preached a series of messages, I think 13, on where we are and how we got here, dealing with history, and especially the war of northern aggression. But do you realize it is possible for you to sit down and open these volumes and you can read the correspondence between General Beauregard and Major Anderson at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. You can read the correspondence before the bombing, during the bombing, and after the bombing when the fort surrendered. General Beauregard wrote a letter to Major Anderson and asked him to surrender.
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He said, "You may keep your flag, you may keep your arms, you just need to leave this property." And Major Anderson wrote back that he could not submit, he could not do that. And General Beauregard wrote back, he said, "Dear Major Anderson, it is my distinct honor to be able to open fire upon you at 12 o'clock noon." In other words, he said, "We're going to start at 12 o'clock noon." And then when one shell happened to hit an ammo supply and a fire got started in the fort, Beauregard ceased firing, sent men over there and asked Major Anderson if they needed help putting the fire out.
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You don't ever read about anything like that. You don't ever hear anything like that. And yet, that's exactly what happened. It's all contained in the official records. 128 volumes. Now you say, "I can't afford 128 volumes." You don't have to buy them. They're in most libraries. When I use those volumes, I went to my little local library in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and they had them in a special room and they would put you in that room and let you read those books. They would watch you because those books were extremely valuable. But today you can buy those same volumes on CD, which is much, much cheaper. I'm just simply saying, it's astounding to me how ignorant we are of our own history. So here's my question. Do you know why we learn our history from the victors?
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And the answer is because we're too lazy and too indolent to research and study for ourselves. You have to understand the victor is always going to elevate his side and his views, and he's going to downplay and denigrate the side of his enemies. If you want real truth, you're not going to get it from a public school. You're not going to get it from a government or state college. It's not going to happen. The only way you're going to get truth is to do your own research in the original documents.
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Now, you may object and say, "Well, I'm not really interested in history either." Well, let me ask you this. If you're not interested in history, are you interested in the providence of God? I remember when I was a boy, I could not figure out why I needed to know that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. I didn't know why I needed to know 1776 or 1812 or anything like that until God saved me and showed me the absolute truth. So I can ask this another way. Do you want to know the secretive will of God? You know, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law." Well, how in the world would you know the secret things of God? Here's the answer. The secret things of God are revealed to us in history. History is nothing less than the eternal decree of God coming to pass in time.
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So history is important because history is the revelation of God's secretive will that He began before the world was ever formed. It was His eternal decree and He brings it to pass in time. So please understand this. History is not cyclical. History is linear. That is, it goes in a straight line. Because you read Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And then, of course, when it ends in the book of Revelation, the angel of the Lord says, "And time shall be no more." So you have a point of beginning and you have a point of ending. So many people say, "Well, history is cyclical. It goes around in circles." No, it doesn't go around in circles.
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The reason it seems like that is because men commit the same sins over and over and God judges them in the same way over and over. So it's not cyclical. It's just men, fallen men, depraved men, committing the same sins and receiving the same judgment over and over. So we have today in our churches, just like Israel, we have those who profess, but they do not possess. And so that is one reason when our Lord asks, "Why have you done this?" It's not just remorse without repentance. It's not just leaders without leadership. It is also profession without possession. And here's the fourth one. If you look in verses 10 through 13 again, we have compromise without conviction. Look at this: "And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtoreth." Wow! Do you understand that the reason there is so much compromise with evil, with immorality and idolatry, is because there are no real convictions by the people of God.
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Now conviction is not a preference. A conviction is something that is fixed and it is firm. It is so strong that it is not going to be changed. There is no argument, however clever, that's going to change a conviction. There is no oratory that is however great that's going to change a conviction. There is no begging, no beseeching, that's going to change a conviction. A conviction is from received and recognized truth. We have received the truth, we recognize it as truth, we know it is truth and we are not going to change.
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Now, in one sense of the word, convictions could be instantaneous in the fact that God can sovereignly and supernaturally open our eyes so that we can see. But the truth of the matter is, once we begin to see truth, those convictions are developed more fully. They become more mature and we hold them to a greater degree as we live and understand exactly what God is doing. So certainly nothing can be matured unless it was there originally and initially. So obviously, as you look around today, there are millions of areas in which professing Christians have compromised the word of God. There's no conviction.
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So here are some questions. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh? Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God? If you do, and if these are convictions, you will die before you will deny those. You will not falter, you will not fail, you will not back up, you will not back down, you will hold these truths to the death. Now, Israel had no such convictions. That's why the Bible says they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and followed other gods. They forsook the Lord God and served Baal and Ashtoreth. Wow. I want to show you the very lack of convictions shows you how quickly they compromise. If you look back in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Exodus chapter 32. In Exodus chapter 32, this is the chapter where we read about Aaron making the golden calf. Okay? He told the people, "Take off your golden earrings."
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And of course, he formed it, he fashioned it. Moses was up in the mountain. He was supposed to be up there 40 days and 40 nights. Well, even the 40 days had not expired. They had just come out of Egypt. They had just got to this mountain. And I want you to look what happens. Exodus chapter 32, verse 7: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." Yes, less than 30 days they had turned aside and made a golden calf.
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Where were their convictions that their God was the one true and living God? Where? Look in your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 2, if you would please, and verse 17. Judges 2 and verse 17. Again, we're talking about, well, let's read verse 16: "Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges."
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"But they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so." So here's a good question. What would it take to get you to compromise? Does every man have his price? Would you deny Christ for five million bucks? You say, "No, I would never do that." How about 10 million? How about 20 million? Would you sell out your people for measly a hundred thousand bucks?
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We have politicians that do that even for less. Wow. Would you sell out your people or would you compromise? For power? For fame? For lust? God tells us that we are to be faithful unto death. Faithful men are difficult to find. One of my daily prayer requests is the Lord will make me faithful and faithful unto death. So mark this truth down in your hearts. Without convictions, there is only compromise. Without divine convictions, there is only devilish compromise.
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Now, I will remind you of the points of this message that I've covered so far. And there's a reason. I've showed you where our Lord asks, "Why have you done this?" And the answer according to our text is they had remorse without repentance. They had leaders without leadership. They had profession without possession. They had compromise without conviction. Now here's my question. Where do these things lead? What is the end result of these four grievous errors and sins.
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Well, this brings me to the fifth and final point. They will bring us to defeat without deliverance. So if you look back in Judges 2, verses 14 and 15: "And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed." So without deliverance, there is only defeat. Without divine deliverance, there can only be deadly defeat. So without God's sovereign protection and preservation, Israel was easily defeated. And so I must say this: without God's sovereign protection and preservation, America will be easily defeated.
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I've read so much where, "Oh, we are afraid of China. China is so great." Not this kind of thing. No, no, no. Listen, God does not necessarily have to use China to whip us. He could use dinky little Cuba if he wanted to. Because once God withdraws his power, his protection, his preservation, you are helpless. Wow. I just read where Trump said that Russia was a paper tiger.
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Well, I think his assessment is wrong. But the truth of the matter is, I'm going to show you that leads to destruction in and of itself. If you will turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Joshua chapter 7. Write back just one book, Joshua chapter 7. You know the story of how God had given Jericho into the hands of his people, a great and mighty city. And God had said, "Look, the city is cursed. The city is cursed. Don't touch anything. Everything is dedicated to destruction." And Achan is the one who saw the Babylonian garment, the wedge of gold and silver, and he stole them and hid them under his tent. Well, some of the soldiers came and said, "Ai is the next town. It's a small little town. We don't need the whole army. Don't make them work. Just a few of us can take care of Ai."
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And so they went up against Ai, and guess what happened? Ai came out and defeated them, and they ran like scalded dogs with their tails tucked between their legs and that 36 Israelites were killed. And I want you to look what happened. Joshua, of course went to prayer and in Joshua chapter 7, verse 10: "And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?" Now look what God says: "Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed." Look at this.
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"Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." What did he say? This is it: You will have no more victories period unless you deal with this sin unless you deal with this rebellion. That is it. God says, "I'm just not going to do it. You are not going to be blessed anymore. You're not going to have victory anymore. That's all there is." And of course, you know Joshua did indeed deal with it. And Achan and his family were put to death. Someone says, "Wow, you mean Achan and his whole family was put to death because he stole?"
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Well, it was more than stealing. Number one, it was stealing against the Lord and from the Lord. Number two, it had been cursed. Number three, his theft caused the death of 36 men. Number four, his family had to be privy to it because it was buried under his tent. You can't do that without everybody knowing about it. And so, yes, they were stoned to death because they had sinned against God. That is for sure. Now, victory is dependent upon the Lord. If He withholds His hand, there is no victory. There is only defeat, death and destruction. You remember that passage in Psalm 127, verse 1: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
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Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17. And let me show you another curse that is connected to this. And here is why I'm telling you that President Trump said that Russia was a paper tiger. He said we have the greatest army. We have the greatest military power. We have the greatest this, we have the greatest that. Well look at this: Jeremiah chapter 17, verse 5: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited."
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Now he says, "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." So God says there's a curse upon man who trust in man and makes flesh his arm.
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I got news for you. If we did have the greatest military, if we did have the greatest armies, if we did have the greatest power, it is still nothing. If that's what we're trusting in, because we're under the curse of God and all that will fail and all that will fall. So clearly, clearly, our preservation, our protection is in God's hand. And when God withdraws that protection, that preservation, we are going down just like Israel did.
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And so they forsook the Lord. Look at verse 15 again. Back in Judges chapter 2, look at this: "Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed." Didn't matter where they went, did not matter what they did, the hand of the Lord was against them.
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Now, here's what I want you to remember. Our Lord asked Israel, "Why have you done this?" And the answer he's given us in Judges 2 is this. They had remorse without repentance. They had leaders without leadership. They had professions without possession. They had compromise without conviction. And all that led to defeat without deliverance. So here are the applications. The first one is this: death and destruction always follows disobedience. Death and destruction always follow disobedience.
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The curse of God is upon individuals who forsake him and his word. I hope you remember Proverbs 8 and verse 36. Our Lord, whose wisdom personified, said this: "Whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." The last part of that verse is this, where he says, "All they that hate me love death." So when you stop and think, the only thing any government or any nation can provide, apart from God and His truth and His word, is a society of death. There is no life, there is no protection, there is no preservation apart from God.
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Now here's a second application. This message should encourage us to faithfulness, obedience, and steadfastness in the faith. I want to give you one verse. I want to quote it. Then I want to show you at least five other verses, and I want you to follow me. The first verse I would like to quote is 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in verse 58. Where the apostle Paul said, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
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Now listen to what it said. "Be ye therefore stedfast, unmoveable."
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. I want you to follow me. I want you to see five verses. Before I show you these five verses, I want to tell you about the Greek word that each of these verses has in it, and how that each time it is translated as "stand fast." The Greek word is the word "steko," and it means to stand fast, to stand firm, to persevere, to persist in, and to keep standing. So look at it in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13. Look what the word of God says: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." Stand fast in the faith. Then if you will turn right over to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and look if you would please at verse 1. Here it is again the Greek word "steko." "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Stand fast. Stand fast.
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Look in the book of Philippians chapter 4 and verse 1. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 1: "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." Isn't this sounding how many times we're encouraged to stand fast? Look if you would in 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse 8. 1 Thessalonians 3 and verse 8: "For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." So we have been admonished to stand fast in the faith, stand fast in liberty, stand fast in the Lord. Oh, look in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 15. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 15, he says, "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle." Stand fast. Do not give in, do not give out, do not give up, do not quit, do not pitch in the towel. Stand fast. Stand fast. Notice if you would, stand fast.
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Now, listen to me very carefully. I said this this morning. I cannot control anyone. I can't make Steve do right. I can't make Leah do right. I can't make Alice do right. I can't control anyone. But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself by His grace, by His power, by His help, by His mercy. So if each of us took the attitude I am going to stand fast. I am not going to be like these individuals in Judges chapter 2. I'm going to obey the Lord. I'm not going to forsake Him. I'm not going to forsake His Word. I'm not going to forsake His truth. I will stand fast in the Lord.
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That is exactly what you and I should do. We're going to find that when we stand fast, we're going to find the blessings of God. If we are the compromisers, we're going to discover the curses of God. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 1, there's an interesting verse where God says to those people, "Be not as your fathers." And he's talking about these individuals who compromised, who forsook Him. So we do not want to be like other people. We do not want to be like those who forsake God. We want to be those who stand fast in the faith, stand fast in the Lord, stand fast in the liberty, stand fast in the truth that He's given us.
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So why have you done this? And the answer is, because they disobeyed in all of these areas and refused to do that which is right. Do not be like these people. Obey and bring your life in conformity to his word. So let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your help, for your grace, for your mercy, for your truth. Enable us to stand, Lord, not to compromise, not to give in, not to give up, not to give out, not to quit. Just keep on keeping on by your grace and mercy. Give us, Lord, that which we need. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us, Lord, and we shall call upon Thy name. And, Lord, we cannot stand apart from Thee and without Thee, for we understand without Thee we can do nothing. We ask for your grace, your mercy, your power, your preservation, your protection. And Lord, that you would indeed bless us as we serve thee. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
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Now, listen to me very carefully. I said this this morning. I cannot control anyone. I can't make Steve do right. I can't make Leah do right. I can't make Alice do right. I can't control anyone. But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself by His grace, by His power, by His help, by His mercy. So if each of us took the attitude I am going to stand fast. I am not going to be like these individuals in Judges chapter 2. I'm going to obey the Lord. I'm not going to forsake Him. I'm not going to forsake His Word. I'm not going to forsake His truth. I will stand fast in the Lord.
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That is exactly what you and I should do. We're going to find that when we stand fast, we're going to find the blessings of God. If we are the compromisers, we're going to discover the curses of God. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 1, there's an interesting verse where God says to those people, "Be not as your fathers." And he's talking about these individuals who compromised, who forsook Him. So we do not want to be like other people. We do not want to be like those who forsake God. We want to be those who stand fast in the faith, stand fast in the Lord, stand fast in the liberty, stand fast in the truth that He's given us.
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So why have you done this? And the answer is, because they disobeyed in all of these areas and refused to do that which is right. Do not be like these people. Obey and bring your life in conformity to his word. So let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ for your help, for your grace, for your mercy, for your truth. Enable us to stand, Lord, not to compromise, not to give in, not to give up, not to give out, not to quit. Just keep on keeping on by your grace and mercy. Give us, Lord, that which we need. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us, Lord, and we shall call upon Thy name. And, Lord, we cannot stand apart from Thee and without Thee, for we understand without Thee we can do nothing. We ask for your grace, your mercy, your power, your preservation, your protection. And Lord, that you would indeed bless us as we serve thee. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
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you you you
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:21:53Z

Why Have You Done This? - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this second part of the message, Pastor John Weaver continues to answer the question 'Why have you done this?' from Judges 2, applying Israel's disobedience to modern America and the church. He adds three more reasons to the two from Part 1: profession without possession (many in the covenant community are unsaved), compromise without conviction (lack of firm biblical convictions leads to idolatry), and defeat without deliverance (God's hand turns against the disobedient). The message calls believers to stand fast in the faith, obey God's Word, and not follow the pattern of Israel's unfaithfulness.

Introduction and Review

Weaver opens with a lighthearted remark, then reads Judges 2:1-15, reviewing the first two reasons for Israel's disobedience: remorse without repentance and leaders without leadership.

Why have you done this? So Judges 2, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Judges 2:1-15

"And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars." "But ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord. And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old." "And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtoreth. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel." "And he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies."

Now look at verse 15:

Scripture Reading — Judges 2:1-15

"Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed."

Profession Without Possession

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"But with many of them God was not well pleased."

So think about this question before we go any further. If with many of them God was not well pleased, with how many of them was God well pleased? Well, look at it in verse 5:

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"But with many of them God was not well pleased."

And here's how He showed His displeasure:

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"For they were overthrown in the wilderness."

He says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:5-11

"Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

Now, the question is this. How many of these people was God well pleased with? And the answer is two. Joshua and Caleb, because the rest of them were overthrown in the wilderness.

Historical Ignorance

The Importance of History

History reveals God's secret will; it is linear, not cyclical. Men repeat the same sins and receive the same judgments.

Compromise Without Conviction

The fourth reason: Israel lacked firm convictions, leading to idolatry. Weaver defines conviction as fixed, firm truth that one will not compromise, even unto death.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 32:7-8

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

Yes, less than 30 days they had turned aside and made a golden calf.

Defeat Without Deliverance

The fifth and final point: these sins lead to defeat. When God withdraws His protection, no military might can save. Weaver cites Joshua 7 and Jeremiah 17:5 to show the curse of trusting in man.

Scripture Reading — Joshua 7:10-12

"Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you."

Applications and Call to Stand Fast

Weaver applies the message: death follows disobedience; believers must be steadfast, unmovable, standing fast in the faith. He cites 1 Corinthians 15:58 and five other 'stand fast' verses.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 8:36

"All they that hate me love death."

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:58

Now listen to what it said. "Be ye therefore stedfast, unmoveable." Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 16. I want you to follow me. I want you to see five verses. Before I show you these five verses, I want to tell you about the Greek word that each of these verses has in it, and how that each time it is translated as "stand fast." The Greek word is the word "steko," and it means to stand fast, to stand firm, to persevere, to persist in, and to keep standing. So look at it in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13. Look what the word of God says: "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." Stand fast in the faith. Then if you will turn right over to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and look if you would please at verse 1. Here it is again the Greek word "steko." "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Stand fast. Stand fast.

Closing Prayer

Weaver prays for God's help to stand fast, not compromise, and to obey His Word.

Why Have You Done This? - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	dauWr2jMWSs
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: A Time Of Need
Genre	Sermon
Date	2026-01-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 054: Why Have You Done This? — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	73

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver opens with a lighthearted remark, then reads Judges 2:1-15, reviewing the first two reasons for Israel's disobedience: remorse without repentance and leaders without leadership.
Profession Without Possession: The third reason: many in Israel and in modern churches profess faith but do not truly know the Lord. Weaver cites Romans 9:6 and 1 Corinthians 10 to show that not all in the covenant community are saved.
Historical Ignorance: Israel forgot God's works; similarly, Americans and Christians are ignorant of their own history, including the War of Independence and the War of Northern Aggression. Weaver emphasizes the importance of studying original documents.
The Importance of History: History reveals God's secret will; it is linear, not cyclical. Men repeat the same sins and receive the same judgments.
Compromise Without Conviction: The fourth reason: Israel lacked firm convictions, leading to idolatry. Weaver defines conviction as fixed, firm truth that one will not compromise, even unto death.
Defeat Without Deliverance: The fifth and final point: these sins lead to defeat. When God withdraws His protection, no military might can save. Weaver cites Joshua 7 and Jeremiah 17:5 to show the curse of trusting in man.
Applications and Call to Stand Fast: Weaver applies the message: death follows disobedience; believers must be steadfast, unmovable, standing fast in the faith. He cites 1 Corinthians 15:58 and five other 'stand fast' verses.
Closing Prayer: Weaver prays for God's help to stand fast, not compromise, and to obey His Word.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Not All Israel Are True Israel

Being part of the covenant nation or church does not guarantee salvation. Many in Israel did not know the Lord, just as many church members today are lost.

Weaver cites Romans 9:6: 'For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel,' and applies it to modern church membership.

Hearing the Word Must Be Mixed with Faith

External hearing of God's Word does not save; it must be received with faith and obedience. Israel heard God's voice but perished because they lacked faith.

Weaver references Hebrews 4:2: 'the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.'

Convictions Prevent Compromise

True convictions, based on received and recognized truth, are unshakeable. Without them, people quickly turn to idolatry and sin, as Israel did with the golden calf.

Weaver points to Exodus 32:7-8, where Israel 'turned aside quickly' to worship the golden calf, showing their lack of conviction.

God's Withdrawal Leads to Certain Defeat

When God removes His protection, no human power can stand. The defeat at Ai (Joshua 7) illustrates that sin causes God to withdraw, leading to defeat.

Weaver quotes Joshua 7:12: 'Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.'

Trusting in Human Strength Brings a Curse

Relying on military might or human power instead of God invites a curse. America's trust in its military is misplaced if it forsakes God.

Weaver cites Jeremiah 17:5: 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm,' applying it to national pride in military strength.

The Necessity of Personal Steadfastness

Each believer must take personal responsibility to stand fast in the faith, regardless of others. This is the antidote to the pattern of Judges 2.

Weaver says: 'I cannot control anyone... But by the grace of God, there's one person I can control and that is myself... I will stand fast in the Lord.'

Scripture References

Judges 2:1-15: The primary text of the message, read at the beginning, detailing Israel's disobedience and God's question 'Why have you done this?'
1 Corinthians 4:1-2: Cited to emphasize that stewards of God's mysteries must be found faithful.
Deuteronomy 28: Mentioned as containing God's promises to bless obedience and curse disobedience.
Leviticus 26: Mentioned alongside Deuteronomy 28 as containing blessings and curses.
1 Samuel 23:1-3: Referenced from Part 1, where David says a ruler must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
Romans 9:6: Used to show that not all physical descendants of Israel are true Israel, supporting the point of profession without possession.
1 Corinthians 10:5-11: Read to show that God was not pleased with most of Israel, who were overthrown in the wilderness as examples for us.
Hebrews 4:1-2: Cited to prove that the gospel preached to Israel did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith.
Romans 10:17: Quoted to explain that faith comes by hearing, but the hearing must be internal and spiritual, not just external.
Deuteronomy 29:29: Cited to introduce the idea that the secret things of God are revealed in history.
Genesis 1:1: Mentioned as the beginning point of linear history.
Revelation (time shall be no more): Referenced as the ending point of linear history.
Exodus 32:7-8: Read to illustrate how quickly Israel turned aside to idolatry, showing lack of conviction.
Judges 2:16-17: Read to show Israel's pattern of turning quickly from God's ways despite judges.
Joshua 7:10-12: Read to demonstrate that sin causes God to withdraw His presence, leading to defeat.
Psalm 127:1: Quoted to emphasize that unless the Lord builds and keeps, human effort is vain.
Jeremiah 17:5-8: Read to show the curse on those who trust in man and the blessing on those who trust in the Lord.
Proverbs 8:36: Quoted to show that those who hate wisdom love death.
1 Corinthians 15:58: Quoted as the primary call to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the Lord's work.
1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 5:1; Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:15: Five verses using the Greek word 'steko' (stand fast), cited to reinforce the call to stand firm in faith, liberty, and the Lord.

Historical References

Massachusetts Bay Colony and John Cotton's 'Moses, His Judicials' (1636): Weaver quotes an article about the Puritan effort to base colonial governance on Mosaic Law, as an example of America's covenantal foundation.
R.A. Torrey (1856-1928): Mentioned as an evangelist who believed 90% of church members were lost.
Ray Comfort: Mentioned as a modern evangelist who also says 90% of church members are lost.
War of Independence (American Revolution): Weaver laments that most Americans are ignorant of the causes and miracles of the War of Independence.
War of 1812: Mentioned as another historical event Americans are ignorant about, including the burning of the White House.
War of Northern Aggression (Civil War): Weaver argues it was not a civil war and had nothing to do with slavery; he references the 'War of the Rebellion' official records (128 volumes).
Correspondence between General Beauregard and Major Anderson at Fort Sumter: Weaver recounts details from the official records to illustrate the chivalry and truth not taught in mainstream history.
President Trump's statement that Russia is a paper tiger: Weaver disagrees with this assessment, using it to warn against trusting in military might.

Important Quotes

Why have you done this?

The central question of the message, taken from Judges 2:2, which Weaver uses to examine Israel's and modern disobedience.

Without convictions, there is only compromise. Without divine convictions, there is only devilish compromise.

Succinctly captures the fourth point, emphasizing the necessity of firm biblical convictions to avoid compromise.

History is nothing less than the eternal decree of God coming to pass in time.

Defines Weaver's view of history as the outworking of God's sovereign will, underscoring its importance.

You can have a profession without a possession.

Key phrase summarizing the third point that many in the church profess faith but do not truly possess Christ.

Stand fast. Do not give in, do not give out, do not give up, do not quit, do not pitch in the towel.

The urgent application of the message, calling believers to unwavering steadfastness.

Death and destruction always follows disobedience.

A concise summary of the consequence of forsaking God, forming the first application.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to have a profession of faith without true possession of Christ? How can we examine ourselves to ensure our faith is genuine?

[Context]

Based on the third point, where Weaver warns that many in the church may be lost despite their profession.

[Question]

Why is historical ignorance dangerous for Christians and nations? How can we recover a knowledge of God's works in history?

[Context]

Weaver laments that Israel and modern Americans forgot God's works, leading to repeated sins.

[Question]

What is the difference between a preference and a conviction? How can we develop and maintain biblical convictions?

[Context]

Weaver defines conviction as fixed and firm, contrasting it with compromise.

[Question]

In what areas are Christians today most prone to compromise without conviction? How can we guard against this?

[Context]

Weaver asks rhetorical questions about denying Christ for money or power, challenging listeners to consider their own price.

[Question]

How does trusting in military or human strength bring a curse according to Jeremiah 17:5? What should nations and individuals trust in instead?

[Context]

Weaver applies the curse of trusting in man to America's reliance on its military.

[Question]

What does it practically mean to 'stand fast' in the faith, in liberty, and in the Lord? How can we encourage one another to do so?

[Context]

Weaver cites multiple 'stand fast' verses and urges personal steadfastness.

[Question]

How does the pattern of Judges 2 (remorse without repentance, leaders without leadership, etc.) manifest in our churches and nation today?

[Context]

Weaver systematically applies each point to contemporary society.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T07:01:51Z