The Ten Commandments

The Removal of the Battlements

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Biblical Law

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-02-08

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver expounds Jeremiah 5:10 using Deuteronomy 22:8 as an introduction to explain the biblical concept of battlements as protective railings. He argues that battlements represent God's sovereign protection, and when a people become rebellious and wicked, God removes that protection, allowing enemies to destroy them. The sermon applies this principle personally, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally, warning that America faces a turning point: repent and return to God or face destruction.

[John Weaver] Let's begin with Deuteronomy 22 and then turn also to Jeremiah chapter 5. Deuteronomy 22 and then Jeremiah chapter 5. I want you to listen to the title of the message today. The title is, The Removal of the Battlements. You will understand that momentarily. Deuteronomy chapter 22, and if you would go ahead and turn to Jeremiah chapter 5, we're going to only read one verse in Jeremiah chapter 5 and then come back to that verse. In reality, Jeremiah chapter 5 is going to be the text that I'm going to be developing, and Deuteronomy 22 is going to be basically the introduction. So, notice if you would, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8, where God says, when thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from fence. And then if you'd look in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 10, God says concerning Jerusalem, go you up upon her walls and destroy, but make not a full in, take away her battlements, for they are not the Lord's."

[John Weaver] We have lost the concept of battlements and consequently we do not understand their importance or the importance of their loss. Why in the world would God command if you built a new house that you build a battlement upon its roof? So you have to ask the question, what is a battlement? And the parallel question, why is a battlement important? Well, the Hebrew word for battlement actually refers to a parapet or a balcony. Now, a parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of the roof, terrace, balcony, or other structure. It's also a protective wall upon a fortification or sometime an outside wall. Many of you have seen pictures of some of the old battlefields where they would have sharpened poles sticking out like that. That would be a parapet in that sense of the word. It's a protective structure and that's basically what a battlement is. So when you think of the term battlement, you should automatically think of the word protection. So a battlement then was a safety railing. It was a means of protection.

[John Weaver] Well, let's ask the question, why is it that we do not use battlements on our roofs today? The answer is very simple, because we do not use our roofs today in the same way that those roofs were used during Bible times.

[John Weaver] Now there are a few houses that still have them. Alice was reared in a house that had two portions of flat roof over the porches, and each one of those had a door going out to the roof and you had an iron railing around that. It was a battlement. And so the battlement basically was to keep someone from falling off that flat porch area or that flat roof area that was over the porch.

[John Weaver] You can probably find something similar to this especially down in Florida. But the roofs of the houses in Palestine were flat and they were used for various purposes such as diversions, recreation, meditation, prayer. The owners and their guests would use their roofs to enjoy the fresh air, to converse, and to dine, and to dry fruits, to vegetables, to wash, and a myriad of other uses. You have to remember that in Joshua chapter 2, It was Rahab who hid the spies upon her roof and covered them with flax. Evidently she was drying the flax on the roof as well. You must also remember that it was on the roof that David stepped out to cool himself in 2 Samuel chapter 11 and spied Bathsheba who was taking a bath upon her roof. And also in Judges chapter 16, The Philistines were sitting upon the roof while they were mocking and humiliating and making fun of Samson when he pulled the house down upon them and slew hundreds of them.

[John Weaver] So let's return to a previous question. Why in the world would God demand a battlement to be built upon a roof? In order to answer that question, you have to understand a little something about biblical law. Biblical law is taught throughout the entirety of Scripture. Let me just tell you, first of all, in biblical law there is a broad general principle such as the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not commit adultery. These are broad general principles. Secondly, in biblical law, you have specific cases or case law that will illustrate that broad principle. And then thirdly, in biblical law, you have the practical application. Once you've observed the principle, then you have a specific case that illustrates that principle. Then thirdly, you have to make an application to your present situation or your present circumstance.

[John Weaver] Now, when you look at the sixth commandment, and don't turn there, everyone can quote it, In Exodus 20 and verse 13, the sixth commandment is very simple, thou shalt not kill. However, what most people do not understand is the sixth commandment contains both a positive and a negative command. The negative command is thou shalt do no murder or thou shalt not take life unlawfully. Life can only be taken upon God's terms. And as you read through the Bible, you'll find that there are 18 specific reasons that God says that life may be lawfully taken. If you add self-defense, there would be 19 reasons. So, actually when God says, thou shalt not kill, He is saying the negative, thou shalt not take life except upon my terms. There is a lawful taking of life and there is an unlawful taking of life. And then the positive of the sixth commandment is, thou shalt preserve life. So, if it is our duty then not to kill unlawfully, the parallel duty, on the other hand, is that we must protect and preserve life.

[John Weaver] Now, there are a number of specific cases in the Bible that illustrate the general principle, thou shalt not kill. Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 is one of them. So battlements, therefore, were a means of protection and preservation of life. If there were no railings around the roof of the house, a fall would be fatal. And then every house, instead of being a house of rejoicing, would turn into a house of mourning. Think of the children, as well as the visitors, who used the roof as well. Tradition states that the battlements around a roof had to be a minimum of three to three and a half feet high. Failure to build a battlement was a failure to protect and to preserve life. Hence God said, if you look in Deuteronomy 22 in verse 8, when thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, here's why, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from fence. The man who did not build a battlement as God commanded was not only negligent, but he was also positively guilty.

[John Weaver] A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer because he failed to protect and preserve life. Now there are a number of lessons that we can learn from Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8. Let me give you just a few of them. by way of introduction. First and foremost, very obviously, we have an obligation and a duty to preserve and protect life. That is why God commanded a battlement to be built.

[John Weaver] Secondly, which is not so obvious, but it is still true, we have an obligation to remove potential sources of danger. A flat, unprotected roof was a source of danger. What's that mean? We have to remove any dangerous situation. If we have rotten steps, we must repair them. If we have a cluttered yard, we must pick up the clutter, clean up the yard to prevent someone from tripping and falling over. If we have exposed electrical wires, we must cover them up. We must do whatever's necessary to protect our surroundings and protect those who visit with us and those who are in our homes. Very obviously, we have an obligation therefore under Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 to remove any unsafe hazards in our home.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, what is also clearly taught here is that we must be prepared to assume liability for our actions or our lack of actions. Now, there are several passages that illustrate this truth very clearly. Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 21. And let me show you a couple of these very quickly. Exodus chapter 21, just showing you the assumption of liability. Exodus 21, beginning there of verse 31, where a man is responsible for his actions or the lack of actions in protecting. Notice Exodus chapter 21, beginning there of verse, oh, let's begin reading with verse, hmm, okay. Let's see if that's the passage I want, okay. Let me begin with, yeah, let's begin there with verse 31.

[John Weaver] Whether he have gored, talking about a bull now, whether he have gored a son or gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a man's servant, or a maid's servant, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. So the man now is responsible, for his animal that is gory," in other words, especially if he's known to gore, he should have him sufficiently caged or sufficiently fenced in.

[John Weaver] Now watch verse 33,"...and if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein, the owner of the pit shall make it good and give money to the owner of them, and the dead beast shall be his." And if one man's ox hurt another that he die, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money of it, and the dead ox also shall they divide. Or if it be known that the ox had used to push in times past, and his owner had not kept him in, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead ox shall be his own."

[John Weaver] So what is God saying? God says you have to assume responsibility and liability for your actions. If you dig a hole, and you don't cover it back up, and someone comes along, falls in, breaks his leg, the man that dug the hole is responsible, he's liable. If you've got an animal that's known to be vicious, God says you better keep him caged up, because if he hurts someone or hurts another animal, you're responsible. So God is saying there are assumptions of liability.

[John Weaver] For instance, look in your Bibles now to Exodus chapter 22, And notice verse 6. Here's another statement that we're responsible for our actions. Exodus 22 verse 6. God said, and if fire break out and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn or the standing corn of the field be consumed therewith, he that kindle the fire shall surely make restitution. What's that mean? That means if you are my neighbor and I start burning trash on a windy day, and I have nothing to prevent that fire from getting out, I have no one to help me, and the fire does get out and burns down your cornfield, then I'm liable for your cornfield. I'm liable for your loss. If it burns down your house, I'm liable for your loss. Why? God is telling me I am responsible according to His law. So very obviously, Exodus chapter, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 is telling us that we must assume liability for our actions. So if we do not build a battlement and someone falls, then we're liable, we're responsible.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 teaches us that we must be solicitous of the lives of our brethren and of our neighbors. That is, we must learn to look out for each other. We must learn to help each other, to protect each other. And I'm going to use another phrase to warn each other if we see something that is hazardous or problematic. You know what the Bible says in Leviticus 19 and verse 17? Now listen carefully.

[John Weaver] Let me just quote it. God says, Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt surely, now listen, Thou shalt surely in any wise rebuke thine neighbor and not suffer sin upon him. So God says if we don't warn, if we don't rebuke, if we don't get on to our brother when something is wrong, it's evidence that we hate him. And God says no, we're not to hate our brother, we're to be solicitous toward him and we're to warn him and caution him if there's something around his life or his home or his property that is dangerous to him, his family, or to others.

[John Weaver] Based upon Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8, we have an obligation to build according to God's Word. Now, I am not advocating that we get out and build battlements on our roofs when we never ever use our roofs. That's not what I'm saying. Rather what I am saying, that as we desire to have the blessings of God upon our lives, if we desire to prosper We must build our lives, our families, our churches, our nation according to the principles and the precepts of the Word of God. That's what I'm saying. If we have a flat roof, yes, we should have a battlement on it if we're going to use it. But I'm not necessarily talking about roofs at this particular point.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to think with me just for a moment. When God said in Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 that When you build a house, you had to build a battlement upon the roof, and he told you why, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." Think, if you would, how many deaths would have occurred had the battlements not been in place. How many children would have needlessly fallen to their deaths? Not only that, think how many adults would have tripped and fallen to the ground. And let me tell you, for some of us at a certain age, you don't need something to trip over to fall. You just fall. You don't need Maryland around to push you down until your brother hurt it. Sometimes you just fall on your own. And so God is saying, look, you know, here's why these battlements must be here. But if those battlements were not there, then children, adults, elderly, any one of us and any one of them could just simply trip or fall.

[John Weaver] In other words, God is saying the battlements must be in place or certain death will ensue. Listen carefully. It is possible to do the right thing in a wrong way. Listen carefully. It is possible to obey and disobey at the same time. How can that be? Well, one could build a battlement, but he could build it so that it was either weakly built or not installed properly, or not tied down securely. He could then truthfully say that he had obeyed the letter of the law. He had a battlement. But he had not obeyed the spirit of the law. Because the spirit of the law said the battlement was to be for the preservation of life and the protection of life. And if that battlement is not tied down securely, or if it is weakly built, he has obeyed, but at the same time, he has disobeyed. He might have a battlement, but it would not be the Lord's battlement. It's not what God demanded. It's not there for the reason God demanded. It's also possible that one could erect the most secure battlement possible.

[John Weaver] That he could have it installed correctly and tied down securely and he could have it done in such a way that he would believe personally that his battlement would keep anyone from falling to his death. Simply stated, in that light, you're trusting in your own work, in your own efforts, and you're assuming that you are sufficient for whatever might possibly occur. You might have fulfilled the letter of the law, you may have even fulfilled the spirit of the law, but at the same time, the battlement is not the Lord's, it is yours because it is what you have done and you're trusting in it and you're now taking pride and you're boasting in the sufficiency of what you have done. It is your accomplishment. It is your work.

[John Weaver] I'm going to make application of this because I want you to see that the principle of battlements applies to each of us personally, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally. We may build, but we may build in such a way as to procure the judgment of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and just look at the warning the Apostle Paul gave. 1 Corinthians 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Note, if you would, how clearly the Apostle Paul enunciates a principle. Watch. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Paul says, according to the grace of God which is given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth their own. But let every man take heed how he buildeth their own. For other foundations can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Now, the Apostle Paul is not only talking about having the correct foundation, he's talking about we better take heed how we build upon that foundation.

[John Weaver] He is saying that we had better build biblically. Now, foundations are important. You remember in Matthew chapter 7 our Lord talked about the man who built his house upon the rock and another who built his house upon the sand and the one that was built upon the sand our Lord says fell and great was the fall of that house. But it's not just the foundation now, it's how we build. We must not only consider our foundation, we must consider our battlements. At this point I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 5 and I want to read The first 19 verses, I want you to follow me. We're going to come back to verse 10 because verse 10 is actually the verse that I want to expound. But I want you to see verse 10 in its context because we're talking about the removal of the battlements. And remember now, battlements are for protection. Notice Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. God says to Jeremiah, run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem and see now and know and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man, if there be any that executed judgment, that seeketh the truth and I will pardon him.

[John Weaver] And though they say, the Lord liveth, surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? Thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved. Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than a rock, they have refused to return. Therefore I said, surely these are poor, they are foolish, for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah says, I will get me into the great men, and I will speak unto them. For they have known the way of the Lord and the judgment of their God, but these, that is the great men, have altogether broken the yoke and burst the barns. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf out of the evening shall spoil them. A leopard shall watch over their cities.

[John Weaver] Every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. Now look what God asks. How shall I pardon thee for this? Thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. When I fed them to the full, then they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlot's houses. They were as fed horses in the morning.

[John Weaver] Everyone made after his neighbor's wife Shall I not visit for these things set the Lord and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Go you up upon her walls and destroy but make not a fully and take away the battlements for they are not the Lord's For the house of Israel in the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me said the Lord They have been lied the Lord and said it is not he neither shall evil come upon us neither shall we see sword or famine And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them, thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall consume them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord. It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandeth what they say.

[John Weaver] Their quiver is an open sepulcher. They're all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat. And they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds. They shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees. They shall impoverish thy fenced cities, where thou trustest with the sword. Nevertheless, in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. and it shall come to pass when you shall say wherefore doth the Lord our God all these things unto us then shalt thou answer them like as you have forsaken me and serve strange gods in your land so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours now I want you

[John Weaver] to go back to verse 10 where God says go you up upon her walls and destroy but make not a fool in take away her battlements for they are not the Lord's Now, I want you to note that some time ago, I preached two messages from this text. I'm not going to preach those today. But I preached two messages entitled, Causes for National Judgment. And in one of those messages, I just used verse 10 as an application. But today I want us to look at verse 10.

[John Weaver] The first nine verses of Jeremiah chapter 5 demonstrate the immorality, the ungodliness, the rebellion, and the wickedness of the people. None cared for justice. None cared for judgment. No one wanted the truth. In fact, God told Jeremiah, run you to and fro throughout the streets of Jerusalem. He said, if you can find just one man, just one, that cares anything about justice and truth, I'll pardon the entire nation.

[John Weaver] So everyone was totally, absolutely corrupt. They were only interested in sin and rebellion and idolatry and wickedness. And Jeremiah said, look, I tried looking among the poor people, the common folks, couldn't find anybody. I said, I'll get me to the great men. They have understood God's judgment. They've understood God's law. But what did he find? Everyone had burst the bonds. Everyone had thrown off the restraints. No one listened to God. God had sent prophet after prophet and preacher after preacher. None listened. No man repented of his sin. It was so bad, if you look at verse 9, God said this, Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord? That is visit in judgment. Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" God said, I will destroy the nation. Now, my question, in light of these verses, is how does God avenge himself and how does God visit such a nation in judgment?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to call to mind the message that I preached last week entitled, The True Lord Protector. Because in that passage, I showed you from Psalm 127 verse 1, how that God, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, was our true Lord Protector. And if He did not protect us, we were not protected at all. In fact, I showed you where God gave up many nations When you come to verse 10 of Jeremiah chapter 5, you now will read about the how or the negative when God gives up a nation to their enemies. Look what he said in verse 10 again.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just begin with the first phrase where God says, go you up upon her walls and destroy. In this phrase God is giving permission, power, and authority to the Babylonians to come and pillage and destroy Jerusalem. I want you to look down if you would please to verse 17. You see The people of Judah and Jerusalem had fallen into the same sin that the pagans had fallen into. In verse 17, God is talking about these Chaldeans, these Babylonians, and He says, They shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat. And they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds, and they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees, and they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, that is, your cities with walls, your cities with battlements, wherein thou trustest with the sword."

[John Weaver] So what were they doing? They were trusting in their battlements. Now, I want you, if you would please, to turn back in your Bibles, hold Jeremiah 5, but look in 2 Samuel chapter 5, because when David went to conquer Jerusalem, when the Jebusites lived there, the Jebusites, the pagans, trusted in their battlements as well. Notice, if you would, in 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 6. 2 Samuel 5 verse 6, And the king and his men, that's David and his men, went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites and the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, Now look what they said. Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in thither, thinking David cannot come in hither." In other words, they said, David, we have such a strong wall and such strong battlements, even the lame and the blind can defend this city.

[John Weaver] There's no way that you can get in here. Look at verse 7. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, the same as the city of David. I want you to note it was the pagans, it was the wicked that trusted totally in their battlements. They had it made. No one could get in, they thought. If you will turn in your Bible to Jeremiah chapter 49, you will find that Moab trusted in the heights and their rocks and their fortifications as well. And I want you to note what God said to Moab in chapter 49 of Jeremiah in verse 16. Look what he tells them.

[John Weaver] Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart. O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill, though thou shouldst make thine nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord. And then he says, and Edom shall be a desolation. Edom, Moab, lived in the rocks. They thought for sure that their cities were impregnable.

[John Weaver] No one could penetrate their defenses. God said, I will bring you down to the ground. So when you look in your Bibles at Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 10, When God says, go you up upon our walls and destroy, God is giving permission and authority and power to the Chaldeans to pillage Jerusalem. He will make them, He will enable them, He will empower them to ascend the walls so that they can enter into the city without any difficulty.

[John Weaver] Like the Jebusites who said, except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou canst not come in here. Oh, God said, you think you've got battlements? You think you've got a protective wall? I've got news for you. I've got men that can jump and climb, and they'll get over those battlements without any problem whatsoever. And those battlements were not going to protect Jerusalem. In fact, if you will look in Jeremiah 52, at verses 7 and 14, you'll see what happened to the walls. Look in Jeremiah chapter 52 and verse 7. Jeremiah 52 verse 7. The mighty protective walls around Jerusalem. Jeremiah 52 verse 7. Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden. Now the Chaldeans were out by the city round about, and they went by the way of the plain. Notice if you would please, now skip down to verse 14, for he says this,"...and all the army of the Chaldeans that were with the captain of the guard, break down all the walls of Jerusalem round about."

[John Weaver] What happened to those mighty protective walls? Well, they got broken down. They got destroyed. Had no problem scaling those walls. Had no problem Getting through those battlements. You know what Amos 3 and verse 6 says? Listen carefully, let me just quote it. God asked, Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? What did he say? Shall there be evil? Shall there be judgment? Should there be visitation in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? In other words, God said, I've allowed it.

[John Weaver] I'm the one that gave permission. So God then in Jeremiah 5 and verse 10 gives permission and authority to the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to ascend her walls and destroy Jerusalem. Notice what else he says in verse 10. Go ye up upon her walls and destroy, but make not a full end. Now this phrase, but make not a full end, has been interpreted two different ways. Based upon the translation from the Hebrew, you could have two possible interpretations. The first one is an interpretation given in what you and I would call a good sense. Because the first interpretation would be the view that God is in somehow mitigating the extremity of his punishment. In other words, he says, but make not... In other words, don't just kill everybody and don't just tear down everything. Don't let the consummation be full and complete.

[John Weaver] I will spare a few of them. The second way of interpreting it based upon the Hebrew is very simple. It is signifying a full end. In other words, The meaning would be this, basically, go you up upon our walls and destroy and don't stop destroying until you make a full end. In other words, let nothing hinder you. Let the destruction be entire and complete. Based upon the context and based upon the extended context, probably the second interpretation is correct because God is saying, it's over for you I'm removing your battlements they're not mine and you will be destroyed so notice if you would verse 10 again go you up upon her walls and destroy but make not a full in now he says this take away her battlements for they are not the Lord's in their pride and in their arrogance they assumed that Jerusalem was God's city because He had chosen it, and that they were God's people because God had chosen their fathers. They totally neglected the covenant, they totally neglected the promises, and they did not remember that God had promised that Jerusalem would be His throne if they continued to worship Him, and if they obeyed his covenant, and if they obeyed his law, they totally forgot the fact that God said, if you're going to

[John Weaver] be my people, you will obey me. No. Instead of remembering those things, they had violated the covenant, they had broken God's law, time after time after time, so much so that Jerusalem had become a den of thieves, or Harlot City, the seat of idolatry, and God gave her up. I want to show you how bad it was. I want you to turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 1, and then we're going to Jeremiah 23. So if you want to find Jeremiah 23 while you're there, fine, but go to Isaiah chapter 1 first. Look at Isaiah chapter 1, and you will see how God addresses Judah and Jerusalem. In fact, if you would, look at verse 1 of Isaiah 1. The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, In the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. But note the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Who are we talking about? Judah and Jerusalem.

[John Weaver] Now look in verse 10. Look what God says to Judah and Jerusalem. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah. Wow. God calls them Sodom and Gomorrah. That's how perverse they had become. How wicked they were. Look at Jeremiah 23 and verse 14. Jeremiah 23 and verse 14. Look what God says. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing.

[John Weaver] They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen also the hands of evil doers. and none doth return from his wickedness. There are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah." Wow. Again, God says you're nothing more than Sodom and Gomorrah. If you'll go back to Jeremiah 4, and look, if you would, please, at verse 14. Again, God asks this before He visits them. Notice Jeremiah 4 and verse 14. He says, O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.

[John Weaver] How long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee? No one wanted to listen. That's why God told Jeremiah to run to and fro throughout the whole city of Jerusalem, see if he could find just one man, just one. God said, if you do, I'll pardon the entire nation. I'll forgive everyone. But he could not find one. Now let me ask you, how wicked were Judah and Jerusalem? I want to show you. And I want to show you the implication of when God says, take away her battlements for they are not the Lord's. I want you to go first in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 14. Ezekiel 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Ezekiel 14 and verse 12. Look what he says. Ezekiel 14, verse 12.

[John Weaver] The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, Then will I stretch out my hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it." Now look what God says. Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, the three most beloved men in the Old Testament, though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause Noah and some beast to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beast. Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, they shall only be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon the land, and say, Sword, go through the land, so that I cut off man and beast from it, though these three men, Noah, Job, and Daniel, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they shall be

[John Weaver] delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence upon that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast. Though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter. They shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord God, how much more when I send my four sword judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the anoints, and beasts, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast." Wow. God says the city was so wicked, so corrupt, and so vile, that if Noah, Job, and Daniel were in it, they would only deliver their own selves.

[John Weaver] When you look at Jeremiah 5 in verse 10, when God says, go ye up upon her walls and destroy, take away her battlements for they are not the Lord's, That is God sovereignly giving a decree for the enemy to come in and destroy. Here is the hard, hard implication. God is not only giving permission and power and authority for the enemy to come in to destroy, God is actually going to be transferring His power in the hands of the enemy, so that the enemy may effectually fight against His people. However, they were not His people.

[John Weaver] They professed to be, but they did not trust in Him. They did not obey Him. They did not worship Him. They may have built their fenced cities. They may have built their walls. They may have built their battlements. But they were not the Lord's. They did not trust in Him. They did not look to Him. I want you to turn, if you would, to Jeremiah 21. I'll make some applications after this. I want to show you how grievous a statement this is when God says, take away her battlements for they're not the Lord's.

[John Weaver] In fact, let's begin reading with verse 1. I want you to see this. Jeremiah 21 verse 1, the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent unto him Pasher the son of Melchiah and Zephaniah the son of Massiah the priest saying inquire I pray thee of the Lord for us for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonders works that he may go up from us so he says The king sends word to Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah, you pray for us. Because we don't want the Babylonians around here. You pray that maybe the Lord will send him away. Okay? Fine. Jeremiah 21, verse 3. Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall you say to Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them

[John Weaver] in the midst of this city, are you looking? And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, even in anger, and fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast, And they shall die of a great pestilence." God said, let me tell you something. It's not just that they're coming. They're coming. And they're coming empowered by me. And moreover, I personally will fight against you.

[John Weaver] I'll turn back the weapons in your hands. Your weapons will be useless. They will be worthless. They will be profitless. What did God say? Take away your battlements, for they're not the Lord's. When God removes His sovereign protection from a people, from a city, from a home, from a church, from a nation, He removes the battlements. Oh, they may still be in place, but He just gives power to the enemy. to come in and pillage and destroy, and God Himself fights against those whose battlements He removes.

[John Weaver] Let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. Think with me. What can defend us? Or who can defend us? When the true Lord Protector, Jehovah God, has departed from us, when God says, take away our battlements, there is nothing that awaits us but sure and certain destruction. Washington, D.C. will not save us. Atlanta, Georgia will not save us. When God removes the battlements, we're gone. You know what God said in 2 Chronicles 13 verse 7? Now listen carefully. 2 Chronicles 13 verse 7, God said to the people, and be not like your fathers, and like your brethren, who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation as you see. What did God do to their fathers? He gave them up to desolation. He removed the battlements. That's why in Psalm 81 and verse 12, God said, So I gave them up into their own hearts' lusts, and they walked in their own counsels. God said, I gave them up. I removed the battlements.

[John Weaver] They had no protection. There is nothing and there is no one that can replace the sovereign protection of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. If God removes our battlements, we are lost. When God refuses to be our protection, He will give us up into the hands of our enemies exactly as He gave Jerusalem into the hands of the Babylonians. Here's the second application. When a city, a people, or a nation is filled with sin, rebellion, and wickedness, listen carefully, God will not honor their fortifications. He will not honor their battlements. He will not honor their defenses. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers. Look in Numbers chapter 14. You remember God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and He was going to send them into the land with a sword in their hand to slay all the inhabitants. He was going to give them the land of Canaan, all the fruits. You remember the spies How only two, Joshua and Caleb, brought back a good and honest report, and the rest of them brought back an evil report upon the Lord. In Numbers chapter 14, Joshua and Caleb are trying to steal the people and tell them the truth. So in Numbers chapter 14, if you look at verse 6, And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. Now look what they said. and they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it to us, a land which floweth with milk and honey.

[John Weaver] Now watch carefully, only rebel you not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us, are you looking? Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not."

[John Weaver] Now look what he said concerning the heathen who were full of sin, wickedness, and rebellion. He said their defense is departed from them. They're just bread for us. And let me tell you something, folks. When we become as sinful as the wicked and as rebellious and as ungodly as they are, Our defense departs from us, and we become bread for the enemy. Period.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, if you look back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 5, I want you to see this. Jeremiah chapter 5, the third application is very simple. When God removes our battlements, He will choose our destruction. He chose the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah chapter 5, look in verse 15, God says this, Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord. It is a mighty nation. It is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is an open sepulcher, and they are full of mighty men.

[John Weaver] And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat. They shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds, and they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees. They shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustest with a sword." What did God say? God said, I'll bring upon you a great and mighty nation, one that you don't even know about, one that you're unaware of their language, you can't understand them. God chose to bring the Chaldeans and the Babylonians and the Assyrians When God removes the battlements, He chooses the destruction. He chooses which nations to use. And God can bring destruction from either near or far.

[John Weaver] It doesn't matter to Him. He can bring men and warriors that we've never dreamed of, never heard of. And they will become our masters. and we'll be bread for them. The last application is this. I hope you now see the importance and necessity of battlements. And the very safest, the very best battlement is the protection of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. You remember as I preached last week, except the Lord build the city, except the Lord build the house, the labor in vain that build, except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. When God is for us, it does not matter who is against us. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8 in verse 31, what shall we say then to these things if God be for us?

[John Weaver] Who can be against us? If God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us, because God is our sovereign protector. But if God is not for us, it does matter who is against us, because they will destroy us. What's this mean? Here's what it means. It means you and I, must learn to cry to God now, in this day, in this time, in this age, to awaken his sleeping people. And we need to pray that God would grant us repentance and faith.

[John Weaver] We are at a very severe turning point in this country. We're either going to repent and go back to the God of heaven and earth who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ based upon the Word of God or we're going to be destroyed. Period. It could be from Islam. It could be from our own stupidity. It could be from our own corrupt rulers. It could be from our own apathy. But if God removes the battlements, we're gone.

[John Weaver] We need to learn to trust Him. We need to learn to obey Him. We need to learn to worship Him. We need to learn to cry unto Him. We need to learn to repent. We need to learn to exercise faith. We need to say, folks, it's time to wake up. When God says, take away your battlements, for they're not the Lord's, the implication is God Himself will fight against such a people. And woe to the man, and woe to the people that God rises up against in arms.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we cry to Thee, we pray to Thee, We want to see, Lord, the absolute importance, the absolute necessity of worshiping Thee and obeying Thee and, Father, bringing our lives in conformity to Thy Word. We want to see the necessity and importance of having the divine battlements, the sovereign protection of the Lord God of heaven and earth. O God, we do cry that You would awaken Thy people in this country. Awaken us. Grant us repentance, O Lord. Grant us faith. Grant us, Lord, to return. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Give us grace, Lord, that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. May we honor Thee in our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

The Removal of the Battlements

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	UbYMRD9ABk8
Subject	Biblical Law
Course	The Ten Commandments
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 001: The Ten Commandments — Chapter 12
Source Timed Segments	65

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Biblical Battlement

Reading Deuteronomy 22:8 and Jeremiah 5:10; defining a battlement as a protective parapet or railing on flat roofs used in Bible times.

Let's begin with Deuteronomy 22 and then turn also to Jeremiah chapter 5. Deuteronomy 22 and then Jeremiah chapter 5. I want you to listen to the title of the message today. The title is, "The Removal of the Battlements." You will understand that momentarily. Deuteronomy chapter 22, and if you would go ahead and turn to Jeremiah chapter 5, we're going to only read one verse in Jeremiah chapter 5 and then come back to that verse. In reality, Jeremiah chapter 5 is going to be the text that I'm going to be developing, and Deuteronomy 22 is going to be basically the introduction. So, notice if you would, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8, where God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:8

"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence."

And then if you'd look in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 10, God says concerning Jerusalem, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy, but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's."

We have lost the concept of battlements and consequently we do not understand their importance or the importance of their loss. Why in the world would God command if you built a new house that you build a battlement upon its roof? So you have to ask the question, what is a battlement? And the parallel question, why is a battlement important? Well, the Hebrew word for battlement actually refers to a parapet or a balcony. Now, a parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of the roof, terrace, balcony, or other structure. It's also a protective wall upon a fortification or sometimes an outside wall. Many of you have seen pictures of some of the old battlefields where they would have sharpened poles sticking out like that. That would be a parapet in that sense of the word. It's a protective structure and that's basically what a battlement is. So when you think of the term battlement, you should automatically think of the word protection. So a battlement then was a safety railing. It was a means of protection.

Well, let's ask the question, why is it that we do not use battlements on our roofs today? The answer is very simple, because we do not use our roofs today in the same way that those roofs were used during Bible times. Now there are a few houses that still have them. Alice was reared in a house that had two portions of flat roof over the porches, and each one of those had a door going out to the roof and you had an iron railing around that. It was a battlement. And so the battlement basically was to keep someone from falling off that flat porch area or that flat roof area that was over the porch.

Biblical Law and the Sixth Commandment

Explaining biblical law: general principles (Ten Commandments), specific cases (Deuteronomy 22:8), and practical application. The sixth commandment includes both a negative (do not murder) and a positive (preserve life) duty.

So let's return to a previous question. Why in the world would God demand a battlement to be built upon a roof? In order to answer that question, you have to understand a little something about biblical law. Biblical law is taught throughout the entirety of Scripture. Let me just tell you, first of all, in biblical law there is a broad general principle such as the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not commit adultery. These are broad general principles. Secondly, in biblical law, you have specific cases or case law that will illustrate that broad principle. And then thirdly, in biblical law, you have the practical application. Once you've observed the principle, then you have a specific case that illustrates that principle. Then thirdly, you have to make an application to your present situation or your present circumstance.

Now, when you look at the sixth commandment, and don't turn there, everyone can quote it, in Exodus 20 and verse 13, the sixth commandment is very simple,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:13

"Thou shalt not kill."

However, what most people do not understand is the sixth commandment contains both a positive and a negative command. The negative command is thou shalt do no murder or thou shalt not take life unlawfully. Life can only be taken upon God's terms. And as you read through the Bible, you'll find that there are 18 specific reasons that God says that life may be lawfully taken. If you add self-defense, there would be 19 reasons. So, actually when God says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:13

"Thou shalt not kill,"

He is saying the negative, thou shalt not take life except upon my terms. There is a lawful taking of life and there is an unlawful taking of life. And then the positive of the sixth commandment is, thou shalt preserve life. So, if it is our duty then not to kill unlawfully, the parallel duty, on the other hand, is that we must protect and preserve life.

Now, there are a number of specific cases in the Bible that illustrate the general principle, "Thou shalt not kill." Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 is one of them. So battlements, therefore, were a means of protection and preservation of life. If there were no railings around the roof of the house, a fall would be fatal. And then every house, instead of being a house of rejoicing, would turn into a house of mourning. Think of the children, as well as the visitors, who used the roof as well. Tradition states that the battlements around a roof had to be a minimum of three to three and a half feet high. Failure to build a battlement was a failure to protect and to preserve life. Hence God said, if you look in Deuteronomy 22 in verse 8, "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof," here's why, "that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." The man who did not build a battlement as God commanded was not only negligent, but he was also positively guilty.

Lessons from Deuteronomy 22:8

Four lessons: obligation to preserve life, remove potential dangers, assume liability for actions, and be solicitous of neighbors' lives.

A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer because he failed to protect and preserve life. Now there are a number of lessons that we can learn from Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8. Let me give you just a few of them, by way of introduction. First and foremost, very obviously, we have an obligation and a duty to preserve and protect life. That is why God commanded a battlement to be built. Secondly, which is not so obvious, but it is still true, we have an obligation to remove potential sources of danger. A flat, unprotected roof was a source of danger. What's that mean? We have to remove any dangerous situation. If we have rotten steps, we must repair them. If we have a cluttered yard, we must pick up the clutter, clean up the yard to prevent someone from tripping and falling over. If we have exposed electrical wires, we must cover them up. We must do whatever's necessary to protect our surroundings and protect those who visit with us and those who are in our homes. Very obviously, we have an obligation therefore under Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 to remove any unsafe hazards in our home.

Thirdly, what is also clearly taught here is that we must be prepared to assume liability for our actions or our lack of actions. Now, there are several passages that illustrate this truth very clearly. Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 21. And let me show you a couple of these very quickly. Exodus chapter 21, just showing you the assumption of liability. Exodus 21, beginning there of verse 31, where a man is responsible for his actions or the lack of actions in protecting. Notice Exodus chapter 21, beginning there of verse, oh, let's begin reading with verse, hmm, okay. Let's see if that's the passage I want, okay. Let me begin with, yeah, let's begin there with verse 31.

"Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned." So the man now is responsible for his animal that is goring, in other words, especially if he's known to gore, he should have him sufficiently caged or sufficiently fenced in. Now watch verse 33, "And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; the owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his. And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own."

So what is God saying? God says you have to assume responsibility and liability for your actions. If you dig a hole, and you don't cover it back up, and someone comes along, falls in, breaks his leg, the man that dug the hole is responsible, he's liable. If you've got an animal that's known to be vicious, God says you better keep him caged up, because if he hurts someone or hurts another animal, you're responsible. So God is saying there are assumptions of liability. For instance, look in your Bibles now to Exodus chapter 22, and notice verse 6. Here's another statement that we're responsible for our actions. Exodus 22 verse 6. God said,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 22:6

"If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution."

What's that mean? That means if you are my neighbor and I start burning trash on a windy day, and I have nothing to prevent that fire from getting out, I have no one to help me, and the fire does get out and burns down your cornfield, then I'm liable for your cornfield. I'm liable for your loss. If it burns down your house, I'm liable for your loss. Why? God is telling me I am responsible according to His law. So very obviously, Exodus chapter, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 is telling us that we must assume liability for our actions. So if we do not build a battlement and someone falls, then we're liable, we're responsible.

Fourthly, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 teaches us that we must be solicitous of the lives of our brethren and of our neighbors. That is, we must learn to look out for each other. We must learn to help each other, to protect each other. And I'm going to use another phrase to warn each other if we see something that is hazardous or problematic. You know what the Bible says in Leviticus 19 and verse 17? Now listen carefully. Let me just quote it. God says,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 19:17

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him."

So God says if we don't warn, if we don't rebuke, if we don't get on to our brother when something is wrong, it's evidence that we hate him. And God says no, we're not to hate our brother, we're to be solicitous toward him and we're to warn him and caution him if there's something around his life or his home or his property that is dangerous to him, his family, or to others.

Building According to God's Word

Application: we must build our lives, families, churches, and nation according to biblical principles, not merely external compliance.

Based upon Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8, we have an obligation to build according to God's Word. Now, I am not advocating that we get out and build battlements on our roofs when we never ever use our roofs. That's not what I'm saying. Rather what I am saying, that as we desire to have the blessings of God upon our lives, if we desire to prosper, we must build our lives, our families, our churches, our nation according to the principles and the precepts of the Word of God. That's what I'm saying. If we have a flat roof, yes, we should have a battlement on it if we're going to use it. But I'm not necessarily talking about roofs at this particular point.

Now, I want you to think with me just for a moment. When God said in Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 that when you build a house, you had to build a battlement upon the roof, and He told you why, "that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." Think, if you would, how many deaths would have occurred had the battlements not been in place. How many children would have needlessly fallen to their deaths? Not only that, think how many adults would have tripped and fallen to the ground. And let me tell you, for some of us at a certain age, you don't need something to trip over to fall. You just fall. You don't need Maryland around to push you down until your brother hurt it. Sometimes you just fall on your own. And so God is saying, look, you know, here's why these battlements must be here. But if those battlements were not there, then children, adults, elderly, any one of us and any one of them could just simply trip or fall.

The Spirit vs. the Letter of the Law

It is possible to obey the letter but not the spirit; a weakly built battlement or one trusted in pride is not the Lord's.

In other words, God is saying the battlements must be in place or certain death will ensue. Listen carefully. It is possible to do the right thing in a wrong way. Listen carefully. It is possible to obey and disobey at the same time. How can that be? Well, one could build a battlement, but he could build it so that it was either weakly built or not installed properly, or not tied down securely. He could then truthfully say that he had obeyed the letter of the law. He had a battlement. But he had not obeyed the spirit of the law. Because the spirit of the law said the battlement was to be for the preservation of life and the protection of life. And if that battlement is not tied down securely, or if it is weakly built, he has obeyed, but at the same time, he has disobeyed. He might have a battlement, but it would not be the Lord's battlement. It's not what God demanded. It's not there for the reason God demanded. It's also possible that one could erect the most secure battlement possible.

That he could have it installed correctly and tied down securely and he could have it done in such a way that he would believe personally that his battlement would keep anyone from falling to his death. Simply stated, in that light, you're trusting in your own work, in your own efforts, and you're assuming that you are sufficient for whatever might possibly occur. You might have fulfilled the letter of the law, you may have even fulfilled the spirit of the law, but at the same time, the battlement is not the Lord's, it is yours because it is what you have done and you're trusting in it and you're now taking pride and you're boasting in the sufficiency of what you have done. It is your accomplishment. It is your work. I'm going to make application of this because I want you to see that the principle of battlements applies to each of us personally, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally. We may build, but we may build in such a way as to procure the judgment of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and just look at the warning the Apostle Paul gave. 1 Corinthians 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Note, if you would, how clearly the Apostle Paul enunciates a principle. Watch. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Paul says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:10-11

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Now, the Apostle Paul is not only talking about having the correct foundation, he's talking about we better take heed how we build upon that foundation.

Jeremiah 5: The Context of National Judgment

Reading Jeremiah 5:1-19 to show the total corruption of Jerusalem; God could not find one righteous man. God decrees judgment by removing battlements.

He is saying that we had better build biblically. Now, foundations are important. You remember in Matthew chapter 7 our Lord talked about the man who built his house upon the rock and another who built his house upon the sand and the one that was built upon the sand our Lord says fell and great was the fall of that house. But it's not just the foundation now, it's how we build. We must not only consider our foundation, we must consider our battlements. At this point I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 5 and I want to read the first 19 verses, I want you to follow me. We're going to come back to verse 10 because verse 10 is actually the verse that I want to expound. But I want you to see verse 10 in its context because we're talking about the removal of the battlements. And remember now, battlements are for protection. Notice Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. God says to Jeremiah, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it."

"And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God." "I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bands. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities."

"Every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning." "Every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say."

"Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours." Now I want you to go back to verse 10 where God says, "Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." Now, I want you to note that some time ago, I preached two messages from this text. I'm not going to preach those today. But I preached two messages entitled, "Causes for National Judgment." And in one of those messages, I just used verse 10 as an application. But today I want us to look at verse 10.

The first nine verses of Jeremiah chapter 5 demonstrate the immorality, the ungodliness, the rebellion, and the wickedness of the people. None cared for justice. None cared for judgment. No one wanted the truth. In fact, God told Jeremiah, "Run ye to and fro throughout the streets of Jerusalem." He said, "If you can find just one man, just one, that cares anything about justice and truth, I'll pardon the entire nation."

So everyone was totally, absolutely corrupt. They were only interested in sin and rebellion and idolatry and wickedness. And Jeremiah said, "Look, I tried looking among the poor people, the common folks, couldn't find anybody. I said, I'll get me to the great men. They have understood God's judgment. They've understood God's law." But what did he find? Everyone had burst the bonds. Everyone had thrown off the restraints. No one listened to God. God had sent prophet after prophet and preacher after preacher. None listened. No man repented of his sin. It was so bad, if you look at verse 9, God said this, "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" God said, "I will destroy the nation." Now, my question, in light of these verses, is how does God avenge himself and how does God visit such a nation in judgment?

God Removes Protection and Empowers the Enemy

God gives permission to the Babylonians to destroy; He transfers His power to the enemy and fights against His own professed people.

Now, I want you to call to mind the message that I preached last week entitled, "The True Lord Protector." Because in that passage, I showed you from Psalm 127 verse 1, how that God, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, was our true Lord Protector. And if He did not protect us, we were not protected at all. In fact, I showed you where God gave up many nations. When you come to verse 10 of Jeremiah chapter 5, you now will read about the how or the negative when God gives up a nation to their enemies. Look what he said in verse 10 again.

Now, let me just begin with the first phrase where God says, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy." In this phrase God is giving permission, power, and authority to the Babylonians to come and pillage and destroy Jerusalem. I want you to look down if you would please to verse 17. You see, the people of Judah and Jerusalem had fallen into the same sin that the pagans had fallen into. In verse 17, God is talking about these Chaldeans, these Babylonians, and He says, "They shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword."

So what were they doing? They were trusting in their battlements. Now, I want you, if you would please, to turn back in your Bibles, hold Jeremiah 5, but look in 2 Samuel chapter 5, because when David went to conquer Jerusalem, when the Jebusites lived there, the Jebusites, the pagans, trusted in their battlements as well. Notice, if you would, in 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 6. 2 Samuel 5 verse 6,

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 5:6-7

"And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither."

In other words, they said, "David, we have such a strong wall and such strong battlements, even the lame and the blind can defend this city." There's no way that you can get in here. Look at verse 7.

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 5:6-7

"Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David."

I want you to note it was the pagans, it was the wicked that trusted totally in their battlements. They had it made. No one could get in, they thought. If you will turn in your Bible to Jeremiah chapter 49, you will find that Moab trusted in the heights and their rocks and their fortifications as well. And I want you to note what God said to Moab in chapter 49 of Jeremiah in verse 16. Look what he tells them.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 49:16

"Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord."

And then he says, "And Edom shall be a desolation." Edom, Moab, lived in the rocks. They thought for sure that their cities were impregnable. No one could penetrate their defenses. God said, "I will bring you down to the ground." So when you look in your Bibles at Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 10, when God says, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy," God is giving permission and authority and power to the Chaldeans to pillage Jerusalem. He will make them, He will enable them, He will empower them to ascend the walls so that they can enter into the city without any difficulty.

Like the Jebusites who said, "Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou canst not come in here." Oh, God said, "You think you've got battlements? You think you've got a protective wall? I've got news for you. I've got men that can jump and climb, and they'll get over those battlements without any problem whatsoever." And those battlements were not going to protect Jerusalem. In fact, if you will look in Jeremiah 52, at verses 7 and 14, you'll see what happened to the walls. Look in Jeremiah chapter 52 and verse 7. Jeremiah 52 verse 7. The mighty protective walls around Jerusalem. Jeremiah 52 verse 7. "Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain." Notice if you would please, now skip down to verse 14, for he says this, "And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about."

What happened to those mighty protective walls? Well, they got broken down. They got destroyed. Had no problem scaling those walls. Had no problem getting through those battlements. You know what Amos 3 and verse 6 says? Listen carefully, let me just quote it. God asked, "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" What did he say? Shall there be evil? Shall there be judgment? Should there be visitation in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? In other words, God said, "I've allowed it."

I'm the one that gave permission. So God then in Jeremiah 5 and verse 10 gives permission and authority to the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to ascend her walls and destroy Jerusalem. Notice what else he says in verse 10. "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end." Now this phrase, "but make not a full end," has been interpreted two different ways. Based upon the translation from the Hebrew, you could have two possible interpretations. The first one is an interpretation given in what you and I would call a good sense. Because the first interpretation would be the view that God is in somehow mitigating the extremity of his punishment. In other words, he says, "but make not..." In other words, don't just kill everybody and don't just tear down everything. Don't let the consummation be full and complete.

I will spare a few of them. The second way of interpreting it based upon the Hebrew is very simple. It is signifying a full end. In other words, the meaning would be this, basically, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy and don't stop destroying until you make a full end." In other words, let nothing hinder you. Let the destruction be entire and complete. Based upon the context and based upon the extended context, probably the second interpretation is correct because God is saying, "It's over for you. I'm removing your battlements. They're not mine and you will be destroyed." So notice if you would verse 10 again. "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." In their pride and in their arrogance they assumed that Jerusalem was God's city because He had chosen it, and that they were God's people because God had chosen their fathers. They totally neglected the covenant, they totally neglected the promises, and they did not remember that God had promised that Jerusalem would be His throne if they continued to worship Him, and if they obeyed his covenant, and if they obeyed his law. They totally forgot the fact that God said, "If you're going to

be my people, you will obey me." No. Instead of remembering those things, they had violated the covenant, they had broken God's law, time after time after time, so much so that Jerusalem had become a den of thieves, a harlot city, the seat of idolatry, and God gave her up. I want to show you how bad it was. I want you to turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 1, and then we're going to Jeremiah 23. So if you want to find Jeremiah 23 while you're there, fine, but go to Isaiah chapter 1 first. Look at Isaiah chapter 1, and you will see how God addresses Judah and Jerusalem. In fact, if you would, look at verse 1 of Isaiah 1. "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." But note the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is called Sodom and Gomorrah; even Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves. God's removal of battlements means certain destruction.

Who are we talking about? Judah and Jerusalem. Now look in verse 10. Look what God says to Judah and Jerusalem. "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." Wow. God calls them Sodom and Gomorrah. That's how perverse they had become. How wicked they were. Look at Jeremiah 23 and verse 14. Jeremiah 23 and verse 14. Look what God says. "I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing:

they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah." Wow. Again, God says you're nothing more than Sodom and Gomorrah. If you'll go back to Jeremiah 4, and look, if you would, please, at verse 14. Again, God asks this before He visits them. Notice Jeremiah 4 and verse 14. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 4:14

"O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?"

No one wanted to listen. That's why God told Jeremiah to run to and fro throughout the whole city of Jerusalem, see if he could find just one man, just one. God said, "If you do, I'll pardon the entire nation. I'll forgive everyone." But he could not find one. Now let me ask you, how wicked were Judah and Jerusalem? I want to show you. And I want to show you the implication of when God says, "Take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." I want you to go first in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 14. Ezekiel 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Ezekiel 14 and verse 12. Look what he says. Ezekiel 14, verse 12.

"The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be

delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?" Wow. God says the city was so wicked, so corrupt, and so vile, that if Noah, Job, and Daniel were in it, they would only deliver their own selves.

When you look at Jeremiah 5 in verse 10, when God says, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's," that is God sovereignly giving a decree for the enemy to come in and destroy. Here is the hard, hard implication. God is not only giving permission and power and authority for the enemy to come in to destroy, God is actually going to be transferring His power in the hands of the enemy, so that the enemy may effectually fight against His people. However, they were not His people.

Applications for Today

When God removes battlements, no human defense can save. We must cry to God for repentance and faith; America is at a turning point.

Let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. Think with me. What can defend us? Or who can defend us? When the true Lord Protector, Jehovah God, has departed from us, when God says, "Take away our battlements," there is nothing that awaits us but sure and certain destruction. Washington, D.C. will not save us. Atlanta, Georgia will not save us. When God removes the battlements, we're gone. You know what God said in 2 Chronicles 13 verse 7? Now listen carefully. 2 Chronicles 13 verse 7, God said to the people, "And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see." What did God do to their fathers? He gave them up to desolation. He removed the battlements. That's why in Psalm 81 and verse 12, God said, "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels." God said, "I gave them up. I removed the battlements."

They had no protection. There is nothing and there is no one that can replace the sovereign protection of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. If God removes our battlements, we are lost. When God refuses to be our protection, He will give us up into the hands of our enemies exactly as He gave Jerusalem into the hands of the Babylonians. Here's the second application. When a city, a people, or a nation is filled with sin, rebellion, and wickedness, listen carefully, God will not honor their fortifications. He will not honor their battlements. He will not honor their defenses. Let me show you.

Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers. Look in Numbers chapter 14. You remember God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and He was going to send them into the land with a sword in their hand to slay all the inhabitants. He was going to give them the land of Canaan, all the fruits. You remember the spies, how only two, Joshua and Caleb, brought back a good and honest report, and the rest of them brought back an evil report upon the Lord. In Numbers chapter 14, Joshua and Caleb are trying to steal the people and tell them the truth. So in Numbers chapter 14, if you look at verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:6-9

"And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes."

Now look what they said.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:6-9

"And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey."

Now watch carefully, "Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not." Now look what he said concerning the heathen who were full of sin, wickedness, and rebellion. He said, "Their defence is departed from them. They're just bread for us." And let me tell you something, folks. When we become as sinful as the wicked and as rebellious and as ungodly as they are, our defence departs from us, and we become bread for the enemy. Period. Thirdly, if you look back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 5, I want you to see this. Jeremiah chapter 5, the third application is very simple. When God removes our battlements, He will choose our destruction. He chose the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah chapter 5, look in verse 15, God says this, "Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men."

"And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword." What did God say? God said, "I'll bring upon you a great and mighty nation, one that you don't even know about, one that you're unaware of their language, you can't understand them." God chose to bring the Chaldeans and the Babylonians and the Assyrians. When God removes the battlements, He chooses the destruction. He chooses which nations to use. And God can bring destruction from either near or far. It doesn't matter to Him. He can bring men and warriors that we've never dreamed of, never heard of. And they will become our masters, and we'll be bread for them. The last application is this. I hope you now see the importance and necessity of battlements. And the very safest, the very best battlement is the protection of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. You remember as I preached last week, "Except the Lord build the city, 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." When God is for us, it does not matter who is against us. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8 in verse 31, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,

who can be against us?" If God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us, because God is our sovereign protector. But if God is not for us, it does matter who is against us, because they will destroy us. What's this mean? Here's what it means. It means you and I must learn to cry to God now, in this day, in this time, in this age, to awaken his sleeping people. And we need to pray that God would grant us repentance and faith. We are at a very severe turning point in this country. We're either going to repent and go back to the God of heaven and earth who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ based upon the Word of God or we're going to be destroyed. Period. It could be from Islam. It could be from our own stupidity. It could be from our own corrupt rulers. It could be from our own apathy. But if God removes the battlements, we're gone.

We need to learn to trust Him. We need to learn to obey Him. We need to learn to worship Him. We need to learn to cry unto Him. We need to learn to repent. We need to learn to exercise faith. We need to say, folks, it's time to wake up. When God says, "Take away your battlements, for they are not the Lord's," the implication is God Himself will fight against such a people. And woe to the man, and woe to the people that God rises up against in arms.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Sovereign Protection

Summary: Battlements symbolize God's protective care; when He removes them, destruction is certain.

Evidence: Jeremiah 5:10 'take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's' and Psalm 127:1 referenced.

The Sixth Commandment and Preservation of Life

Summary: The command 'Thou shalt not kill' implies a positive duty to protect and preserve life, illustrated by the battlement law.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 22:8 and Exodus 20:13 explained.

National Judgment for Sin

Summary: When a nation becomes utterly corrupt, God removes His protection and brings judgment through enemies.

Evidence: Jeremiah 5:1-19 describes Jerusalem's sin and God's decree to destroy.

Obedience from the Heart, Not Mere Externals

Summary: True obedience requires both the letter and the spirit; a battlement not built in faith and dependence on God is not the Lord's.

Evidence: Discussion of weakly built battlements and 1 Corinthians 3:10-11.

Repentance and Returning to God

Summary: The only hope for a nation under judgment is repentance, faith, and crying out to God for awakening.

Evidence: Application section urging prayer for repentance and return to God.

Key Arguments

Battlements are a biblical mandate for protecting life

Summary: Deuteronomy 22:8 commands building a battlement to prevent accidental death, illustrating the positive duty of the sixth commandment.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 22:8 and Exodus 20:13; explanation of biblical law.

Failure to protect life is equivalent to murder

Summary: A man who refuses to build a battlement is guilty like a murderer because he failed to preserve life.

Evidence: Statement: 'A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer.'

God removes His protection from a rebellious people

Summary: In Jeremiah 5:10, God commands the enemy to take away Jerusalem's battlements because they are not His, signifying removal of divine protection.

Evidence: Jeremiah 5:10 and context of national sin.

When God removes battlements, He empowers the enemy

Summary: God not only permits destruction but actively fights against His people by transferring power to their enemies.

Evidence: Jeremiah 21:3-6 where God says He will fight against Jerusalem.

Human defenses are useless without God

Summary: Fenced cities and walls cannot protect when God has departed; only His sovereign protection secures a nation.

Evidence: References to Psalm 127:1 and 2 Chronicles 13:7.

America faces a choice: repentance or destruction

Summary: The sermon applies the principle to modern America, warning that if God removes battlements, the nation will be destroyed.

Evidence: Application: 'We are at a very severe turning point in this country.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 22:8

Context: Command to build a battlement on a new house to prevent bloodguilt.

Jeremiah 5:10

Context: God commands the enemy to take away Jerusalem's battlements because they are not the Lord's.

Exodus 20:13

Context: The sixth commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' explained as having positive and negative aspects.

Exodus 21:31-36

Context: Laws about liability for goring oxen and uncovered pits, illustrating assumption of liability.

Exodus 22:6

Context: Liability for fire that spreads and causes damage.

Leviticus 19:17

Context: Command to rebuke a neighbor and not hate him, related to being solicitous of others' safety.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Context: Warning to take heed how we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 5:1-19

Context: Description of Jerusalem's total corruption and God's decree of judgment.

2 Samuel 5:6-7

Context: Jebusites trusted in their strong walls but David took Zion.

Jeremiah 49:16

Context: Moab's pride in their rocky fortresses; God will bring them down.

Jeremiah 52:7, 14

Context: The walls of Jerusalem were broken down by the Chaldeans.

Amos 3:6

Context: Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it?

Isaiah 1:1, 10

Context: God calls Judah and Jerusalem Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jeremiah 23:14

Context: Prophets of Jerusalem are like Sodom and Gomorrah.

Jeremiah 4:14

Context: Call to Jerusalem to wash her heart from wickedness.

Ezekiel 14:12-21

Context: Even Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves in such a wicked land.

Jeremiah 21:1-6

Context: God says He will fight against Jerusalem and turn back their weapons.

2 Chronicles 13:7

Context: God gave up their fathers to desolation.

Psalm 81:12

Context: God gave them up to their own hearts' lust.

Numbers 14:6-9

Context: Joshua and Caleb said the defense of the wicked Canaanites had departed.

Historical References

Babylonians/Chaldeans

Context: The nation God used to destroy Jerusalem after removing its battlements.

Jebusites

Context: Pagan inhabitants of Jerusalem who trusted in their strong walls but were defeated by David.

Moab and Edom

Context: Nations that trusted in their rocky fortresses but were brought down by God.

Rahab hiding the spies

Context: Example of roof use in Bible times (Joshua 2).

David and Bathsheba

Context: David saw Bathsheba bathing on a roof (2 Samuel 11).

Samson and the Philistines

Context: Philistines on the roof mocking Samson (Judges 16).

Important Quotes

When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

Significance: The foundational command illustrating the duty to protect life.

Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's.

Significance: The key text showing God's removal of protection from a rebellious people.

A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer because he failed to protect and preserve life.

Significance: Strong statement equating negligence with murder under biblical law.

When God removes His sovereign protection from a people, from a city, from a home, from a church, from a nation, He removes the battlements.

Significance: Summarizes the central application of the message.

We are at a very severe turning point in this country. We're either going to repent and go back to the God of heaven and earth who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ based upon the Word of God or we're going to be destroyed.

Significance: Direct application to modern America as a call to national repentance.

Discussion Questions

What does the battlement represent in the biblical context, and how does it relate to God's protection?

Context: Introduction to the concept of battlements from Deuteronomy 22:8.

How does the sixth commandment imply both a negative and a positive duty regarding life?

Context: Explanation of biblical law and the sixth commandment.

In what ways can we 'build battlements' in our own lives, families, and churches today?

Context: Application of building according to God's Word.

What does it mean to obey the letter of the law but not the spirit, and how can we avoid that?

Context: Discussion of weakly built or self-trusted battlements.

Why did God remove Jerusalem's battlements, and what does that teach us about national judgment?

Context: Examination of Jeremiah 5 and the corruption of Jerusalem.

How does God 'fight against' a people when He removes His protection?

Context: God's active role in judgment as seen in Jeremiah 21.

What are the implications for America if God removes our national battlements?

Context: Application section warning of a turning point.

What practical steps can we take to cry out to God for repentance and awakening?

Context: Closing prayer and exhortation.

Applications

Personal Responsibility for Safety

Summary: We must remove potential hazards in our homes and surroundings to protect life, reflecting the battlement principle.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 22:8 and the lesson about removing sources of danger.

Assume Liability for Our Actions

Summary: We are responsible for the consequences of our actions or negligence, as illustrated by biblical case laws.

Evidence: Exodus 21:33-34 and Exodus 22:6.

Build Lives According to God's Word

Summary: We must construct our personal, family, and church life on biblical principles, not just external compliance.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 and the warning about building.

Trust in God, Not Human Defenses

Summary: Our ultimate protection is the Lord; we must not trust in our own strength, walls, or battlements.

Evidence: Psalm 127:1 and the example of Jerusalem trusting in fenced cities.

National Repentance and Prayer

Summary: We must cry to God for national awakening, repentance, and faith to avoid the removal of His protection.

Evidence: Application: 'We need to pray that God would grant us repentance and faith.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:12:43Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:47:14Z

Clean Transcript

The Removal of the Battlements

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

Let's begin with Deuteronomy 22 and then turn also to Jeremiah chapter 5. Deuteronomy 22 and then Jeremiah chapter 5. I want you to listen to the title of the message today. The title is, "The Removal of the Battlements." You will understand that momentarily. Deuteronomy chapter 22, and if you would go ahead and turn to Jeremiah chapter 5, we're going to only read one verse in Jeremiah chapter 5 and then come back to that verse. In reality, Jeremiah chapter 5 is going to be the text that I'm going to be developing, and Deuteronomy 22 is going to be basically the introduction. So, notice if you would, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8, where God says, "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." And then if you'd look in Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 10, God says concerning Jerusalem, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy, but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's."
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We have lost the concept of battlements and consequently we do not understand their importance or the importance of their loss. Why in the world would God command if you built a new house that you build a battlement upon its roof? So you have to ask the question, what is a battlement? And the parallel question, why is a battlement important? Well, the Hebrew word for battlement actually refers to a parapet or a balcony. Now, a parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of the roof, terrace, balcony, or other structure. It's also a protective wall upon a fortification or sometimes an outside wall. Many of you have seen pictures of some of the old battlefields where they would have sharpened poles sticking out like that. That would be a parapet in that sense of the word. It's a protective structure and that's basically what a battlement is. So when you think of the term battlement, you should automatically think of the word protection. So a battlement then was a safety railing. It was a means of protection.
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Well, let's ask the question, why is it that we do not use battlements on our roofs today? The answer is very simple, because we do not use our roofs today in the same way that those roofs were used during Bible times.
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Now there are a few houses that still have them. Alice was reared in a house that had two portions of flat roof over the porches, and each one of those had a door going out to the roof and you had an iron railing around that. It was a battlement. And so the battlement basically was to keep someone from falling off that flat porch area or that flat roof area that was over the porch.
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You can probably find something similar to this especially down in Florida. But the roofs of the houses in Palestine were flat and they were used for various purposes such as diversions, recreation, meditation, prayer. The owners and their guests would use their roofs to enjoy the fresh air, to converse, and to dine, and to dry fruits, to vegetables, to wash, and a myriad of other uses. You have to remember that in Joshua chapter 2, it was Rahab who hid the spies upon her roof and covered them with flax. Evidently she was drying the flax on the roof as well. You must also remember that it was on the roof that David stepped out to cool himself in 2 Samuel chapter 11 and spied Bathsheba who was taking a bath upon her roof. And also in Judges chapter 16, the Philistines were sitting upon the roof while they were mocking and humiliating and making fun of Samson when he pulled the house down upon them and slew hundreds of them.
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So let's return to a previous question. Why in the world would God demand a battlement to be built upon a roof? In order to answer that question, you have to understand a little something about biblical law. Biblical law is taught throughout the entirety of Scripture. Let me just tell you, first of all, in biblical law there is a broad general principle such as the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not commit adultery. These are broad general principles. Secondly, in biblical law, you have specific cases or case law that will illustrate that broad principle. And then thirdly, in biblical law, you have the practical application. Once you've observed the principle, then you have a specific case that illustrates that principle. Then thirdly, you have to make an application to your present situation or your present circumstance.
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Now, when you look at the sixth commandment, and don't turn there, everyone can quote it, in Exodus 20 and verse 13, the sixth commandment is very simple, "Thou shalt not kill." However, what most people do not understand is the sixth commandment contains both a positive and a negative command. The negative command is thou shalt do no murder or thou shalt not take life unlawfully. Life can only be taken upon God's terms. And as you read through the Bible, you'll find that there are 18 specific reasons that God says that life may be lawfully taken. If you add self-defense, there would be 19 reasons. So, actually when God says, "Thou shalt not kill," He is saying the negative, thou shalt not take life except upon my terms. There is a lawful taking of life and there is an unlawful taking of life. And then the positive of the sixth commandment is, thou shalt preserve life. So, if it is our duty then not to kill unlawfully, the parallel duty, on the other hand, is that we must protect and preserve life.
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Now, there are a number of specific cases in the Bible that illustrate the general principle, "Thou shalt not kill." Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 is one of them. So battlements, therefore, were a means of protection and preservation of life. If there were no railings around the roof of the house, a fall would be fatal. And then every house, instead of being a house of rejoicing, would turn into a house of mourning. Think of the children, as well as the visitors, who used the roof as well. Tradition states that the battlements around a roof had to be a minimum of three to three and a half feet high. Failure to build a battlement was a failure to protect and to preserve life. Hence God said, if you look in Deuteronomy 22 in verse 8, "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof," here's why, "that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." The man who did not build a battlement as God commanded was not only negligent, but he was also positively guilty.
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A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer because he failed to protect and preserve life. Now there are a number of lessons that we can learn from Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8. Let me give you just a few of them, by way of introduction. First and foremost, very obviously, we have an obligation and a duty to preserve and protect life. That is why God commanded a battlement to be built.
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Secondly, which is not so obvious, but it is still true, we have an obligation to remove potential sources of danger. A flat, unprotected roof was a source of danger. What's that mean? We have to remove any dangerous situation. If we have rotten steps, we must repair them. If we have a cluttered yard, we must pick up the clutter, clean up the yard to prevent someone from tripping and falling over. If we have exposed electrical wires, we must cover them up. We must do whatever's necessary to protect our surroundings and protect those who visit with us and those who are in our homes. Very obviously, we have an obligation therefore under Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 to remove any unsafe hazards in our home.
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Thirdly, what is also clearly taught here is that we must be prepared to assume liability for our actions or our lack of actions. Now, there are several passages that illustrate this truth very clearly. Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 21. And let me show you a couple of these very quickly. Exodus chapter 21, just showing you the assumption of liability. Exodus 21, beginning there of verse 31, where a man is responsible for his actions or the lack of actions in protecting. Notice Exodus chapter 21, beginning there of verse, oh, let's begin reading with verse, hmm, okay. Let's see if that's the passage I want, okay. Let me begin with, yeah, let's begin there with verse 31.
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"Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him. If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned." So the man now is responsible for his animal that is goring, in other words, especially if he's known to gore, he should have him sufficiently caged or sufficiently fenced in.
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Now watch verse 33, "And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; the owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his. And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own."
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So what is God saying? God says you have to assume responsibility and liability for your actions. If you dig a hole, and you don't cover it back up, and someone comes along, falls in, breaks his leg, the man that dug the hole is responsible, he's liable. If you've got an animal that's known to be vicious, God says you better keep him caged up, because if he hurts someone or hurts another animal, you're responsible. So God is saying there are assumptions of liability.
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For instance, look in your Bibles now to Exodus chapter 22, and notice verse 6. Here's another statement that we're responsible for our actions. Exodus 22 verse 6. God said, "If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution." What's that mean? That means if you are my neighbor and I start burning trash on a windy day, and I have nothing to prevent that fire from getting out, I have no one to help me, and the fire does get out and burns down your cornfield, then I'm liable for your cornfield. I'm liable for your loss. If it burns down your house, I'm liable for your loss. Why? God is telling me I am responsible according to His law. So very obviously, Exodus chapter, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 is telling us that we must assume liability for our actions. So if we do not build a battlement and someone falls, then we're liable, we're responsible.
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Fourthly, Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 teaches us that we must be solicitous of the lives of our brethren and of our neighbors. That is, we must learn to look out for each other. We must learn to help each other, to protect each other. And I'm going to use another phrase to warn each other if we see something that is hazardous or problematic. You know what the Bible says in Leviticus 19 and verse 17? Now listen carefully.
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Let me just quote it. God says, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." So God says if we don't warn, if we don't rebuke, if we don't get on to our brother when something is wrong, it's evidence that we hate him. And God says no, we're not to hate our brother, we're to be solicitous toward him and we're to warn him and caution him if there's something around his life or his home or his property that is dangerous to him, his family, or to others.
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Based upon Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8, we have an obligation to build according to God's Word. Now, I am not advocating that we get out and build battlements on our roofs when we never ever use our roofs. That's not what I'm saying. Rather what I am saying, that as we desire to have the blessings of God upon our lives, if we desire to prosper, we must build our lives, our families, our churches, our nation according to the principles and the precepts of the Word of God. That's what I'm saying. If we have a flat roof, yes, we should have a battlement on it if we're going to use it. But I'm not necessarily talking about roofs at this particular point.
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Now, I want you to think with me just for a moment. When God said in Deuteronomy 22 and verse 8 that when you build a house, you had to build a battlement upon the roof, and He told you why, "that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence." Think, if you would, how many deaths would have occurred had the battlements not been in place. How many children would have needlessly fallen to their deaths? Not only that, think how many adults would have tripped and fallen to the ground. And let me tell you, for some of us at a certain age, you don't need something to trip over to fall. You just fall. You don't need Maryland around to push you down until your brother hurt it. Sometimes you just fall on your own. And so God is saying, look, you know, here's why these battlements must be here. But if those battlements were not there, then children, adults, elderly, any one of us and any one of them could just simply trip or fall.
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In other words, God is saying the battlements must be in place or certain death will ensue. Listen carefully. It is possible to do the right thing in a wrong way. Listen carefully. It is possible to obey and disobey at the same time. How can that be? Well, one could build a battlement, but he could build it so that it was either weakly built or not installed properly, or not tied down securely. He could then truthfully say that he had obeyed the letter of the law. He had a battlement. But he had not obeyed the spirit of the law. Because the spirit of the law said the battlement was to be for the preservation of life and the protection of life. And if that battlement is not tied down securely, or if it is weakly built, he has obeyed, but at the same time, he has disobeyed. He might have a battlement, but it would not be the Lord's battlement. It's not what God demanded. It's not there for the reason God demanded. It's also possible that one could erect the most secure battlement possible.
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That he could have it installed correctly and tied down securely and he could have it done in such a way that he would believe personally that his battlement would keep anyone from falling to his death. Simply stated, in that light, you're trusting in your own work, in your own efforts, and you're assuming that you are sufficient for whatever might possibly occur. You might have fulfilled the letter of the law, you may have even fulfilled the spirit of the law, but at the same time, the battlement is not the Lord's, it is yours because it is what you have done and you're trusting in it and you're now taking pride and you're boasting in the sufficiency of what you have done. It is your accomplishment. It is your work.
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I'm going to make application of this because I want you to see that the principle of battlements applies to each of us personally, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally. We may build, but we may build in such a way as to procure the judgment of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and just look at the warning the Apostle Paul gave. 1 Corinthians 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 10. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Note, if you would, how clearly the Apostle Paul enunciates a principle. Watch. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Paul says, "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Now, the Apostle Paul is not only talking about having the correct foundation, he's talking about we better take heed how we build upon that foundation.
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He is saying that we had better build biblically. Now, foundations are important. You remember in Matthew chapter 7 our Lord talked about the man who built his house upon the rock and another who built his house upon the sand and the one that was built upon the sand our Lord says fell and great was the fall of that house. But it's not just the foundation now, it's how we build. We must not only consider our foundation, we must consider our battlements. At this point I want you to turn to Jeremiah chapter 5 and I want to read the first 19 verses, I want you to follow me. We're going to come back to verse 10 because verse 10 is actually the verse that I want to expound. But I want you to see verse 10 in its context because we're talking about the removal of the battlements. And remember now, battlements are for protection. Notice Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 1. God says to Jeremiah, "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it."
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"And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely. O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God."
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"I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bands. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities."
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"Every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning."
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"Every one neighed after his neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say."
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"Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword. Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you. And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours." Now I want you
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to go back to verse 10 where God says, "Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." Now, I want you to note that some time ago, I preached two messages from this text. I'm not going to preach those today. But I preached two messages entitled, "Causes for National Judgment." And in one of those messages, I just used verse 10 as an application. But today I want us to look at verse 10.
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The first nine verses of Jeremiah chapter 5 demonstrate the immorality, the ungodliness, the rebellion, and the wickedness of the people. None cared for justice. None cared for judgment. No one wanted the truth. In fact, God told Jeremiah, "Run ye to and fro throughout the streets of Jerusalem." He said, "If you can find just one man, just one, that cares anything about justice and truth, I'll pardon the entire nation."
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So everyone was totally, absolutely corrupt. They were only interested in sin and rebellion and idolatry and wickedness. And Jeremiah said, "Look, I tried looking among the poor people, the common folks, couldn't find anybody. I said, I'll get me to the great men. They have understood God's judgment. They've understood God's law." But what did he find? Everyone had burst the bonds. Everyone had thrown off the restraints. No one listened to God. God had sent prophet after prophet and preacher after preacher. None listened. No man repented of his sin. It was so bad, if you look at verse 9, God said this, "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" God said, "I will destroy the nation." Now, my question, in light of these verses, is how does God avenge himself and how does God visit such a nation in judgment?
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Now, I want you to call to mind the message that I preached last week entitled, "The True Lord Protector." Because in that passage, I showed you from Psalm 127 verse 1, how that God, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, was our true Lord Protector. And if He did not protect us, we were not protected at all. In fact, I showed you where God gave up many nations. When you come to verse 10 of Jeremiah chapter 5, you now will read about the how or the negative when God gives up a nation to their enemies. Look what he said in verse 10 again.
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Now, let me just begin with the first phrase where God says, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy." In this phrase God is giving permission, power, and authority to the Babylonians to come and pillage and destroy Jerusalem. I want you to look down if you would please to verse 17. You see, the people of Judah and Jerusalem had fallen into the same sin that the pagans had fallen into. In verse 17, God is talking about these Chaldeans, these Babylonians, and He says, "They shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword."
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So what were they doing? They were trusting in their battlements. Now, I want you, if you would please, to turn back in your Bibles, hold Jeremiah 5, but look in 2 Samuel chapter 5, because when David went to conquer Jerusalem, when the Jebusites lived there, the Jebusites, the pagans, trusted in their battlements as well. Notice, if you would, in 2 Samuel chapter 5 and verse 6. 2 Samuel 5 verse 6, "And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither." In other words, they said, "David, we have such a strong wall and such strong battlements, even the lame and the blind can defend this city."
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There's no way that you can get in here. Look at verse 7. "Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David." I want you to note it was the pagans, it was the wicked that trusted totally in their battlements. They had it made. No one could get in, they thought. If you will turn in your Bible to Jeremiah chapter 49, you will find that Moab trusted in the heights and their rocks and their fortifications as well. And I want you to note what God said to Moab in chapter 49 of Jeremiah in verse 16. Look what he tells them.
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"Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord." And then he says, "And Edom shall be a desolation." Edom, Moab, lived in the rocks. They thought for sure that their cities were impregnable.
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No one could penetrate their defenses. God said, "I will bring you down to the ground." So when you look in your Bibles at Jeremiah chapter 5 and verse 10, when God says, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy," God is giving permission and authority and power to the Chaldeans to pillage Jerusalem. He will make them, He will enable them, He will empower them to ascend the walls so that they can enter into the city without any difficulty.
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Like the Jebusites who said, "Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou canst not come in here." Oh, God said, "You think you've got battlements? You think you've got a protective wall? I've got news for you. I've got men that can jump and climb, and they'll get over those battlements without any problem whatsoever." And those battlements were not going to protect Jerusalem. In fact, if you will look in Jeremiah 52, at verses 7 and 14, you'll see what happened to the walls. Look in Jeremiah chapter 52 and verse 7. Jeremiah 52 verse 7. The mighty protective walls around Jerusalem. Jeremiah 52 verse 7. "Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain." Notice if you would please, now skip down to verse 14, for he says this, "And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about."
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What happened to those mighty protective walls? Well, they got broken down. They got destroyed. Had no problem scaling those walls. Had no problem getting through those battlements. You know what Amos 3 and verse 6 says? Listen carefully, let me just quote it. God asked, "Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" What did he say? Shall there be evil? Shall there be judgment? Should there be visitation in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? In other words, God said, "I've allowed it."
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I'm the one that gave permission. So God then in Jeremiah 5 and verse 10 gives permission and authority to the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, to ascend her walls and destroy Jerusalem. Notice what else he says in verse 10. "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end." Now this phrase, "but make not a full end," has been interpreted two different ways. Based upon the translation from the Hebrew, you could have two possible interpretations. The first one is an interpretation given in what you and I would call a good sense. Because the first interpretation would be the view that God is in somehow mitigating the extremity of his punishment. In other words, he says, "but make not..." In other words, don't just kill everybody and don't just tear down everything. Don't let the consummation be full and complete.
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I will spare a few of them. The second way of interpreting it based upon the Hebrew is very simple. It is signifying a full end. In other words, the meaning would be this, basically, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy and don't stop destroying until you make a full end." In other words, let nothing hinder you. Let the destruction be entire and complete. Based upon the context and based upon the extended context, probably the second interpretation is correct because God is saying, "It's over for you. I'm removing your battlements. They're not mine and you will be destroyed." So notice if you would verse 10 again. "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." In their pride and in their arrogance they assumed that Jerusalem was God's city because He had chosen it, and that they were God's people because God had chosen their fathers. They totally neglected the covenant, they totally neglected the promises, and they did not remember that God had promised that Jerusalem would be His throne if they continued to worship Him, and if they obeyed his covenant, and if they obeyed his law. They totally forgot the fact that God said, "If you're going to
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be my people, you will obey me." No. Instead of remembering those things, they had violated the covenant, they had broken God's law, time after time after time, so much so that Jerusalem had become a den of thieves, a harlot city, the seat of idolatry, and God gave her up. I want to show you how bad it was. I want you to turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 1, and then we're going to Jeremiah 23. So if you want to find Jeremiah 23 while you're there, fine, but go to Isaiah chapter 1 first. Look at Isaiah chapter 1, and you will see how God addresses Judah and Jerusalem. In fact, if you would, look at verse 1 of Isaiah 1. "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." But note the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
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Who are we talking about? Judah and Jerusalem.
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Now look in verse 10. Look what God says to Judah and Jerusalem. "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah." Wow. God calls them Sodom and Gomorrah. That's how perverse they had become. How wicked they were. Look at Jeremiah 23 and verse 14. Jeremiah 23 and verse 14. Look what God says. "I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing:
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they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah." Wow. Again, God says you're nothing more than Sodom and Gomorrah. If you'll go back to Jeremiah 4, and look, if you would, please, at verse 14. Again, God asks this before He visits them. Notice Jeremiah 4 and verse 14. He says, "O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.
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How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?" No one wanted to listen. That's why God told Jeremiah to run to and fro throughout the whole city of Jerusalem, see if he could find just one man, just one. God said, "If you do, I'll pardon the entire nation. I'll forgive everyone." But he could not find one. Now let me ask you, how wicked were Judah and Jerusalem? I want to show you. And I want to show you the implication of when God says, "Take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's." I want you to go first in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 14. Ezekiel 14, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Ezekiel 14 and verse 12. Look what he says. Ezekiel 14, verse 12.
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"The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be
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delivered themselves. Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. For thus saith the Lord God; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?" Wow. God says the city was so wicked, so corrupt, and so vile, that if Noah, Job, and Daniel were in it, they would only deliver their own selves.
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When you look at Jeremiah 5 in verse 10, when God says, "Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's," that is God sovereignly giving a decree for the enemy to come in and destroy. Here is the hard, hard implication. God is not only giving permission and power and authority for the enemy to come in to destroy, God is actually going to be transferring His power in the hands of the enemy, so that the enemy may effectually fight against His people. However, they were not His people.
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They professed to be, but they did not trust in Him. They did not obey Him. They did not worship Him. They may have built their fenced cities. They may have built their walls. They may have built their battlements. But they were not the Lord's. They did not trust in Him. They did not look to Him. I want you to turn, if you would, to Jeremiah 21. I'll make some applications after this. I want to show you how grievous a statement this is when God says, "Take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's."
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In fact, let's begin reading with verse 1. I want you to see this. Jeremiah 21 verse 1, "The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us." So he says, "The king sends word to Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah, you pray for us. Because we don't want the Babylonians around here. You pray that maybe the Lord will send him away." Okay? Fine. Jeremiah 21, verse 3. "Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them
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in the midst of this city. And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence." God said, "Let me tell you something. It's not just that they're coming. They're coming. And they're coming empowered by me. And moreover, I personally will fight against you."
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"I'll turn back the weapons in your hands. Your weapons will be useless. They will be worthless. They will be profitless." What did God say? "Take away your battlements, for they're not the Lord's." When God removes His sovereign protection from a people, from a city, from a home, from a church, from a nation, He removes the battlements. Oh, they may still be in place, but He just gives power to the enemy to come in and pillage and destroy, and God Himself fights against those whose battlements He removes.
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Let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. Think with me. What can defend us? Or who can defend us? When the true Lord Protector, Jehovah God, has departed from us, when God says, "Take away our battlements," there is nothing that awaits us but sure and certain destruction. Washington, D.C. will not save us. Atlanta, Georgia will not save us. When God removes the battlements, we're gone. You know what God said in 2 Chronicles 13 verse 7? Now listen carefully. 2 Chronicles 13 verse 7, God said to the people, "And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see." What did God do to their fathers? He gave them up to desolation. He removed the battlements. That's why in Psalm 81 and verse 12, God said, "So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels." God said, "I gave them up. I removed the battlements."
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They had no protection. There is nothing and there is no one that can replace the sovereign protection of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. If God removes our battlements, we are lost. When God refuses to be our protection, He will give us up into the hands of our enemies exactly as He gave Jerusalem into the hands of the Babylonians. Here's the second application. When a city, a people, or a nation is filled with sin, rebellion, and wickedness, listen carefully, God will not honor their fortifications. He will not honor their battlements. He will not honor their defenses. Let me show you.
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Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers. Look in Numbers chapter 14. You remember God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and He was going to send them into the land with a sword in their hand to slay all the inhabitants. He was going to give them the land of Canaan, all the fruits. You remember the spies, how only two, Joshua and Caleb, brought back a good and honest report, and the rest of them brought back an evil report upon the Lord. In Numbers chapter 14, Joshua and Caleb are trying to steal the people and tell them the truth. So in Numbers chapter 14, if you look at verse 6, "And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes." Now look what they said. "And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey."
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Now watch carefully, "Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not."
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Now look what he said concerning the heathen who were full of sin, wickedness, and rebellion. He said, "Their defence is departed from them. They're just bread for us." And let me tell you something, folks. When we become as sinful as the wicked and as rebellious and as ungodly as they are, our defence departs from us, and we become bread for the enemy. Period.
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Thirdly, if you look back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 5, I want you to see this. Jeremiah chapter 5, the third application is very simple. When God removes our battlements, He will choose our destruction. He chose the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah chapter 5, look in verse 15, God says this, "Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men."
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"And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword." What did God say? God said, "I'll bring upon you a great and mighty nation, one that you don't even know about, one that you're unaware of their language, you can't understand them." God chose to bring the Chaldeans and the Babylonians and the Assyrians. When God removes the battlements, He chooses the destruction. He chooses which nations to use. And God can bring destruction from either near or far.
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It doesn't matter to Him. He can bring men and warriors that we've never dreamed of, never heard of. And they will become our masters, and we'll be bread for them. The last application is this. I hope you now see the importance and necessity of battlements. And the very safest, the very best battlement is the protection of the sovereign God of heaven and earth. You remember as I preached last week, "Except the Lord build the city, 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." When God is for us, it does not matter who is against us. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8 in verse 31, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,
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who can be against us?" If God is for us, it doesn't matter who is against us, because God is our sovereign protector. But if God is not for us, it does matter who is against us, because they will destroy us. What's this mean? Here's what it means. It means you and I must learn to cry to God now, in this day, in this time, in this age, to awaken his sleeping people. And we need to pray that God would grant us repentance and faith.
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We are at a very severe turning point in this country. We're either going to repent and go back to the God of heaven and earth who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ based upon the Word of God or we're going to be destroyed. Period. It could be from Islam. It could be from our own stupidity. It could be from our own corrupt rulers. It could be from our own apathy. But if God removes the battlements, we're gone.
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We need to learn to trust Him. We need to learn to obey Him. We need to learn to worship Him. We need to learn to cry unto Him. We need to learn to repent. We need to learn to exercise faith. We need to say, folks, it's time to wake up. When God says, "Take away your battlements, for they are not the Lord's," the implication is God Himself will fight against such a people. And woe to the man, and woe to the people that God rises up against in arms.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we cry to Thee, we pray to Thee. We want to see, Lord, the absolute importance, the absolute necessity of worshiping Thee and obeying Thee and, Father, bringing our lives in conformity to Thy Word. We want to see the necessity and importance of having the divine battlements, the sovereign protection of the Lord God of heaven and earth. O God, we do cry that You would awaken Thy people in this country. Awaken us. Grant us repentance, O Lord. Grant us faith. Grant us, Lord, to return. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Give us grace, Lord, that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. May we honor Thee in our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:12:43Z

The Removal of the Battlements

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver expounds Jeremiah 5:10 using Deuteronomy 22:8 as an introduction to explain the biblical concept of battlements as protective railings. He argues that battlements represent God's sovereign protection, and when a people become rebellious and wicked, God removes that protection, allowing enemies to destroy them. The sermon applies this principle personally, familially, ecclesiastically, and nationally, warning that America faces a turning point: repent and return to God or face destruction.

Introduction: The Biblical Battlement

Reading Deuteronomy 22:8 and Jeremiah 5:10; defining a battlement as a protective parapet or railing on flat roofs used in Bible times.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 22:8

"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence."

Biblical Law and the Sixth Commandment

Now, when you look at the sixth commandment, and don't turn there, everyone can quote it, in Exodus 20 and verse 13, the sixth commandment is very simple,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:13

"Thou shalt not kill."

Scripture Reading — Exodus 20:13

"Thou shalt not kill,"

Lessons from Deuteronomy 22:8

Four lessons: obligation to preserve life, remove potential dangers, assume liability for actions, and be solicitous of neighbors' lives.

Scripture Reading — Exodus 22:6

"If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution."

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 19:17

"Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him."

Building According to God's Word

Application: we must build our lives, families, churches, and nation according to biblical principles, not merely external compliance.

The Spirit vs. the Letter of the Law

It is possible to obey the letter but not the spirit; a weakly built battlement or one trusted in pride is not the Lord's.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 3:10-11

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Now, the Apostle Paul is not only talking about having the correct foundation, he's talking about we better take heed how we build upon that foundation.

Jeremiah 5: The Context of National Judgment

Reading Jeremiah 5:1-19 to show the total corruption of Jerusalem; God could not find one righteous man. God decrees judgment by removing battlements.

God Removes Protection and Empowers the Enemy

God gives permission to the Babylonians to destroy; He transfers His power to the enemy and fights against His own professed people.

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 5:6-7

"And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither."

In other words, they said, "David, we have such a strong wall and such strong battlements, even the lame and the blind can defend this city." There's no way that you can get in here. Look at verse 7.

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 5:6-7

"Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 49:16

"Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord."

The Wickedness of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is called Sodom and Gomorrah; even Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves. God's removal of battlements means certain destruction.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 4:14

"O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?"

Applications for Today

When God removes battlements, no human defense can save. We must cry to God for repentance and faith; America is at a turning point.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:6-9

"And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes."

Now look what they said.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:6-9

"And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey."

The Removal of the Battlements

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	UbYMRD9ABk8
Subject	Biblical Law
Course	The Ten Commandments
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-08
Dictation Name
Book	Book 001: The Ten Commandments — Chapter 12
Source Timed Segments	65

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Biblical Battlement: Reading Deuteronomy 22:8 and Jeremiah 5:10; defining a battlement as a protective parapet or railing on flat roofs used in Bible times.
Biblical Law and the Sixth Commandment: Explaining biblical law: general principles (Ten Commandments), specific cases (Deuteronomy 22:8), and practical application. The sixth commandment includes both a negative (do not murder) and a positive (preserve life) duty.
Lessons from Deuteronomy 22:8: Four lessons: obligation to preserve life, remove potential dangers, assume liability for actions, and be solicitous of neighbors' lives.
Building According to God's Word: Application: we must build our lives, families, churches, and nation according to biblical principles, not merely external compliance.
The Spirit vs. the Letter of the Law: It is possible to obey the letter but not the spirit; a weakly built battlement or one trusted in pride is not the Lord's.
Jeremiah 5: The Context of National Judgment: Reading Jeremiah 5:1-19 to show the total corruption of Jerusalem; God could not find one righteous man. God decrees judgment by removing battlements.
God Removes Protection and Empowers the Enemy: God gives permission to the Babylonians to destroy; He transfers His power to the enemy and fights against His own professed people.
The Wickedness of Jerusalem: Jerusalem is called Sodom and Gomorrah; even Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves. God's removal of battlements means certain destruction.
Applications for Today: When God removes battlements, no human defense can save. We must cry to God for repentance and faith; America is at a turning point.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Battlements are a biblical mandate for protecting life

Deuteronomy 22:8 commands building a battlement to prevent accidental death, illustrating the positive duty of the sixth commandment.

Deuteronomy 22:8 and Exodus 20:13; explanation of biblical law.

Failure to protect life is equivalent to murder

A man who refuses to build a battlement is guilty like a murderer because he failed to preserve life.

Statement: 'A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer.'

God removes His protection from a rebellious people

In Jeremiah 5:10, God commands the enemy to take away Jerusalem's battlements because they are not His, signifying removal of divine protection.

Jeremiah 5:10 and context of national sin.

When God removes battlements, He empowers the enemy

God not only permits destruction but actively fights against His people by transferring power to their enemies.

Jeremiah 21:3-6 where God says He will fight against Jerusalem.

Human defenses are useless without God

Fenced cities and walls cannot protect when God has departed; only His sovereign protection secures a nation.

References to Psalm 127:1 and 2 Chronicles 13:7.

America faces a choice: repentance or destruction

The sermon applies the principle to modern America, warning that if God removes battlements, the nation will be destroyed.

Application: 'We are at a very severe turning point in this country.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 22:8: Command to build a battlement on a new house to prevent bloodguilt.
Jeremiah 5:10: God commands the enemy to take away Jerusalem's battlements because they are not the Lord's.
Exodus 20:13: The sixth commandment, 'Thou shalt not kill,' explained as having positive and negative aspects.
Exodus 21:31-36: Laws about liability for goring oxen and uncovered pits, illustrating assumption of liability.
Exodus 22:6: Liability for fire that spreads and causes damage.
Leviticus 19:17: Command to rebuke a neighbor and not hate him, related to being solicitous of others' safety.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11: Warning to take heed how we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah 5:1-19: Description of Jerusalem's total corruption and God's decree of judgment.
2 Samuel 5:6-7: Jebusites trusted in their strong walls but David took Zion.
Jeremiah 49:16: Moab's pride in their rocky fortresses; God will bring them down.
Jeremiah 52:7, 14: The walls of Jerusalem were broken down by the Chaldeans.
Amos 3:6: Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it?
Isaiah 1:1, 10: God calls Judah and Jerusalem Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jeremiah 23:14: Prophets of Jerusalem are like Sodom and Gomorrah.
Jeremiah 4:14: Call to Jerusalem to wash her heart from wickedness.
Ezekiel 14:12-21: Even Noah, Daniel, and Job could only save themselves in such a wicked land.
Jeremiah 21:1-6: God says He will fight against Jerusalem and turn back their weapons.
2 Chronicles 13:7: God gave up their fathers to desolation.
Psalm 81:12: God gave them up to their own hearts' lust.
Numbers 14:6-9: Joshua and Caleb said the defense of the wicked Canaanites had departed.

Historical References

Babylonians/Chaldeans: The nation God used to destroy Jerusalem after removing its battlements.
Jebusites: Pagan inhabitants of Jerusalem who trusted in their strong walls but were defeated by David.
Moab and Edom: Nations that trusted in their rocky fortresses but were brought down by God.
Rahab hiding the spies: Example of roof use in Bible times (Joshua 2).
David and Bathsheba: David saw Bathsheba bathing on a roof (2 Samuel 11).
Samson and the Philistines: Philistines on the roof mocking Samson (Judges 16).

Important Quotes

When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

The foundational command illustrating the duty to protect life.

Go ye up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord's.

The key text showing God's removal of protection from a rebellious people.

A man who refused to build a battlement must be viewed in the same light as a murderer because he failed to protect and preserve life.

Strong statement equating negligence with murder under biblical law.

When God removes His sovereign protection from a people, from a city, from a home, from a church, from a nation, He removes the battlements.

Summarizes the central application of the message.

We are at a very severe turning point in this country. We're either going to repent and go back to the God of heaven and earth who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ based upon the Word of God or we're going to be destroyed.

Direct application to modern America as a call to national repentance.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does the battlement represent in the biblical context, and how does it relate to God's protection?

[Context]

Introduction to the concept of battlements from Deuteronomy 22:8.

[Question]

How does the sixth commandment imply both a negative and a positive duty regarding life?

[Context]

Explanation of biblical law and the sixth commandment.

[Question]

In what ways can we 'build battlements' in our own lives, families, and churches today?

[Context]

Application of building according to God's Word.

[Question]

What does it mean to obey the letter of the law but not the spirit, and how can we avoid that?

[Context]

Discussion of weakly built or self-trusted battlements.

[Question]

Why did God remove Jerusalem's battlements, and what does that teach us about national judgment?

[Context]

Examination of Jeremiah 5 and the corruption of Jerusalem.

[Question]

How does God 'fight against' a people when He removes His protection?

[Context]

God's active role in judgment as seen in Jeremiah 21.

[Question]

What are the implications for America if God removes our national battlements?

[Context]

Application section warning of a turning point.

[Question]

What practical steps can we take to cry out to God for repentance and awakening?

[Context]

Closing prayer and exhortation.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:47:14Z