Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Authority

Life and Death Part 2 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Civil Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2012-02-17

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his teaching on the sovereignty of God over life and death. He argues that God alone has the right to give and take life, and that He does so justly, often using means such as natural calamities, armies, and civil authorities. The central text is Jeremiah 48:10, which pronounces a curse on those who do God's work deceitfully or withhold the sword from blood. Weaver explains that God commanded the Babylonians to destroy Moab as an act of divine judgment, and that obedience required full, unsparing execution. He applies this principle to all believers, emphasizing that God despises half-hearted service and that true life is found only in Christ.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bible today to our text. We're going to look at basically at two texts today. We're going to be looking at Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 39, and then Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. So let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 32, if you would please. And we'll read verse 39, and then we'll turn to Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 32 verse 39, God says, See now that I, even I am He, and there is no God with Me.

[John Weaver] I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand. And then in the book of Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 10, and I want you to please hold Jeremiah 48, because that's going to be the main text a little bit later. Jeremiah 48 verse 10, where God says, Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

[John Weaver] Now very quickly for those of you who were not here last week, I would encourage you to please listen in full to the tape or the CD, whatever you have on life and death part one. Today we're continuing Life and Death Part 2. Now I pointed out last week by way of introduction, to God alone belongs the issues of life and death. It is God who gives life. It is God who takes life. Life and death are on His terms and not on our terms.

[John Weaver] You will remember that when Job lost his ten children, he said, the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord and Job worshipped God. Death certainly is in the hands of God alone. Man cannot take life including his own without being guilty of murder. God has commanded thou shalt not kill. So this prohibition then includes taking one's own life. The power to kill and the power to take life is under God and His law. we may not take life unlawfully. You must remember that God has given the civil magistrate the power of the sword according to Romans chapter 13. I told you last week in times past I have dealt with the biblical doctrine of self-defense and there were 19 reasons given why life may be lawfully taken on God's terms and one of those reasons was defending one's own life or the lives of others and of course there were just wars mentioned

[John Weaver] in the Bible as well. Now let me begin today by trying to tell you that last week I emphasized that life was in God's hands. And everything that I showed you last week boiled down to this one simple truth. Since God is the author of life, since God is the giver of life, Life is to be lived according to God, on God's terms, and under His law. I made the statement last week that God's law is life. Not that it gives us life, but our liberty and our freedom is found in God. And I gave you several illustrations when I said, you can liberate a fish from the water, but taking the fish out of the water is not true liberty, and it's not true freedom, it's destruction and death. Because God created the fish to live in the water. You can take a bird out of the air, out of that environment that God created him in which to live, and plunge him under the water, and although you've liberated him from the air, yet it's not true liberty and freedom, it is only death.

[John Weaver] You can pluck a tree up by the roots from the soil. You've liberated that tree. It is not true liberty and true freedom for the tree to be plucked up by its roots. It's death. You can take man out from under God's law, and man today claims it is true liberty and true freedom to be free from God's law, and then he finds it's only destruction and death. True liberty and true freedom, true life is under God's law. God is the author of life and God is the author of death.

[John Weaver] Now some have said, concerning wars, that the only just war is an offensive war. But that's not true. There are many just wars in the Bible that were offensive wars, and they were just wars because God commanded them. We read in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4 concerning God, listen carefully, He is the rock, His work is perfect, for all of His ways are judgment of God of truth, just and right is He. Whatever God does is absolutely just. God is the author of life, and God has a sovereign right to dispose of life as He pleases. In fact, we could say this, there are many individuals, and many nations as well, that have long forfeited their lives by their idolatry, and their other crimes against a holy, righteous God. And God has justly sentenced them to death.

[John Weaver] Each of us can quote the sixth commandment, Thou shalt not kill. But you must remember that that commandment is a commandment to mankind. God's law binds us. It does not bind God. God is above His law. God is the author of His law. And God is not bound by His law because He is God. Has it ever dawned upon you that only God can do as He pleases? I remember when I was a teenager and I had to work. And I thought to myself, if I ever get grown and get away from this farm, I'll do whatever I please.

[John Weaver] And I found out that I couldn't do what I pleased. I had to do what I had to do. Okay? Only God can do as He pleases. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 115 verse 3, But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Those who have trouble with this concept that I'm going to be teaching today, that it is God who takes life, that it is God who takes life in time and in history, and He does so justly and righteously. If you have trouble with this concept, then you must wrestle with this. If God does not have the power, the authority, and the right to justly and righteously take life now in time and history, how in the world will He be able to do it in eternity when He punishes the wicked? It is true that God oftentimes takes lives through what you and I would refer to as natural calamities.

[John Weaver] Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, famines, diseases, tsunamis, pestilences, and many other so-called natural calamities. In fact, in 2 Samuel chapter 24 and verse 15, don't turn there, but in 2 Samuel 24 and verse 15, God killed 70,000 men with a pestilence because of David's sin. 70,000!

[John Weaver] So all of these natural calamities that the world talks about and refers to them wickedly as acts of Mother Nature, they are in reality acts of Father God because they are acts of God's righteous judgment in time and in history. You've got to remember, and I'm going to say this several times in the next month or so, There are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God, only incidents. And the Bible says in the book of Amos chapter 3 and verse 7, listen now, Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Now think about that. Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?

[John Weaver] There is no act nor can there be any act over which God either does not allow or God does not exercise full and total control. I do not care if it is an evil act or righteous act. If there is anything over which God does not have control, then that thing is God and not God. God is sovereign, he has control over everything. So therefore, he said, shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it. So if a hurricane rips up a city, God has done it. If a tornado destroys a city, God has done it. If pestilence and disease stalk a city, God has done it.

[John Weaver] Years ago, Rolf Barnard, some of you probably have heard some of his sermons, But Ralph Barnard upset many people with a sermon that he preached. And the title of the sermon was this, The God of the Bible Kills People. Wow! He upset a lot of people with that sermon. But it was true. And it is true today. What did we read? And Deuteronomy 32 and verse 39, what did God say?

[John Weaver] I kill and I make alive. I wound and I healed, neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

[John Weaver] Now why would anyone not believe that God has the right and the power and the authority to take life? God gave it, it is in His hands, and He has the absolute right to dispose of it as He pleases. So let's ask this question again. Because if you begin teaching what I'm teaching today, or you teach what Roth Barnard taught, people are going to get upset. Why would anyone not believe that God has the power and the right and the authority to take life as He chooses? Here's my answer. The reason most people do not think that God will take life is because of a perverted teaching on the doctrine of the love of God. It is true that God is love. The Bible teaches that God is love. But the Bible also teaches that God is light, that God is spirit, and that God is just. But the perverted teaching of the doctrine of love of God has been so spread that most people tend to think of God as some sort of sissy, effeminate, emotionally warped individual that allows anyone and everyone to resist Him, run over Him, and who would never lift a finger to hurt anyone, even His

[John Weaver] most hateful enemies. Such is not the God of Scripture, and such is not the truth of Scripture. It is true that God is indeed holy. But God is also just and God is righteous. And you've got to remember this, God is what He is and what He is declared to be in Scripture. He is not the figment of our imaginations. He is not what we wish Him to be.

[John Weaver] He is not what we desire Him to be. He is what He is revealed in Scripture. The average sinner, misinterprets the doctrine of the love of God. Because the average sinner interprets the doctrine of the love of God as a license to sin, because his thinking is this, if God loves me, then He's not going to judge me. If God really loves me, He would never send me to the lake of fire, He would never do anything that would hurt me, so I can sin with impunity against God. Well, that certainly is not the truth, but that is how most people interpret the love of God. Arthur W.

[John Weaver] Pink wrote years ago, listen to this quote. He said, there are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. That first sentence is worth its weight in gold. Listen, there are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. The divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence.

[John Weaver] It is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion. Now the truth is that, on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed in the Holy Scripture. Pink goes on. God's love is not regulated by caprice, passion, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at expense of it, but through righteousness, so His love never conflicts with His holiness. God is light, 1 John 1 verse 5, is mentioned before God is love, 1 John 4 verse 8. God's love is no mere amiable weakness or effeminate softness. Scripture declares, Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. God will not wink at sin, even in His own people. His love is pure, unmixed, without maudlin sentimentality. And that is true.

[John Weaver] Now to show you, I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Nahum chapter 1 and Deuteronomy chapter 7. If you would go over to the book of Nahum, the little book of Nahum, the minor prophet, Nahum, right after the book of Micah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Look in Nahum chapter 1 at verses 2 and 3.

[John Weaver] Now you've got to remember that God is love. That is true. But look at Nahum 1 in verse 2. The scripture says, God is jealous and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds of the dust of his feet. Note if you would, the Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. So God is love, but God is just.

[John Weaver] Now if you look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7, Deuteronomy chapter 7, and look if you would please at verses 9 and 10. Just to show you, here is the same God who is love, Deuteronomy 7, verses 9 and 10. The scripture says, Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him, and keepeth His commandments to a thousand generations, and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them.

[John Weaver] He will not be slacked him that hated him. He will repay him to his face. So the love of God does not destroy the justice and the holiness and the righteousness of God. Now God does kill. God does take life. In fact, He takes individual lives. He killed Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5 for lying to him. He killed proud, arrogant Herod in Acts chapter 12. He took care of Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5. He killed Hophni and Phinehas on the same day in 1 Samuel chapter 4. So God does take individual lives. God also takes the lives of soldiers. of armies. You will remember without turning there how that God slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night with one stroke of the sword in 2 Kings 19. You'll remember how he drowned Pharaoh and his entire host in Exodus chapter 14. And then of course he destroyed Sisera and his host in Judges chapter 5. In fact, we're told in Judges chapter 5 that even the stars in heaven fought against Sisera.

[John Weaver] So God not only takes individual lives, He takes the lives of armies as well. The King of Israel understood that God had the power to kill and the power to heal. If you look in your Bibles, the second Kings chapter 5, You remember the story about Naaman the leper? Naaman of course was a Syrian. And so the king of Syria had heard that there was a prophet in the land through the little girl. And so he sent Naaman to the king of Israel and wanted him to heal him of his leprosy. And so the king of Israel in 2nd Kings chapter 5 and verse 7 said this, And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?

[John Weaver] Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me. But notice what the king said, Am I God to kill and to make alive? What was he confessing? He was acknowledging that it is God who kills. It is God who takes life. It is God who gives life. You know what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 2 and verse 6? Let me just quote it. The Lord killeth and maketh alive.

[John Weaver] He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up. The Lord killeth and the Lord maketh alive. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 22. I want you to see A warning and a threat that God gave to the children of Israel. Just pointing out the fact that God does indeed kill. Notice if you would, Exodus chapter 22 and verse 24. Look what God says. Exodus 22 verse 24.

[John Weaver] He's talking about messing with the widows and the orphans. He said, And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. In other words, go back up to verse 22. He said, You shall not afflict any widower or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and their cry at all come unto me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

[John Weaver] Now what did God say? God said, I'll kill you. You disobey me, I'll kill you. You say, now wait a minute, Brother Weaver. All these verses, they're all in the Old Testament. Yes, they are. But let me remind you of something. I'm going to show you something in the New Testament. We have one Bible, not two. And we have one God. And the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

[John Weaver] His law does not change. His word does not change. Because He does not change, He is immutable. He is unchangeable. So therefore, if you would like to look in your Bibles, in Matthew chapter 10, I will show you what our Lord said in verse 28. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Then we will go to the book of Revelation. Look at Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Notice our Lord said this, And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. If God has the ability and the power to destroy both soul and body in hell, does He not have that same ability and that same power and that same right to destroy in time and in history? And the answer, of course, is yes. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2. And in this instance, our Lord is talking to the church at Tyre Tyre. Revelation chapter 2, and let's look down to verse 23. He's talking about the church there that allows fornication and idolatry to go on. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 20. He tells the church of Tyre, Tyre, verse 18. You can see the church of Tyre, Tyre, verse now, verse 20.

[John Weaver] He said, Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things, sacrifice, and idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except thou repent of their deeds, and I will kill her children with death.

[John Weaver] And all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and the hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works." Those are New Testament verses. You see, God does kill. And often times, when God kills, He uses means. God may kill either directly or immediately, but usually when God kills, He kills immediately. That is through the use of means. And when I say through the use of means, I really mean through men.

[John Weaver] Why should we think that strange? Because all you've got to do is read Romans 13 verses 3 and 4, where the Bible says concerning the civil magistrate, For he beareth not the sword in vain, he is revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. God gave man the power of the sword in the sphere and in the realm of civil authority. What did He say in Genesis 9 in verse 6? Whoso sheddeth man's blood, help me out, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man.

[John Weaver] So what does that mean? God can kill directly. He did Herod. He smote him instantly. But many times He uses men. If you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 35, and I could show you this in a multitude of places. This is just one of them. But you remember in the Old Testament, every family had an avenger of blood. That meant if you had a relative that was murdered or killed, the avenger of blood had a responsibility to track down the murderer and kill him, thus to cleanse the land of bloodshed. Well, look in Deuteronomy chapter 35, if you would, and verse 19. And here is a man that has gotten to be a murderer.

[John Weaver] And what does the Bible say? Numbers, chapter 35, verse 19. The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. When he meeteth him, he shall slay him. So God said, here's the avenger of blood. Here's the family member at that particular time who had the authority under God to slay anyone who murdered His family member. So God did use the avenger of blood. If you will look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 32, you'll see where God used the Levites to cleanse the land of idolatry. Look what he told the Levites, Exodus chapter 32, verse 27. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 26.

[John Weaver] Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses.

[John Weaver] And there fell to the people that day about three thousand men. Here were men, who were unrepentant in the fornication, and in the idolatry, and worshipping the golden calf. And God said, kill them. And that's exactly what the children of Eli did. They slew every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.

[John Weaver] Now, all of that is introduction. I want you to go to the book of Jeremiah chapter 48, because I'm just pointing out the fact that God does kill. The power of life and the power of death is in His hands. So look in Jeremiah 48 in verse 10 at the text we read earlier, where God says, Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. There are two curses that are pronounced in this text. First of all, there's the first curse that is in reference to doing the work of the Lord deceitfully. And the second curse is in reference to withholding one's sword from blood or from killing. Now, notice if you would the word cursed. Cursed be he or cursed be he that do the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Now the word curse in the Hebrew literally means to curse, to curse bitterly, to lay under a curse, and to cause to be cursed.

[John Weaver] So therefore God is placing a curse upon anyone who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, slothfully, and with a slack hand, And He also places a curse upon anyone who refuses to kill when it is time to kill. That's what He said. Cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood. Do you remember that passage in Ecclesiastes 3 and verse 3? When the Bible says, there's a time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up.

[John Weaver] William Gurnall, one of the old Puritans, lived in the 1500s and the 1600s. And he wrote an amazing paragraph in 1600. And I want to submit to you what he wrote in 1600 is just as applicable Listen to what Gurnall wrote, remember this is 1600. Gurnall said, when I consider how the goodness of God is abused by the greatest part of mankind, I cannot but be of the mind that said, the greatest miracle in the world is God's patience and bounty to an ungrateful world. If a prince had an enemy that has gotten into one of his towns, he does not send them in provision, but lays up seeds to them, and does what he can to starve them out.

[John Weaver] But the great God, that could wink all his enemies into destruction, bears with them, and is at daily cost to maintain them. Well may he command us to bless them that curse us, who himself does good to the evil and unthankful. But think not sinners, that you shall escape thus. God's mill goes slow, but it grinds small. The more admirable His patience and bounty now is, the more dreadful and unsupportable and unstoppable will be that fury that arises out of His abused goodness.

[John Weaver] Nothing is smoother than the sea, yet when stirred into a tempest, nothing rages more. Nothing so sweet as the patience and goodness of God and nothing so terrible as his wrath when it takes fire." Gernahl was right when he said, when he understands that the vast majority of the people abuse and misuse the goodness and the mercy and the kindness of God. And you know, what Scripture is teaching in Jeremiah 48 in verse 10, is a very difficult concept for you and I to grasp.

[John Weaver] Because we have been told, and it is true, there is a time to withhold our hands from shedding of blood. And that time is when we have no authority to do so, and no right to do so. But God does say that there comes a time that He gives special authority and special right to do that, to shed blood. And God said, when I give that authority, when I give that right, cursed is the man that keeps back his sword from blood.

[John Weaver] One of my favorite illustrations is about Stonewall Jackson. Once when Stonewall Jackson was performing a strategic withdrawal, Yankee cavalry attacked his rear. Turner Ashby and his men dismounted and prepared to receive the attack. And Ashby and his men poured such a volley of fire into the Yankee cavalry that they killed every cavalryman but one. And the Yankee cavalryman did not stop his charge. He continued his charge right on through the Confederate line.

[John Weaver] And then stopped his horse and turned and rode back. None of the Confederates would shoot him. They were so enthralled at his courage and at his bravery. When Stonewall Jackson was informed of the incident and of the bravery of the Yankee cavalrymen, Stonewall Jackson replied, kill them all. I don't want any brave Yankees. Kill the brave ones and the cowards will flee. Stonewall Jackson understood Jeremiah 48 verse 10. Cursed be he.

[John Weaver] You keep it like a sword from blood. Now, in order to understand Jeremiah 48 and verse 10, you've got to understand the context. I want you to look very quickly at Jeremiah 48. We certainly cannot go over this entire chapter, so I'm going to give you a very quick summary. Of course, what you have in Jeremiah 48 is the destruction of Moab. And this destruction was foretold that it's going to be great, that it's going to be general, and that it's going to extend to all parts of the country. Notice verse 1,"...Against Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled.

[John Weaver] Kyriatheme is confounded and taken. Misgab is confounded and dismayed." And then in verse 6, you have another one,"...Flee, save yourselves, be like the heath in the wilderness." Look in verse 8, And the spoilers shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape. The valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord had spoken." Again, in Jeremiah 48, it's foretold that the spoilers will come, and that people are going to be forced to flee, and that many of them are going to be carried into captivity. And look in verse 16, he says,"...the calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteneth fast." In other words, God said, it's coming upon you. God had ordained it, God had ordered it, God had commanded it, it was going to come. And it was going to come very swiftly, it was going to come as a surprise to them. Skip down to verse 40, For thus saith the Lord, Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

[John Weaver] Cariath is taken, and the strongholds are surprised. And the mighty men's heart in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of woman in their pains. So this destruction is going to come swift like an eagle. It's going to be a surprise. The people will not know what hit them basically. The country is going to be laid absolutely waste. It's going to force them to quit their idols. Look in verse 13. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. Look in verse 35, So God has said, look, here's the people that are guilty of idolatry and wickedness. The causes of their destruction are very plainly evident in this passage. It's not just because of sin in general. It's also because of their pride. their haughtiness, their carnal confidence, their idolatry. For instance, verse 7, he says, For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken. And Chemosh, their false god, shall go forth into captivity with its priest and its princess together.

[John Weaver] He said, you've trusted in your works, you've trusted in your money. That almost sounds like America, doesn't it? And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together. Here's a God that can't even protect himself. He's a false God. Well, sure. Skip down to verse 11. Moab had been at ease from his youth, and he had settled on his lease, and had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither had he gone into captivity.

[John Weaver] Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed. Wow. Skip down to verse 26. God says, making him drunken, for he magnified himself against the Lord. Wow! Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, he shall be held in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves? For since thou spakest of him, thou skippest for joy. In other words, Moab marveled and rejoiced in Israel's destruction. So, God says, you're going to reap exactly what you're sowing. Skip down to verse 30. God says, I know his wrath, saith the Lord, that is Moab's wrath, but it shall not be so, and his lies shall not so affect it. Now, all of chapter 48 involves the destruction of Moab.

[John Weaver] Who is doing the destroying? Well, the answer is Ultimately, God is doing the destroying. But God is using the Babylonians or the Chaldeans. So when you look at verse 10, when Jeremiah says, Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood, Jeremiah, the prophet of God, is speaking for God to the Chaldean army. to the Babylonian army. He is telling the Babylonians that they are to be God's instruments against the Moabites. So literally what he's saying is, spare not, but shed blood, let no humanity move you. This is the work of God. This is something that God has ordained. This is something that God has commanded. And you're going to be accursed if you do not obey God. You're going to be cursed if you withhold your sword from blood. So he's telling this army to go on courageously, to do what they've been commanded to do, and destroy and wipe out the Moabites. Listen, God did use the Babylonians to destroy Moab.

[John Weaver] He also used the Babylonians to destroy Judah. Everyone in this room remembers that Nebuchadnezzar was a proud, arrogant, haughty monarch. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 25 first. I want you to see how God refers to Nebuchadnezzar when He sent him against Judah. Look in Jeremiah 25. This is how God refers to Nebuchadnezzar when he sent him against Judah to destroy it. Jeremiah 25, verse 9. God says, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all the nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment and

[John Weaver] a hissing and perpetual desolations." What did God say about Nebuchadnezzar? He was his servant. And what did God do? God sent him to destroy not just Judah and Jerusalem, but the nations round about. Look if you would to Jeremiah chapter 27 and verse 6. Here it is again. Jeremiah 27 verse 6. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. And the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. Note, he refers to him again as my servant. Why would God refer to proud, arrogant, haughty, rebellious Nebuchadnezzar as his servant? Because he was doing that which God had sent him to do. to chastise and destroy Judah and Jerusalem, Moab, the Ammonites, and all the people round about. Do you realize that God also used the Assyrians like that? I want you to turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 10. Isaiah chapter 10. While God used the Babylonians to chastise and destroy Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom, He used the Assyrians in the northern kingdom.

[John Weaver] So look at Isaiah chapter 10 at verse 5. And listen, you talk about a wicked, vile people, the Assyrians were. I could sit here and tell you for an hour how vile they were. It was Assyrians who came up with the crucifixion. It was Assyrians who skinned people alive, flayed them alive. It was Assyrians who had pyramids of human skulls. It was Assyrians who bragged on their cruelty. And look what God says, Isaiah 10 verse 5, O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against the hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge.

[John Weaver] to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit, he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations, not a few."

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look back at verse 5. God refers to the Assyrian as the rod of his anger. He says the staff in their hand is the staff of his indignation. Note if you would in verse 6, God says, I will send him against the hypocritical nation, against the people of my wrath. Note, God said, I will give him a charge to take the spoil and to take the prey and to tread them down like mire of the streets. Now look at verse 7.

[John Weaver] Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and to cut off nations not a few. Now, did the Assyrians come to Israel and say, I'm here because God sent me, I'm doing the will of God. No, they didn't do that. They did not even know that God was using them. The only thing they wanted to do was to kill, and to murder, and to rape, and to pillage, and to rob, and to steal, and to spoil. That's all! But they would have never been there had God not sent them. They would have never done what they did had God not given them a charge. Had God not been in absolute and total control of them.

[John Weaver] I want you to note something. God is in control of everyone. Whether they like it or not, admit it or not, know it or not, it does not matter. Even the most wicked, the most vile, God has them under absolute control and all serve Him whether they mean to or not. It is God who sent the wicked to chastise His erring and sinful and disobedient people. And many times in the Bible, it is God who will use one wicked nation to chastise another wicked nation and destroy them. I want you to turn to Psalm 17. Look in Psalm 17, I've preached from this passage before. It's a wonderful passage and it's a wonderful truth. But I want you to see this one verse in Psalm 17 and verse 13. Look how David refers to the wicked from God's perspective. Notice Psalm 17 and verse 13. Psalm 17 verse 13, David is praying against the wicked and he says this, Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked. Which is thy sword?

[John Weaver] So the wicked are God's sword. God uses them many times to punish and chastise his own sinful people. He uses them to chastise and punish each other. Life and death are in God's hands. He has appointed the time of our birth and the time of our death. And what God has done in Jeremiah 48 is this. He's given the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, a charge. And that charge was to destroy the Moabites. They had a commission from God. They had the authority of God to destroy Moab, to destroy Judah, to destroy the Ammonites, to destroy all the surrounding nations. And they were to fulfill that charge faithfully and fully. It was not to be done by halves.

[John Weaver] That's why I said, Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood. What was God saying? I've given you the authority and the command to take life, and you're to do it. fully, without holding back, without regard, you just obey. Have you ever thought about this? Have you ever noticed the kings and the civil rulers who were under the curse of God for withholding the sword from blood? Let me show you just a couple.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel, chapter 15. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. This is an absolutely amazing story. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. Samuel, the prophet comes to King Saul, verse 1. Samuel also said in Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel.

[John Weaver] Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. So this is what God is declaring to be done. Thus said the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not. But slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox, sheep, camel and ass. By the way, I pointed out earlier that it is not just defensive wars that are just. There are offensive wars. Who started this war? God did. You say, but the Amalekites did certain things to Israel. Yeah, they did. When they came out of Egypt 400 years earlier, Now God said, I remember what they've done. And now comes the time for my vengeance and Saul, I'm giving you a commission, you go and you smite them and you destroy them, man, woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass, I want you to kill them all.

[John Weaver] Well, skip down to verses 8 and 9. This is King Saul, but he took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive, and utterly destroyed all the people at the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and of the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refuse, that they utterly destroyed."

[John Weaver] Now I want you to note, God had told him to slay it all, kill it all. Without me going all into 1 Samuel 15, you'll remember it was because of this, Saul lost his kingdom. He was rejected. God refused to have him anymore as His king. In fact, this is where David came in and became anointed and appointed by God. But it was not just his kingdom that he lost. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel. Chapter 1. 2 Samuel chapter 1.

[John Weaver] Let me read something to you here. 2 Samuel chapter 1. Let's begin reading with verse 1.

[John Weaver] Now it came to pass after the death of Saul when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites. And David had abode two days in Ziklag. It came even to pass on the third day that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head. And so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance. David said unto him, From whence comest thou? He said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, How went the matter, I pray thee, tell me?

[John Weaver] And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead. And Saul and Jonathan his sons are dead also. And David said unto the young men that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young men that told him said, As I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear, and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me, and I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

[John Weaver] And he said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me, for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after these fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and brought them hither unto my Lord. Who art thou? I am an Amalekite, Saul spared the best, and in the end, the best slew him."

[John Weaver] What do you get for withholding your sword from blood? Death. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20. In 1 Kings chapter 20 you will read about a war that King Ahab had with King Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria. Ahab, of course, was king of Israel. And the king of Israel had the opportunity to wipe out the Syrians and Ben-Hadad. And instead of killing King Ben-Hadad, when he could have. Ahab not only called him his brother, he made a treaty with him and spared him and the rest of his men. And I want you to look what God says in 1 Kings chapter 20 and verse 42. Here's what God said to King Ahab.

[John Weaver] And He said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." What? What? That's right. God said, Ahab, you spared someone that I had appointed to death, your life will go for his life. You let those people go, when I had appointed them for death, your people will go for their people.

[John Weaver] Cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood. When there is a command, when there is the authority of God, you cannot do the work of God deceitfully. There was one man, Who did well? Jehu. However, before I tell you about Jehu, let me give you a quote by John Gill. Because John Gill is dealing with this same principle, and the truth of Jeremiah 48 in verse 10, and he says this, This is a general rule. Cursed be he that doeth the work of God deceitfully, and withholdeth his sword from blood. This is a general rule which may be applied to all divine work and service. Every man has work to do for God, some in a more public, others in a more private way.

[John Weaver] All should be done in uprightness and sincerity with all faithfulness and integrity. It is done deceitfully when men play the hypocrite and negligently when they are backward to it, lukewarm in it, and infrequent in the performance of it, which brings upon them the curse of God, and which is not a curse causeless, but a legal one, and no other than the wrath of God in strict justice." That's why God told Ahab, your life are His, and your people for His people. That's why Saul lost his kingdom. That's why Saul lost his life.

[John Weaver] If you'll look very quickly in 2 Kings chapter 10, here's a man by the name of Jehu. He was appointed king over Israel. And God appointed him to wipe out the house of Ahab. And you remember it was Jehu who killed Jezebel. She was thrown out of a window and he trod her under his horse's feet and his chariot wheels. But I want you to look what the Bible says in 2 Kings chapter 10. beginning there with verse 10, Jehu says this concerning the death of all of the people of Ahab, No now therefore there shall fall into the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab. For the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah. So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and all his kinfolks, and all his priests, until he left him none remaining. Hmm. Jehu killed them all. God also gave Jehu another task. He was to wipe out Baal worship in Israel.

[John Weaver] If you look in 2nd Kings chapter 10 and verse 16, he tells his friend Jonadab, let's read verse 15. And when he was departed, thence he lighted on Jonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said unto him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand, and he took him up into the chariot.

[John Weaver] And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in the chariot.

[John Weaver] Now, let me tell you what happened. He got himself to Samaria and Jehu said that Ahab served Baal a little, but I'm going to serve him a lot. And so Jehu proclaimed a great feast for all of the followers of Baal and all the priests of Baal. And he got them all together in the house of Baal. And then He told His men, He said, you go through and you make sure there is no worshipper of Jehovah in there. And there was not. And then He told His men, kill every one of them.

[John Weaver] He said, if you let them go, your life for His life. I want you to watch. If you would, skip down to verse 28. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. How did he do that? Well, go back to verse 25, And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of the offering of the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard, Do the captains go in and slay them, and let none come forth? And as they smote them with the edge of the sword, And the guard and the captains cast them out and went to the house of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal and burned them. And they break down the image of Baal and break down the house of Baal and made it a drawn house unto this day. Thus, Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

[John Weaver] How did he do it? He killed them all. You know, this is a very difficult concept, but I'm going to show it to you from another aspect and another angle. Our God is merciful. And we're to be a merciful people. But do you realize there is none as merciful as the Lord? And yet there comes a time. When he is unmerciful. We're to be a merciful people. But there comes a time when we're not to extend mercy. When we're not to extend even pity. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19.

[John Weaver] There are so many proponents today of letting murderers live. They'll protest the death penalty, etc. But here's what God says. Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 13, talking about the murderer, talking about the man who deserves death. In fact, let's read verse 12. Then the elders of his city shall sit and fetch him thence, and deliver him in the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die, look what God says, thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee. God says you're to have no pity, you're to have no mercy upon a man that is a murderer, he is to be put to death. Skip down to verse 21, again God says it like this, and He's talking to the judges, and thine eye shall not pity, But life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Thine eye shall not pity. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14.

[John Weaver] If I were to ask you, would it be right to always emulate our Heavenly Father? What would you say? Yes. Well, let's look in Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14 and see what God says. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse Verse 13, Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of the land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness, and I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them. So the most merciful being that there is, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, says there comes a time that He will show no mercy. And what the Scripture teaches is there is a time for mercy and there is a time to show no mercy. There is a time to spare, there is a time not to spare.

[John Weaver] In one sense of the word, it is easy to understand the killing of the wicked especially as it relates to justice. We understand killing in a time of war. We know that God is absolutely holy and absolutely just. But have you ever stopped to think, what about those verses where God says to kill the women and the children? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 31. Numbers chapter 31. And let's begin reading there verse 15 because some of the warriors that Moses sent out to destroy the Midianites spared the women. Numbers chapter 31 beginning there verse 15. And Moses said unto them, Have you saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Twenty-three thousand, I think, were killed.

[John Weaver] Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known men by lying with them. But all the women Children that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." What did he just say? You kill every mother or every married woman and every male child, kill them. Why? We tend to forget that women and children are sinners, just like soldiers. just like men. We also tend to forget that whatever God commands is right and holy. We also tend to forget that it is our duty to obey when God directs.

[John Weaver] I have a friend who was a soldier for many, many years. And he was stationed where there were a lot of suicide bombers. And one day he saw a very petite woman walking toward him with a bomb strapped on her. He ordered her to stop. She kept coming. He ordered her to stop again She kept coming. He warned her, if you cross this line, I will shoot you. She kept coming. And when she stepped over that line, it took 27 rounds to stop her.

[John Weaver] He shot her 27 times. Now whether she was on drugs, I don't know, but she was intent on killing him and killing others as well. You see, the way we're trained is we always respect womanhood. And we always tend to think that little children are innocent. Excuse me, they're not. And some of the men from Vietnam can tell you that it was the children who often times would come up with hand grenades, and poison cokes, and other things as well. I'm just simply saying, we tend to forget that women and children are sinners, excuse me for saying this, but deserve death just like everyone else. That's why we die.

[John Weaver] Colin Delitch, And their Old Testament commentary said this on Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. Listen carefully. When he said, Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood. They make this statement. The devastation is a work of the Lord and those who execute it must carry out the divine decree so that they may not bring the curse upon themselves.

[John Weaver] The first clause is taken quite generally. the more exact specification of the work of the Lord follows. In the second clause, it is the employment of the sword against Moab. The work of destroying Moab is here mainly meant, but the text taketh in all lawful employments. These are God's works and must be done vigorously with all our might in obedience to God and for His greatest glory.

[John Weaver] Not soldiers only that have a good cause and in a good calling must likewise take a good courage and do execution lustily, but magistrates as well who are keepers of both tables of the law must do right without partiality, accounting it better to be counted a busy justice than an honest gentleman. Ministers must look to the ministry which they receive of the Lord to fulfill the same. Every man in his particular place and station must not be slothful in business, but fervent in spirit and serving the Lord. And so what Jeremiah was saying in Jeremiah 14 verse 10, those Chaldeans had to be fervent in spirit and zealous in serving the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. We must learn to biblically fear God. In learning to biblically fear God, we have an understanding that He's the God of life and the God of death. Life and death are in His hands. I probably told you this, but I'll tell you again. The first time, I took Tripp and Daniel out to Front Sight.

[John Weaver] We were in Bass Pro, and Alice called, and she asked me, where are you spending the night? I said, we're staying at the Hooters Hotel. And of course, she knew better. And so when I got off the phone, I looked at Tripp and Daniel and I said, now boys, you know I was teasing Granny. I would never ever stay at a Hooters hotel. I said, because first of all, I fear the Lord and I know I don't want His anger and His wrath against me. It was Tripp who said, Papa, if you stayed at Hooters, I don't think you'd have to look out for the Lord. I think you'd have to watch out for Granny Alice.

[John Weaver] Well, that'd be the means that he used. But you see, what I'm saying is, why would I not do something like that? Because I fear God. I know God holds life and death in His hands. And if God has the power to take life, and He does in time and history, how much more will He execute that in eternity as well? And what did our Lord say? Let me remind you, Matthew 10 verse 28, And fear not them, who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but fear Him, He said, who are able to kill both soul and body in hell. In Revelation 15 and verse 4, the question is asked, Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? Why? Because God is the author of life and death. We should fear Him and recognize at all times we're accountable to obey Him.

[John Weaver] The second application is this. God despises half-hearted and lukewarm work. That's why there's a curse attached to it. Do you remember what He said to the church? In Revelation 3 and verse 16, the church of Laodicea, listen to what he said, So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because I'm lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I'll spew thee out of my mouth.

[John Weaver] What is our Lord saying? He's saying in essence, I'd rather you be out and out for me or out and out against me, rather than just being lukewarm. Whatever we do, we must learn to do heartily as unto the Lord. It doesn't matter if we're fighting. It doesn't matter if we're soldiers. It doesn't matter if we're digging ditches. It doesn't matter if we're waiting tables or washing dishes. Whatever we do, we're to do it heartily as unto the Lord. It doesn't matter if it's menial or important. We're to do it as unto Him and worshiping Him.

[John Weaver] and giving Him that praise and that honor that is acceptable unto Him. God tells us He hates and He despises lukewarm worship and lukewarm service. The third application is this. If we desire life in the fullness and the abundance and the joy of it now, we must seek it in Christ. And by the way, There's a big difference between living and just being alive. Real life is found in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Our Lord said in John 10 in verse 10, The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. True life is only found in Christ. Quality of life is only found in Christ. We who serve Him and live for Him and obey Him have the most joy and the most happiness out of life.

[John Weaver] See now, said God, that I am He. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. And there is none that can deliver out of my hand. whatever we do, or to do it as honoring the one true and the living God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You, we praise You. We know that Thou art the God of life and Thou art the God of death. No one can live apart from Thee and no one can die apart from Thee. And it's Thou, Heavenly Father, that has protected us and preserved us. And we acknowledge that. Thank You for allowing us to live. Thank You for allowing us to trust in Thee and to enjoy Thy blessings. And we give Thee praise and honor and worship in and through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Life and Death Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	8uW_errvXvY
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Authority
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 056: Life and Death — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	97

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews Part 1, emphasizing that life and death belong to God alone, and that true liberty is found under God's law.

Well, let's open our Bible today to our text. We're going to look at basically two texts today. We're going to be looking at Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 39, and then Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. So let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 32, if you would please. And we'll read verse 39, and then we'll turn to Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 32 verse 39, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:39

"See now that I, even I am He, and there is no God with Me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand."

And then in the book of Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 10, and I want you to please hold Jeremiah 48, because that's going to be the main text a little bit later. Jeremiah 48 verse 10, where God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood."

Now very quickly for those of you who were not here last week, I would encourage you to please listen in full to the tape or the CD, whatever you have on Life and Death Part 1. Today we're continuing Life and Death Part 2. Now I pointed out last week by way of introduction, to God alone belongs the issues of life and death. It is God who gives life. It is God who takes life. Life and death are on His terms and not on our terms. You will remember that when Job lost his ten children, he said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." And Job worshipped God. Death certainly is in the hands of God alone. Man cannot take life, including his own, without being guilty of murder. God has commanded, "Thou shalt not kill." So this prohibition then includes taking one's own life. The power to kill and the power to take life is under God and His law. We may not take life unlawfully. You must remember that God has given the civil magistrate the power of the sword according to Romans chapter 13. I told you last week in times past I have dealt with the biblical doctrine of self-defense and there were 19 reasons given why life may be lawfully taken on God's terms, and one of those reasons was defending one's own life or the lives of others, and of course there were just wars mentioned

in the Bible as well. Now let me begin today by trying to tell you that last week I emphasized that life was in God's hands. And everything that I showed you last week boiled down to this one simple truth: Since God is the author of life, since God is the giver of life, life is to be lived according to God, on God's terms, and under His law. I made the statement last week that God's law is life. Not that it gives us life, but our liberty and our freedom is found in God. And I gave you several illustrations when I said, you can liberate a fish from the water, but taking the fish out of the water is not true liberty, and it's not true freedom, it's destruction and death. Because God created the fish to live in the water. You can take a bird out of the air, out of that environment that God created him in which to live, and plunge him under the water, and although you've liberated him from the air, yet it's not true liberty and freedom, it is only death.

You can pluck a tree up by the roots from the soil. You've liberated that tree. It is not true liberty and true freedom for the tree to be plucked up by its roots. It's death. You can take man out from under God's law, and man today claims it is true liberty and true freedom to be free from God's law, and then he finds it's only destruction and death. True liberty and true freedom, true life is under God's law. God is the author of life and God is the author of death.

God's Right to Take Life

God is not bound by His own law; He has the sovereign right to take life justly, as seen in natural calamities and direct acts of judgment.

Now some have said, concerning wars, that the only just war is a defensive war. But that's not true. There are many just wars in the Bible that were offensive wars, and they were just wars because God commanded them. We read in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4 concerning God, listen carefully,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:4

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all of His ways are judgment: a God of truth, just and right is He."

Whatever God does is absolutely just. God is the author of life, and God has a sovereign right to dispose of life as He pleases. In fact, we could say this, there are many individuals, and many nations as well, that have long forfeited their lives by their idolatry, and their other crimes against a holy, righteous God. And God has justly sentenced them to death.

Each of us can quote the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." But you must remember that that commandment is a commandment to mankind. God's law binds us. It does not bind God. God is above His law. God is the author of His law. And God is not bound by His law because He is God. Has it ever dawned upon you that only God can do as He pleases? I remember when I was a teenager and I had to work. And I thought to myself, if I ever get grown and get away from this farm, I'll do whatever I please.

And I found out that I couldn't do what I pleased. I had to do what I had to do. Okay? Only God can do as He pleases. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 115 verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 115:3

"But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased."

Those who have trouble with this concept that I'm going to be teaching today, that it is God who takes life, that it is God who takes life in time and in history, and He does so justly and righteously—if you have trouble with this concept, then you must wrestle with this: If God does not have the power, the authority, and the right to justly and righteously take life now in time and history, how in the world will He be able to do it in eternity when He punishes the wicked? It is true that God oftentimes takes lives through what you and I would refer to as natural calamities.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, famines, diseases, tsunamis, pestilences, and many other so-called natural calamities. In fact, in 2 Samuel chapter 24 and verse 15, don't turn there, but in 2 Samuel 24 and verse 15, God killed 70,000 men with a pestilence because of David's sin. 70,000!

So all of these natural calamities that the world talks about and refers to them wickedly as acts of Mother Nature, they are in reality acts of Father God because they are acts of God's righteous judgment in time and in history. You've got to remember, and I'm going to say this several times in the next month or so, there are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God, only incidents. And the Bible says in the book of Amos chapter 3 and verse 7, listen now,

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:6

"Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"

Now think about that.

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:6

"Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"

There is no act nor can there be any act over which God either does not allow or God does not exercise full and total control. I do not care if it is an evil act or righteous act. If there is anything over which God does not have control, then that thing is God and not God. God is sovereign, He has control over everything. So therefore, He said, "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" So if a hurricane rips up a city, God has done it. If a tornado destroys a city, God has done it. If pestilence and disease stalk a city, God has done it.

Years ago, Rolf Barnard, some of you probably have heard some of his sermons, but Rolf Barnard upset many people with a sermon that he preached. And the title of the sermon was this: "The God of the Bible Kills People." Wow! He upset a lot of people with that sermon. But it was true. And it is true today. What did we read? In Deuteronomy 32 and verse 39, what did God say?

"I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal, neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand."

The Perversion of God's Love

Many reject God's right to kill because of a distorted view of divine love, which ignores His holiness and justice.

Now why would anyone not believe that God has the right and the power and the authority to take life? God gave it, it is in His hands, and He has the absolute right to dispose of it as He pleases. So let's ask this question again. Because if you begin teaching what I'm teaching today, or you teach what Rolf Barnard taught, people are going to get upset. Why would anyone not believe that God has the power and the right and the authority to take life as He chooses? Here's my answer. The reason most people do not think that God will take life is because of a perverted teaching on the doctrine of the love of God. It is true that God is love. The Bible teaches that God is love. But the Bible also teaches that God is light, that God is spirit, and that God is just. But the perverted teaching of the doctrine of love of God has been so spread that most people tend to think of God as some sort of sissy, effeminate, emotionally warped individual that allows anyone and everyone to resist Him, run over Him, and who would never lift a finger to hurt anyone, even His

most hateful enemies. Such is not the God of Scripture, and such is not the truth of Scripture. It is true that God is indeed holy. But God is also just and God is righteous. And you've got to remember this, God is what He is and what He is declared to be in Scripture. He is not the figment of our imaginations. He is not what we wish Him to be.

He is not what we desire Him to be. He is what He is revealed in Scripture. The average sinner misinterprets the doctrine of the love of God. Because the average sinner interprets the doctrine of the love of God as a license to sin, because his thinking is this: if God loves me, then He's not going to judge me. If God really loves me, He would never send me to the lake of fire, He would never do anything that would hurt me, so I can sin with impunity against God. Well, that certainly is not the truth, but that is how most people interpret the love of God. Arthur W.

Pink wrote years ago, listen to this quote. He said, "There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love." That first sentence is worth its weight in gold. Listen, "There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. The divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence. It is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion." Now the truth is that, on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed in the Holy Scripture. Pink goes on: "God's love is not regulated by caprice, passion, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at expense of it, but through righteousness, so His love never conflicts with His holiness. God is light" (1 John 1:5) is mentioned before "God is love" (1 John 4:8). God's love is no mere amiable weakness or effeminate softness. Scripture declares, "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." God will not wink at sin, even in His own people. His love is pure, unmixed, without maudlin sentimentality. And that is true.

Now to show you, I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Nahum chapter 1 and Deuteronomy chapter 7. If you would go over to the book of Nahum, the little book of Nahum, the minor prophet, Nahum, right after the book of Micah—Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Look in Nahum chapter 1 at verses 2 and 3. Now you've got to remember that God is love. That is true. But look at Nahum 1 in verse 2. The scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:2-3

"God is jealous and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds of the dust of His feet."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:2-3

"The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked."

So God is love, but God is just.

Now if you look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7, Deuteronomy chapter 7, and look if you would please at verses 9 and 10. Just to show you, here is the same God who is love, Deuteronomy 7, verses 9 and 10. The scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 7:9-10

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him, and keepeth His commandments to a thousand generations, and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that hateth Him. He will repay him to his face."

So the love of God does not destroy the justice and the holiness and the righteousness of God. Now God does kill. God does take life. In fact, He takes individual lives. He killed Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5 for lying to Him. He killed proud, arrogant Herod in Acts chapter 12. He took care of Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5. He killed Hophni and Phinehas on the same day in 1 Samuel chapter 4. So God does take individual lives. God also takes the lives of soldiers, of armies. You will remember without turning there how that God slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night with one stroke of the sword in 2 Kings 19. You'll remember how He drowned Pharaoh and his entire host in Exodus chapter 14. And then of course He destroyed Sisera and his host in Judges chapter 5. In fact, we're told in Judges chapter 5 that even the stars in heaven fought against Sisera.

Biblical Examples of God Killing

Scripture records God killing individuals, armies, and nations, both directly and through human instruments.

So God not only takes individual lives, He takes the lives of armies as well. The king of Israel understood that God had the power to kill and the power to heal. If you look in your Bibles, 2 Kings chapter 5, you remember the story about Naaman the leper? Naaman of course was a Syrian. And so the king of Syria had heard that there was a prophet in the land through the little girl. And so he sent Naaman to the king of Israel and wanted him to heal him of his leprosy. And so the king of Israel in 2 Kings chapter 5 and verse 7 said this, "And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?

Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." But notice what the king said, "Am I God to kill and to make alive?" What was he confessing? He was acknowledging that it is God who kills. It is God who takes life. It is God who gives life. You know what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 2 and verse 6? Let me just quote it. "The Lord killeth and maketh alive.

He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up." The Lord killeth and the Lord maketh alive. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 22. I want you to see a warning and a threat that God gave to the children of Israel. Just pointing out the fact that God does indeed kill. Notice if you would, Exodus chapter 22 and verse 24. Look what God says. Exodus 22 verse 24.

He's talking about messing with the widows and the orphans. He said, "And My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless." In other words, go back up to verse 22. He said, "You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and their cry at all come unto Me, I will surely hear their cry, and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless."

Now what did God say? God said, "I'll kill you. You disobey Me, I'll kill you." You say, "Now wait a minute, Brother Weaver. All these verses, they're all in the Old Testament." Yes, they are. But let me remind you of something. I'm going to show you something in the New Testament. We have one Bible, not two. And we have one God. And the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

His law does not change. His word does not change. Because He does not change, He is immutable. He is unchangeable. So therefore, if you would like to look in your Bibles, in Matthew chapter 10, I will show you what our Lord said in verse 28. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Then we will go to the book of Revelation. Look at Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Notice our Lord said this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:28

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Now let me ask you a question. If God has the ability and the power to destroy both soul and body in hell, does He not have that same ability and that same power and that same right to destroy in time and in history? And the answer, of course, is yes. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2. And in this instance, our Lord is talking to the church at Thyatira. Revelation chapter 2, and let's look down to verse 23. He's talking about the church there that allows fornication and idolatry to go on. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 20. He tells the church of Thyatira, verse 18. You can see the church of Thyatira, verse now, verse 20.

He said, "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce My servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except thou repent of their deeds, and I will kill her children with death. And all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and the hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works." Those are New Testament verses. You see, God does kill. And oftentimes, when God kills, He uses means. God may kill either directly or immediately, but usually when God kills, He kills mediately. That is through the use of means. And when I say through the use of means, I really mean through men.

Why should we think that strange? Because all you've got to do is read Romans 13 verses 3 and 4, where the Bible says concerning the civil magistrate, "For he beareth not the sword in vain: he is the revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." God gave man the power of the sword in the sphere and in the realm of civil authority. What did He say in Genesis 9 in verse 6?

Scripture Reading — Genesis 9:6

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, help me out, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man."

So what does that mean? God can kill directly. He did Herod. He smote him instantly. But many times He uses men. If you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 35, and I could show you this in a multitude of places. This is just one of them. But you remember in the Old Testament, every family had an avenger of blood. That meant if you had a relative that was murdered or killed, the avenger of blood had a responsibility to track down the murderer and kill him, thus to cleanse the land of bloodshed. Well, look in Numbers chapter 35, if you would, and verse 19. And here is a man that has gotten to be a murderer.

And what does the Bible say? Numbers chapter 35, verse 19.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 35:19

"The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. When he meeteth him, he shall slay him."

So God said, here's the avenger of blood. Here's the family member at that particular time who had the authority under God to slay anyone who murdered his family member. So God did use the avenger of blood. If you will look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 32, you'll see where God used the Levites to cleanse the land of idolatry. Look what He told the Levites, Exodus chapter 32, verse 27. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 26.

"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And there fell to the people that day about three thousand men." Here were men who were unrepentant in the fornication, and in the idolatry, and worshipping the golden calf. And God said, "Kill them." And that's exactly what the children of Levi did. They slew every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.

Now, all of that is introduction. I want you to go to the book of Jeremiah chapter 48, because I'm just pointing out the fact that God does kill. The power of life and the power of death is in His hands. So look in Jeremiah 48 in verse 10 at the text we read earlier, where God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." There are two curses that are pronounced in this text. First of all, there's the first curse that is in reference to doing the work of the Lord deceitfully. And the second curse is in reference to withholding one's sword from blood or from killing. Now, notice if you would the word "cursed." "Cursed be he" or "cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Now the word "curse" in the Hebrew literally means to curse, to curse bitterly, to lay under a curse, and to cause to be cursed.

Exposition of Jeremiah 48:10

The curse on those who do God's work deceitfully or withhold the sword is given in the context of God's command to destroy Moab through the Babylonians.

So therefore God is placing a curse upon anyone who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, slothfully, and with a slack hand. And He also places a curse upon anyone who refuses to kill when it is time to kill. That's what He said. "Cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Do you remember that passage in Ecclesiastes 3 and verse 3? When the Bible says, "There's a time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up." William Gurnall, one of the old Puritans, lived in the 1500s and the 1600s. And he wrote an amazing paragraph in 1600. And I want to submit to you what he wrote in 1600 is just as applicable today. Listen to what Gurnall wrote, remember this is 1600. Gurnall said, "When I consider how the goodness of God is abused by the greatest part of mankind, I cannot but be of the mind that said, the greatest miracle in the world is God's patience and bounty to an ungrateful world. If a prince had an enemy that has gotten into one of his towns, he does not send them in provision, but lays up siege to them, and does what he can to starve them out.

But the great God, that could wink all His enemies into destruction, bears with them, and is at daily cost to maintain them. Well may He command us to bless them that curse us, who Himself does good to the evil and unthankful. But think not sinners, that you shall escape thus. God's mill goes slow, but it grinds small. The more admirable His patience and bounty now is, the more dreadful and unsupportable and unstoppable will be that fury that arises out of His abused goodness. Nothing is smoother than the sea, yet when stirred into a tempest, nothing rages more. Nothing so sweet as the patience and goodness of God and nothing so terrible as His wrath when it takes fire." Gurnall was right when he said, when he understands that the vast majority of the people abuse and misuse the goodness and the mercy and the kindness of God. And you know, what Scripture is teaching in Jeremiah 48 in verse 10, is a very difficult concept for you and I to grasp.

Because we have been told, and it is true, there is a time to withhold our hands from shedding of blood. And that time is when we have no authority to do so, and no right to do so. But God does say that there comes a time that He gives special authority and special right to do that, to shed blood. And God said, when I give that authority, when I give that right, cursed is the man that keeps back his sword from blood. One of my favorite illustrations is about Stonewall Jackson. Once when Stonewall Jackson was performing a strategic withdrawal, Yankee cavalry attacked his rear. Turner Ashby and his men dismounted and prepared to receive the attack. And Ashby and his men poured such a volley of fire into the Yankee cavalry that they killed every cavalryman but one. And the Yankee cavalryman did not stop his charge. He continued his charge right on through the Confederate line.

And then stopped his horse and turned and rode back. None of the Confederates would shoot him. They were so enthralled at his courage and at his bravery. When Stonewall Jackson was informed of the incident and of the bravery of the Yankee cavalrymen, Stonewall Jackson replied, "Kill them all. I don't want any brave Yankees. Kill the brave ones and the cowards will flee." Stonewall Jackson understood Jeremiah 48 verse 10. "Cursed be he

that keepeth back his sword from blood." Now, in order to understand Jeremiah 48 and verse 10, you've got to understand the context. I want you to look very quickly at Jeremiah 48. We certainly cannot go over this entire chapter, so I'm going to give you a very quick summary. Of course, what you have in Jeremiah 48 is the destruction of Moab. And this destruction was foretold that it's going to be great, that it's going to be general, and that it's going to extend to all parts of the country. Notice verse 1, "Against Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled. Kiriathaim is confounded and taken. Misgab is confounded and dismayed." And then in verse 6, you have another one, "Flee, save yourselves, be like the heath in the wilderness." Look in verse 8, "And the spoilers shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape. The valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord had spoken." Again, in Jeremiah 48, it's foretold that the spoilers will come, and that people are going to be forced to flee, and that many of them are going to be carried into captivity. And look in verse 16, he says, "The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteneth fast." In other words, God said, it's coming upon you. God had ordained it, God had ordered it, God had commanded it, it was going to come. And it was going to come very swiftly, it was going to come as a surprise to them. Skip down to verse 40, "For thus saith the Lord, Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.

Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are surprised. And the mighty men's heart in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pains." So this destruction is going to come swift like an eagle. It's going to be a surprise. The people will not know what hit them basically. The country is going to be laid absolutely waste. It's going to force them to quit their idols. Look in verse 13. "And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence." Look in verse 35. So God has said, look, here's the people that are guilty of idolatry and wickedness. The causes of their destruction are very plainly evident in this passage. It's not just because of sin in general. It's also because of their pride, their haughtiness, their carnal confidence, their idolatry. For instance, verse 7, he says, "For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken. And Chemosh, their false god, shall go forth into captivity with its priests and its princes together."

He said, you've trusted in your works, you've trusted in your money. That almost sounds like America, doesn't it? "And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together." Here's a god that can't even protect himself. He's a false god. Well, sure. Skip down to verse 11. "Moab had been at ease from his youth, and he had settled on his lees, and had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither had he gone into captivity.

Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed." Wow. Skip down to verse 26. God says, "Make ye him drunken, for he magnified himself against the Lord." Wow! "Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, he shall be held in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves? For since thou spakest of him, thou skippest for joy." In other words, Moab marveled and rejoiced in Israel's destruction. So, God says, you're going to reap exactly what you're sowing. Skip down to verse 30. God says, "I know his wrath, saith the Lord, that is Moab's wrath, but it shall not be so, and his lies shall not so effect it." Now, all of chapter 48 involves the destruction of Moab.

Who is doing the destroying? Well, the answer is, ultimately, God is doing the destroying. But God is using the Babylonians or the Chaldeans. So when you look at verse 10, when Jeremiah says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood," Jeremiah, the prophet of God, is speaking for God to the Chaldean army, to the Babylonian army. He is telling the Babylonians that they are to be God's instruments against the Moabites. So literally what he's saying is, spare not, but shed blood, let no humanity move you. This is the work of God. This is something that God has ordained. This is something that God has commanded. And you're going to be accursed if you do not obey God. You're going to be cursed if you withhold your sword from blood. So he's telling this army to go on courageously, to do what they've been commanded to do, and destroy and wipe out the Moabites. Listen, God did use the Babylonians to destroy Moab.

God's Use of Wicked Nations

God uses even wicked nations like Assyria and Babylon as instruments of His judgment, though they act from their own evil motives.

He also used the Babylonians to destroy Judah. Everyone in this room remembers that Nebuchadnezzar was a proud, arrogant, haughty monarch. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 25 first. I want you to see how God refers to Nebuchadnezzar when He sent him against Judah. Look in Jeremiah 25. This is how God refers to Nebuchadnezzar when He sent him against Judah to destroy it. Jeremiah 25, verse 9. God says, "Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all the nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment and

a hissing and perpetual desolations." What did God say about Nebuchadnezzar? He was His servant. And what did God do? God sent him to destroy not just Judah and Jerusalem, but the nations round about. Look if you would to Jeremiah chapter 27 and verse 6. Here it is again. Jeremiah 27 verse 6. "And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant. And the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him." Note, he refers to him again as "My servant." Why would God refer to proud, arrogant, haughty, rebellious Nebuchadnezzar as His servant? Because he was doing that which God had sent him to do: to chastise and destroy Judah and Jerusalem, Moab, the Ammonites, and all the people round about. Do you realize that God also used the Assyrians like that? I want you to turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 10. Isaiah chapter 10. While God used the Babylonians to chastise and destroy Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom, He used the Assyrians in the northern kingdom.

So look at Isaiah chapter 10 at verse 5. And listen, you talk about a wicked, vile people, the Assyrians were. I could sit here and tell you for an hour how vile they were. It was Assyrians who came up with the crucifixion. It was Assyrians who skinned people alive, flayed them alive. It was Assyrians who had pyramids of human skulls. It was Assyrians who bragged on their cruelty. And look what God says, Isaiah 10 verse 5,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 10:5-7

"O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against the hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge,

to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit, he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations, not a few." Now, I want you to look back at verse 5. God refers to the Assyrian as the rod of His anger. He says the staff in their hand is the staff of His indignation. Note if you would in verse 6, God says, "I will send him against the hypocritical nation, against the people of My wrath." Note, God said, "I will give him a charge to take the spoil and to take the prey and to tread them down like mire of the streets." Now look at verse 7. "Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and to cut off nations not a few." Now, did the Assyrians come to Israel and say, "I'm here because God sent me, I'm doing the will of God"? No, they didn't do that. They did not even know that God was using them. The only thing they wanted to do was to kill, and to murder, and to rape, and to pillage, and to rob, and to steal, and to spoil. That's all! But they would have never been there had God not sent them. They would have never done what they did had God not given them a charge. Had God not been in absolute and total control of them.

I want you to note something. God is in control of everyone. Whether they like it or not, admit it or not, know it or not, it does not matter. Even the most wicked, the most vile, God has them under absolute control and all serve Him whether they mean to or not. It is God who sent the wicked to chastise His erring and sinful and disobedient people. And many times in the Bible, it is God who will use one wicked nation to chastise another wicked nation and destroy them. I want you to turn to Psalm 17. Look in Psalm 17, I've preached from this passage before. It's a wonderful passage and it's a wonderful truth. But I want you to see this one verse in Psalm 17 and verse 13. Look how David refers to the wicked from God's perspective. Notice Psalm 17 and verse 13. Psalm 17 verse 13, David is praying against the wicked and he says this, "Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked. Which is Thy sword?"

So the wicked are God's sword. God uses them many times to punish and chastise His own sinful people. He uses them to chastise and punish each other. Life and death are in God's hands. He has appointed the time of our birth and the time of our death. And what God has done in Jeremiah 48 is this. He's given the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, a charge. And that charge was to destroy the Moabites. They had a commission from God. They had the authority of God to destroy Moab, to destroy Judah, to destroy the Ammonites, to destroy all the surrounding nations. And they were to fulfill that charge faithfully and fully. It was not to be done by halves.

Consequences of Withholding the Sword

Saul and Ahab were judged for failing to fully execute God's commanded destruction, illustrating the curse of Jeremiah 48:10.

That's why He said, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood." What was God saying? I've given you the authority and the command to take life, and you're to do it fully, without holding back, without regard, you just obey. Have you ever thought about this? Have you ever noticed the kings and the civil rulers who were under the curse of God for withholding the sword from blood? Let me show you just a couple. Look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel, chapter 15. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. This is an absolutely amazing story. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. Samuel, the prophet comes to King Saul, verse 1. "Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel.

Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. So this is what God is declaring to be done. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not. But slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox, sheep, camel and ass." By the way, I pointed out earlier that it is not just defensive wars that are just. There are offensive wars. Who started this war? God did. You say, but the Amalekites did certain things to Israel. Yeah, they did. When they came out of Egypt 400 years earlier. Now God said, I remember what they've done. And now comes the time for My vengeance and Saul, I'm giving you a commission, you go and you smite them and you destroy them, man, woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass, I want you to kill them all.

Well, skip down to verses 8 and 9. This is King Saul, "But he took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive, and utterly destroyed all the people at the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and of the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refuse, that they utterly destroyed." Now I want you to note, God had told him to slay it all, kill it all. Without me going all into 1 Samuel 15, you'll remember it was because of this, Saul lost his kingdom. He was rejected. God refused to have him anymore as His king. In fact, this is where David came in and became anointed and appointed by God. But it was not just his kingdom that he lost. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 1. 2 Samuel chapter 1.

Let me read something to you here. 2 Samuel chapter 1. Let's begin reading with verse 1. "Now it came to pass after the death of Saul when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites. And David had abode two days in Ziklag. It came even to pass on the third day that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head. And so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance. David said unto him, From whence comest thou? He said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, How went the matter, I pray thee, tell me?"

"And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead. And Saul and Jonathan his sons are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear, and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me, and I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite."

"And he said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me, for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after these fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and brought them hither unto my Lord." Who art thou? I am an Amalekite. Saul spared the best, and in the end, the best slew him." What do you get for withholding your sword from blood? Death. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20. In 1 Kings chapter 20 you will read about a war that King Ahab had with King Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria. Ahab, of course, was king of Israel. And the king of Israel had the opportunity to wipe out the Syrians and Ben-Hadad. And instead of killing King Ben-Hadad, when he could have, Ahab not only called him his brother, he made a treaty with him and spared him and the rest of his men. And I want you to look what God says in 1 Kings chapter 20 and verse 42. Here's what God said to King Ahab.

"And He said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." What? What? That's right. God said, Ahab, you spared someone that I had appointed to death, your life will go for his life. You let those people go, when I had appointed them for death, your people will go for their people. "Cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood." When there is a command, when there is the authority of God, you cannot do the work of God deceitfully. There was one man who did well: Jehu. However, before I tell you about Jehu, let me give you a quote by John Gill. Because John Gill is dealing with this same principle, and the truth of Jeremiah 48 in verse 10, and he says this: "This is a general rule. Cursed be he that doeth the work of God deceitfully, and withholdeth his sword from blood. This is a general rule which may be applied to all divine work and service. Every man has work to do for God, some in a more public, others in a more private way.

All should be done in uprightness and sincerity with all faithfulness and integrity. It is done deceitfully when men play the hypocrite and negligently when they are backward to it, lukewarm in it, and infrequent in the performance of it, which brings upon them the curse of God, and which is not a curse causeless, but a legal one, and no other than the wrath of God in strict justice." That's why God told Ahab, "Your life for his, and your people for his people." That's why Saul lost his kingdom. That's why Saul lost his life.

Jehu's Zeal and the Principle of No Pity

Jehu's complete destruction of Ahab's house and Baal worship exemplifies obedience; God commands no pity for murderers.

If you'll look very quickly in 2 Kings chapter 10, here's a man by the name of Jehu. He was appointed king over Israel. And God appointed him to wipe out the house of Ahab. And you remember it was Jehu who killed Jezebel. She was thrown out of a window and he trod her under his horse's feet and his chariot wheels. But I want you to look what the Bible says in 2 Kings chapter 10, beginning there with verse 10. Jehu says this concerning the death of all of the people of Ahab, "Know now therefore there shall fall into the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab. For the Lord hath done that which He spake by His servant Elijah. So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and all his kinfolks, and all his priests, until he left him none remaining." Hmm. Jehu killed them all. God also gave Jehu another task. He was to wipe out Baal worship in Israel.

If you look in 2 Kings chapter 10 and verse 16, he tells his friend Jonadab, let's read verse 15. "And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said unto him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand, and he took him up into the chariot. And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in the chariot.

Now, let me tell you what happened. He got himself to Samaria and Jehu said that Ahab served Baal a little, but I'm going to serve him a lot. And so Jehu proclaimed a great feast for all of the followers of Baal and all the priests of Baal. And he got them all together in the house of Baal. And then He told His men, He said, you go through and you make sure there is no worshipper of Jehovah in there. And there was not. And then He told His men, kill every one of them.

He said, if you let them go, your life for his life. I want you to watch. If you would, skip down to verse 28. "Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel." How did he do that? Well, go back to verse 25, "And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of the offering of the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard, Do the captains go in and slay them, and let none come forth? And as they smote them with the edge of the sword, and the guard and the captains cast them out and went to the house of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal and burned them. And they break down the image of Baal and break down the house of Baal and made it a drawn house unto this day. Thus, Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel."

How did he do it? He killed them all. You know, this is a very difficult concept, but I'm going to show it to you from another aspect and another angle. Our God is merciful. And we're to be a merciful people. But do you realize there is none as merciful as the Lord? And yet there comes a time when He is unmerciful. We're to be a merciful people. But there comes a time when we're not to extend mercy. When we're not to extend even pity. Let me show you.

Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19.

There are so many proponents today of letting murderers live. They'll protest the death penalty, etc. But here's what God says. Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 13, talking about the murderer, talking about the man who deserves death. In fact, let's read verse 12. "Then the elders of his city shall sit and fetch him thence, and deliver him in the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die." Look what God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:13

"Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee."

God says you're to have no pity, you're to have no mercy upon a man that is a murderer, he is to be put to death. Skip down to verse 21, again God says it like this, and He's talking to the judges,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:13

"And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Thine eye shall not pity."

If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14.

If I were to ask you, would it be right to always emulate our Heavenly Father? What would you say? Yes. Well, let's look in Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14 and see what God says. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 13. "Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of the land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness, and I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord. I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them." So the most merciful being that there is, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, says there comes a time that He will show no mercy. And what the Scripture teaches is there is a time for mercy and there is a time to show no mercy. There is a time to spare, there is a time not to spare.

Killing Women and Children

God's command to kill women and children in certain contexts is justified because all are sinners, and God's commands are righteous.

In one sense of the word, it is easy to understand the killing of the wicked especially as it relates to justice. We understand killing in a time of war. We know that God is absolutely holy and absolutely just. But have you ever stopped to think, what about those verses where God says to kill the women and the children? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 31. Numbers chapter 31. And let's begin reading there verse 15 because some of the warriors that Moses sent out to destroy the Midianites spared the women. Numbers chapter 31 beginning there verse 15. "And Moses said unto them, Have you saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord." Twenty-three thousand, I think, were killed.

"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known men by lying with them. But all the women children that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." What did he just say? You kill every mother or every married woman and every male child, kill them. Why? We tend to forget that women and children are sinners, just like soldiers, just like men. We also tend to forget that whatever God commands is right and holy. We also tend to forget that it is our duty to obey when God directs.

I have a friend who was a soldier for many, many years. And he was stationed where there were a lot of suicide bombers. And one day he saw a very petite woman walking toward him with a bomb strapped on her. He ordered her to stop. She kept coming. He ordered her to stop again. She kept coming. He warned her, if you cross this line, I will shoot you. She kept coming. And when she stepped over that line, it took 27 rounds to stop her.

He shot her 27 times. Now whether she was on drugs, I don't know, but she was intent on killing him and killing others as well. You see, the way we're trained is we always respect womanhood. And we always tend to think that little children are innocent. Excuse me, they're not. And some of the men from Vietnam can tell you that it was the children who oftentimes would come up with hand grenades, and poison cokes, and other things as well. I'm just simply saying, we tend to forget that women and children are sinners, excuse me for saying this, but deserve death just like everyone else. That's why we die.

Applications: Fear God, Avoid Lukewarmness, Find Life in Christ

Believers must fear God, serve Him wholeheartedly, and seek abundant life only in Jesus Christ.

Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. We must learn to biblically fear God. In learning to biblically fear God, we have an understanding that He's the God of life and the God of death. Life and death are in His hands. I probably told you this, but I'll tell you again. The first time I took Tripp and Daniel out to Front Sight.

We were in Bass Pro, and Alice called, and she asked me, "Where are you spending the night?" I said, "We're staying at the Hooters Hotel." And of course, she knew better. And so when I got off the phone, I looked at Tripp and Daniel and I said, "Now boys, you know I was teasing Granny. I would never ever stay at a Hooters hotel." I said, "Because first of all, I fear the Lord and I know I don't want His anger and His wrath against me." It was Tripp who said, "Papa, if you stayed at Hooters, I don't think you'd have to look out for the Lord. I think you'd have to watch out for Granny Alice." Well, that'd be the means that He used. But you see, what I'm saying is, why would I not do something like that? Because I fear God. I know God holds life and death in His hands. And if God has the power to take life, and He does in time and history, how much more will He execute that in eternity as well? And what did our Lord say? Let me remind you, Matthew 10 verse 28, "And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but fear Him," He said, "who are able to kill both soul and body in hell." In Revelation 15 and verse 4, the question is asked, "Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?" Why? Because God is the author of life and death. We should fear Him and recognize at all times we're accountable to obey Him.

The second application is this. God despises half-hearted and lukewarm work. That's why there's a curse attached to it. Do you remember what He said to the church in Revelation 3 and verse 16, the church of Laodicea? Listen to what He said, "So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because I'm lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I'll spew thee out of My mouth." What is our Lord saying? He's saying in essence, I'd rather you be out and out for Me or out and out against Me, rather than just being lukewarm. Whatever we do, we must learn to do heartily as unto the Lord. It doesn't matter if we're fighting. It doesn't matter if we're soldiers. It doesn't matter if we're digging ditches. It doesn't matter if we're waiting tables or washing dishes. Whatever we do, we're to do it heartily as unto the Lord. It doesn't matter if it's menial or important. We're to do it as unto Him and worshiping Him.

and giving Him that praise and that honor that is acceptable unto Him. God tells us He hates and He despises lukewarm worship and lukewarm service. The third application is this. If we desire life in the fullness and the abundance and the joy of it now, we must seek it in Christ. And by the way, there's a big difference between living and just being alive. Real life is found in Jesus Christ. Our Lord said in John 10 in verse 10, "The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." True life is only found in Christ. Quality of life is only found in Christ. We who serve Him and live for Him and obey Him have the most joy and the most happiness out of life.

"See now," said God, "that I am He. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. And there is none that can deliver out of My hand." Whatever we do, we are to do it as honoring the one true and the living God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You, we praise You. We know that Thou art the God of life and Thou art the God of death. No one can live apart from Thee and no one can die apart from Thee. And it's Thou, Heavenly Father, that has protected us and preserved us. And we acknowledge that. Thank You for allowing us to live. Thank You for allowing us to trust in Thee and to enjoy Thy blessings. And we give Thee praise and honor and worship in and through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Sovereignty of God over life and death

Summary: God alone has the authority and power to give and take life, and He exercises this right justly and righteously.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 32:39: 'I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal.'

God's use of means to execute judgment

Summary: God often kills mediately through natural calamities, armies, and civil authorities, all under His sovereign control.

Evidence: Isaiah 10:5: 'O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger.'

The curse of half-hearted obedience

Summary: Jeremiah 48:10 pronounces a curse on those who do God's work deceitfully or fail to fully execute His commanded judgment.

Evidence: Jeremiah 48:10: 'Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.'

The perversion of God's love

Summary: A sentimentalized view of God's love leads many to deny His justice and wrath, but Scripture reveals a God who is both loving and just.

Evidence: Nahum 1:2-3: 'God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth...'

The necessity of fearing God

Summary: A proper fear of God includes recognizing His power over life and death, leading to obedience and accountability.

Evidence: Matthew 10:28: 'Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'

True life found only in Christ

Summary: Abundant, joyful life is not mere existence but is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ and obedience to God.

Evidence: John 10:10: 'I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.'

Key Arguments

God is not bound by His own law

Summary: The sixth commandment binds mankind, not God; God is above His law and can take life as He pleases.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 32:4: 'He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment.'

Natural calamities are acts of God, not 'Mother Nature'

Summary: Hurricanes, famines, and pestilences are God's righteous judgments in history, not random accidents.

Evidence: Amos 3:6: 'Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?'

God's love does not negate His justice

Summary: The Bible presents God as both loving and vengeful; His love is principled, not sentimental, and includes chastening.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 7:9-10: 'He repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them.'

God commands full execution of judgment

Summary: In Jeremiah 48:10, God curses those who spare when He has commanded destruction; partial obedience is disobedience.

Evidence: 1 Samuel 15: Saul lost his kingdom for sparing Agag.

Even women and children are not innocent

Summary: All are sinners deserving death; God's commands to kill women and children in certain contexts are just and must be obeyed.

Evidence: Numbers 31:15-18: Moses commanded killing male children and non-virgin women.

Lukewarm service is despised by God

Summary: God rejects half-hearted work and worship; believers must serve with zeal and wholeheartedness.

Evidence: Revelation 3:16: 'Because thou art lukewarm... I will spue thee out of my mouth.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 32:39

Context: God declares His sole sovereignty over life and death.

Jeremiah 48:10

Context: The central text: curse on deceitful work and withholding the sword.

Job 1:21

Context: Job acknowledged God gives and takes away.

Romans 13:3-4

Context: Civil magistrate bears the sword as God's minister of justice.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Context: God's work is perfect and all His ways are just.

Psalm 115:3

Context: God does whatever He pleases.

2 Samuel 24:15

Context: God killed 70,000 with a pestilence because of David's sin.

Amos 3:6

Context: Evil in a city is done by the Lord.

Nahum 1:2-3

Context: God is jealous, revengeth, and will not acquit the wicked.

Deuteronomy 7:9-10

Context: God repays those who hate Him to their face.

Exodus 22:24

Context: God threatens to kill with the sword those who afflict widows and orphans.

Matthew 10:28

Context: Fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Revelation 2:23

Context: Jesus threatens to kill Jezebel's children with death.

Genesis 9:6

Context: By man shall his blood be shed; capital punishment ordained.

Numbers 35:19

Context: The avenger of blood shall slay the murderer.

Exodus 32:27-28

Context: Levites slew 3,000 idolaters at God's command.

Isaiah 10:5-7

Context: Assyria is the rod of God's anger, though they mean not so.

1 Samuel 15:3

Context: God commands Saul to utterly destroy Amalek, including women and children.

1 Kings 20:42

Context: Ahab's life for Ben-Hadad's because he spared a man appointed to destruction.

Deuteronomy 19:13

Context: Thine eye shall not pity a murderer; put away innocent blood.

Historical References

Rolf Barnard's sermon 'The God of the Bible Kills People'

Context: Weaver cites Barnard's controversial sermon to support the teaching that God takes life.

Arthur W. Pink's quote on the love of God

Context: Pink warned that many talk about God's love but are strangers to the God of love, reducing it to sickly sentiment.

William Gurnall's quote on God's patience and wrath

Context: Gurnall (1600s) wrote that God's patience abused will lead to dreadful fury.

Stonewall Jackson's command to kill brave Yankees

Context: Jackson ordered his men to kill all brave enemies so cowards would flee, illustrating Jeremiah 48:10.

Keil and Delitzsch commentary on Jeremiah 48:10

Context: They state the devastation is God's work and must be done vigorously.

Important Quotes

I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.

Significance: Foundational text declaring God's absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

Significance: Central verse of the sermon, emphasizing the curse on half-hearted obedience and failure to execute judgment.

There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love.

Significance: Arthur Pink's warning against sentimentalizing God's love, used to correct misconceptions.

The greatest miracle in the world is God's patience and bounty to an ungrateful world.

Significance: William Gurnall's observation on God's forbearance, highlighting the danger of abusing His goodness.

Kill them all. I don't want any brave Yankees. Kill the brave ones and the cowards will flee.

Significance: Stonewall Jackson's command illustrating the principle of not withholding the sword from blood.

Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

Significance: God's command to show no pity to murderers, reinforcing the necessity of justice.

I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

Significance: God's own declaration that there is a time for no mercy, validating the sermon's theme.

Because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of My mouth.

Significance: Christ's rejection of half-heartedness, applied to all service for God.

Discussion Questions

How does understanding God's sovereignty over life and death affect your view of natural disasters and personal tragedies?

Context: Weaver argues that all calamities are acts of God's judgment or providence.

In what ways has the modern church perverted the doctrine of God's love, and how can we recover a biblical balance?

Context: Weaver critiques the sentimental view of God that ignores His justice.

How should Christians today apply the principle of Jeremiah 48:10 in contexts of spiritual warfare and moral courage?

Context: The curse on withholding the sword is applied broadly to all faithful service.

What does it mean to fear God biblically, and how does that fear shape daily decisions?

Context: Weaver emphasizes fearing God who can destroy both body and soul.

How can we guard against lukewarmness in our worship and service to God?

Context: God despises half-hearted work; believers are called to zeal.

Is it ever right for Christians to support or participate in offensive war or capital punishment? How does Scripture guide us?

Context: Weaver discusses just offensive wars and the death penalty as biblical.

How do we reconcile God's command to show no pity in certain cases with the call to be merciful?

Context: God Himself declares He will not pity or spare in judgment.

What does it mean to have abundant life in Christ, and how does that differ from merely being alive?

Context: True life is found only in Jesus, not in mere existence.

Applications

Fear God biblically

Summary: Recognize that God holds life and death in His hands, and live in reverent obedience to avoid His wrath.

Evidence: Matthew 10:28: 'Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.'

Serve God wholeheartedly

Summary: Avoid lukewarm, half-hearted service; do all work as unto the Lord with zeal and integrity.

Evidence: Jeremiah 48:10: 'Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully.'

Seek true life in Christ

Summary: Abundant, joyful life is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ, not in worldly pursuits.

Evidence: John 10:10: 'I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.'

Trust God's justice in judgment

Summary: Accept that God's commands, even to destroy, are righteous; do not question His moral authority.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 32:4: 'All his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.'

Do not withhold justice when authorized

Summary: When God gives authority to execute judgment (e.g., civil magistrate), it must be carried out fully without pity.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 19:13: 'Thine eye shall not pity him.'

Recognize God's hand in all events

Summary: See natural calamities and historical events as under God's sovereign control, not random accidents.

Evidence: Amos 3:6: 'Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:36:27Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:50:20Z

Clean Transcript

Life and Death Part 2 of 2

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

Well, let's open our Bible today to our text. We're going to look at basically two texts today. We're going to be looking at Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 39, and then Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. So let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 32, if you would please. And we'll read verse 39, and then we'll turn to Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. Deuteronomy 32 verse 39, God says, "See now that I, even I am He, and there is no God with Me.
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I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand." And then in the book of Jeremiah chapter 48 and verse 10, and I want you to please hold Jeremiah 48, because that's going to be the main text a little bit later. Jeremiah 48 verse 10, where God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood."
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Now very quickly for those of you who were not here last week, I would encourage you to please listen in full to the tape or the CD, whatever you have on Life and Death Part 1. Today we're continuing Life and Death Part 2. Now I pointed out last week by way of introduction, to God alone belongs the issues of life and death. It is God who gives life. It is God who takes life. Life and death are on His terms and not on our terms.
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You will remember that when Job lost his ten children, he said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." And Job worshipped God. Death certainly is in the hands of God alone. Man cannot take life, including his own, without being guilty of murder. God has commanded, "Thou shalt not kill." So this prohibition then includes taking one's own life. The power to kill and the power to take life is under God and His law. We may not take life unlawfully. You must remember that God has given the civil magistrate the power of the sword according to Romans chapter 13. I told you last week in times past I have dealt with the biblical doctrine of self-defense and there were 19 reasons given why life may be lawfully taken on God's terms, and one of those reasons was defending one's own life or the lives of others, and of course there were just wars mentioned
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in the Bible as well. Now let me begin today by trying to tell you that last week I emphasized that life was in God's hands. And everything that I showed you last week boiled down to this one simple truth: Since God is the author of life, since God is the giver of life, life is to be lived according to God, on God's terms, and under His law. I made the statement last week that God's law is life. Not that it gives us life, but our liberty and our freedom is found in God. And I gave you several illustrations when I said, you can liberate a fish from the water, but taking the fish out of the water is not true liberty, and it's not true freedom, it's destruction and death. Because God created the fish to live in the water. You can take a bird out of the air, out of that environment that God created him in which to live, and plunge him under the water, and although you've liberated him from the air, yet it's not true liberty and freedom, it is only death.
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You can pluck a tree up by the roots from the soil. You've liberated that tree. It is not true liberty and true freedom for the tree to be plucked up by its roots. It's death. You can take man out from under God's law, and man today claims it is true liberty and true freedom to be free from God's law, and then he finds it's only destruction and death. True liberty and true freedom, true life is under God's law. God is the author of life and God is the author of death.
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Now some have said, concerning wars, that the only just war is a defensive war. But that's not true. There are many just wars in the Bible that were offensive wars, and they were just wars because God commanded them. We read in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 4 concerning God, listen carefully, "He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all of His ways are judgment: a God of truth, just and right is He." Whatever God does is absolutely just. God is the author of life, and God has a sovereign right to dispose of life as He pleases. In fact, we could say this, there are many individuals, and many nations as well, that have long forfeited their lives by their idolatry, and their other crimes against a holy, righteous God. And God has justly sentenced them to death.
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Each of us can quote the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." But you must remember that that commandment is a commandment to mankind. God's law binds us. It does not bind God. God is above His law. God is the author of His law. And God is not bound by His law because He is God. Has it ever dawned upon you that only God can do as He pleases? I remember when I was a teenager and I had to work. And I thought to myself, if I ever get grown and get away from this farm, I'll do whatever I please.
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And I found out that I couldn't do what I pleased. I had to do what I had to do. Okay? Only God can do as He pleases. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 115 verse 3, "But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased." Those who have trouble with this concept that I'm going to be teaching today, that it is God who takes life, that it is God who takes life in time and in history, and He does so justly and righteously—if you have trouble with this concept, then you must wrestle with this: If God does not have the power, the authority, and the right to justly and righteously take life now in time and history, how in the world will He be able to do it in eternity when He punishes the wicked? It is true that God oftentimes takes lives through what you and I would refer to as natural calamities.
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Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, droughts, famines, diseases, tsunamis, pestilences, and many other so-called natural calamities. In fact, in 2 Samuel chapter 24 and verse 15, don't turn there, but in 2 Samuel 24 and verse 15, God killed 70,000 men with a pestilence because of David's sin. 70,000!
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So all of these natural calamities that the world talks about and refers to them wickedly as acts of Mother Nature, they are in reality acts of Father God because they are acts of God's righteous judgment in time and in history. You've got to remember, and I'm going to say this several times in the next month or so, there are no accidents in a world that is ruled by God, only incidents. And the Bible says in the book of Amos chapter 3 and verse 7, listen now, "Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" Now think about that. "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"
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There is no act nor can there be any act over which God either does not allow or God does not exercise full and total control. I do not care if it is an evil act or righteous act. If there is anything over which God does not have control, then that thing is God and not God. God is sovereign, He has control over everything. So therefore, He said, "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" So if a hurricane rips up a city, God has done it. If a tornado destroys a city, God has done it. If pestilence and disease stalk a city, God has done it.
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Years ago, Rolf Barnard, some of you probably have heard some of his sermons, but Rolf Barnard upset many people with a sermon that he preached. And the title of the sermon was this: "The God of the Bible Kills People." Wow! He upset a lot of people with that sermon. But it was true. And it is true today. What did we read? In Deuteronomy 32 and verse 39, what did God say?
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"I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal, neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand."
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Now why would anyone not believe that God has the right and the power and the authority to take life? God gave it, it is in His hands, and He has the absolute right to dispose of it as He pleases. So let's ask this question again. Because if you begin teaching what I'm teaching today, or you teach what Rolf Barnard taught, people are going to get upset. Why would anyone not believe that God has the power and the right and the authority to take life as He chooses? Here's my answer. The reason most people do not think that God will take life is because of a perverted teaching on the doctrine of the love of God. It is true that God is love. The Bible teaches that God is love. But the Bible also teaches that God is light, that God is spirit, and that God is just. But the perverted teaching of the doctrine of love of God has been so spread that most people tend to think of God as some sort of sissy, effeminate, emotionally warped individual that allows anyone and everyone to resist Him, run over Him, and who would never lift a finger to hurt anyone, even His
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most hateful enemies. Such is not the God of Scripture, and such is not the truth of Scripture. It is true that God is indeed holy. But God is also just and God is righteous. And you've got to remember this, God is what He is and what He is declared to be in Scripture. He is not the figment of our imaginations. He is not what we wish Him to be.
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He is not what we desire Him to be. He is what He is revealed in Scripture. The average sinner misinterprets the doctrine of the love of God. Because the average sinner interprets the doctrine of the love of God as a license to sin, because his thinking is this: if God loves me, then He's not going to judge me. If God really loves me, He would never send me to the lake of fire, He would never do anything that would hurt me, so I can sin with impunity against God. Well, that certainly is not the truth, but that is how most people interpret the love of God. Arthur W.
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Pink wrote years ago, listen to this quote. He said, "There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love." That first sentence is worth its weight in gold. Listen, "There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love. The divine love is commonly regarded as a species of amiable weakness, a sort of good-natured indulgence.
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It is reduced to a mere sickly sentiment, patterned after human emotion." Now the truth is that, on this, as on everything else, our thoughts need to be formed and regulated by what is revealed in the Holy Scripture. Pink goes on: "God's love is not regulated by caprice, passion, or sentiment, but by principle. Just as His grace reigns not at expense of it, but through righteousness, so His love never conflicts with His holiness. God is light" (1 John 1:5) is mentioned before "God is love" (1 John 4:8). God's love is no mere amiable weakness or effeminate softness. Scripture declares, "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." God will not wink at sin, even in His own people. His love is pure, unmixed, without maudlin sentimentality. And that is true.
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Now to show you, I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Nahum chapter 1 and Deuteronomy chapter 7. If you would go over to the book of Nahum, the little book of Nahum, the minor prophet, Nahum, right after the book of Micah—Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Look in Nahum chapter 1 at verses 2 and 3.
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Now you've got to remember that God is love. That is true. But look at Nahum 1 in verse 2. The scripture says, "God is jealous and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds of the dust of His feet." Note if you would, "The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked." So God is love, but God is just.
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Now if you look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7, Deuteronomy chapter 7, and look if you would please at verses 9 and 10. Just to show you, here is the same God who is love, Deuteronomy 7, verses 9 and 10. The scripture says, "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him, and keepeth His commandments to a thousand generations, and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them.
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He will not be slack to him that hateth Him. He will repay him to his face." So the love of God does not destroy the justice and the holiness and the righteousness of God. Now God does kill. God does take life. In fact, He takes individual lives. He killed Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5 for lying to Him. He killed proud, arrogant Herod in Acts chapter 12. He took care of Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5. He killed Hophni and Phinehas on the same day in 1 Samuel chapter 4. So God does take individual lives. God also takes the lives of soldiers, of armies. You will remember without turning there how that God slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night with one stroke of the sword in 2 Kings 19. You'll remember how He drowned Pharaoh and his entire host in Exodus chapter 14. And then of course He destroyed Sisera and his host in Judges chapter 5. In fact, we're told in Judges chapter 5 that even the stars in heaven fought against Sisera.
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So God not only takes individual lives, He takes the lives of armies as well. The king of Israel understood that God had the power to kill and the power to heal. If you look in your Bibles, 2 Kings chapter 5, you remember the story about Naaman the leper? Naaman of course was a Syrian. And so the king of Syria had heard that there was a prophet in the land through the little girl. And so he sent Naaman to the king of Israel and wanted him to heal him of his leprosy. And so the king of Israel in 2 Kings chapter 5 and verse 7 said this, "And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and said, Am I God to kill and to make alive that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy?
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Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me." But notice what the king said, "Am I God to kill and to make alive?" What was he confessing? He was acknowledging that it is God who kills. It is God who takes life. It is God who gives life. You know what the Bible says in 1 Samuel 2 and verse 6? Let me just quote it. "The Lord killeth and maketh alive.
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He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up." The Lord killeth and the Lord maketh alive. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 22. I want you to see a warning and a threat that God gave to the children of Israel. Just pointing out the fact that God does indeed kill. Notice if you would, Exodus chapter 22 and verse 24. Look what God says. Exodus 22 verse 24.
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He's talking about messing with the widows and the orphans. He said, "And My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless." In other words, go back up to verse 22. He said, "You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and their cry at all come unto Me, I will surely hear their cry, and My wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with a sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless."
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Now what did God say? God said, "I'll kill you. You disobey Me, I'll kill you." You say, "Now wait a minute, Brother Weaver. All these verses, they're all in the Old Testament." Yes, they are. But let me remind you of something. I'm going to show you something in the New Testament. We have one Bible, not two. And we have one God. And the same God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.
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His law does not change. His word does not change. Because He does not change, He is immutable. He is unchangeable. So therefore, if you would like to look in your Bibles, in Matthew chapter 10, I will show you what our Lord said in verse 28. Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Then we will go to the book of Revelation. Look at Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28. Notice our Lord said this, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
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Now let me ask you a question. If God has the ability and the power to destroy both soul and body in hell, does He not have that same ability and that same power and that same right to destroy in time and in history? And the answer, of course, is yes. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2. And in this instance, our Lord is talking to the church at Thyatira. Revelation chapter 2, and let's look down to verse 23. He's talking about the church there that allows fornication and idolatry to go on. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 20. He tells the church of Thyatira, verse 18. You can see the church of Thyatira, verse now, verse 20.
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He said, "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce My servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except thou repent of their deeds, and I will kill her children with death.
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And all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and the hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works." Those are New Testament verses. You see, God does kill. And oftentimes, when God kills, He uses means. God may kill either directly or immediately, but usually when God kills, He kills mediately. That is through the use of means. And when I say through the use of means, I really mean through men.
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Why should we think that strange? Because all you've got to do is read Romans 13 verses 3 and 4, where the Bible says concerning the civil magistrate, "For he beareth not the sword in vain: he is the revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." God gave man the power of the sword in the sphere and in the realm of civil authority. What did He say in Genesis 9 in verse 6? "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, help me out, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man."
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So what does that mean? God can kill directly. He did Herod. He smote him instantly. But many times He uses men. If you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 35, and I could show you this in a multitude of places. This is just one of them. But you remember in the Old Testament, every family had an avenger of blood. That meant if you had a relative that was murdered or killed, the avenger of blood had a responsibility to track down the murderer and kill him, thus to cleanse the land of bloodshed. Well, look in Numbers chapter 35, if you would, and verse 19. And here is a man that has gotten to be a murderer.
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And what does the Bible say? Numbers chapter 35, verse 19. "The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. When he meeteth him, he shall slay him." So God said, here's the avenger of blood. Here's the family member at that particular time who had the authority under God to slay anyone who murdered his family member. So God did use the avenger of blood. If you will look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 32, you'll see where God used the Levites to cleanse the land of idolatry. Look what He told the Levites, Exodus chapter 32, verse 27. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 26.
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"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses.
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And there fell to the people that day about three thousand men." Here were men who were unrepentant in the fornication, and in the idolatry, and worshipping the golden calf. And God said, "Kill them." And that's exactly what the children of Levi did. They slew every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.
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Now, all of that is introduction. I want you to go to the book of Jeremiah chapter 48, because I'm just pointing out the fact that God does kill. The power of life and the power of death is in His hands. So look in Jeremiah 48 in verse 10 at the text we read earlier, where God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." There are two curses that are pronounced in this text. First of all, there's the first curse that is in reference to doing the work of the Lord deceitfully. And the second curse is in reference to withholding one's sword from blood or from killing. Now, notice if you would the word "cursed." "Cursed be he" or "cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Now the word "curse" in the Hebrew literally means to curse, to curse bitterly, to lay under a curse, and to cause to be cursed.
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So therefore God is placing a curse upon anyone who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, slothfully, and with a slack hand. And He also places a curse upon anyone who refuses to kill when it is time to kill. That's what He said. "Cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Do you remember that passage in Ecclesiastes 3 and verse 3? When the Bible says, "There's a time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up."
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William Gurnall, one of the old Puritans, lived in the 1500s and the 1600s. And he wrote an amazing paragraph in 1600. And I want to submit to you what he wrote in 1600 is just as applicable today. Listen to what Gurnall wrote, remember this is 1600. Gurnall said, "When I consider how the goodness of God is abused by the greatest part of mankind, I cannot but be of the mind that said, the greatest miracle in the world is God's patience and bounty to an ungrateful world. If a prince had an enemy that has gotten into one of his towns, he does not send them in provision, but lays up siege to them, and does what he can to starve them out.
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But the great God, that could wink all His enemies into destruction, bears with them, and is at daily cost to maintain them. Well may He command us to bless them that curse us, who Himself does good to the evil and unthankful. But think not sinners, that you shall escape thus. God's mill goes slow, but it grinds small. The more admirable His patience and bounty now is, the more dreadful and unsupportable and unstoppable will be that fury that arises out of His abused goodness.
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Nothing is smoother than the sea, yet when stirred into a tempest, nothing rages more. Nothing so sweet as the patience and goodness of God and nothing so terrible as His wrath when it takes fire." Gurnall was right when he said, when he understands that the vast majority of the people abuse and misuse the goodness and the mercy and the kindness of God. And you know, what Scripture is teaching in Jeremiah 48 in verse 10, is a very difficult concept for you and I to grasp.
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Because we have been told, and it is true, there is a time to withhold our hands from shedding of blood. And that time is when we have no authority to do so, and no right to do so. But God does say that there comes a time that He gives special authority and special right to do that, to shed blood. And God said, when I give that authority, when I give that right, cursed is the man that keeps back his sword from blood.
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One of my favorite illustrations is about Stonewall Jackson. Once when Stonewall Jackson was performing a strategic withdrawal, Yankee cavalry attacked his rear. Turner Ashby and his men dismounted and prepared to receive the attack. And Ashby and his men poured such a volley of fire into the Yankee cavalry that they killed every cavalryman but one. And the Yankee cavalryman did not stop his charge. He continued his charge right on through the Confederate line.
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And then stopped his horse and turned and rode back. None of the Confederates would shoot him. They were so enthralled at his courage and at his bravery. When Stonewall Jackson was informed of the incident and of the bravery of the Yankee cavalrymen, Stonewall Jackson replied, "Kill them all. I don't want any brave Yankees. Kill the brave ones and the cowards will flee." Stonewall Jackson understood Jeremiah 48 verse 10. "Cursed be he
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that keepeth back his sword from blood." Now, in order to understand Jeremiah 48 and verse 10, you've got to understand the context. I want you to look very quickly at Jeremiah 48. We certainly cannot go over this entire chapter, so I'm going to give you a very quick summary. Of course, what you have in Jeremiah 48 is the destruction of Moab. And this destruction was foretold that it's going to be great, that it's going to be general, and that it's going to extend to all parts of the country. Notice verse 1, "Against Moab, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe unto Nebo, for it is spoiled.
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Kiriathaim is confounded and taken. Misgab is confounded and dismayed." And then in verse 6, you have another one, "Flee, save yourselves, be like the heath in the wilderness." Look in verse 8, "And the spoilers shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape. The valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the Lord had spoken." Again, in Jeremiah 48, it's foretold that the spoilers will come, and that people are going to be forced to flee, and that many of them are going to be carried into captivity. And look in verse 16, he says, "The calamity of Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteneth fast." In other words, God said, it's coming upon you. God had ordained it, God had ordered it, God had commanded it, it was going to come. And it was going to come very swiftly, it was going to come as a surprise to them. Skip down to verse 40, "For thus saith the Lord, Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
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Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are surprised. And the mighty men's heart in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pains." So this destruction is going to come swift like an eagle. It's going to be a surprise. The people will not know what hit them basically. The country is going to be laid absolutely waste. It's going to force them to quit their idols. Look in verse 13. "And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence." Look in verse 35. So God has said, look, here's the people that are guilty of idolatry and wickedness. The causes of their destruction are very plainly evident in this passage. It's not just because of sin in general. It's also because of their pride, their haughtiness, their carnal confidence, their idolatry. For instance, verse 7, he says, "For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken. And Chemosh, their false god, shall go forth into captivity with its priests and its princes together."
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He said, you've trusted in your works, you've trusted in your money. That almost sounds like America, doesn't it? "And Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and his princes together." Here's a god that can't even protect himself. He's a false god. Well, sure. Skip down to verse 11. "Moab had been at ease from his youth, and he had settled on his lees, and had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither had he gone into captivity.
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Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed." Wow. Skip down to verse 26. God says, "Make ye him drunken, for he magnified himself against the Lord." Wow! "Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, he shall be held in derision. For was not Israel a derision unto thee? Was he found among thieves? For since thou spakest of him, thou skippest for joy." In other words, Moab marveled and rejoiced in Israel's destruction. So, God says, you're going to reap exactly what you're sowing. Skip down to verse 30. God says, "I know his wrath, saith the Lord, that is Moab's wrath, but it shall not be so, and his lies shall not so effect it." Now, all of chapter 48 involves the destruction of Moab.
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Who is doing the destroying? Well, the answer is, ultimately, God is doing the destroying. But God is using the Babylonians or the Chaldeans. So when you look at verse 10, when Jeremiah says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood," Jeremiah, the prophet of God, is speaking for God to the Chaldean army, to the Babylonian army. He is telling the Babylonians that they are to be God's instruments against the Moabites. So literally what he's saying is, spare not, but shed blood, let no humanity move you. This is the work of God. This is something that God has ordained. This is something that God has commanded. And you're going to be accursed if you do not obey God. You're going to be cursed if you withhold your sword from blood. So he's telling this army to go on courageously, to do what they've been commanded to do, and destroy and wipe out the Moabites. Listen, God did use the Babylonians to destroy Moab.
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He also used the Babylonians to destroy Judah. Everyone in this room remembers that Nebuchadnezzar was a proud, arrogant, haughty monarch. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah 25 first. I want you to see how God refers to Nebuchadnezzar when He sent him against Judah. Look in Jeremiah 25. This is how God refers to Nebuchadnezzar when He sent him against Judah to destroy it. Jeremiah 25, verse 9. God says, "Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all the nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment and
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a hissing and perpetual desolations." What did God say about Nebuchadnezzar? He was His servant. And what did God do? God sent him to destroy not just Judah and Jerusalem, but the nations round about. Look if you would to Jeremiah chapter 27 and verse 6. Here it is again. Jeremiah 27 verse 6. "And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, My servant. And the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him." Note, he refers to him again as "My servant." Why would God refer to proud, arrogant, haughty, rebellious Nebuchadnezzar as His servant? Because he was doing that which God had sent him to do: to chastise and destroy Judah and Jerusalem, Moab, the Ammonites, and all the people round about. Do you realize that God also used the Assyrians like that? I want you to turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 10. Isaiah chapter 10. While God used the Babylonians to chastise and destroy Judah and Jerusalem, the southern kingdom, He used the Assyrians in the northern kingdom.
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So look at Isaiah chapter 10 at verse 5. And listen, you talk about a wicked, vile people, the Assyrians were. I could sit here and tell you for an hour how vile they were. It was Assyrians who came up with the crucifixion. It was Assyrians who skinned people alive, flayed them alive. It was Assyrians who had pyramids of human skulls. It was Assyrians who bragged on their cruelty. And look what God says, Isaiah 10 verse 5, "O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against the hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge,
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to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. Howbeit, he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations, not a few."
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Now, I want you to look back at verse 5. God refers to the Assyrian as the rod of His anger. He says the staff in their hand is the staff of His indignation. Note if you would in verse 6, God says, "I will send him against the hypocritical nation, against the people of My wrath." Note, God said, "I will give him a charge to take the spoil and to take the prey and to tread them down like mire of the streets." Now look at verse 7.
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"Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy and to cut off nations not a few." Now, did the Assyrians come to Israel and say, "I'm here because God sent me, I'm doing the will of God"? No, they didn't do that. They did not even know that God was using them. The only thing they wanted to do was to kill, and to murder, and to rape, and to pillage, and to rob, and to steal, and to spoil. That's all! But they would have never been there had God not sent them. They would have never done what they did had God not given them a charge. Had God not been in absolute and total control of them.
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I want you to note something. God is in control of everyone. Whether they like it or not, admit it or not, know it or not, it does not matter. Even the most wicked, the most vile, God has them under absolute control and all serve Him whether they mean to or not. It is God who sent the wicked to chastise His erring and sinful and disobedient people. And many times in the Bible, it is God who will use one wicked nation to chastise another wicked nation and destroy them. I want you to turn to Psalm 17. Look in Psalm 17, I've preached from this passage before. It's a wonderful passage and it's a wonderful truth. But I want you to see this one verse in Psalm 17 and verse 13. Look how David refers to the wicked from God's perspective. Notice Psalm 17 and verse 13. Psalm 17 verse 13, David is praying against the wicked and he says this, "Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked. Which is Thy sword?"
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So the wicked are God's sword. God uses them many times to punish and chastise His own sinful people. He uses them to chastise and punish each other. Life and death are in God's hands. He has appointed the time of our birth and the time of our death. And what God has done in Jeremiah 48 is this. He's given the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, a charge. And that charge was to destroy the Moabites. They had a commission from God. They had the authority of God to destroy Moab, to destroy Judah, to destroy the Ammonites, to destroy all the surrounding nations. And they were to fulfill that charge faithfully and fully. It was not to be done by halves.
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That's why He said, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood." What was God saying? I've given you the authority and the command to take life, and you're to do it fully, without holding back, without regard, you just obey. Have you ever thought about this? Have you ever noticed the kings and the civil rulers who were under the curse of God for withholding the sword from blood? Let me show you just a couple.
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Look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel, chapter 15. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. This is an absolutely amazing story. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. Samuel, the prophet comes to King Saul, verse 1. "Samuel also said unto Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over His people, over Israel.
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Now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. So this is what God is declaring to be done. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not. But slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox, sheep, camel and ass." By the way, I pointed out earlier that it is not just defensive wars that are just. There are offensive wars. Who started this war? God did. You say, but the Amalekites did certain things to Israel. Yeah, they did. When they came out of Egypt 400 years earlier. Now God said, I remember what they've done. And now comes the time for My vengeance and Saul, I'm giving you a commission, you go and you smite them and you destroy them, man, woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass, I want you to kill them all.
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Well, skip down to verses 8 and 9. This is King Saul, "But he took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive, and utterly destroyed all the people at the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and of the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them, but everything that was vile and refuse, that they utterly destroyed."
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Now I want you to note, God had told him to slay it all, kill it all. Without me going all into 1 Samuel 15, you'll remember it was because of this, Saul lost his kingdom. He was rejected. God refused to have him anymore as His king. In fact, this is where David came in and became anointed and appointed by God. But it was not just his kingdom that he lost. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 1. 2 Samuel chapter 1.
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Let me read something to you here. 2 Samuel chapter 1. Let's begin reading with verse 1.
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"Now it came to pass after the death of Saul when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites. And David had abode two days in Ziklag. It came even to pass on the third day that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head. And so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance. David said unto him, From whence comest thou? He said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, How went the matter, I pray thee, tell me?"
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"And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead. And Saul and Jonathan his sons are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear, and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me, and I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite."
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"And he said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me, for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after these fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and brought them hither unto my Lord." Who art thou? I am an Amalekite. Saul spared the best, and in the end, the best slew him."
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What do you get for withholding your sword from blood? Death. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20. In 1 Kings chapter 20 you will read about a war that King Ahab had with King Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria. Ahab, of course, was king of Israel. And the king of Israel had the opportunity to wipe out the Syrians and Ben-Hadad. And instead of killing King Ben-Hadad, when he could have, Ahab not only called him his brother, he made a treaty with him and spared him and the rest of his men. And I want you to look what God says in 1 Kings chapter 20 and verse 42. Here's what God said to King Ahab.
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"And He said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." What? What? That's right. God said, Ahab, you spared someone that I had appointed to death, your life will go for his life. You let those people go, when I had appointed them for death, your people will go for their people.
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"Cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood." When there is a command, when there is the authority of God, you cannot do the work of God deceitfully. There was one man who did well: Jehu. However, before I tell you about Jehu, let me give you a quote by John Gill. Because John Gill is dealing with this same principle, and the truth of Jeremiah 48 in verse 10, and he says this: "This is a general rule. Cursed be he that doeth the work of God deceitfully, and withholdeth his sword from blood. This is a general rule which may be applied to all divine work and service. Every man has work to do for God, some in a more public, others in a more private way.
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All should be done in uprightness and sincerity with all faithfulness and integrity. It is done deceitfully when men play the hypocrite and negligently when they are backward to it, lukewarm in it, and infrequent in the performance of it, which brings upon them the curse of God, and which is not a curse causeless, but a legal one, and no other than the wrath of God in strict justice." That's why God told Ahab, "Your life for his, and your people for his people." That's why Saul lost his kingdom. That's why Saul lost his life.
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If you'll look very quickly in 2 Kings chapter 10, here's a man by the name of Jehu. He was appointed king over Israel. And God appointed him to wipe out the house of Ahab. And you remember it was Jehu who killed Jezebel. She was thrown out of a window and he trod her under his horse's feet and his chariot wheels. But I want you to look what the Bible says in 2 Kings chapter 10, beginning there with verse 10. Jehu says this concerning the death of all of the people of Ahab, "Know now therefore there shall fall into the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab. For the Lord hath done that which He spake by His servant Elijah. So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and all his kinfolks, and all his priests, until he left him none remaining." Hmm. Jehu killed them all. God also gave Jehu another task. He was to wipe out Baal worship in Israel.
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If you look in 2 Kings chapter 10 and verse 16, he tells his friend Jonadab, let's read verse 15. "And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said unto him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand, and he took him up into the chariot.
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And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in the chariot.
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Now, let me tell you what happened. He got himself to Samaria and Jehu said that Ahab served Baal a little, but I'm going to serve him a lot. And so Jehu proclaimed a great feast for all of the followers of Baal and all the priests of Baal. And he got them all together in the house of Baal. And then He told His men, He said, you go through and you make sure there is no worshipper of Jehovah in there. And there was not. And then He told His men, kill every one of them.
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He said, if you let them go, your life for his life. I want you to watch. If you would, skip down to verse 28. "Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel." How did he do that? Well, go back to verse 25, "And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of the offering of the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard, Do the captains go in and slay them, and let none come forth? And as they smote them with the edge of the sword, and the guard and the captains cast them out and went to the house of Baal. And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal and burned them. And they break down the image of Baal and break down the house of Baal and made it a drawn house unto this day. Thus, Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel."
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How did he do it? He killed them all. You know, this is a very difficult concept, but I'm going to show it to you from another aspect and another angle. Our God is merciful. And we're to be a merciful people. But do you realize there is none as merciful as the Lord? And yet there comes a time when He is unmerciful. We're to be a merciful people. But there comes a time when we're not to extend mercy. When we're not to extend even pity. Let me show you.
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Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19.
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There are so many proponents today of letting murderers live. They'll protest the death penalty, etc. But here's what God says. Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 13, talking about the murderer, talking about the man who deserves death. In fact, let's read verse 12. "Then the elders of his city shall sit and fetch him thence, and deliver him in the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die." Look what God says, "Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee." God says you're to have no pity, you're to have no mercy upon a man that is a murderer, he is to be put to death. Skip down to verse 21, again God says it like this, and He's talking to the judges, "And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Thine eye shall not pity." If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14.
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If I were to ask you, would it be right to always emulate our Heavenly Father? What would you say? Yes. Well, let's look in Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14 and see what God says. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 13. "Thus shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of the land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness, and I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord.
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I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them." So the most merciful being that there is, the sovereign God of heaven and earth, says there comes a time that He will show no mercy. And what the Scripture teaches is there is a time for mercy and there is a time to show no mercy. There is a time to spare, there is a time not to spare.
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In one sense of the word, it is easy to understand the killing of the wicked especially as it relates to justice. We understand killing in a time of war. We know that God is absolutely holy and absolutely just. But have you ever stopped to think, what about those verses where God says to kill the women and the children? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 31. Numbers chapter 31. And let's begin reading there verse 15 because some of the warriors that Moses sent out to destroy the Midianites spared the women. Numbers chapter 31 beginning there verse 15. "And Moses said unto them, Have you saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord." Twenty-three thousand, I think, were killed.
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"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known men by lying with them. But all the women children that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves." What did he just say? You kill every mother or every married woman and every male child, kill them. Why? We tend to forget that women and children are sinners, just like soldiers, just like men. We also tend to forget that whatever God commands is right and holy. We also tend to forget that it is our duty to obey when God directs.
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I have a friend who was a soldier for many, many years. And he was stationed where there were a lot of suicide bombers. And one day he saw a very petite woman walking toward him with a bomb strapped on her. He ordered her to stop. She kept coming. He ordered her to stop again. She kept coming. He warned her, if you cross this line, I will shoot you. She kept coming. And when she stepped over that line, it took 27 rounds to stop her.
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He shot her 27 times. Now whether she was on drugs, I don't know, but she was intent on killing him and killing others as well. You see, the way we're trained is we always respect womanhood. And we always tend to think that little children are innocent. Excuse me, they're not. And some of the men from Vietnam can tell you that it was the children who oftentimes would come up with hand grenades, and poison cokes, and other things as well. I'm just simply saying, we tend to forget that women and children are sinners, excuse me for saying this, but deserve death just like everyone else. That's why we die.
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Keil and Delitzsch, in their Old Testament commentary, said this on Jeremiah 48 and verse 10. Listen carefully. When he said, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood." They make this statement: "The devastation is a work of the Lord and those who execute it must carry out the divine decree so that they may not bring the curse upon themselves.
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The first clause is taken quite generally. The more exact specification of the work of the Lord follows. In the second clause, it is the employment of the sword against Moab. The work of destroying Moab is here mainly meant, but the text taketh in all lawful employments. These are God's works and must be done vigorously with all our might in obedience to God and for His greatest glory.
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Not soldiers only that have a good cause and in a good calling must likewise take a good courage and do execution lustily, but magistrates as well who are keepers of both tables of the law must do right without partiality, accounting it better to be counted a busy justice than an honest gentleman. Ministers must look to the ministry which they receive of the Lord to fulfill the same. Every man in his particular place and station must not be slothful in business, but fervent in spirit and serving the Lord." And so what Jeremiah was saying in Jeremiah 48 verse 10, those Chaldeans had to be fervent in spirit and zealous in serving the Lord.
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Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. We must learn to biblically fear God. In learning to biblically fear God, we have an understanding that He's the God of life and the God of death. Life and death are in His hands. I probably told you this, but I'll tell you again. The first time I took Tripp and Daniel out to Front Sight.
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We were in Bass Pro, and Alice called, and she asked me, "Where are you spending the night?" I said, "We're staying at the Hooters Hotel." And of course, she knew better. And so when I got off the phone, I looked at Tripp and Daniel and I said, "Now boys, you know I was teasing Granny. I would never ever stay at a Hooters hotel." I said, "Because first of all, I fear the Lord and I know I don't want His anger and His wrath against me." It was Tripp who said, "Papa, if you stayed at Hooters, I don't think you'd have to look out for the Lord. I think you'd have to watch out for Granny Alice."
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Well, that'd be the means that He used. But you see, what I'm saying is, why would I not do something like that? Because I fear God. I know God holds life and death in His hands. And if God has the power to take life, and He does in time and history, how much more will He execute that in eternity as well? And what did our Lord say? Let me remind you, Matthew 10 verse 28, "And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but fear Him," He said, "who are able to kill both soul and body in hell." In Revelation 15 and verse 4, the question is asked, "Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?" Why? Because God is the author of life and death. We should fear Him and recognize at all times we're accountable to obey Him.
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The second application is this. God despises half-hearted and lukewarm work. That's why there's a curse attached to it. Do you remember what He said to the church in Revelation 3 and verse 16, the church of Laodicea? Listen to what He said, "So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because I'm lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I'll spew thee out of My mouth."
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What is our Lord saying? He's saying in essence, I'd rather you be out and out for Me or out and out against Me, rather than just being lukewarm. Whatever we do, we must learn to do heartily as unto the Lord. It doesn't matter if we're fighting. It doesn't matter if we're soldiers. It doesn't matter if we're digging ditches. It doesn't matter if we're waiting tables or washing dishes. Whatever we do, we're to do it heartily as unto the Lord. It doesn't matter if it's menial or important. We're to do it as unto Him and worshiping Him.
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and giving Him that praise and that honor that is acceptable unto Him. God tells us He hates and He despises lukewarm worship and lukewarm service. The third application is this. If we desire life in the fullness and the abundance and the joy of it now, we must seek it in Christ. And by the way, there's a big difference between living and just being alive. Real life is found in Jesus Christ.
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Our Lord said in John 10 in verse 10, "The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." True life is only found in Christ. Quality of life is only found in Christ. We who serve Him and live for Him and obey Him have the most joy and the most happiness out of life.
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"See now," said God, "that I am He. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. And there is none that can deliver out of My hand." Whatever we do, we are to do it as honoring the one true and the living God. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee, we thank You, we praise You. We know that Thou art the God of life and Thou art the God of death. No one can live apart from Thee and no one can die apart from Thee. And it's Thou, Heavenly Father, that has protected us and preserved us. And we acknowledge that. Thank You for allowing us to live. Thank You for allowing us to trust in Thee and to enjoy Thy blessings. And we give Thee praise and honor and worship in and through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T04:36:27Z

Life and Death Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues his teaching on the sovereignty of God over life and death. He argues that God alone has the right to give and take life, and that He does so justly, often using means such as natural calamities, armies, and civil authorities. The central text is Jeremiah 48:10, which pronounces a curse on those who do God's work deceitfully or withhold the sword from blood. Weaver explains that God commanded the Babylonians to destroy Moab as an act of divine judgment, and that obedience required full, unsparing execution. He applies this principle to all believers, emphasizing that God despises half-hearted service and that true life is found only in Christ.

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews Part 1, emphasizing that life and death belong to God alone, and that true liberty is found under God's law.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:39

"See now that I, even I am He, and there is no God with Me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand."

God's Right to Take Life

God is not bound by His own law; He has the sovereign right to take life justly, as seen in natural calamities and direct acts of judgment.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 32:4

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect, for all of His ways are judgment: a God of truth, just and right is He."

And I found out that I couldn't do what I pleased. I had to do what I had to do. Okay? Only God can do as He pleases. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 115 verse 3,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 115:3

"But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased."

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:6

"Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"

Now think about that.

Scripture Reading — Amos 3:6

"Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"

"I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal, neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand."

The Perversion of God's Love

Many reject God's right to kill because of a distorted view of divine love, which ignores His holiness and justice.

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:2-3

"God is jealous and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord hath His way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and in the clouds of the dust of His feet."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Nahum 1:2-3

"The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked."

So God is love, but God is just.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 7:9-10

"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him, and keepeth His commandments to a thousand generations, and repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that hateth Him. He will repay him to his face."

Biblical Examples of God Killing

Scripture records God killing individuals, armies, and nations, both directly and through human instruments.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 10:28

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Scripture Reading — Genesis 9:6

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, help me out, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made He man."

And what does the Bible say? Numbers chapter 35, verse 19.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 35:19

"The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer. When he meeteth him, he shall slay him."

Exposition of Jeremiah 48:10

The curse on those who do God's work deceitfully or withhold the sword is given in the context of God's command to destroy Moab through the Babylonians.

God's Use of Wicked Nations

God uses even wicked nations like Assyria and Babylon as instruments of His judgment, though they act from their own evil motives.

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 10:5-7

"O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against the hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge,

Consequences of Withholding the Sword

Saul and Ahab were judged for failing to fully execute God's commanded destruction, illustrating the curse of Jeremiah 48:10.

Jehu's Zeal and the Principle of No Pity

Jehu's complete destruction of Ahab's house and Baal worship exemplifies obedience; God commands no pity for murderers.

Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Deuteronomy chapter 19.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:13

"Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee."

God says you're to have no pity, you're to have no mercy upon a man that is a murderer, he is to be put to death. Skip down to verse 21, again God says it like this, and He's talking to the judges,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 19:13

"And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. Thine eye shall not pity."

If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 13 and verse 14.

Killing Women and Children

God's command to kill women and children in certain contexts is justified because all are sinners, and God's commands are righteous.

Applications: Fear God, Avoid Lukewarmness, Find Life in Christ

Believers must fear God, serve Him wholeheartedly, and seek abundant life only in Jesus Christ.

Life and Death Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	8uW_errvXvY
Subject	Civil Government
Course	Civil Government: Magistracy, Authority, and Romans 13: Authority
Genre	Sermon
Date	2012-02-17
Dictation Name
Book	Book 056: Life and Death — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	97

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver reviews Part 1, emphasizing that life and death belong to God alone, and that true liberty is found under God's law.
God's Right to Take Life: God is not bound by His own law; He has the sovereign right to take life justly, as seen in natural calamities and direct acts of judgment.
The Perversion of God's Love: Many reject God's right to kill because of a distorted view of divine love, which ignores His holiness and justice.
Biblical Examples of God Killing: Scripture records God killing individuals, armies, and nations, both directly and through human instruments.
Exposition of Jeremiah 48:10: The curse on those who do God's work deceitfully or withhold the sword is given in the context of God's command to destroy Moab through the Babylonians.
God's Use of Wicked Nations: God uses even wicked nations like Assyria and Babylon as instruments of His judgment, though they act from their own evil motives.
Consequences of Withholding the Sword: Saul and Ahab were judged for failing to fully execute God's commanded destruction, illustrating the curse of Jeremiah 48:10.
Jehu's Zeal and the Principle of No Pity: Jehu's complete destruction of Ahab's house and Baal worship exemplifies obedience; God commands no pity for murderers.
Killing Women and Children: God's command to kill women and children in certain contexts is justified because all are sinners, and God's commands are righteous.
Applications: Fear God, Avoid Lukewarmness, Find Life in Christ: Believers must fear God, serve Him wholeheartedly, and seek abundant life only in Jesus Christ.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God is not bound by His own law

The sixth commandment binds mankind, not God; God is above His law and can take life as He pleases.

Deuteronomy 32:4: 'He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment.'

Natural calamities are acts of God, not 'Mother Nature'

Hurricanes, famines, and pestilences are God's righteous judgments in history, not random accidents.

Amos 3:6: 'Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?'

God's love does not negate His justice

The Bible presents God as both loving and vengeful; His love is principled, not sentimental, and includes chastening.

Deuteronomy 7:9-10: 'He repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them.'

God commands full execution of judgment

In Jeremiah 48:10, God curses those who spare when He has commanded destruction; partial obedience is disobedience.

1 Samuel 15: Saul lost his kingdom for sparing Agag.

Even women and children are not innocent

All are sinners deserving death; God's commands to kill women and children in certain contexts are just and must be obeyed.

Numbers 31:15-18: Moses commanded killing male children and non-virgin women.

Lukewarm service is despised by God

God rejects half-hearted work and worship; believers must serve with zeal and wholeheartedness.

Revelation 3:16: 'Because thou art lukewarm... I will spue thee out of my mouth.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 32:39: God declares His sole sovereignty over life and death.
Jeremiah 48:10: The central text: curse on deceitful work and withholding the sword.
Job 1:21: Job acknowledged God gives and takes away.
Romans 13:3-4: Civil magistrate bears the sword as God's minister of justice.
Deuteronomy 32:4: God's work is perfect and all His ways are just.
Psalm 115:3: God does whatever He pleases.
2 Samuel 24:15: God killed 70,000 with a pestilence because of David's sin.
Amos 3:6: Evil in a city is done by the Lord.
Nahum 1:2-3: God is jealous, revengeth, and will not acquit the wicked.
Deuteronomy 7:9-10: God repays those who hate Him to their face.
Exodus 22:24: God threatens to kill with the sword those who afflict widows and orphans.
Matthew 10:28: Fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Revelation 2:23: Jesus threatens to kill Jezebel's children with death.
Genesis 9:6: By man shall his blood be shed; capital punishment ordained.
Numbers 35:19: The avenger of blood shall slay the murderer.
Exodus 32:27-28: Levites slew 3,000 idolaters at God's command.
Isaiah 10:5-7: Assyria is the rod of God's anger, though they mean not so.
1 Samuel 15:3: God commands Saul to utterly destroy Amalek, including women and children.
1 Kings 20:42: Ahab's life for Ben-Hadad's because he spared a man appointed to destruction.
Deuteronomy 19:13: Thine eye shall not pity a murderer; put away innocent blood.

Historical References

Rolf Barnard's sermon 'The God of the Bible Kills People': Weaver cites Barnard's controversial sermon to support the teaching that God takes life.
Arthur W. Pink's quote on the love of God: Pink warned that many talk about God's love but are strangers to the God of love, reducing it to sickly sentiment.
William Gurnall's quote on God's patience and wrath: Gurnall (1600s) wrote that God's patience abused will lead to dreadful fury.
Stonewall Jackson's command to kill brave Yankees: Jackson ordered his men to kill all brave enemies so cowards would flee, illustrating Jeremiah 48:10.
Keil and Delitzsch commentary on Jeremiah 48:10: They state the devastation is God's work and must be done vigorously.

Important Quotes

I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand.

Foundational text declaring God's absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

Central verse of the sermon, emphasizing the curse on half-hearted obedience and failure to execute judgment.

There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love.

Arthur Pink's warning against sentimentalizing God's love, used to correct misconceptions.

The greatest miracle in the world is God's patience and bounty to an ungrateful world.

William Gurnall's observation on God's forbearance, highlighting the danger of abusing His goodness.

Kill them all. I don't want any brave Yankees. Kill the brave ones and the cowards will flee.

Stonewall Jackson's command illustrating the principle of not withholding the sword from blood.

Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

God's command to show no pity to murderers, reinforcing the necessity of justice.

I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

God's own declaration that there is a time for no mercy, validating the sermon's theme.

Because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of My mouth.

Christ's rejection of half-heartedness, applied to all service for God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does understanding God's sovereignty over life and death affect your view of natural disasters and personal tragedies?

[Context]

Weaver argues that all calamities are acts of God's judgment or providence.

[Question]

In what ways has the modern church perverted the doctrine of God's love, and how can we recover a biblical balance?

[Context]

Weaver critiques the sentimental view of God that ignores His justice.

[Question]

How should Christians today apply the principle of Jeremiah 48:10 in contexts of spiritual warfare and moral courage?

[Context]

The curse on withholding the sword is applied broadly to all faithful service.

[Question]

What does it mean to fear God biblically, and how does that fear shape daily decisions?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes fearing God who can destroy both body and soul.

[Question]

How can we guard against lukewarmness in our worship and service to God?

[Context]

God despises half-hearted work; believers are called to zeal.

[Question]

Is it ever right for Christians to support or participate in offensive war or capital punishment? How does Scripture guide us?

[Context]

Weaver discusses just offensive wars and the death penalty as biblical.

[Question]

How do we reconcile God's command to show no pity in certain cases with the call to be merciful?

[Context]

God Himself declares He will not pity or spare in judgment.

[Question]

What does it mean to have abundant life in Christ, and how does that differ from merely being alive?

[Context]

True life is found only in Jesus, not in mere existence.

Applications

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