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In Defense Of Violence Or Defensive Violence

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• All right, let's open our Bibles to the book of Jeremiah chapter 22. Jeremiah 22, and we're going to be reading the first four verses to begin with. Jeremiah chapter 22, that's in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 22. The title of the message is "In Defense of Violence or Defensive Violence." So I want you to look in Jeremiah 22, beginning there with verse 1: "Thus saith the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou and thy servants and thy people that enter in by these gates. Thus saith the Lord, Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants and his people." Now I want to call your attention first of all that this is spoken to the king

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• of Judah. And notice, if you would please, and I'll point this out again, He says in the middle of verse 3, "and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place." We're strangers to violence. We're not brought up in violence. We've not lived in or around violence, and basically we have no desire or any tendencies to be violent toward anyone. And we've been taught basically all of our lives that all violence is wrong, and consequently we shun violence like the plague. In all probability, most people could not even give a good, clear definition of violence. And unhappily, most Christian people cannot even give a biblical definition of violence.

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• When we think of violence, we think of me just drawing back and beating up on Pat, or Pat beating up on me, and we say, "He's a violent man." You know, he's a—yeah. Well, if he is attacking him, that's what he's saying. Yeah, so she's a violent woman. That's what we would say, but we misunderstand oftentimes really and truly how the word "violence" is used in the Scripture. And as I pointed out in verse 1, this passage is addressed to the king of Judah. And God tells him to do no violence. And I want you to note, if you would, in the middle of verse 3, He says, "and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow." So interestingly, violence in this context can be done to the stranger, the fatherless—that is an orphan. Well, if it is wrong and wicked and vile to do violence to a stranger, how much worse is it to do violence to a brother? Now, I want you to note something.

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• Jeremiah further links violence to a failure to do judgment and justice because of the greed and the covetousness of the heart. I want you to look down, if you would, beginning with verse 13. Watch. Jeremiah 22 verse 13: "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; that saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion." Now watch this: "Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord. But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it." Now the interesting thing is, when you look at verses 15 and 16, those two verses together are the opposite of doing violence.

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• When He says to do judgment and justice, and then in verse 16, "He judged the cause of the poor and the needy." He said, "Then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord."

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• Now the very first time the word "violence" occurs in the Bible is Genesis chapter 6 and verse 11. There the Bible says, "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence." In hermeneutics, which is the art or the science of Bible interpretation, there is a principle known as the Law of First Mention. The Law of First Mention just simply says when a word is used the very first time in the Scripture, that is usually the way that word is going to be used throughout the Scripture unless the context dictates otherwise. Now, the word that is used in Genesis 6 and verse 11, and the word that is used mostly throughout the Old Testament, is the Hebrew word "chamas," which literally means to be unjust, to be cruel, to be unrighteous, to be false, to oppress, and to be violent.

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• Now, here's the interesting thing. When we're talking about violence, most people never consider that fraud and injustice are violence. They are a specific form of violence. They're violence against God and God's law and consequently against God's people and against man in general. The Bible says in Psalm 89 and verse 14, now listen carefully: "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face." Now stop. Judgment and justice are the habitation of my throne. So God then is surrounded by judgment and justice. And when you get to Proverbs 21 and verse 3, the Bible says, "To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." So God said, I'd rather have judgment and justice than all the sacrifice in the world.

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• That's why in Jeremiah 22 verses 13-17 there, He's saying, this is what your fathers did and it was well, wasn't this to know Me? They did judgment and they did justice. But He says, now you're not doing that, so what you're doing is violence.

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• Now interestingly enough, if judgment and justice are the habitation of His throne, if God prefers justice and judgment to sacrifice, obviously when you do not do judgment and justice, you are becoming violent, and you are violent, and you are sinning against God and His law. It is something to cry out against. In the book of Habakkuk chapter 1 and verse 2, the prophet Habakkuk said this: "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence!" So Habakkuk is saying that violence is something that we should cry out against.

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• Now let me give you a good illustration. I want you to think about this, and I'm going to make this statement several times and I'm going to show it to you from Scripture. When we talk about violence, do you realize that violence is most usually performed by people who are in positions of power and authority? Now stop and think about that. Here's an excellent illustration of violence.

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• In Proverbs 17 and verse 15, the Word of God says this: "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord." Now who can condemn the just and justify the wicked? A judge. So when a judge then justifies the wicked, or when he condemns the righteous, he is becoming violent. He is a violent man. That's why in Jeremiah 22 and verse 1, God said, you speak this to the king, that he do no violence, that you do not oppress the stranger, widow, or the orphan. So, usually those who commit violence are individuals who are in positions of authority. Now, today I want to show you two points from the Word of God, just two. Don't have three points and a poem today, David, just two points. I want you to see violence condemned, and then secondly violence commended. So let's consider first of all violence condemned. Violence most frequently is condemned in Scripture. Violence is usually directed at individuals who are innocent

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• and deserve kindness and respect. That's why God said, do no violence to the stranger or to the fatherless or to the widow. So these are individuals that usually deserve respect and love and understanding and not necessarily violence. Moreover, those who commit violence are those who are in positions of authority. You have to remember that David was a great and mighty warrior. But even David himself prayed to be delivered from the violent man. Let me show you.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles first of all to Psalm 18 and then to Psalm 140. So hold Jeremiah, but go to Psalm 18, then we'll go to Psalm 140. I want you to look at this prayer that David is praying. Psalm 18 and verse 48. Then we're going to Psalm 140. Notice Psalm 18 and verse 48: David said, "He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man." Now in that simple—I want you to note. He says, "Thou delivered me from mine enemies." That's plural. "Thou lifted me up above those that rise up against me." That's plural. "Thou hast delivered me from the violent man." That's singular. So there is a specific violent man that David had in mind. If you look in Psalm 140, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Psalm 140, and notice if you would please verse 1: David prays, "Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man;"

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• "Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually are they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings." Now let me ask you, who was the violent man that purposely tried to overthrow David? Saul, King Saul. He was someone in a position of power and authority. Of course, Doeg the Edomite later on consorted with King Saul to overthrow David.

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• And there were several others in the Bible. But he is praying to be delivered from this violent man. The interesting thing is, violent men not only imagine mischiefs—it's another word for iniquities or sin in the Bible—they imagine a mischief in their heart, but they are always ready to commit violence in order to secure their ends. They lie, they deceive, and they seek to overthrow the righteous.

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• Now there is a verse in Proverbs 16 and verse 29 that says this: "A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good." So, a violent man is not necessarily somebody that just comes up and starts swinging and knocking you down. A violent man is one who entices or seduces his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not right.

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• And usually, it's sometimes an official that has the power to do that. Now, violence is promulgated in the assemblies of the violent. I want you to look in your Bible. Psalm 86—Lorraine, do you have a Strong's Concordance on your—I didn't look this up. I'd like to know what the Hebrew word is in Psalm 86 and verse 14. Psalm 86 verse 14. I only thought about this as I was driving to church this morning, so I didn't have time to check it out myself. But look what it says: Psalm 86 verse 14, "O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them." So he's talking about assemblies. I'd like to know what the word "assemblies" actually means in Psalm 86 and verse 14, and I'll tell you my thought. My thought was this: "O God, the proud are risen against me, and the courts of violent men have sought after my soul." Whatever the word "assemblies" is there, it means that men have come together to seek him, and notice he says next, "and they have not set thee before them." So obviously the violence then is contrived in the assemblies of violent men. I don't have a word for "mob," but for violent men.

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• All right, say that for me, Steve, louder. "Powerful or tyrannical, mighty, oppressor." OK. "Great power, strong." Powerful, tyrannical, great power. Well, obviously of the assemblies, that's what you're having there. And then it could be any governmental assembly, that is for sure. Let me give you an excellent illustration of this. You remember this passage in Luke chapter 18 where our Lord speaks about the unjust judge? Here is what He said: "There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." So here is a judge that had a responsibility, had a duty, had an obligation to give forth judgment and justice. And he refused to do it. He was a violent man. Finally he did give her justice, but only because she was wearing him out.

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• That was it. He said, "I'm going to do what's right just to get her off my back." Isn't that amazing? Every man understands that. Oh, I'm laughing.

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• You understand, unhappily the truth of the matter is this: most authorities—and I'm going to show you this from the Scripture—but most authorities do not know how to do right, they will not do right, and they store up violence for themselves and others. Let me give you a quote from the book of Amos chapter 3 and verse 10. I want you to listen. Amos 3 verse 10: "For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces." Where do they store up violence and robbery? In their palaces.

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• So what are we talking about? We're talking about kings. We're talking about princes. We're talking about those in authority. We're talking about those who have positions of power. And you look around in our land today at the judges and the rulers and the bureaucrats that have absolutely no idea of justice and judgment or law and mercy. And you stop and think of the judges in this country as well as our politicians and bureaucrats that vainly and falsely believe that they are the law.

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• And that justice is whatever they decree and whatever they decide, regardless of how they live and what they do. Years ago I had a friend who's now dead. He got a traffic ticket, and he thought, "Wow, this is an opportunity for me to learn. I'm going to take this thing to court, and I'm going to argue the Constitution." And he did. Of course, he knew a good bit of material. And he went in loaded for bear when he went into court. And it was Constitution this, Constitution that. And he so tied up the judge that finally the judge said, "If you mention the word 'Constitution' one more time, I will find you in contempt of court." And Henry looked at the judge and said, "Judge, if you did, that would be the only honest thing that you've done all day long. For all I have for this court is contempt." Pow! A hundred bucks. But Henry understood that the judge was doing everything unlawfully. The judge could care less.

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• I mean, he was there simply for the money, that is for sure. Now let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 12. 1 Samuel chapter 12. And I want you to see what Samuel said. 1 Samuel chapter 12, and let's begin reading with verse 1. 1 Samuel 12 verse 1: "And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you." So remember now that Israel wanted a man for a king, and they had God for a king. Verse 2: "And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken?"

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• "Or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you." And they said, "Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand." Now the interesting thing is this: when you look at verse 3, and Samuel asked, "Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I

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• defrauded?" The word "defrauded" literally means to press upon, to oppress, to violate, to defraud, to do violence to, to get deceitfully, to do wrong, and to extort. So here's what Samuel is saying: "Which of you can testify of anything that I've done to abuse my office and my authority?" And they said, "You haven't done a thing, not one thing." It's kind of like our Lord in John 8 when He looked around at His enemies and said, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" Which of you can point at anything that I've done that's wicked and wrong? This is what Samuel said. They said, "No, you haven't abused your office. You've not defrauded anyone." Nehemiah was another individual who took his office and his authority very seriously. Now I want you to listen what he said to the people in Nehemiah 5 and verse 15. By the way, when you read through the book of Nehemiah and you come across this word "the Tirshatha," T-I-R-S-H-A-T-H-A, the Tirshatha.

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• Everybody says, "What in the world is the Tirshatha?" It's just a word that means the governor. That's all it means.

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• Now, Nehemiah 5 and verse 15, Nehemiah said it like this: "But the former governors that had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God." So Nehemiah said, "I'm the governor now. These former governors, they demanded the people give them bread and wine. Moreover, they got forty shekels of silver. And their servants even bore rule over the people. But so did not I, for I feared God."

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• Now I want you to listen to me carefully. It is only the fear of God that keeps a man honest, that keeps a man in line, and that keeps a man humble. If there is no fear of God, you're going to find that those who are in positions of power and authority are going to end up being violent men. Let me give you an illustration. I'm going to read this word for word. When you do not have a man that fears God, here's what will happen. Harnett County, North Carolina.

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• The sheriff's deputies kicked a man's door down at 3:30 a.m. this past Sunday and killed him after he told them they could not search his home without a search warrant. After John Livingston, 33, shut his door in the deputies' faces with his demand for a warrant, his roommate says police kicked in the door, got on top of him, started slinging him around and beat him. Then they sprayed mace in his face and began to tase the unarmed father of three, who was described as a hard-working, very loving family man and a very talented carpenter who actually built the deck on the small home the deputies were invading. When Livingston attempted to remove the taser from the hands of the officer who was shocking him, the deputies executed him, claiming he got hold of their weapon.

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• Tasers are said to be non-lethal. Yet the cops evidently feared for their lives at the mere prospect one of their victims could maybe possibly turn it on them. As it turns out, the deputies were looking for a man who no longer lived in that house. The Harnett County Sheriff's Department is stonewalling on the case and have failed to release the names of the deputies involved in the killing.

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• No doubt after a routine investigation, the state goons will exonerate themselves. Obviously, some believe that disrespecting imagined authority deserves the death penalty. Can you imagine? Can you imagine? What in the world would so excite deputies to kick a door in and actually execute a man who just simply said, "Go get a search warrant"? And they had the wrong man. I've got to point this out, and I've already said it. Usually the violence that is condemned in Scripture comes from those who are in positions of authority and power.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke. You will remember that John the Baptist has been preaching the biblical doctrine of repentance. Several groups come to him and ask, "What must we do?" And when they ask, "What must we do?" what they mean by that is, "What must we do to demonstrate that our repentance is real and genuine?" So he answers the groups. Let's begin reading with verse 10. And by the way, I want you to know, Luke chapter 3 and verse 10, Luke 3 verse 10. I want you to know that he answers each group differently.

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• And I will tell you why. Because each group has a different prevailing sin. For instance, in Luke 3 and verse 10, "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?" That is, what shall we do to demonstrate that our repentance is real? "He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." Well, the prevailing sin of the people was one of greed and covetousness. So he said, if you are going to demonstrate that you are really repentant, then you need to be more selfless and more generous and more giving. Watch verse 12: "Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?"

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• "And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you." So the prevailing sin of the publicans was that of thievery. I mean, they stole. If the Roman government said that they owed a hundred bucks, they would get two hundred, pocket a hundred, then take their ten percent off the other hundred. So stop stealing. That was the thing. Watch verse 14: "And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?"

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• "And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." Now, the word "violence" here literally means to agitate, to terrify, to cause alarm, to cause to tremble, to extort from, and to be violent. So, he said, if you want to demonstrate that you're genuinely repentant, you do not do violence to any man. Only those in positions of authority and power really have the opportunity to do violence in this sense of the word.

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• That is totally, absolutely condemned in the Bible. And usually what happens is this: our definition of violence is usually that of fighting, knife-cutting, shooting, killing, that kind of thing. We never stop and think that injustice and fraud and oppression and tyranny are violence. But they are violence because they're violence against God and God's law and God's people and mankind in general. Okay? Now, so that's violence condemned. I want to spend the rest of my time on violence commended. We normally use the word "violence" today to simply mean to do physical harm.

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• Using the term in the parlance of the day, and since the word brings with it an evil connotation, we have been taught even as children that all fighting is wrong. Alice and I got tickled. We were watching Claiborne and Bedford play in the floor, the two pups, and they were fighting, growling, jumping on each other, twirling around, knocking each other down. And I sat there and I watched them just bemused, and I looked at Alice and I just said kind of smilingly, I said, "You know, these puppies are so much more fun than children." And she said, "Yeah, if they were children, we'd have to separate them by now." Well, you know, when we stop and think about those things, we've been brought up that all fighting is wrong, period, because it is a form of violence. That's what we've been taught.

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• That is humanism, by the way. We have to understand that there is a biblical violence that is commended. There is an unbiblical violence that is condemned, which I have just shown you. What we have to do is to be able to discern the difference between those two things.

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• Now, let me begin by asking you a simple question, and I know you know the answer. Is God holy, just, and true? The answer is yes. In fact, now I'll give you the Scripture. Deuteronomy 32 and verse 4: "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." So we know that God is true; He's a God without iniquity; He is just and right. Now, let's just for a moment take the humanist position. And let's just assume that all violence is inherently wrong. Doesn't matter what shade or stripe or color it is, we're just going to say that all violence is wrong. Okay. Since God is holy, just, and true, and if you take the position that all violence is inherently wrong—and we're talking about physical fighting now—I've got a couple of questions to ask you. If all violence of any shape, form, or fashion happens to be wrong, wicked, and evil, how could God have justly and righteously destroyed the antediluvians, the old world, when He sent the flood upon them?

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• If all violence is wicked, wrong, and vile, how could God have justly and righteously destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by raining fire and brimstone upon them, as well as the cities of the plain? Now I don't know about you, but I would tend to think either being drowned or being burned to death, incinerated, charcoal, would tend to be a little bit violent. So, try to say that all violence is wrong and evil, then here God is destroying wicked individuals. Moreover, let me ask you this: if all violence is wicked and evil, how could God raise up judges to defend His people by fighting against their enemies? Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Judges chapter 2. Judges chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 16. Judges 2, verse 16. Joshua, Judges. Judges chapter 2, verse 16.

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• "Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them." Now note, if you would please, specifically the Bible says that the Lord raised up these judges.

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• Now skip down to verse 18. "And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them." So God not only raised the judge up, God was with the judge when the judge fought against the enemies of Israel. So if all violence is wrong and wicked in and of itself, how could God have justly and righteously raised up men to fight? Moreover, if all violence is wicked and wrong and to be abhorred, how could God leave certain pagan people in the land just so that He could teach the children of those who came into Canaan to fight and to be warriors? What are you talking about? Well, look in Judges chapter 3. Here's what the Bible says: "Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;"

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• So here are some people that are alive now that did not fight with Joshua and Caleb and those people who conquered the land. So what did God do? Verse 2: "Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;" So here are some of the people that God left to teach them war: "Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath." Wow. So God said, "Here are some that I'm going to leave. They are your enemies. And I'm going to leave them just so your children can learn the art of war." Well, I don't know about you, but war is violence. And if all violence is to be abhorred, and if God is holy, just, and true, how could God then have left these people in the land just so that He could teach His people to fight? Moreover, let me ask this: if all violence is to be unilaterally condemned, how could God righteously and justly teach David to fight?

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• You have to remember that David was a shepherd. He was not a warrior. Do you remember when David went out to face Goliath? He volunteered. And Saul looked at him and said, "How can you fight this man?" He said, "This man has been a warrior since he was a youth, and you are about a youth." I don't know if you remember me preaching that series on David and Goliath. I think there were two messages, "Facing Goliath." But I pointed out when David fought Goliath, he was probably from 15 to 17 years of age. Wow. So that's what Saul meant. He said, "How can you fight? This man has been a warrior since he was a youth, and you're about a youth." But David said in Psalm 144 verse 1, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight." Where did David learn to fight? Where did he learn to make war? From God himself. So if all violence is wicked and wrong, how could God have justly and righteously taught David how to fight?

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• Let me go further. If all violence is wicked and wrong, how could God have justly and righteously defended Jerusalem? Here's what God said in Isaiah 38 and verse 6: "And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city." By the way, God said that five times in the Scripture. He told Hezekiah, "I will defend this city." May I ask you, how did God defend that city? Well, according to Isaiah 37, verses 35 and 36, He defended it by killing 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.

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• I don't know about you, but that sounds to me to be kind of violent. So if all violence is condemned in Scripture, and it is evil and wrong in and of itself, how could God have defended Jerusalem and its people and slew 185,000 Assyrians? By the way, here is another question. If all violence is to be condemned, do you remember what God did when He brought Israel out of Egypt?

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• He put a sword in their hand and said, "Slay all the Canaanites, kill them all." And Joshua 10 and verse 40, listen to this: "So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded." Wow. So God commanded violence. So now if God is holy, just, and true, and the humanist position is all violence is wrong, then they have to condemn God.

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• Moreover, let me ask you another question. Think about this. If all violence is cruel, wicked, and wrong, have you ever asked yourself this question: How will God judge and punish the wicked? I want you to turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 18 to begin with. Revelation 18, and notice if you would please verse 21. Revelation 18 verse 21, watch carefully: "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." He cast it down with violence. Wow. Look what happens in Revelation chapter 19, beginning with verse 1: "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation,

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• and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Wow. That's violence. Let me make a statement. I want you to think about this. You understand that there is a distinction and a difference between a violence that is condemned and a violence that is commended.

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• I believe it is wicked and wrong and vile not to teach your children to fight. Your children, your spouses, should know how to fight. They should know how to fight biblically and scripturally. Has it ever dawned upon you as you look around and examine today's society that we have sired a whole generation of spineless, gutless, lily-livered sissies? They will not stand for truth or righteousness or anything. They do not know how to defend themselves. They do not know how to defend anyone else or anything else. And they won't stand for truth or righteousness. They are just sissies.

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• You remember the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." The positive is, "Thou shalt preserve life." We have a duty; we have an obligation to preserve our lives and the lives of others as well. I just saw a book advertised this week. I read the reviews, I looked at the index. It was online, and I ordered the book. I haven't read it yet. But the title of the book is this: "Team Honey Badger: Raising Fearless Kids in a Cowardly World" by Paul Markle. I thought, I'm going to get that book. And if it's any good, I'm going to order a bunch of them and pass them around.

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• Because obviously we have raised a generation that will not stand for truth or righteousness or anything. They are afraid to fight. We fail to understand that we have been commanded to fight in the preservation of life, liberty, freedom, and property. We must fight even in order to protect and preserve the Kingdom of God. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 4. I want you to turn there with me. Nehemiah chapter 4, and we are going to begin reading with verse 11. Nehemiah 4 and verse 11. Ezra, Nehemiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. So look, if you would please, after Ezra you have Nehemiah chapter 4. And by the way, let me point this out as we read this passage. I want you to understand that Nehemiah was not attacking; Nehemiah was defending. Okay, so Nehemiah chapter 4, and let's look at verse 11: "And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease." So the adversaries now are planning a surprise attack.

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• "And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you." So what were they doing? They were saying, "You can't win. They are going to kill all of us." Verse 13, look what Nehemiah said: "Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows."

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• "And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon." So let me point this out again: Nehemiah is defending. He's not attacking.

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• We're not Spanish conquistadors, nor are we Muslims. We don't run around with a sword in our hand saying, "Convert or die." No, we do not. But, if we are attacked with weapons, then obviously we repel that attack with weapons. If we are attacked with words, our defense is with words. If we are attacked legally, then obviously we resort to lawful avenues to defend ourselves. But the truth is, either way we still fight. It may be verbal. It may be legal. It may be weapons, but still we fight.

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• So there is a violence that is condemned in the Scripture, but there is also a violence that is commended in the Scripture. And when I say a violence that is commended, in reality I would not even necessarily call it violence, because it is done in submission to God and His law, and therefore it is obedience. It is obedience that happens to use violence. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings chapter 20. 1 Kings chapter 20.

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• You will remember that Ahab was the wickedest king in the northern kingdom. God is going to allow Ahab to have victory over the Syrians. Ben-hadad happens to be the king of Syria, and God has ordained Ben-hadad and his armies to utter destruction. But what Ahab does in disobedience to God, he spares Ben-hadad and his servants, and even calls him his brother. So let's begin reading in 1 Kings chapter 20. Let's begin reading with about verse 31: "And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive?"

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• "He is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee."

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• "And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. 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,"

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• "therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people." Wow.

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• Now I want you to stop and think about what we just read. First of all, the prophet comes to one man and says, "Smite me." And he says it in the name of the Lord and the power of the Lord, and the man refuses to hit the prophet. He refuses to be physically violent when God commands it. And the prophet said, "Just as soon as you leave, a lion is going to find you and slay you." He found another man, said, "Smite me," and the man smote him and wounded him. Then he disguised himself. When Ahab came along, he made up this story. And when Ahab gave forth his judgment, "Thou hast decided the judgment thyself: thy life for his life," the prophet took off the ashes and said, "Thus saith the Lord, I appointed Ben-hadad and his people to utter destruction, and you've let him go. Now thy life for his life, and thy people for his people." Here is a commanded violence, and when that violence is not rendered, judgment comes upon those who refuse to

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• be violent and obey God. Let me go a little bit further. I want you to look in Jeremiah 48. Jeremiah 48. In Jeremiah 48, God is condemning Moab. Jeremiah 48, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Jeremiah 48 verse 1, if you would now, look what God says. We are talking about Moab, the whole country. "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. There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard." So all of this is about the destruction of Moab. In fact, verse 11 says, "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees," and God has condemned them. And here is what God says, now I want you to watch this. So God sent His army to destroy wicked Moab, and now He says in verse 10, look at it carefully: "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully," which is the destruction of Moab, "and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Isn't that amazing? So when God says when it comes time to fight, if you do the work of God deceitfully, or if you keep back your sword from blood, God says it brings a curse upon yourself.

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• So what is God saying? There is a violence that is condemned, and there is a violence that is commended. For instance, you remember the story in Judges chapter 4 of Barak who went after Sisera. And Deborah told Barak—Barak said, "I'm not going to go to war unless you go with me." She said, "All right, I'll go with you. But because of that, your enemy is going to fall by the hands of a woman."

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• In other words, you won't get the honor. And of course, after they were defeated, Sisera ran and fled, and he got to the tent of Jael. And he asked for water. And the Bible said she brought him forth milk in a lordly dish. And she gave him milk to drink. And he laid down on the tent floor, and he said, "If any man comes around and asks if anybody's here, say no."

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• "Fine," she said, and she took a blanket and covered him. And he went fast asleep. And then she took a hammer and a tent nail and drove it through his temple and pinned him to the ground and then cut off his head.

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• Now, I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds violent. Did you know that Jael was praised for that? And when Barak got there, she said, "Come here, and I'll show you the man that you're seeking. He fell at the hands of a woman." And God honored Jael for that. How about the passage in 1 Samuel chapter 15, where God had sent King Saul on a journey and told him to slay utterly all of the Amalekites. Do you remember how he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen? And Samuel comes and he reproaches Saul for disobeying God and tells him that God rejects him now for being king because of disobedience. And then there is this passage in 1 Samuel 15 verses 32 and 33, listen to this: "Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately."

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• I can see him prancing every time I read that. "And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past." I am not going to die. "And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." He didn't just stab him; he hewed him in pieces. He cut him in two. That sounds pretty violent. But I want you to know what the Scripture says: "And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." If you'll go back and check, the phrase "before the Lord" literally means as unto the Lord and in the presence of the Lord. In other words, Samuel did to Agag exactly that which God wanted done to Agag.

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• So the point I'm trying to make is this: There is a time to be biblically violent, but we're never, ever to be unbiblically violent.

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• Now, let me give you an illustration and ask you to think about this. Everyone is aware of what happened in Paris a few months back. Whether that was a real, genuine attack, or a false flag, or a real false flag, I have no idea. But I do have my thoughts concerning it. But I'm just giving you this article that I read that came up with an excellent illustration of what I'm preaching. Here's the title of the article: "Pure Evil."

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• "ISIS gutted wounded victims at French Concert Hall as they lay dying on the floor. They slit their stomachs and watched them die. ISIS gunmen used knives to torture their mortally wounded victims by slitting their stomachs as they lay on the floor, it has been claimed. An eyewitness who hid in the cellar for three hours as the armed murderers rampaged through the packed theater in Paris said she knew people were being tortured because she could hear their screams. Marisha Payne from Perthshire told the Daily Mail, 'We knew people were being tortured in the theater because we heard people screaming and they were not being shot and these were singular screams. When we escaped, a man trapped on the level where it happened said to us that the terrorists were stabbing people in the stomach. We were told that they were throwing explosives at the people. It was a horrendous ordeal.'" So here's my question: If you were at that concert hall in Paris and you were armed, and you saw these men murdering other people, slitting their stomachs, watching them die in agony, would you have just said, "Well, I'll pray for those poor innocent victims"?

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• Or would you have tried to defend them and save their lives? Let me ask it another way. What if that had been your husband? Or your wife? Or your child? Would that have made a difference? You see, God commands us to preserve life. So we have to have an understanding. And I want you to listen to this: Violence is not always the answer. But when it is the answer, it's the only answer.

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• Do you understand what I'm saying? Not one person in this room desires to be violent. We have no desire to hurt anyone. But if we're ever put in a situation where violence is the answer, at that point in time it is the only answer, and we must defend our lives and the lives of others in obedience to the Sixth Commandment. Alice and I have some friends who—they're scattered around now—but they were raised out in Washington State. It was a family of 11 boys and one girl.

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• Anytime I want to really laugh, I just reminisce with some of those men about their childhood and some of the things that they went through. I've never laughed so hard in my life listening to them and the way they were raised and what they were taught. But several of them told me, said, "Look, we were raised hard," and said, "We were poor." They said, "Daddy told us"—and they feared their dad, by the way, he was a macho man—they said, "Daddy told us, if we ever started a fight, he'd whip us. And he told us if we ever got into a fight and lost, he'd whip us." Now I want you to stop and think about that.

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• There are biblical principles here, and I'm sure that father understood what I'm about to say, but listen to this. When he said, "If you ever get into a fight, if you ever start a fight, I'll whip you," what's he saying? You're being a bully. You're being unrighteous. You're being unjust. You're being unkind. If you start the fight, you're wrong. But he said, "If you ever lose a fight, I'll whip you." What is he saying? Well, if you're trying to protect yourself or someone else and you lose, obviously you're not fighting the way you should be fighting.

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• Your heart is not in it. You're not really fighting for your life. If you're fighting to defend someone or your life, you need to fight to the last nth of degree. Well, obviously. If I had to fight seven or eight men at one time, I'm probably going to lose. I understand that physically. And he would have understood that. But what he is saying is basically this: If you fight, if you have to fight, you must have that combat mentality. I'm not going to give in. I'm not going to give out. I'm not going to give up.

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• I will win or I will die trying. And you know, that's exactly what the Scripture is teaching us. On the one hand, we should never be violent individuals—that is, unrighteously, unbiblically violent. But on the other hand, if violence is the answer, it's the only answer. And we must defend our lives and the lives of others in obedience to God. So if we start a fight, God's going to whip us. And if we get into a fight and don't win it, He might whip us anyhow.

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• So we need to make sure that we're right with Him and do that which is right and holy and godly. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask You, Father, to teach us, help us, Lord, to be biblical, holy, and godly. And may we act, Lord, pleasing unto Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

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• you

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T02:13:10Z