Lamentations

Regards

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2021-08-16

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver explores the biblical meaning of 'regard'—to look upon with favor, honor, and respect. Using Hebrews 8:9 as the central text, he demonstrates that God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant and dishonored Him. The sermon emphasizes the principle of lex talionis: those who honor God will be honored, and those who despise Him will be lightly esteemed. Applications warn that disregarding God leads to His disregard in times of need, while honoring Him brings His favor and hearing.

[John Weaver] Let's open our Bibles today, if you would please, to the book of Hebrews chapter 8. And we're just going to read verse 9. We will come back and pick up the context just a little bit later. Hebrews 8 and verse 9. The title of the message is, Regards. you will understand why momentarily. So look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9. The Bible says not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt because they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not saith the Lord. Have you ever wondered considered the word regards. We use that word very readily and we also use it frequently. I've said things like this to individuals, please give my regards to your father. And oftentimes I will say well send so-and-so my regards.

[John Weaver] And many times you even sign a letter signed with love and regards. So the question we ask what in the world do we mean when we talk about regards. What are we sending when we send our regards? And what are we giving when we give our regards? The word regard literally means to look upon or to think upon with a particular feeling. It means to regard a person with favor or to have and to show respect and honor for someone.

[John Weaver] So let me put it another way. We could say that the word regard means to pay attention to someone, looking upon them with love and favor. Obviously there are some individuals for whom we have absolutely no regard. Such individuals are usually wicked, vile, deceitful, self-promoting, vain, worthless, and useless. All of those words describe politicians almost to a T, that is for sure. I recently read a piece that offered a test for certain individuals, and the test was like this.

[John Weaver] There's an incident that is happening. You are on a nature trail. You're walking by a river that has rapids and a huge, steep waterfall, and at the end of that waterfall are horrendous rocks, and you're walking along and all of a sudden you look in the river and you see Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer being carried very quickly and swiftly in that water to the falls. And you have just enough time to either throw them a rope and save their lives or take a picture of their last few moments on this earth.

[John Weaver] And so the test question was this. What speed do you set your camera to get the best picture?

[John Weaver] Now, of course, we smile at that and we laugh at that. But, you know, the truth of the matter is, there is a biblical principle behind that. Let me show it to you. I want you to turn in your Bible, still hold Hebrews 8, but look in your Bible, 2 Kings 3. 2 Kings 3. And let's begin reading there with verse 6. 2 Kings 3 and verse 6.

[John Weaver] We're going to read about King Jehoram. And King Jehoram happened to be the son of Ahab. Ahab was the wickedest man in the northern kingdom in Israel. So, notice if you would, 2 Kings 3 beginning there with verse 6. And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at the same time and numbered all Israel. And he went and said to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me. Wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle?

[John Weaver] And he said, I will go up. I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey. and there was no water for the host, or for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord had called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, the word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

[John Weaver] And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, mark these words, what have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother, that is, the prophets of Baal. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay, for the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them to the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee." So let me put this out where you can really grasp what Elisha was saying. I'll put it in a colloquialism that we use quite frequently in the South. Here's what he said.

[John Weaver] I wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire. I'd let you burn up." That's what he said. Were it not that I regarded the person of Jehoshaphat, I would not look toward thee nor see thee. In other words, I would let you die. And the reason he would let him die is because he had absolutely no regard for him because the king was a very wicked, vile, corrupt king.

[John Weaver] And of course, probably, Elisha may have wished that he had been dead. So I want you to understand it is very impossible to honor a dishonorable person. Moreover, it is impossible on the one hand to show favor to someone who is unfavorable. In fact, we're commanded not to favor certain individuals, not to regard certain individuals, not to show them honor or respect. Let me give you an illustration.

[John Weaver] Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 31. Here's what the Word of God says. Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. Regard them not that have familiar spirits. In other words, wizards and warlocks and mediums and fortune tellers and all these people, God says do not show them any regard whatsoever. In fact, the Hebrew word is the word ponal, which literally means that we are forbidden to show that respect to these individuals. Now, evidently the people in Samaria in the New Testament did not really comprehend and understand this passage in Leviticus 19 verse 31. Let me show you why. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 8, And let's look, beginning there with verse 9, and you will read about a man by the name of Simon who happened to be a sorcerer. So look in Acts chapter 8 and verse 9. The Bible says, But there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one.

[John Weaver] to whom they all gave heed from the least of the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, that is, they respected him, they honored him, they favored him, because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries." So God says that we are forbidden to show any regard, any favor toward any of these people like this. There's another individual in the Bible to whom no regard was to be given. His name was Nabal. And Nabal, you remember, was a selfish, inconsiderate, and unappreciative being. Nabal was a very rich man.

[John Weaver] He had plenty of sheep and whatever else. And David and his men protected Nabal's servants. They also protected all of his sheep. and all of his goods. And the servants even told Nabal that not one thing was missing as long as David and his men was there. And so when the time came to shear those sheep, and it was a time of rejoicing and time of plenty, David sent some of his servants there and asked him for a blessing. Lord, share some of the good stuff that you have with us, with our men. And Nabal railed upon them. And Nabal said, there are many men that break away from their master's day. Who is the son of David? Or who is this David, the son of Jesse, that I should do anything for him? And the servants went back and told David, and David said, girdle every man on his sword. Well, Abigail happened to be the wife of Nabal, and she was not there when David's servants came. But one of the servants of Nabal came and told Abigail, you better get ready.

[John Weaver] Because trouble is brewing, David's going to come and wipe us out. And when she heard what had happened, she loaded some of the asses with all kinds of dates and foods and meat and went to meet him and fell down before him. And here's what she said in 1 Samuel 25 and verse 25. She said to David, Let not my Lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I, thy handmaid, saw not the young men of my Lord, whom thou didst send." So the word Nabal literally means fool. She says he's a fool, folly is with him. But she says, regard not this son or this man of Belial. So Abigail is not only admitting that he's a fool, she's also admitting and confessing that he is wicked, that he's vile, that he's a heathen. that he's unsaved, and so she tells David, don't pay any attention to him.

[John Weaver] He is not worth fighting with. He is worthless. That is what she's saying about her own husband. So, David, do not regard this man of Belal. Just don't pay him any attention. Let him go.

[John Weaver] Now, it's one thing to disregard men at times, because men, obviously, sometimes are very unfavorable and dishonorable, that is for sure. But it's quite a different thing when men disregard and dishonor the one true and the living God.

[John Weaver] Now there's an interesting thing that we usually cannot comprehend. We really cannot comprehend the disdain and the dishonor that a lot of unconverted people show and demonstrate toward our Lord. So I'm going to give you a good clear illustration of that. Many of you know that I send out sermon notes on a weekly basis. And I send them out to those who ask for them. Well, this past week I sent out the sermon notes as usual. And one man got the sermon notes who had not asked to be on the email list. The problem was, his email was exactly like the email of the individual who asked to be on the list, but there was only one letter difference.

[John Weaver] And it was my mistake, I typed it in wrong. So he got this last message, which was known as the tactic of flight. So I got an email back from him, and He just asked me to take his name off the mailing list and then he said this, I'm going to give you the exact quote. Listen carefully. He wrote, your God was a deranged Jew who got his ass nailed by the Romans. The Romans should have nailed the rest of the terrorists.

[John Weaver] You would have saved us from the dark ages. Can you imagine someone writing that? about Jesus Christ to show you how historically ignorant he is. Number one, Jesus Christ was not a Jew. He was a Judahite. He was born in Judah, and certainly he has been and is the king, but he himself was not a Jew. Don't you remember how even his own disciples said, know you not that the Jews seek to kill thee?

[John Weaver] Our Lord was from the northern kingdom. He was an Israelite, that is for sure. He was born in Judea, but he was not a Jew because Judaism is a religion. And that's why they crucified him. He would not go along with what they thought and what they believed. Moreover, he is saying very clearly that it would have saved us from the Dark Ages. Really? If I remember correctly, the Dark Ages lasted from 1100 to 1500. Do you know what got us out of the Dark Ages? The Reformation. That's when the emphasis came back on the Word of God and on Christianity. And the reason the Dark Ages was dark was because there was no truth. And Jesus Christ is truth and the Word of God is truth.

[John Weaver] Now, if that is not horrific enough, let me show you something else. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 5. Not only does this man demonstrate his historical ignorance and biblical ignorance, he also demonstrates very clearly his rebellion toward the Lord Jesus Christ and toward God the Father. Now I want you to watch this carefully. Look in John 5 in verse 22. The scripture says, For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. So the Father is not going to be doing the judging, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be the judging. So now you have to ask yourself this question, why has God the Father committed all judgment to the Son? And here's why in verse 23, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which hath sent him. So the Bible makes this very clear, if you dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, you dishonor God the Father.

[John Weaver] Let me say this another way. If you attack the Lord Jesus Christ, you then are attacking God the Father. And to show you the absolute insanity of this, anyone who dishonors and disrespects and disregards the Lord Jesus Christ, is dishonoring, disrespecting, and disregarding the one who is going to be his judge and executioner. Why would you spit in the face of the judge who has the power to condemn you and to execute you?

[John Weaver] Well, David certainly gave some good counsel concerning this in Psalm 2 verses 11 and 12. In fact, he was writing to kings and he said this, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling, kiss the sun lest he be angry, and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."

[John Weaver] Now listen to what he said. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. If only a little wrath causes one to perish, what in the world is going to happen when there is much wrath? Obviously. I mean you're throwing hot water in the face of the judge. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and note if you would please verses 28 and 29. There's one word that you really need to pay attention to. Watch this. Hebrews chapter 10 beginning there with verse 28.

[John Weaver] He that despised Moses' law, this is the Old Testament, he that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. So in the Old Testament, if you committed a sin that was worthy of death, there was no mercy. Two or three witnesses testified against you, you were executed. That was it. Now watch verse 29. Of how much sorer punishment Suppose you shall he be thought worthy, who trodden underfoot the Son of God, and counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace." Now look of how much sorer, of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, that he is to be thought worthy of.

[John Weaver] Now the Greek word for sorrow is the word kairon, which literally means to be worse, to be much worse, and to get worse and worse. So it is worse and worse, heaped upon worse and worse. It's not going to abide well with those who despise and dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. And when one speaks of Jesus Christ as nothing, When one despises his work of redemption and sins against the Spirit of God in convicting the world of unrighteousness, he is in the deepest of trouble.

[John Weaver] There's no two ways about that. Now, before we get to Hebrews chapter 8, I want you to turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. I'm going to show you a principle, and that principle is going to be enunciated throughout the Scripture. So if you'll look in 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 30. Let me tell you about this passage before we read it. In this passage, God is rejecting Eli and his sons. And the reason God is rejecting Eli, his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests. They were whoremongers. They stole God's offerings. They made the people despise the worship of God. And God is going to get rid of Eli and his family. So look what he tells Eli in verse 30, 1 Samuel 2 verse 30.

[John Weaver] Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me forever. But now the Lord said, be it far from me for them that honor me, I will honor. and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So God is rebuking Eli because he did not restrain his sons from all the evil that they did as priests, and he's putting forth the fact that you're going to be kicked out of the priesthood, your family's going to be kicked out of the priesthood. Now, in the context, the way to honor God, of course, is to worship him and to give him that which he demands in the way that he demands.

[John Weaver] So look at verse 30 again in the latter part. He says, but be it far from me for them that honor me I will honor and they that despise me. The Hebrew word for the word despise literally means to hold in contempt, to disdain, to scorn, and to treat as vile and worthless." So God says, those that scorn me, those that mock me, those that treat me with contempt and treat me as a vile and worthless individual, they shall be lightly esteemed. Now you're going to have to ask yourself, what does it mean to be lightly esteemed? It means our Lord is going to hold those in contempt despise him." They are going to be treated as a light thing, as a trifle, as something that is insignificant, as something that is despicable. They're going to be brought to dishonor and they are going to be disregarded. In other words, they have no regard for God. God is not going to have any regard for them.

[John Weaver] This again, which I've pointed out in many previous studies, is known as the lex talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is when God makes the punishment fit the crime. And so since now they have indeed disregarded God, God said very clearly, then I am going to disregard you.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9, because we're going to see this principle in a very practical application. I want you to look at verse 9 again and then we're going to read verse 9 in the context. So look in verse 9, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt because they continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not saith the Lord. Now I want you to see in the focus of And in the context of Hebrews chapter 8, it is referring to our Lord Jesus Christ and the New Covenant. So, I want you to begin looking, if you would, beginning there with verse 1, and let's just read through at least verse 12. I want you to see Hebrews 8, verse 1.

[John Weaver] Now the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such a high priest, that is the Lord Jesus, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched to not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices. Wherefore, it was of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for seeth he that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. But now hath he, that is the Lord Jesus, obtained a more excellent ministry by how much more also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

[John Weaver] But finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For all shall know me from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins, and their iniquities will I remember no more."

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is this. This passage deals with the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was written in stone. The New Covenant is written in the heart. In the New Covenant, we are enabled to come boldly into the holiest of all. In the New Covenant, we are to come boldly to the throne of grace, the Bible says, that we may find grace and help in the hour of need. But however, it's not the New Covenant that I want to deal with right now particularly. It is the attitude and the actions of Israel in the Old Covenant.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. God did everything for Israel in the Old Covenant. Look in verse 9 again. He says, Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Now, what did God do for Israel? Well, he delivered them, he guided them, he preserved them, he fed them, he taught them, he gave them his law. He took them by the hand.

[John Weaver] Every one of us that has been and is a parent or a grandparent, at one time or another, we have taken our children's hands and held those hands tightly as we crossed the busy street. Let me ask you a question. What would you do if your grandchild tried to jerk his hand from your hand and run head on into the traffic? Well, you would not like that at all. You would tighten down as best you could and if the child did finally jerk loose, and ran straight into the traffic, it would be tragic.

[John Weaver] We know what would happen. What did Israel do when God took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt? They did just like a rebellious child. They kicked, they screamed, they pulled away, they ran away in the opposite direction that he wanted them to go. So, let me show you this. I want you to hold Hebrews 8, we're coming back there, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5, and let's read the first 7 or 8 verses. Watch this. Isaiah chapter 5, and God is going to give us a very clear illustration of how Israel turned out to be absolutely rebellious. Watch verse 1 of Isaiah 5.

[John Weaver] Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. Now we're going to find out who that vineyard was. And look what he did for this vineyard. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine press therein.

[John Weaver] And he looked that it should bring forth grapes. And it brought forth wild grapes. Now watch this. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. Here's the question. What could have been done more to my vineyard than I have not done in it? Wherefore then, When I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes. And now go to, I will tell you what I'll do to my vineyard.

[John Weaver] I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up, and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will lay it waste, and it shall not be pruned or digged, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also commend the clouds that they rain no rain upon it, for The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant.

[John Weaver] And he looked for judgment, but behold, oppression, for righteousness, but behold, a cry." God said, I did everything I could for them, and yet they rebelled against me. They refused to obey. They refused to honor me.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is this, God gives us numerous pictures of what Israel was like. So, if you would turn right over to the book of Jeremiah chapter 31 and look if you would please at verse 32. Jeremiah 31 and verse 32. In fact, let's read verse 31 as well. God says, Behold, the day is come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt."

[John Weaver] That sounds familiar, I hope. It's Hebrews 8, 9. Now watch."...which my covenant they break, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord."

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a question. What husband has any regard for a rebellious, disobedient, and unfaithful wife? And the answer is, there are none. If you would look, don't take the time to do it now, but if you would look and read the book of Hosea, the book of Hosea is replete with pictures of the unfaithfulness of Israel. Whoredom in the Bible is not simply physical.

[John Weaver] It is more spiritual than anything else. Hence God has always referred to Israel as being an unfaithful wife. And in being an unfaithful wife, she despised him. Let me show you. Let's go back in our Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 3. And let's read verses 2 and 3. Jeremiah chapter 3 look at if you would at verse 2 and 3 look what God says Jeremiah 3 verse 2 God says lift up thine eyes into the high places and See where thou hast not been laying with the words where you've not committed adultery in the ways that hast thou sat for them as the Arabian in the wilderness and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and and with thy wickedness.

[John Weaver] Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain. And thou hast a hoarse forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed." So he's talking about his people. He's talking about Israel.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. Just turn right on over to the book of Ezekiel chapter 16 and verse 28. Ezekiel 16 verse 28. In fact, It would do you well to read Ezekiel chapter 16. But look at verse 28. Ezekiel 16 verse 28. God says, Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because Thou wast insatiable. Yea, Thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldst not be satisfied. So no amount of idolatry satisfied them.

[John Weaver] It was more and more and more. Skip down to verse 32. He says, But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband." And then look in verse 45. He says to them that we're talking about Judah and Jerusalem and Israel. Thou art my mother's daughter, and loatheth her husband and her children. Thou art the sister of thy sisters, which loatheth their husbands and their children.

[John Weaver] Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite. And he's talking about Samaria, Jerusalem, and Sodom. And notice if you would, he's accusing them of adultery, fornication, spiritual fornication. I hope you're beginning to see why God had absolutely no regard for these people. Look back, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9 again. I want you to see this. I want to emphasize it and drive it home.

[John Weaver] He says, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant. And what's the response? And I regarded them not, saith the Lord. They did not continue, and he regarded them not. I could take a lot of time today and take you through the Bible and show you the multitudinous sins, rebellions, and provocations that Israel committed against the Lord. But instead of me taking all the time to do that, why don't I just show you the consequences and the outcome of their rebellion.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And we'll begin reading there with verse 1. And then I'm going to ask you a question. Okay? Remember now, our Lord is talking about taking these people by the hand and leading them out of the land of Egypt. So 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1, Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, that is, the Red Sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat that same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for the drink of that spiritual rock that followed them, that rock was Christ.

[John Weaver] But would many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." Now look at verse 5, but with many of them, God was not well pleased. That is, He had no regard for them, they disregarded Him, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now I have told you before, always have to smile at this verse, but with many of them, God was not well pleased. So here's my question. Out of the multitude that God took by the hand and brought out of the land of Egypt, how many of them actually got into the promised land? Two. Joshua and Caleb. Two. Many of them. All of them. Except Joshua and Caleb. Have you noticed?

[John Weaver] He keeps saying, you continue not in my covenant. What? You broke my covenant. You rebelled. You disregarded. You disrespected. You dishonored. you had no regard for me you had no regard for my word now God says I regarded you not that is again the lex talionis the law of retribution now I want to show you some verses I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 5 Isaiah chapter 5 and I want to look at verses 11 through 13 Isaiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Look at the curse that God places, the woe that He issues. Isaiah 5 verse 11, Warn to them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night, till wine inflame them, where it's all they do, they're drunkards, they lay around and drink. And the harp and the vial and the tabret and the pipe and wine are in their feasts. Here you go.

[John Weaver] But they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. Now watch verse 13. Therefore, that is because of this. Because they regard not the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of his, therefore my people are going into captivity. Because they have no knowledge and their honorable men are famished and their multitude dried up with thirst. Look in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations. Next book is Jeremiah, then Lamentations. Lamentations chapter four. If you remember, I told you in times past that the book of Lamentations has five chapters. Actually, there are five poems on the fall of Jerusalem, and each poem is from a different perspective on that fall. So look, if you would, in Lamentations 4, and let's begin reading there in verse 13. Lamentations 4, verse 13.

[John Weaver] For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, they have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. They cried unto them, Depart ye, it is unclean. Depart, depart, touch not. When they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.

[John Weaver] The anger of the Lord hath divided them." Are you looking? He will no more regard them. They respected not the persons of the priests. They favored not the elders. God says, I'll just no longer regard you. You have no regard for me. You're corrupt. You're wicked. Look in the book of Amos. Turn right on over. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Amos chapter 5. Amos chapter 5. And let's begin reading there in verse 21. I'm just trying to show you this principle. Them that honor me will honor, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] Those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. So Amos chapter 5 verse 21, look what God says to Israel. He says, I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though you offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them, neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. God said, I'm not going to regard anything that you give me. In fact, look in verse 23, take thou away from me the noise of thy song, for I will not hear the melody of thy vows. Why? He says, but let judgment run down as waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

[John Weaver] In other words, they were unrighteous. They were ungodly. And they were trying to just be ritualistic and ceremonial and offer God these sacrifices. God says, I'm not going to regard that. I'm not going to look upon that with favor, not by any stretch of the imagination. If you would turn to the book of Zechariah, which is right before the book of Malachi. Malachi is the last book. Look in Zechariah chapter 11. Zechariah chapter 11.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there in verse 6. Zechariah 11 and verse 6. Look what God says. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. But lo, I will deliver the men, every one, into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king. And they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves, the one I call beauty, the other I call bands, and I fed the flock. Now watch. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month. And my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me." God said, they hated me, so I loathed them. Then said I, I will not feed you.

[John Weaver] That that dieth, let it die. And that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off. Let the rest eat every one of the flesh of another. God said, I'm not going to have any regard for you. You despised me. You loathe me. I loathe you.

[John Weaver] Now, look in the book of Malachi. Turn over just a few pages. Malachi chapter 1, beginning there with verse 6. Look what God states. Malachi 1 verse 6. A son honored his father, and a servant his master. God says to Israel, If then I be a father, where is mine honor? If I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priest, watch, that despise my name. And you say, Wherein have we despised thy name? He said, You have offered polluted bread upon mine altar. And you say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that you say the table of the Lord is contemptible.

[John Weaver] And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame And sick is it not evil? Offer it now to thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts? What? Hmm. Watch verse nine. And now I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us. This hath been by your means. Will he regard your persons, saith the Lord of hosts? So He says, here you go, you've got a governor, you've got a mayor, you've got some important individual, a president.

[John Weaver] Invite him to your house. Serve him a big old steak with canker sores all over it. That's rotten. That's worthless. Will he accept you? Will he regard your persons? God says, you think that you can disregard me and disrespect and dishonor me and me have favor towards you and me regard you? No, no, no. He said it doesn't work like that. God has no regard for those who do not regard Him. Now listen carefully. He will feed them.

[John Weaver] He will keep them alive. He will bless them with common blessings. He will allow them to continue in their hatred and rebellion of Him while He still blesses them. But every one of His blessings turns into wrath. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2 beginning there with verse 4. Romans 2, verse 4. Watch carefully. Romans 2, verse 4.

[John Weaver] Or despises thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Now let's stop there. Or despises thou the riches of his goodness, You stop and think how God feeds the wicked. He gives them breath. He gives them water. He gives them food. He gives them family. He gives them friends. He gives them everything. Not only are they despising the riches of His goodness, but also His forbearance and longsuffering. That is, God does not instantly slap them down. He does not instantly execute them.

[John Weaver] He does not kill them on the spot. He suffers long with them in their wickedness and their rebellion and their hatred of Him. And what they do not understand is the goodness of God to them is designed to lead them to repentance. But they despise that goodness. They despise that long-suffering and forbearance. But what does it do? All these blessings that God gives them, how does it turn out?

[John Weaver] Well, look in verse 5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasuries up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who shall render to every man according to his deeds." So all of those blessings that God has given you, that you have despised, turns into a treasury of wrath against you. Wow. God said He regarded not those persons that He took by the hand and led them out of Egypt.

[John Weaver] Why did He disregard them? Because they disregarded Him.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. If you do not regard God, do not expect Him to regard you. Yes, You may have his blessings temporarily, but here's the thing, in your deepest trial, in your deepest hour of need, and the strongest pain and misery that comes upon you, when you really and truly need him and want him, you won't have him.

[John Weaver] How can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. Look, if you would, beginning there with verse 24. Here's what God says. Now follow this logic. Follow this reasoning. This is the lex talionis. This is the law of retribution. This is the punishment being made to fit the crime. Verse 24, God says, Because I have called and you refused.

[John Weaver] I stretched out my hand and no man regarded. But what have you done? You have said it, not all my counsel would have none of my reproof. You would not listen.

[John Weaver] Now what's going to happen? Look in verse 26. I also will laugh at you and your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would none of my counsel, they despised all of my reproof.

[John Weaver] Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. Hmm. You reap what you sow. God always makes the punishment fit the crime. You disregarded Him, now He disregards you. If you would turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 32, and let me just show you several verses. Deuteronomy 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 34. We'll read a couple of verses, then skip down to verse 39. Watch. I'm just showing you what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 32, verse 34. God asked this question.

[John Weaver] Is not this laid up in store with me and sealed up among my treasures? Now, what is sealed up among his treasures? What is laid up in store with God? Oh, here it is. Verse 35. To me belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall slide in due time. For the day of their calamity is at hand and the things that shall make that shall come upon them make haste Skip down to verse 39. Look what God says 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? For I lift up my hand to heaven and I say I live forever If I wet that is if I sharpen my glittering sword and mine hand take hold on judgment I will render vengeance to mine enemies and will reward them that hate me I will make mine errors drunk with blood and my sword shall devour flesh And that with the blood of the slain and of the captive from the beginning of the revenges upon the enemy Rejoice all ye nations with his people for he will avenge the blood of his servants and will render vengeance to his adversaries and will be merciful unto his

[John Weaver] land and to his people." Yeah. Those that disregard God when the time comes that their foot starts sliding and they really, truly want help and need help. He may righteously and justly disregard them. Now here's another one. Listen carefully. He said, them that honor me will I honor, saith the Lord. If we want God to hear us and help us, we must learn to honor Him, to obey Him, and bring our lives into conformity to His Word.

[John Weaver] I think that Psalm 102 and verse 17 is very precious. that verse says this he will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer so when we come to him and we come as helpless and hopeless having no trust in anything or anyone but in him alone seeking to honor him and to bring glory to his name God said I will hear you. I will regard you. I'll give special favor to you because you regard me and honor me." It's not works. It's just a biblical principle.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. How much favor would you look upon someone if every time you saw him, he cursed you, hated you, despised you and tried to destroy everything that you did. You may be civil, but you would not look upon him with great favor. God says, them that honor me will I honor, saith the Lord, and them that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. They will be counted as a trifle, insignificant, and they will be cursed.

[John Weaver] Because, what did he say? I took them by the hand, and they violated, they broke, they rejected, they despised my covenant. And I regarded them not. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Help us, Lord, to see how sinful, how wicked, how rebellious it is to not regard Thee, and honor Thee, and glorify Thee.

[John Weaver] Thou art God, and Thou art God alone. Beside Thee there is none other. And Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Jesus Christ is God revealed in the flesh. And we confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. Help us, Father, to honor Him, regard Him, and Father, in so doing, honor and regard Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.

[John Weaver] ♪

Regards

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	LN5X1YvHUlc
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-08-16
Dictation Name
Book	Book 086: Lamentations — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	82

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Meaning of 'Regards'

Weaver introduces the word 'regards' from Hebrews 8:9 and explains its meaning as looking upon someone with favor, honor, and respect.

Let's open our Bibles today, if you would please, to the book of Hebrews chapter 8. And we're just going to read verse 9. We will come back and pick up the context just a little bit later. Hebrews 8 and verse 9. The title of the message is, "Regards." You will understand why momentarily. So look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8:9

"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord."

Have you ever wondered, considered the word "regards"? We use that word very readily and we also use it frequently. I've said things like this to individuals, "Please give my regards to your father." And oftentimes I will say, "Well, send so-and-so my regards."

And many times you even sign a letter signed with love and regards. So the question we ask: What in the world do we mean when we talk about regards? What are we sending when we send our regards? And what are we giving when we give our regards? The word "regard" literally means to look upon or to think upon with a particular feeling. It means to regard a person with favor or to have and to show respect and honor for someone.

So let me put it another way. We could say that the word "regard" means to pay attention to someone, looking upon them with love and favor. Obviously there are some individuals for whom we have absolutely no regard. Such individuals are usually wicked, vile, deceitful, self-promoting, vain, worthless, and useless. All of those words describe politicians almost to a T, that is for sure. I recently read a piece that offered a test for certain individuals, and the test was like this.

Biblical Examples of Not Regarding Dishonorable People

Using 2 Kings 3, Leviticus 19:31, Acts 8, and 1 Samuel 25, Weaver shows that Scripture commands not to regard wicked, dishonorable individuals like Jehoram, sorcerers, and Nabal.

Now, of course, we smile at that and we laugh at that. But, you know, the truth of the matter is, there is a biblical principle behind that. Let me show it to you. I want you to turn in your Bible, still hold Hebrews 8, but look in your Bible, 2 Kings 3. 2 Kings 3. And let's begin reading there with verse 6. 2 Kings 3 and verse 6.

We're going to read about King Jehoram. And King Jehoram happened to be the son of Ahab. Ahab was the wickedest man in the northern kingdom in Israel. So, notice if you would, 2 Kings 3 beginning there with verse 6.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 3:6-14

"And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at the same time, and numbered all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle?" "And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, or for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

"And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother." That is, the prophets of Baal. "And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee." So let me put this out where you can really grasp what Elisha was saying. I'll put it in a colloquialism that we use quite frequently in the South. Here's what he said. "I wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire. I'd let you burn up." That's what he said. "Were it not that I regarded the person of Jehoshaphat, I would not look toward thee nor see thee." In other words, I would let you die. And the reason he would let him die is because he had absolutely no regard for him because the king was a very wicked, vile, corrupt king.

And of course, probably, Elisha may have wished that he had been dead. So I want you to understand it is very impossible to honor a dishonorable person. Moreover, it is impossible on the one hand to show favor to someone who is unfavorable. In fact, we're commanded not to favor certain individuals, not to regard certain individuals, not to show them honor or respect. Let me give you an illustration. Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 31. Here's what the Word of God says:

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 19:31

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."

Regard them not that have familiar spirits. In other words, wizards and warlocks and mediums and fortune tellers and all these people, God says do not show them any regard whatsoever. In fact, the Hebrew word is the word "panah," which literally means that we are forbidden to show that respect to these individuals. Now, evidently the people in Samaria in the New Testament did not really comprehend and understand this passage in Leviticus 19 verse 31. Let me show you why. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 8, and let's look, beginning there with verse 9, and you will read about a man by the name of Simon who happened to be a sorcerer. So look in Acts chapter 8 and verse 9. The Bible says, "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries." So God says that we are forbidden to show any regard, any favor toward any of these people like this. There's another individual in the Bible to whom no regard was to be given. His name was Nabal. And Nabal, you remember, was a selfish, inconsiderate, and unappreciative being. Nabal was a very rich man. He had plenty of sheep and whatever else. And David and his men protected Nabal's servants. They also protected all of his sheep and all of his goods. And the servants even told Nabal that not one thing was missing as long as David and his men were there. And so when the time came to shear those sheep, and it was a time of rejoicing and time of plenty, David sent some of his servants there and asked him for a blessing. "Lord, share some of the good stuff that you have with us, with our men." And Nabal railed upon them. And Nabal said, "There are many men that break away from their master these days. Who is the son of David? Or who is this David, the son of Jesse, that I should do anything for him?" And the servants went back and told David, and David said, "Gird ye every man on his sword." Well, Abigail happened to be the wife of Nabal, and she was not there when David's servants came. But one of the servants of Nabal came and told Abigail, "You better get ready.

Because trouble is brewing, David's going to come and wipe us out." And when she heard what had happened, she loaded some of the asses with all kinds of dates and foods and meat and went to meet him and fell down before him. And here's what she said in 1 Samuel 25 and verse 25. She said to David, "Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send." So the word "Nabal" literally means "fool.

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 25:25

" She says he's a fool, folly is with him. But she says, "

Regard not this son or this man of Belial." So Abigail is not only admitting that he's a fool, she's also admitting and confessing that he is wicked, that he's vile, that he's a heathen, that he's unsaved, and so she tells David, "Don't pay any attention to him.

He is not worth fighting with. He is worthless." That is what she's saying about her own husband. So, "David, do not regard this man of Belial. Just don't pay him any attention. Let him go."

Now, it's one thing to disregard men at times, because men, obviously, sometimes are very unfavorable and dishonorable, that is for sure. But it's quite a different thing when men disregard and dishonor the one true and the living God.

The Danger of Disregarding God

Weaver illustrates modern and biblical disregard for God, citing an email attacking Christ and John 5:22-23, which teaches that dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.

Now there's an interesting thing that we usually cannot comprehend. We really cannot comprehend the disdain and the dishonor that a lot of unconverted people show and demonstrate toward our Lord. So I'm going to give you a good clear illustration of that. Many of you know that I send out sermon notes on a weekly basis. And I send them out to those who ask for them. Well, this past week I sent out the sermon notes as usual. And one man got the sermon notes who had not asked to be on the email list. The problem was, his email was exactly like the email of the individual who asked to be on the list, but there was only one letter difference.

And it was my mistake, I typed it in wrong. So he got this last message, which was known as "The Tactic of Flight." So I got an email back from him, and he just asked me to take his name off the mailing list and then he said this, I'm going to give you the exact quote. Listen carefully. He wrote, "Your God was a deranged Jew who got his ass nailed by the Romans. The Romans should have nailed the rest of the terrorists." "You would have saved us from the dark ages." Can you imagine someone writing that about Jesus Christ? To show you how historically ignorant he is. Number one, Jesus Christ was not a Jew. He was a Judahite. He was born in Judah, and certainly he has been and is the king, but he himself was not a Jew. Don't you remember how even his own disciples said, "Knowest thou not that the Jews seek to kill thee?"

Our Lord was from the northern kingdom. He was an Israelite, that is for sure. He was born in Judea, but he was not a Jew because Judaism is a religion. And that's why they crucified him. He would not go along with what they thought and what they believed. Moreover, he is saying very clearly that it would have saved us from the Dark Ages. Really? If I remember correctly, the Dark Ages lasted from 1100 to 1500. Do you know what got us out of the Dark Ages? The Reformation. That's when the emphasis came back on the Word of God and on Christianity. And the reason the Dark Ages was dark was because there was no truth. And Jesus Christ is truth and the Word of God is truth.

Now, if that is not horrific enough, let me show you something else. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 5. Not only does this man demonstrate his historical ignorance and biblical ignorance, he also demonstrates very clearly his rebellion toward the Lord Jesus Christ and toward God the Father. Now I want you to watch this carefully. Look in John 5 in verse 22. The scripture says,

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

So the Father is not going to be doing the judging, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be the judging. So now you have to ask yourself this question, why has God the Father committed all judgment to the Son? And here's why in verse 23,

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

So the Bible makes this very clear, if you dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, you dishonor God the Father.

Let me say this another way. If you attack the Lord Jesus Christ, you then are attacking God the Father. And to show you the absolute insanity of this, anyone who dishonors and disrespects and disregards the Lord Jesus Christ, is dishonoring, disrespecting, and disregarding the one who is going to be his judge and executioner. Why would you spit in the face of the judge who has the power to condemn you and to execute you?

The Principle of Lex Talionis: Honor and Dishonor

From 1 Samuel 2:30, Weaver establishes that God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him, a law of retribution.

There's no two ways about that. Now, before we get to Hebrews chapter 8, I want you to turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. I'm going to show you a principle, and that principle is going to be enunciated throughout the Scripture. So if you'll look in 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 30. Let me tell you about this passage before we read it. In this passage, God is rejecting Eli and his sons. And the reason God is rejecting Eli, his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests. They were whoremongers. They stole God's offerings. They made the people despise the worship of God. And God is going to get rid of Eli and his family. So look what he tells Eli in verse 30, 1 Samuel 2 verse 30.

"Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So God is rebuking Eli because he did not restrain his sons from all the evil that they did as priests, and he's putting forth the fact that you're going to be kicked out of the priesthood, your family's going to be kicked out of the priesthood. Now, in the context, the way to honor God, of course, is to worship him and to give him that which he demands in the way that he demands. So look at verse 30 again in the latter part. He says, "But be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." The Hebrew word for the word "despise" literally means to hold in contempt, to disdain, to scorn, and to treat as vile and worthless. So God says, those that scorn me, those that mock me, those that treat me with contempt and treat me as a vile and worthless individual, they shall be lightly esteemed. Now you're going to have to ask yourself, what does it mean to be lightly esteemed? It means our Lord is going to hold those in contempt who despise him. They are going to be treated as a light thing, as a trifle, as something that is insignificant, as something that is despicable. They're going to be brought to dishonor and they are going to be disregarded. In other words, they have no regard for God. God is not going to have any regard for them.

This again, which I've pointed out in many previous studies, is known as the lex talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is when God makes the punishment fit the crime. And so since now they have indeed disregarded God, God said very clearly, then I am going to disregard you.

Israel's Rebellion and God's Disregard in Hebrews 8

Weaver expounds Hebrews 8:9 in context, showing that God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant despite His care, like a rebellious child.

Now, I want you to look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9, because we're going to see this principle in a very practical application. I want you to look at verse 9 again and then we're going to read verse 9 in the context. So look in verse 9, "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." Now I want you to see in the focus of and in the context of Hebrews chapter 8, it is referring to our Lord Jesus Christ and the New Covenant. So, I want you to begin looking, if you would, beginning there with verse 1, and let's just read through at least verse 12. I want you to see Hebrews 8, verse 1.

"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second."

"For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

Now, the interesting thing is this. This passage deals with the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was written in stone. The New Covenant is written in the heart. In the New Covenant, we are enabled to come boldly into the holiest of all. In the New Covenant, we are to come boldly to the throne of grace, the Bible says, that we may find grace and help in the hour of need. But however, it's not the New Covenant that I want to deal with right now particularly. It is the attitude and the actions of Israel in the Old Covenant.

Now, let me point something out. God did everything for Israel in the Old Covenant. Look in verse 9 again. He says, "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt." Now, what did God do for Israel? Well, he delivered them, he guided them, he preserved them, he fed them, he taught them, he gave them his law. He took them by the hand. Every one of us that has been and is a parent or a grandparent, at one time or another, we have taken our children's hands and held those hands tightly as we crossed the busy street. Let me ask you a question. What would you do if your grandchild tried to jerk his hand from your hand and run head on into the traffic? Well, you would not like that at all. You would tighten down as best you could and if the child did finally jerk loose, and ran straight into the traffic, it would be tragic.

Israel as an Unfaithful Wife

Using Isaiah 5, Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 3, and Ezekiel 16, Weaver portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife who committed spiritual adultery, leading to God's disregard.

We know what would happen. What did Israel do when God took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt? They did just like a rebellious child. They kicked, they screamed, they pulled away, they ran away in the opposite direction that he wanted them to go. So, let me show you this. I want you to hold Hebrews 8, we're coming back there, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5, and let's read the first 7 or 8 verses. Watch this. Isaiah chapter 5, and God is going to give us a very clear illustration of how Israel turned out to be absolutely rebellious. Watch verse 1 of Isaiah 5.

"Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill." Now we're going to find out who that vineyard was. And look what he did for this vineyard. "And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein." "And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard:

I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." God said, I did everything I could for them, and yet they rebelled against me. They refused to obey. They refused to honor me.

Now, the interesting thing is this, God gives us numerous pictures of what Israel was like. So, if you would turn right over to the book of Jeremiah chapter 31 and look if you would please at verse 32. Jeremiah 31 and verse 32. In fact, let's read verse 31 as well. God says, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;" That sounds familiar, I hope. It's Hebrews 8, 9. Now watch. "...which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 31:31-32

Now let me ask you a question. What husband has any regard for a rebellious, disobedient, and unfaithful wife? And the answer is, there are none. If you would look, don't take the time to do it now, but if you would look and read the book of Hosea, the book of Hosea is replete with pictures of the unfaithfulness of Israel. Whoredom in the Bible is not simply physical. It is more spiritual than anything else. Hence God has always referred to Israel as being an unfaithful wife. And in being an unfaithful wife, she despised him. Let me show you. Let's go back in our Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 3. And let's read verses 2 and 3. Jeremiah chapter 3, look if you would at verse 2 and 3. Look what God says. Jeremiah 3 verse 2, God says, "Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed." So he's talking about his people. He's talking about Israel. Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. Just turn right on over to the book of Ezekiel chapter 16 and verse 28. Ezekiel 16 verse 28. In fact, it would do you well to read Ezekiel chapter 16. But look at verse 28. Ezekiel 16 verse 28. God says, "Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied." So no amount of idolatry satisfied them.

It was more and more and more. Skip down to verse 32. He says, "But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!" And then look in verse 45. He says to them that we're talking about Judah and Jerusalem and Israel, "Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite." And he's talking about Samaria, Jerusalem, and Sodom. And notice if you would, he's accusing them of adultery, fornication, spiritual fornication. I hope you're beginning to see why God had absolutely no regard for these people. Look back, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9 again. I want you to see this. I want to emphasize it and drive it home.

Consequences of Rebellion: Only Two Entered the Promised Land

From 1 Corinthians 10, Weaver notes that out of the multitude led out of Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered the promised land because God was not well pleased with the rest.

Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And we'll begin reading there with verse 1. And then I'm going to ask you a question. Okay? Remember now, our Lord is talking about taking these people by the hand and leading them out of the land of Egypt. So 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness." Now look at verse 5, "But with many of them God was not well pleased." That is, He had no regard for them, they disregarded Him, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now I have told you before, I always have to smile at this verse, "But with many of them God was not well pleased." So here's my question. Out of the multitude that God took by the hand and brought out of the land of Egypt, how many of them actually got into the promised land? Two. Joshua and Caleb. Two. Many of them. All of them. Except Joshua and Caleb. Have you noticed?

He keeps saying, "You continue not in my covenant." What? You broke my covenant. You rebelled. You disregarded. You disrespected. You dishonored. You had no regard for me. You had no regard for my word. Now God says, "I regarded you not." That is again the lex talionis, the law of retribution. Now I want to show you some verses. I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5, and I want to look at verses 11 through 13. Isaiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Look at the curse that God places, the woe that He issues. Isaiah 5 verse 11, "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!" Where it's all they do, they're drunkards, they lay around and drink. "And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts." Here you go.

Prophetic Declarations of God's Disregard

Weaver cites Isaiah 5:11-13, Lamentations 4:13-16, Amos 5:21-24, Zechariah 11:6-9, and Malachi 1:6-9 to show God's repeated declarations of disregarding Israel for their dishonor.

"But they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands." Now watch verse 13. "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst." Because of this. Because they regard not the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of his hands. Look in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations. Next book is Jeremiah, then Lamentations. Lamentations chapter 4. If you remember, I told you in times past that the book of Lamentations has five chapters. Actually, there are five poems on the fall of Jerusalem, and each poem is from a different perspective on that fall. So look, if you would, in Lamentations 4, and let's begin reading there in verse 13. Lamentations 4, verse 13.

"For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, they have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there. The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders." God says, I'll just no longer regard you. You have no regard for me. You're corrupt. You're wicked. Look in the book of Amos. Turn right on over. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Amos chapter 5. Amos chapter 5. And let's begin reading there in verse 21. I'm just trying to show you this principle. "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord.

Those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So Amos chapter 5 verse 21, look what God says to Israel. He says, "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts." God said, I'm not going to regard anything that you give me. In fact, look in verse 23, "Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols." Why? He says,

Scripture Reading — Amos 5:21-24

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."

In other words, they were unrighteous. They were ungodly. And they were trying to just be ritualistic and ceremonial and offer God these sacrifices. God says, I'm not going to regard that. I'm not going to look upon that with favor, not by any stretch of the imagination. If you would turn to the book of Zechariah, which is right before the book of Malachi. Malachi is the last book. Look in Zechariah chapter 11. Zechariah chapter 11.

And let's begin reading there in verse 6. Zechariah 11 and verse 6. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Zechariah 11:6-9

"For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me."

God said, they hated me, so I loathed them.

Scripture Reading — Zechariah 11:6-9

"Then said I, I will not feed you:

that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another." God said, I'm not going to have any regard for you. You despised me. You loathe me. I loathe you.

Now, look in the book of Malachi. Turn over just a few pages. Malachi chapter 1, beginning there with verse 6. Look what God states. Malachi 1 verse 6.

Scripture Reading — Malachi 1:6-9

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.

And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts." What? Hmm. Watch verse 9. "And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts." So He says, here you go, you've got a governor, you've got a mayor, you've got some important individual, a president. Invite him to your house. Serve him a big old steak with canker sores all over it. That's rotten. That's worthless. Will he accept you? Will he regard your persons? God says, you think that you can disregard me and disrespect and dishonor me and me have favor towards you and me regard you? No, no, no. He said it doesn't work like that. God has no regard for those who do not regard Him. Now listen carefully. He will feed them.

Blessings Turned to Wrath for the Impenitent

From Romans 2:4-6, Weaver explains that God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, when despised, store up wrath for the day of judgment.

He will keep them alive. He will bless them with common blessings. He will allow them to continue in their hatred and rebellion of Him while He still blesses them. But every one of His blessings turns into wrath. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2 beginning there with verse 4. Romans 2, verse 4. Watch carefully. Romans 2, verse 4.

"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" Now let's stop there. "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness?" You stop and think how God feeds the wicked. He gives them breath. He gives them water. He gives them food. He gives them family. He gives them friends. He gives them everything. Not only are they despising the riches of His goodness, but also His forbearance and longsuffering. That is, God does not instantly slap them down. He does not instantly execute them.

He does not kill them on the spot. He suffers long with them in their wickedness and their rebellion and their hatred of Him. And what they do not understand is the goodness of God to them is designed to lead them to repentance. But they despise that goodness. They despise that long-suffering and forbearance. But what does it do? All these blessings that God gives them, how does it turn out?

Well, look in verse 5. "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds." So all of those blessings that God has given you, that you have despised, turns into a treasury of wrath against you. Wow. God said He regarded not those persons that He took by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Why did He disregard them? Because they disregarded Him.

Applications: Honor God to Be Regarded by Him

Weaver applies the principle: if you disregard God, He will disregard you in your time of need (Proverbs 1:24-31); but if you honor Him, He will regard your prayer (Psalm 102:17).

Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. If you do not regard God, do not expect Him to regard you. Yes, you may have his blessings temporarily, but here's the thing, in your deepest trial, in your deepest hour of need, and the strongest pain and misery that comes upon you, when you really and truly need him and want him, you won't have him. How can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. Look, if you would, beginning there with verse 24. Here's what God says. Now follow this logic. Follow this reasoning. This is the lex talionis. This is the law of retribution. This is the punishment being made to fit the crime. Verse 24, God says, "Because I have called, and ye refused;

I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof." You would not listen. Now what's going to happen? Look in verse 26. "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." Hmm. You reap what you sow. God always makes the punishment fit the crime. You disregarded Him, now He disregards you. If you would turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 32, and let me just show you several verses. Deuteronomy 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 34. We'll read a couple of verses, then skip down to verse 39. Watch. I'm just showing you what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 32, verse 34. God asked this question.

"Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?" Now, what is sealed up among his treasures? What is laid up in store with God? Oh, here it is. Verse 35. "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." Skip down to verse 39. Look what God says. "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. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his

land, and to his people." Yeah. Those that disregard God when the time comes that their foot starts sliding and they really, truly want help and need help. He may righteously and justly disregard them. Now here's another one. Listen carefully. He said, "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord." If we want God to hear us and help us, we must learn to honor Him, to obey Him, and bring our lives into conformity to His Word. I think that Psalm 102 and verse 17 is very precious. That verse says this: "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." So when we come to him and we come as helpless and hopeless having no trust in anything or anyone but in him alone, seeking to honor him and to bring glory to his name, God said, "I will hear you. I will regard you. I'll give special favor to you because you regard me and honor me." It's not works. It's just a biblical principle.

Let me ask you a question. How much favor would you look upon someone if every time you saw him, he cursed you, hated you, despised you and tried to destroy everything that you did. You may be civil, but you would not look upon him with great favor. God says, "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." They will be counted as a trifle, insignificant, and they will be cursed.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Meaning of Regard

Summary: Regard means to look upon with favor, honor, and respect; it involves paying attention to someone with love.

Evidence: The word 'regard' literally means to look upon or to think upon with a particular feeling. It means to regard a person with favor or to have and to show respect and honor for someone.

Lex Talionis: Honor and Dishonor

Summary: God applies the law of retribution: those who honor Him are honored, and those who despise Him are lightly esteemed.

Evidence: Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Israel's Covenant Breaking and God's Disregard

Summary: God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant and rebelled despite His care, like an unfaithful wife.

Evidence: Because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

The Danger of Disregarding God

Summary: Disregarding God leads to His disregard in times of calamity; He will not answer those who hated knowledge.

Evidence: Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Honoring God Brings His Regard

Summary: God regards the prayer of the destitute who honor Him; honoring God is essential for His favor.

Evidence: He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

Key Arguments

It is impossible to honor a dishonorable person

Summary: Weaver argues that Scripture commands not to regard wicked individuals, as seen in Elisha's disregard for Jehoram and the command to not regard sorcerers.

Evidence: Elisha said, 'Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat... I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.'

Dishonoring Christ is dishonoring God the Father

Summary: John 5:22-23 shows that all judgment is committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son; dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.

Evidence: He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

God's disregard is a just retribution for Israel's disregard

Summary: Hebrews 8:9 and 1 Samuel 2:30 establish that God's disregard of Israel was a direct response to their covenant breaking and despising of Him.

Evidence: Because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Despised blessings become stored wrath

Summary: Romans 2:4-5 teaches that despising God's goodness and forbearance treasures up wrath for the day of judgment.

Evidence: But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath.

God will not answer those who disregarded Him

Summary: Proverbs 1:24-31 warns that those who refused God's call and disregarded His counsel will call on Him in calamity but He will not answer.

Evidence: Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Scripture References

Hebrews 8:9

Context: Central text: God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant.

2 Kings 3:6-14

Context: Elisha disregards King Jehoram but regards Jehoshaphat.

Leviticus 19:31

Context: Command not to regard those with familiar spirits.

Acts 8:9-11

Context: People of Samaria regarded Simon the sorcerer.

1 Samuel 25:25

Context: Abigail tells David not to regard Nabal, a man of Belial.

John 5:22-23

Context: All judgment committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son; dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.

Psalm 2:11-12

Context: Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish.

Hebrews 10:28-29

Context: Sorer punishment for those who trod under foot the Son of God.

1 Samuel 2:30

Context: God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him.

Hebrews 8:1-12

Context: Context of the New Covenant and God's disregard of Israel under the Old Covenant.

Isaiah 5:1-7

Context: Parable of the vineyard: Israel brought forth wild grapes despite God's care.

Jeremiah 31:31-32

Context: God will make a new covenant; Israel broke the old covenant though God was a husband to them.

Jeremiah 3:2-3

Context: Israel polluted the land with whoredoms and had a whore's forehead.

Ezekiel 16:28, 32, 45

Context: Israel played the harlot with Assyrians; an adulterous wife who loathes her husband.

1 Corinthians 10:1-5

Context: All Israel had spiritual blessings, but with many God was not well pleased; only Joshua and Caleb entered the land.

Isaiah 5:11-13

Context: Woe to those who regard not the work of the Lord; therefore they go into captivity.

Lamentations 4:13-16

Context: God will no more regard them because of the sins of prophets and priests.

Amos 5:21-24

Context: God hates their feast days and will not regard their peace offerings; He desires righteousness.

Zechariah 11:6-9

Context: God will no more pity the inhabitants; His soul loathed them because they abhorred Him.

Malachi 1:6-9

Context: Priests despise God's name by offering polluted bread; God asks if He will regard their persons.

Historical References

Dark Ages (1100-1500) and the Reformation

Context: Weaver refutes the email writer's claim that Jesus caused the Dark Ages, stating the Reformation restored truth and ended the Dark Ages.

Important Quotes

The word 'regard' literally means to look upon or to think upon with a particular feeling. It means to regard a person with favor or to have and to show respect and honor for someone.

Significance: Defines the central concept of the sermon, establishing the biblical meaning of regard.

Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

Significance: Illustrates the principle of regarding only the honorable; Elisha's disregard for the wicked king.

Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Significance: Key principle of lex talionis that underpins the entire message.

Because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Significance: The central verse of the sermon, showing God's response to Israel's covenant breaking.

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Significance: Warns that despising God's goodness stores up wrath, a key application.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Significance: Sobering consequence of disregarding God: He will disregard in times of need.

He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

Significance: Promise of God's regard for those who honor Him and come in humility.

Discussion Questions

What does it mean to 'regard' someone biblically, and how does this differ from our common use of the word?

Context: Weaver defines regard as looking upon with favor, honor, and respect.

Why did Elisha refuse to regard King Jehoram, and what does this teach us about showing honor?

Context: Elisha regarded Jehoshaphat but not the wicked Jehoram.

How does dishonoring Jesus Christ equate to dishonoring God the Father according to John 5:22-23?

Context: Weaver explains that all judgment is committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son.

In what ways did Israel act like an unfaithful wife, and how did God respond?

Context: Weaver uses Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea to describe Israel's spiritual adultery.

What does Romans 2:4-5 teach about the danger of despising God's goodness and forbearance?

Context: Weaver explains that despised blessings become stored wrath.

How should the warning of Proverbs 1:24-31 affect the way we respond to God's call today?

Context: God warns that He will not answer those who disregarded Him when calamity comes.

What practical steps can we take to honor God so that He will regard us?

Context: Weaver concludes that honoring God involves obedience and bringing our lives into conformity to His Word.

Applications

Do not expect God to regard you if you disregard Him

Summary: If you live in rebellion and dishonor God, do not expect His favor or help in times of deep need.

Evidence: If you do not regard God, do not expect Him to regard you. Yes, you may have his blessings temporarily, but... in your deepest hour of need... you won't have him.

Honor God to receive His regard and hearing

Summary: To have God hear and help us, we must learn to honor Him, obey Him, and conform our lives to His Word.

Evidence: If we want God to hear us and help us, we must learn to honor Him, to obey Him, and bring our lives into conformity to His Word.

Come to God as destitute and trusting only in Him

Summary: God regards the prayer of the destitute who come helpless and hopeless, trusting only in Him and seeking to honor Him.

Evidence: When we come to him and we come as helpless and hopeless having no trust in anything or anyone but in him alone, seeking to honor him... God said, 'I will hear you. I will regard you.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:33:55Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T11:10:04Z

Clean Transcript

Regards

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

Let's open our Bibles today, if you would please, to the book of Hebrews chapter 8. And we're just going to read verse 9. We will come back and pick up the context just a little bit later. Hebrews 8 and verse 9. The title of the message is, "Regards." You will understand why momentarily. So look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9. The Bible says, "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." Have you ever wondered, considered the word "regards"? We use that word very readily and we also use it frequently. I've said things like this to individuals, "Please give my regards to your father." And oftentimes I will say, "Well, send so-and-so my regards."
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And many times you even sign a letter signed with love and regards. So the question we ask: What in the world do we mean when we talk about regards? What are we sending when we send our regards? And what are we giving when we give our regards? The word "regard" literally means to look upon or to think upon with a particular feeling. It means to regard a person with favor or to have and to show respect and honor for someone.
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So let me put it another way. We could say that the word "regard" means to pay attention to someone, looking upon them with love and favor. Obviously there are some individuals for whom we have absolutely no regard. Such individuals are usually wicked, vile, deceitful, self-promoting, vain, worthless, and useless. All of those words describe politicians almost to a T, that is for sure. I recently read a piece that offered a test for certain individuals, and the test was like this.
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There's an incident that is happening. You are on a nature trail. You're walking by a river that has rapids and a huge, steep waterfall, and at the end of that waterfall are horrendous rocks, and you're walking along and all of a sudden you look in the river and you see Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer being carried very quickly and swiftly in that water to the falls. And you have just enough time to either throw them a rope and save their lives or take a picture of their last few moments on this earth.
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And so the test question was this: What speed do you set your camera to get the best picture?
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Now, of course, we smile at that and we laugh at that. But, you know, the truth of the matter is, there is a biblical principle behind that. Let me show it to you. I want you to turn in your Bible, still hold Hebrews 8, but look in your Bible, 2 Kings 3. 2 Kings 3. And let's begin reading there with verse 6. 2 Kings 3 and verse 6.
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We're going to read about King Jehoram. And King Jehoram happened to be the son of Ahab. Ahab was the wickedest man in the northern kingdom in Israel. So, notice if you would, 2 Kings 3 beginning there with verse 6. "And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at the same time, and numbered all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle?"
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"And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, or for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."
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"And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother." That is, the prophets of Baal. "And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee." So let me put this out where you can really grasp what Elisha was saying. I'll put it in a colloquialism that we use quite frequently in the South. Here's what he said.
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"I wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire. I'd let you burn up." That's what he said. "Were it not that I regarded the person of Jehoshaphat, I would not look toward thee nor see thee." In other words, I would let you die. And the reason he would let him die is because he had absolutely no regard for him because the king was a very wicked, vile, corrupt king.
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And of course, probably, Elisha may have wished that he had been dead. So I want you to understand it is very impossible to honor a dishonorable person. Moreover, it is impossible on the one hand to show favor to someone who is unfavorable. In fact, we're commanded not to favor certain individuals, not to regard certain individuals, not to show them honor or respect. Let me give you an illustration.
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Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 31. Here's what the Word of God says: "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Regard them not that have familiar spirits. In other words, wizards and warlocks and mediums and fortune tellers and all these people, God says do not show them any regard whatsoever. In fact, the Hebrew word is the word "panah," which literally means that we are forbidden to show that respect to these individuals. Now, evidently the people in Samaria in the New Testament did not really comprehend and understand this passage in Leviticus 19 verse 31. Let me show you why. If you look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 8, Acts chapter 8, and let's look, beginning there with verse 9, and you will read about a man by the name of Simon who happened to be a sorcerer. So look in Acts chapter 8 and verse 9. The Bible says, "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
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to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries." So God says that we are forbidden to show any regard, any favor toward any of these people like this. There's another individual in the Bible to whom no regard was to be given. His name was Nabal. And Nabal, you remember, was a selfish, inconsiderate, and unappreciative being. Nabal was a very rich man.
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He had plenty of sheep and whatever else. And David and his men protected Nabal's servants. They also protected all of his sheep and all of his goods. And the servants even told Nabal that not one thing was missing as long as David and his men were there. And so when the time came to shear those sheep, and it was a time of rejoicing and time of plenty, David sent some of his servants there and asked him for a blessing. "Lord, share some of the good stuff that you have with us, with our men." And Nabal railed upon them. And Nabal said, "There are many men that break away from their master these days. Who is the son of David? Or who is this David, the son of Jesse, that I should do anything for him?" And the servants went back and told David, and David said, "Gird ye every man on his sword." Well, Abigail happened to be the wife of Nabal, and she was not there when David's servants came. But one of the servants of Nabal came and told Abigail, "You better get ready.
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Because trouble is brewing, David's going to come and wipe us out." And when she heard what had happened, she loaded some of the asses with all kinds of dates and foods and meat and went to meet him and fell down before him. And here's what she said in 1 Samuel 25 and verse 25. She said to David, "Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send." So the word "Nabal" literally means "fool." She says he's a fool, folly is with him. But she says, "Regard not this son or this man of Belial." So Abigail is not only admitting that he's a fool, she's also admitting and confessing that he is wicked, that he's vile, that he's a heathen, that he's unsaved, and so she tells David, "Don't pay any attention to him.
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He is not worth fighting with. He is worthless." That is what she's saying about her own husband. So, "David, do not regard this man of Belial. Just don't pay him any attention. Let him go."
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Now, it's one thing to disregard men at times, because men, obviously, sometimes are very unfavorable and dishonorable, that is for sure. But it's quite a different thing when men disregard and dishonor the one true and the living God.
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Now there's an interesting thing that we usually cannot comprehend. We really cannot comprehend the disdain and the dishonor that a lot of unconverted people show and demonstrate toward our Lord. So I'm going to give you a good clear illustration of that. Many of you know that I send out sermon notes on a weekly basis. And I send them out to those who ask for them. Well, this past week I sent out the sermon notes as usual. And one man got the sermon notes who had not asked to be on the email list. The problem was, his email was exactly like the email of the individual who asked to be on the list, but there was only one letter difference.
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And it was my mistake, I typed it in wrong. So he got this last message, which was known as "The Tactic of Flight." So I got an email back from him, and he just asked me to take his name off the mailing list and then he said this, I'm going to give you the exact quote. Listen carefully. He wrote, "Your God was a deranged Jew who got his ass nailed by the Romans. The Romans should have nailed the rest of the terrorists."
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"You would have saved us from the dark ages." Can you imagine someone writing that about Jesus Christ? To show you how historically ignorant he is. Number one, Jesus Christ was not a Jew. He was a Judahite. He was born in Judah, and certainly he has been and is the king, but he himself was not a Jew. Don't you remember how even his own disciples said, "Knowest thou not that the Jews seek to kill thee?"
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Our Lord was from the northern kingdom. He was an Israelite, that is for sure. He was born in Judea, but he was not a Jew because Judaism is a religion. And that's why they crucified him. He would not go along with what they thought and what they believed. Moreover, he is saying very clearly that it would have saved us from the Dark Ages. Really? If I remember correctly, the Dark Ages lasted from 1100 to 1500. Do you know what got us out of the Dark Ages? The Reformation. That's when the emphasis came back on the Word of God and on Christianity. And the reason the Dark Ages was dark was because there was no truth. And Jesus Christ is truth and the Word of God is truth.
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Now, if that is not horrific enough, let me show you something else. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 5. Not only does this man demonstrate his historical ignorance and biblical ignorance, he also demonstrates very clearly his rebellion toward the Lord Jesus Christ and toward God the Father. Now I want you to watch this carefully. Look in John 5 in verse 22. The scripture says, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." So the Father is not going to be doing the judging, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be the judging. So now you have to ask yourself this question, why has God the Father committed all judgment to the Son? And here's why in verse 23, "That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." So the Bible makes this very clear, if you dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, you dishonor God the Father.
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Let me say this another way. If you attack the Lord Jesus Christ, you then are attacking God the Father. And to show you the absolute insanity of this, anyone who dishonors and disrespects and disregards the Lord Jesus Christ, is dishonoring, disrespecting, and disregarding the one who is going to be his judge and executioner. Why would you spit in the face of the judge who has the power to condemn you and to execute you?
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Well, David certainly gave some good counsel concerning this in Psalm 2 verses 11 and 12. In fact, he was writing to kings and he said this, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him."
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Now listen to what he said. "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little." If only a little wrath causes one to perish, what in the world is going to happen when there is much wrath? Obviously. I mean you're throwing hot water in the face of the judge. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10 and note if you would please verses 28 and 29. There's one word that you really need to pay attention to. Watch this. Hebrews chapter 10 beginning there with verse 28.
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"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses." This is the Old Testament. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. So in the Old Testament, if you committed a sin that was worthy of death, there was no mercy. Two or three witnesses testified against you, you were executed. That was it. Now watch verse 29. "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Now look, "of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, that he is to be thought worthy of."
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Now the Greek word for "sorer" is the word "cheiron," which literally means to be worse, to be much worse, and to get worse and worse. So it is worse and worse, heaped upon worse and worse. It's not going to abide well with those who despise and dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate. And when one speaks of Jesus Christ as nothing, when one despises his work of redemption and sins against the Spirit of God in convicting the world of unrighteousness, he is in the deepest of trouble.
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There's no two ways about that. Now, before we get to Hebrews chapter 8, I want you to turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. I'm going to show you a principle, and that principle is going to be enunciated throughout the Scripture. So if you'll look in 1 Samuel chapter 2, verse 30. Let me tell you about this passage before we read it. In this passage, God is rejecting Eli and his sons. And the reason God is rejecting Eli, his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests. They were whoremongers. They stole God's offerings. They made the people despise the worship of God. And God is going to get rid of Eli and his family. So look what he tells Eli in verse 30, 1 Samuel 2 verse 30.
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"Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So God is rebuking Eli because he did not restrain his sons from all the evil that they did as priests, and he's putting forth the fact that you're going to be kicked out of the priesthood, your family's going to be kicked out of the priesthood. Now, in the context, the way to honor God, of course, is to worship him and to give him that which he demands in the way that he demands.
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So look at verse 30 again in the latter part. He says, "But be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." The Hebrew word for the word "despise" literally means to hold in contempt, to disdain, to scorn, and to treat as vile and worthless. So God says, those that scorn me, those that mock me, those that treat me with contempt and treat me as a vile and worthless individual, they shall be lightly esteemed. Now you're going to have to ask yourself, what does it mean to be lightly esteemed? It means our Lord is going to hold those in contempt who despise him. They are going to be treated as a light thing, as a trifle, as something that is insignificant, as something that is despicable. They're going to be brought to dishonor and they are going to be disregarded. In other words, they have no regard for God. God is not going to have any regard for them.
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This again, which I've pointed out in many previous studies, is known as the lex talionis. It is the law of retribution. It is when God makes the punishment fit the crime. And so since now they have indeed disregarded God, God said very clearly, then I am going to disregard you.
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Now, I want you to look in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9, because we're going to see this principle in a very practical application. I want you to look at verse 9 again and then we're going to read verse 9 in the context. So look in verse 9, "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." Now I want you to see in the focus of and in the context of Hebrews chapter 8, it is referring to our Lord Jesus Christ and the New Covenant. So, I want you to begin looking, if you would, beginning there with verse 1, and let's just read through at least verse 12. I want you to see Hebrews 8, verse 1.
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"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second."
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"For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord;
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I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."
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Now, the interesting thing is this. This passage deals with the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was written in stone. The New Covenant is written in the heart. In the New Covenant, we are enabled to come boldly into the holiest of all. In the New Covenant, we are to come boldly to the throne of grace, the Bible says, that we may find grace and help in the hour of need. But however, it's not the New Covenant that I want to deal with right now particularly. It is the attitude and the actions of Israel in the Old Covenant.
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Now, let me point something out. God did everything for Israel in the Old Covenant. Look in verse 9 again. He says, "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt." Now, what did God do for Israel? Well, he delivered them, he guided them, he preserved them, he fed them, he taught them, he gave them his law. He took them by the hand.
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Every one of us that has been and is a parent or a grandparent, at one time or another, we have taken our children's hands and held those hands tightly as we crossed the busy street. Let me ask you a question. What would you do if your grandchild tried to jerk his hand from your hand and run head on into the traffic? Well, you would not like that at all. You would tighten down as best you could and if the child did finally jerk loose, and ran straight into the traffic, it would be tragic.
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We know what would happen. What did Israel do when God took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt? They did just like a rebellious child. They kicked, they screamed, they pulled away, they ran away in the opposite direction that he wanted them to go. So, let me show you this. I want you to hold Hebrews 8, we're coming back there, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5, and let's read the first 7 or 8 verses. Watch this. Isaiah chapter 5, and God is going to give us a very clear illustration of how Israel turned out to be absolutely rebellious. Watch verse 1 of Isaiah 5.
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"Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill." Now we're going to find out who that vineyard was. And look what he did for this vineyard. "And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein."
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"And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard:
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I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant:
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and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." God said, I did everything I could for them, and yet they rebelled against me. They refused to obey. They refused to honor me.
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Now, the interesting thing is this, God gives us numerous pictures of what Israel was like. So, if you would turn right over to the book of Jeremiah chapter 31 and look if you would please at verse 32. Jeremiah 31 and verse 32. In fact, let's read verse 31 as well. God says, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;"
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That sounds familiar, I hope. It's Hebrews 8, 9. Now watch. "...which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord."
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Now let me ask you a question. What husband has any regard for a rebellious, disobedient, and unfaithful wife? And the answer is, there are none. If you would look, don't take the time to do it now, but if you would look and read the book of Hosea, the book of Hosea is replete with pictures of the unfaithfulness of Israel. Whoredom in the Bible is not simply physical.
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It is more spiritual than anything else. Hence God has always referred to Israel as being an unfaithful wife. And in being an unfaithful wife, she despised him. Let me show you. Let's go back in our Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 3. And let's read verses 2 and 3. Jeremiah chapter 3, look if you would at verse 2 and 3. Look what God says. Jeremiah 3 verse 2, God says, "Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
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Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed." So he's talking about his people. He's talking about Israel.
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Now, look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ezekiel. Just turn right on over to the book of Ezekiel chapter 16 and verse 28. Ezekiel 16 verse 28. In fact, it would do you well to read Ezekiel chapter 16. But look at verse 28. Ezekiel 16 verse 28. God says, "Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast insatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied." So no amount of idolatry satisfied them.
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It was more and more and more. Skip down to verse 32. He says, "But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!" And then look in verse 45. He says to them that we're talking about Judah and Jerusalem and Israel, "Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children:
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your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite." And he's talking about Samaria, Jerusalem, and Sodom. And notice if you would, he's accusing them of adultery, fornication, spiritual fornication. I hope you're beginning to see why God had absolutely no regard for these people. Look back, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 9 again. I want you to see this. I want to emphasize it and drive it home.
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He says, "Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant." And what's the response? "And I regarded them not, saith the Lord." They did not continue, and he regarded them not. I could take a lot of time today and take you through the Bible and show you the multitudinous sins, rebellions, and provocations that Israel committed against the Lord. But instead of me taking all the time to do that, why don't I just show you the consequences and the outcome of their rebellion.
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Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And we'll begin reading there with verse 1. And then I'm going to ask you a question. Okay? Remember now, our Lord is talking about taking these people by the hand and leading them out of the land of Egypt. So 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
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But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness." Now look at verse 5, "But with many of them God was not well pleased." That is, He had no regard for them, they disregarded Him, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now I have told you before, I always have to smile at this verse, "But with many of them God was not well pleased." So here's my question. Out of the multitude that God took by the hand and brought out of the land of Egypt, how many of them actually got into the promised land? Two. Joshua and Caleb. Two. Many of them. All of them. Except Joshua and Caleb. Have you noticed?
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He keeps saying, "You continue not in my covenant." What? You broke my covenant. You rebelled. You disregarded. You disrespected. You dishonored. You had no regard for me. You had no regard for my word. Now God says, "I regarded you not." That is again the lex talionis, the law of retribution. Now I want to show you some verses. I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 5. Isaiah chapter 5, and I want to look at verses 11 through 13. Isaiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 11. Look at the curse that God places, the woe that He issues. Isaiah 5 verse 11, "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!" Where it's all they do, they're drunkards, they lay around and drink. "And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts." Here you go.
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"But they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands." Now watch verse 13. "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst." Because of this. Because they regard not the work of the Lord, nor consider the operation of his hands. Look in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations. Next book is Jeremiah, then Lamentations. Lamentations chapter 4. If you remember, I told you in times past that the book of Lamentations has five chapters. Actually, there are five poems on the fall of Jerusalem, and each poem is from a different perspective on that fall. So look, if you would, in Lamentations 4, and let's begin reading there in verse 13. Lamentations 4, verse 13.
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"For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, they have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments. They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.
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The anger of the Lord hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders." God says, I'll just no longer regard you. You have no regard for me. You're corrupt. You're wicked. Look in the book of Amos. Turn right on over. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Amos chapter 5. Amos chapter 5. And let's begin reading there in verse 21. I'm just trying to show you this principle. "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord.
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Those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." So Amos chapter 5 verse 21, look what God says to Israel. He says, "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts." God said, I'm not going to regard anything that you give me. In fact, look in verse 23, "Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols." Why? He says, "But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."
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In other words, they were unrighteous. They were ungodly. And they were trying to just be ritualistic and ceremonial and offer God these sacrifices. God says, I'm not going to regard that. I'm not going to look upon that with favor, not by any stretch of the imagination. If you would turn to the book of Zechariah, which is right before the book of Malachi. Malachi is the last book. Look in Zechariah chapter 11. Zechariah chapter 11.
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And let's begin reading there in verse 6. Zechariah 11 and verse 6. Look what God says. "For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me." God said, they hated me, so I loathed them. "Then said I, I will not feed you:
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that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another." God said, I'm not going to have any regard for you. You despised me. You loathe me. I loathe you.
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Now, look in the book of Malachi. Turn over just a few pages. Malachi chapter 1, beginning there with verse 6. Look what God states. Malachi 1 verse 6. "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.
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And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts." What? Hmm. Watch verse 9. "And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts." So He says, here you go, you've got a governor, you've got a mayor, you've got some important individual, a president.
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Invite him to your house. Serve him a big old steak with canker sores all over it. That's rotten. That's worthless. Will he accept you? Will he regard your persons? God says, you think that you can disregard me and disrespect and dishonor me and me have favor towards you and me regard you? No, no, no. He said it doesn't work like that. God has no regard for those who do not regard Him. Now listen carefully. He will feed them.
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He will keep them alive. He will bless them with common blessings. He will allow them to continue in their hatred and rebellion of Him while He still blesses them. But every one of His blessings turns into wrath. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 2. Romans chapter 2 beginning there with verse 4. Romans 2, verse 4. Watch carefully. Romans 2, verse 4.
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"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" Now let's stop there. "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness?" You stop and think how God feeds the wicked. He gives them breath. He gives them water. He gives them food. He gives them family. He gives them friends. He gives them everything. Not only are they despising the riches of His goodness, but also His forbearance and longsuffering. That is, God does not instantly slap them down. He does not instantly execute them.
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He does not kill them on the spot. He suffers long with them in their wickedness and their rebellion and their hatred of Him. And what they do not understand is the goodness of God to them is designed to lead them to repentance. But they despise that goodness. They despise that long-suffering and forbearance. But what does it do? All these blessings that God gives them, how does it turn out?
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Well, look in verse 5. "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds." So all of those blessings that God has given you, that you have despised, turns into a treasury of wrath against you. Wow. God said He regarded not those persons that He took by the hand and led them out of Egypt.
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Why did He disregard them? Because they disregarded Him.
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Now, let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this. If you do not regard God, do not expect Him to regard you. Yes, you may have his blessings temporarily, but here's the thing, in your deepest trial, in your deepest hour of need, and the strongest pain and misery that comes upon you, when you really and truly need him and want him, you won't have him.
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How can I say that? Turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs chapter 1. Look, if you would, beginning there with verse 24. Here's what God says. Now follow this logic. Follow this reasoning. This is the lex talionis. This is the law of retribution. This is the punishment being made to fit the crime. Verse 24, God says, "Because I have called, and ye refused;
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I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof." You would not listen.
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Now what's going to happen? Look in verse 26. "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
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Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." Hmm. You reap what you sow. God always makes the punishment fit the crime. You disregarded Him, now He disregards you. If you would turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 32, and let me just show you several verses. Deuteronomy 32, and let's begin reading there with verse 34. We'll read a couple of verses, then skip down to verse 39. Watch. I'm just showing you what the Bible says. Deuteronomy 32, verse 34. God asked this question.
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"Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?" Now, what is sealed up among his treasures? What is laid up in store with God? Oh, here it is. Verse 35. "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." Skip down to verse 39. Look what God says. "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. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever. If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy. Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his
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land, and to his people." Yeah. Those that disregard God when the time comes that their foot starts sliding and they really, truly want help and need help. He may righteously and justly disregard them. Now here's another one. Listen carefully. He said, "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord." If we want God to hear us and help us, we must learn to honor Him, to obey Him, and bring our lives into conformity to His Word.
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I think that Psalm 102 and verse 17 is very precious. That verse says this: "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer." So when we come to him and we come as helpless and hopeless having no trust in anything or anyone but in him alone, seeking to honor him and to bring glory to his name, God said, "I will hear you. I will regard you. I'll give special favor to you because you regard me and honor me." It's not works. It's just a biblical principle.
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Let me ask you a question. How much favor would you look upon someone if every time you saw him, he cursed you, hated you, despised you and tried to destroy everything that you did. You may be civil, but you would not look upon him with great favor. God says, "Them that honour me I will honour, saith the Lord, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." They will be counted as a trifle, insignificant, and they will be cursed.
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Because, what did he say? "I took them by the hand, and they violated, they broke, they rejected, they despised my covenant. And I regarded them not." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Help us, Lord, to see how sinful, how wicked, how rebellious it is to not regard Thee, and honor Thee, and glorify Thee.
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Thou art God, and Thou art God alone. Beside Thee there is none other. And Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Jesus Christ is God revealed in the flesh. And we confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. Help us, Father, to honor Him, regard Him, and Father, in so doing, honor and regard Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray, Amen.
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♪
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T18:33:55Z

Regards

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver explores the biblical meaning of 'regard'—to look upon with favor, honor, and respect. Using Hebrews 8:9 as the central text, he demonstrates that God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant and dishonored Him. The sermon emphasizes the principle of lex talionis: those who honor God will be honored, and those who despise Him will be lightly esteemed. Applications warn that disregarding God leads to His disregard in times of need, while honoring Him brings His favor and hearing.

Introduction: The Meaning of 'Regards'

Weaver introduces the word 'regards' from Hebrews 8:9 and explains its meaning as looking upon someone with favor, honor, and respect.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 8:9

"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord."

Biblical Examples of Not Regarding Dishonorable People

Using 2 Kings 3, Leviticus 19:31, Acts 8, and 1 Samuel 25, Weaver shows that Scripture commands not to regard wicked, dishonorable individuals like Jehoram, sorcerers, and Nabal.

Scripture Reading — 2 Kings 3:6-14

"And King Jehoram went out of Samaria at the same time, and numbered all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle?" "And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, or for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 19:31

"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 25:25

" She says he's a fool, folly is with him. But she says, "

He is not worth fighting with. He is worthless." That is what she's saying about her own husband. So, "David, do not regard this man of Belial. Just don't pay him any attention. Let him go."

The Danger of Disregarding God

Weaver illustrates modern and biblical disregard for God, citing an email attacking Christ and John 5:22-23, which teaches that dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

Scripture Reading — John 5:22-23

"That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

So the Bible makes this very clear, if you dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, you dishonor God the Father.

The Principle of Lex Talionis: Honor and Dishonor

From 1 Samuel 2:30, Weaver establishes that God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him, a law of retribution.

Israel's Rebellion and God's Disregard in Hebrews 8

Weaver expounds Hebrews 8:9 in context, showing that God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant despite His care, like a rebellious child.

Israel as an Unfaithful Wife

Using Isaiah 5, Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 3, and Ezekiel 16, Weaver portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife who committed spiritual adultery, leading to God's disregard.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 31:31-32

Now let me ask you a question. What husband has any regard for a rebellious, disobedient, and unfaithful wife? And the answer is, there are none. If you would look, don't take the time to do it now, but if you would look and read the book of Hosea, the book of Hosea is replete with pictures of the unfaithfulness of Israel. Whoredom in the Bible is not simply physical. It is more spiritual than anything else. Hence God has always referred to Israel as being an unfaithful wife. And in being an unfaithful wife, she despised him. Let me show you. Let's go back in our Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 3. And let's read verses 2 and 3. Jeremiah chapter 3, look if you would at verse 2 and 3. Look what God says. Jeremiah 3 verse 2, God says, "Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

Consequences of Rebellion: Only Two Entered the Promised Land

From 1 Corinthians 10, Weaver notes that out of the multitude led out of Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered the promised land because God was not well pleased with the rest.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Prophetic Declarations of God's Disregard

Weaver cites Isaiah 5:11-13, Lamentations 4:13-16, Amos 5:21-24, Zechariah 11:6-9, and Malachi 1:6-9 to show God's repeated declarations of disregarding Israel for their dishonor.

Scripture Reading — Amos 5:21-24

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream."

And let's begin reading there in verse 6. Zechariah 11 and verse 6. Look what God says.

Scripture Reading — Zechariah 11:6-9

"For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me."

God said, they hated me, so I loathed them.

Scripture Reading — Zechariah 11:6-9

"Then said I, I will not feed you:

Now, look in the book of Malachi. Turn over just a few pages. Malachi chapter 1, beginning there with verse 6. Look what God states. Malachi 1 verse 6.

Scripture Reading — Malachi 1:6-9

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.

Blessings Turned to Wrath for the Impenitent

From Romans 2:4-6, Weaver explains that God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, when despised, store up wrath for the day of judgment.

Applications: Honor God to Be Regarded by Him

Weaver applies the principle: if you disregard God, He will disregard you in your time of need (Proverbs 1:24-31); but if you honor Him, He will regard your prayer (Psalm 102:17).

Regards

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	LN5X1YvHUlc
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Lamentations
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-08-16
Dictation Name
Book	Book 086: Lamentations — Chapter 3
Source Timed Segments	82

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Meaning of 'Regards': Weaver introduces the word 'regards' from Hebrews 8:9 and explains its meaning as looking upon someone with favor, honor, and respect.
Biblical Examples of Not Regarding Dishonorable People: Using 2 Kings 3, Leviticus 19:31, Acts 8, and 1 Samuel 25, Weaver shows that Scripture commands not to regard wicked, dishonorable individuals like Jehoram, sorcerers, and Nabal.
The Danger of Disregarding God: Weaver illustrates modern and biblical disregard for God, citing an email attacking Christ and John 5:22-23, which teaches that dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.
The Principle of Lex Talionis: Honor and Dishonor: From 1 Samuel 2:30, Weaver establishes that God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him, a law of retribution.
Israel's Rebellion and God's Disregard in Hebrews 8: Weaver expounds Hebrews 8:9 in context, showing that God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant despite His care, like a rebellious child.
Israel as an Unfaithful Wife: Using Isaiah 5, Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 3, and Ezekiel 16, Weaver portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife who committed spiritual adultery, leading to God's disregard.
Consequences of Rebellion: Only Two Entered the Promised Land: From 1 Corinthians 10, Weaver notes that out of the multitude led out of Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered the promised land because God was not well pleased with the rest.
Prophetic Declarations of God's Disregard: Weaver cites Isaiah 5:11-13, Lamentations 4:13-16, Amos 5:21-24, Zechariah 11:6-9, and Malachi 1:6-9 to show God's repeated declarations of disregarding Israel for their dishonor.
Blessings Turned to Wrath for the Impenitent: From Romans 2:4-6, Weaver explains that God's goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, when despised, store up wrath for the day of judgment.
Applications: Honor God to Be Regarded by Him: Weaver applies the principle: if you disregard God, He will disregard you in your time of need (Proverbs 1:24-31); but if you honor Him, He will regard your prayer (Psalm 102:17).

Major Themes

Key Arguments

It is impossible to honor a dishonorable person

Weaver argues that Scripture commands not to regard wicked individuals, as seen in Elisha's disregard for Jehoram and the command to not regard sorcerers.

Elisha said, 'Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat... I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.'

Dishonoring Christ is dishonoring God the Father

John 5:22-23 shows that all judgment is committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son; dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.

He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

God's disregard is a just retribution for Israel's disregard

Hebrews 8:9 and 1 Samuel 2:30 establish that God's disregard of Israel was a direct response to their covenant breaking and despising of Him.

Because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

Despised blessings become stored wrath

Romans 2:4-5 teaches that despising God's goodness and forbearance treasures up wrath for the day of judgment.

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath.

God will not answer those who disregarded Him

Proverbs 1:24-31 warns that those who refused God's call and disregarded His counsel will call on Him in calamity but He will not answer.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Scripture References

Hebrews 8:9: Central text: God disregarded Israel because they broke His covenant.
2 Kings 3:6-14: Elisha disregards King Jehoram but regards Jehoshaphat.
Leviticus 19:31: Command not to regard those with familiar spirits.
Acts 8:9-11: People of Samaria regarded Simon the sorcerer.
1 Samuel 25:25: Abigail tells David not to regard Nabal, a man of Belial.
John 5:22-23: All judgment committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son; dishonoring the Son dishonors the Father.
Psalm 2:11-12: Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish.
Hebrews 10:28-29: Sorer punishment for those who trod under foot the Son of God.
1 Samuel 2:30: God honors those who honor Him and lightly esteems those who despise Him.
Hebrews 8:1-12: Context of the New Covenant and God's disregard of Israel under the Old Covenant.
Isaiah 5:1-7: Parable of the vineyard: Israel brought forth wild grapes despite God's care.
Jeremiah 31:31-32: God will make a new covenant; Israel broke the old covenant though God was a husband to them.
Jeremiah 3:2-3: Israel polluted the land with whoredoms and had a whore's forehead.
Ezekiel 16:28, 32, 45: Israel played the harlot with Assyrians; an adulterous wife who loathes her husband.
1 Corinthians 10:1-5: All Israel had spiritual blessings, but with many God was not well pleased; only Joshua and Caleb entered the land.
Isaiah 5:11-13: Woe to those who regard not the work of the Lord; therefore they go into captivity.
Lamentations 4:13-16: God will no more regard them because of the sins of prophets and priests.
Amos 5:21-24: God hates their feast days and will not regard their peace offerings; He desires righteousness.
Zechariah 11:6-9: God will no more pity the inhabitants; His soul loathed them because they abhorred Him.
Malachi 1:6-9: Priests despise God's name by offering polluted bread; God asks if He will regard their persons.

Historical References

Dark Ages (1100-1500) and the Reformation: Weaver refutes the email writer's claim that Jesus caused the Dark Ages, stating the Reformation restored truth and ended the Dark Ages.

Important Quotes

The word 'regard' literally means to look upon or to think upon with a particular feeling. It means to regard a person with favor or to have and to show respect and honor for someone.

Defines the central concept of the sermon, establishing the biblical meaning of regard.

Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

Illustrates the principle of regarding only the honorable; Elisha's disregard for the wicked king.

Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Key principle of lex talionis that underpins the entire message.

Because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

The central verse of the sermon, showing God's response to Israel's covenant breaking.

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Warns that despising God's goodness stores up wrath, a key application.

Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me.

Sobering consequence of disregarding God: He will disregard in times of need.

He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

Promise of God's regard for those who honor Him and come in humility.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does it mean to 'regard' someone biblically, and how does this differ from our common use of the word?

[Context]

Weaver defines regard as looking upon with favor, honor, and respect.

[Question]

Why did Elisha refuse to regard King Jehoram, and what does this teach us about showing honor?

[Context]

Elisha regarded Jehoshaphat but not the wicked Jehoram.

[Question]

How does dishonoring Jesus Christ equate to dishonoring God the Father according to John 5:22-23?

[Context]

Weaver explains that all judgment is committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son.

[Question]

In what ways did Israel act like an unfaithful wife, and how did God respond?

[Context]

Weaver uses Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea to describe Israel's spiritual adultery.

[Question]

What does Romans 2:4-5 teach about the danger of despising God's goodness and forbearance?

[Context]

Weaver explains that despised blessings become stored wrath.

[Question]

How should the warning of Proverbs 1:24-31 affect the way we respond to God's call today?

[Context]

God warns that He will not answer those who disregarded Him when calamity comes.

[Question]

What practical steps can we take to honor God so that He will regard us?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that honoring God involves obedience and bringing our lives into conformity to His Word.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T11:10:04Z