The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder Lasser Bradley Jr. Mm-hmm. Dozen tumblers seem My great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my government, the triumphs of his race. This is James Kennedy, inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace. Oh worship God.
O glorious of all, O great folly, sing His power and His call, Our shield and defender, the ancient of grace, a billion in splendor and burden with praise. Oh, tell of His might, O sing of His praise, Whose roll is the line, Whose pan of His face, His chariots of breath the deep undertook for And dark is His path on the waves of the storm. Come to fulfill what tongue can recite. It breathes in the air, it shines in the light, it streams from the hills, it descends to the way, and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain. Rail children are just and feeble as grave in thee do we trust for finally to fail.
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to rear our Maker defender. On today's broadcast, LeSerre Bradley Jr. brings a message titled Judgment and Mercy from Joshua chapter 11. As we consider these two vital truths found throughout Scripture, the judgment of God and the mercy of God. In a time when many prefer to focus only on comforting themes, this message calls us to look at the full counsel of God's Word, both the seriousness of His judgment and the richness of His grace.
With the first portion of Judgment and Mercy, here's Lacerre Bradley, junior. As we look once more at the eleventh chapter of the book of Joshua, There are two themes that stand out to me that we have not covered as yet. Judgment. and mercy. God's judgment.
was upon the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. We read from Joshua chapter 11. Verse twenty For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly. and that they might have no favor but that he might destroy them.
as the LORD commanded Moses. There indeed is a description of judgment. Not only did God send Joshua and his army to fight against the inhabitants of the land. He hardened their hearts. that they would come against Israel.
and therefore would be defeated. And then when we come to verse 23, We see something that I believe is a beautiful picture of mercy.
So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the LORD said unto Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by tribes. Here it is. And the land rested for From war. What mercy Joshua had been in constant battles for seven years.
It must have been a great relief. When it came to that time, that the land rested from war. Rest. is indeed A mercy of God.
So first of all, as we think about judgment, we just have to note the fact that God Himself sends judgment. Yeah we've observed already in our studies in the book of Joshua. that there was destruction. coming constantly. in one battle after another on these the enemies of God's people.
Of course, that started way back when the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt. And the ten plagues were meted out on Pharaoh. Pharaoh in his arrogance and said, who is the Lord that I should obey him? One plague after another until finally the death of the firstborn. Then Pharaoh said, You can go.
He sent his army after them in hot pursuit, And when Those soldiers in their chariots tried to follow the Israelites across the Red Sea, the waters came together and they were drowned in the depths. God's judgment was upon Pharaoh. and his army. And then when they came into the land of Canaan, They marched faithfully around the walls of Jericho, and chapter 6, verse 21 says, and they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and ass with the edge of the sword. To have looked at that situation from the human perspective.
it wouldn't have seemed possible. For these people who had been wilderness wanderers for so many years. to march around this well protected, fortified city, than to be able to utterly destroy it. But as it was said repeatedly, it was given into their hand. It was God Himself that was sending judgment upon them.
And then we see the same thing at Ai when they went there the second time. The city was destroyed and burned with fire. And then there were the five kings that set themselves against the people of God. They took refuge first in a cave, where then they were sealed in for a time, and when they were brought out, They were all hanged. It says, Because the Lord God of Israel fought.
for Israel. That's why There was victory and success. under the leadership of Joshua. And then we read about Jabon. who got together other kings, and so there were a total of ten kings, and the people that were with them were described as being like the sand of the sea.
and there were many horses and many chariots. But they were defeated because God gave them into the hand of Joshua. And then in chapter 11 of the 11th verse, we read about Hazor. And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was not any left to breathe.
and he burnt Hazor with fire. And then we're going to come to chapter 12. There is a list of 31 kings that were conquered and killed by Joshua and his army. The point we make is that God was sending judgment on these people.
Somebody might say, Well, it looks to me as though Joshua and his men were bloodthirsty. They were a little over the top. They did more than was necessary. But that's not the case. They were carrying out God's command.
We look at the book of Numbers, chapter 33, verse 52. Then shall ye drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures. and destroy all their molten images. and quite plucked down all their high places. You see, these people were idolaters.
They were deeply involved in false religion. And God says, I want you to destroy all of it. Destroy their pictures. Destroy their molten images, these false gods that they had made, before whom they bowed and worshipped. Pull down their high places.
That was the places where they worshiped their gods. Pull them down, destroy them. This was God's command. Watson. Given to Joshua to have a council among some of his leaders and say, What are we going to do about this?
God already said, Here's what you're to do. Deuteronomy. Chapter 20. Verse 16. But of the cities of these people which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth.
The instruction was to be complete, not to save anything alive that breathed. But thou shalt utterly destroy them, namely the Hittites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD commanded thee. That they teach you not to do after their abominations. How the word Several reasons as to why these people were being destroyed. Number one, they were idolaters.
Number two, they were corrupt, evil, wicked people. Number three, God didn't want them to remain and be an influence on his people. I don't want them to teach you after their abominations.
Now, notice the word abomination. This helps us to get a clear picture of what these people were like. Their sins were abominable in God's sight. I don't want you to be influenced by them, which they have done unto their gods. All of these abominations they have done in the present to their gods as a part of their religion.
There were evil, corrupt practices, so that ye should sin against the Lord your God.
So I want them destroyed. that you are not influence.
So you see, Joshua really didn't have an option. He couldn't say I'm just having a hard time with this. I don't know that it's necessary to wipe out all these people. I don't know that it's necessary to kill all of their kings. May maybe I can figure out another plan, something that would seem a little more reasonable.
But he didn't have that option. Chapter 11, verse 15 says, As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua. He left nothing undone. Of all that the Lord commanded Moses. What a powerful statement.
He left nothing undone. God gave the commandment to Moses. Moses conveyed it on to Joshua, and Joshua carried it out explicitly. He left nothing undone. How many of us could say that today?
Could we say that when we look at the things God has commanded us in His Word that we have left nothing undone? Oh, I dare say if we have a sight of ourselves We can think of a good many areas where we've left some things undone. how we need to be more diligent in our service to God. to carry out the things that he has commanded. to do what he has commanded and not to add something that he hasn't commanded.
We see this principle even in the New Testament as Paul is. leaving the church And in Acts chapter 20, the 20th verse says this: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. In other words, if there was something that the people might have considered to be unpleasant.
Some word of warning, some word of rebuke that they might not have wanted to hear. Paul nevertheless was faithful. Whatever was profitable, whatever was truth, whatever needed to be preached, that's what I have done. I've showed it to you and have taught you publicly and from house to house. Verse 27, for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
God hasn't called men to pick and choose Selecting those passages that will be received by most And avoiding those that will be rejected, and some would object to them. No. We're to preach the whole counsel of God. We mustn't base our personal views on our preferences. and our feelings.
I talked to a lady one day that said, Oh, well, my God wouldn't punish anybody.
Well, that may have been true of her God, but that's not the God of the Bible. Because the Bible has punished The God of the Bible is punishing and will punish. In the days of Noah's flood, All the inhabitants of the earth except the eight stones in Noah's Ark. Twelve. We're destroying.
We're talking about A god? who will punish sin.
So If you say well I don't like the way God does some things. God's not going to change. He hasn't asked for the advice and counsel of men. And if you're developing your own mind, A view of God that's not in harmony with what is revealed about Himself and His Word. That certainly you're not going to honor him and you're not going to know how to serve him and not going to know what you ought to believe.
See that? In some circles today, What do they say? God loves you. and has a wonderful plan for your life. Not one word is spoken about sin.
There's no call for repentance. It's just if you want to get on board with a good happy life, here's the opportunity. You see, that's a distortion. That's not the gospel as presented us in the Word of God. We mustn't select our preferences just because there's certain things that We're comfortable with, we like them.
Others are a little disconcerting. Others are convicting and challenging. We must accept the whole counsel of God.
Somebody might say, well, I love to hear grace.
Well, I love to preach grace. That's a wonderful theme. But if you say, I'd love to hear grace, but I don't ever want to hear a message on repentance, that's a problem. Because the doctrine of repentance and the call to repent. is very clearly taught in Scripture.
Somebody says, Oh, Tell me about the love of God. the mercy of God, but I don't want to hear about his wrath. I don't want to hear about judgment.
Well, you see, that's in contrast. to the attitude that Joshua had. But he did all that the Lord commanded, left nothing undone. He wasn't selective. He just took what God said and did it.
And we need to take what God says in His word. Yes, some of it. Makes you uncomfortable.
Some of it is deeply convicting. Not everything in the Bible was written for the purpose of making you feel good. We find comfort and joy in many portions of Scripture and in many of the doctrines that are there, but we have to accept the whole counsel of God.
Somebody might say, well, I like to hear about God's love for me and about how He's forgiven me of my sin, but when I get to that passage in Ephesians 4, and it says, Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake. I've forgiven you.
Somebody says, now don't don't talk to me about that. I've had people be that bold with it. We got to that scripture. Don't talk to me about forgiveness. I can't go there.
I've been hurt too deeply.
So here's somebody who's going to pick and choose. I want to hear about God's forgiving me. I don't want to be called upon to forgive somebody else. Or Go to the passage that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that says, Love your enemies. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute.
I have a difficult time loving my friends.
Sometimes it can be a little challenging. You've got to love my enemies. Not only that, you've got to pray for them.
Well, you see, we must be faithful. to receive and to practice the whole council of God.
Now the people on whom this judgment came, were guilty of abominations. You say you can't. Get in your mind well Why all this violence?
Somebody has a real problem with that. It just troubles me that there's so much violence in the book of Joshua. I can't understand that. But these were not Innocent people. Of course, there are none in the human race because we're all related to Adam and therefore we're all sinners.
But these were blatantly ungodly people. First of all, they worshipped false gods. The first commandment that God gave is: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. I know in the minds of many people today that seems like a Minor point. Because the idea is that everybody ought to be entitled to have their own god.
That if a person is sincere and genuine, and they say, here's what I believe. That that ought to be all right. But that's not what God says. God says there's one God. He is the one, true, and living God.
And I should have no other gods. Whatever short they might be. An idol carved out of wood. One hewn out of stone. An idol of your own heart.
The love for some of the material things and pleasures of this life, anything that comes before God. It's an idol. Thou shalt have no other gods. Before me. These people.
were idolaters.
Furthermore, they were guilty of abominable conduct. Leviticus chapter 18, verse 3. After the doings of the land of Egypt wherein ye dwelt. Shall ye not do And after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do? neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
So he says, first of all, looking back to where They were at that particular time when that message was delivered. In Egypt, they weren't to be influenced by the customs of the Egyptians, and when they would eventually come into the land of Canaan, they were not to be influenced by their ordinances, by the things that they did.
Now the next 25 verses. describe some of the sins which the Canaanites Commander. the sins of which they were guilty. Most of them were sexual sins. Verse after verse after verse describes the blatant abominable sins of which they were guilty.
So when God was saying, destroy them, He's meting out to them the just condemnation that comes because one is guilty of violating God's law. Leviticus 18 on to the 26th verse. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and thy judgments and shall Not commit any of these abominations. God describes the conduct of these people as being abominable. You're not to commit their abominations.
Neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you. For all these abominations have the men of the land done which were before you, and the land is defiled. They are an abominable people, and so God is sending judgment. Deuteronomy. Chapter 12, verse 31.
Thou shalt not do so unto them, the Lord thy God, for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods. Every conceivable sin, every abomination, they've done it even before their gods. It's a part of their ritual, it's a part of their religious exercise to do that which is corrupt. For even their sons and daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. Exact Something that just makes you cringe.
to think that there were numerous people in those olden times that thought that to appease their God, they had to put their children in the fire. Give them as a living sacrifice. God says this is an abomination. And so the fact is God has always punished sin. and will punish sin.
Because he's a holy God. Because he's just. Because He We'll see to it. That which is in harmony with his character, his holiness, is executed and carried out. The Book of Nail.
Chapter 1, verse 2 says, God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth. The Lord revengeth and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries.
Now, somebody says, wait a minute, preacher. I've always been told that God is a God of love. What is this? about the Lord taking vengeance.
Well, it's another aspect of the divine character of the truth that's revealed in Scripture that many times is ignored and overlooked. But we need to understand the truth about God. Why is he taking vengeance? Because these are wicked people. Because of their sin, because of their rebellion.
Takes vengeance on its adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. Yes, God is a God of love. And I love to preach about love, and I love to preach about grace, and I do that from time to time. But this is also in the book. And we need to understand that God is also a God of wrath, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. God's not going to just say, I'm going to ignore this situation. Here are rebels. You are vile, corrupt sinners. I'm not going to execute the penalty.
I'm not going to uphold my law. No. God being holy We'll see to it. That he executes judgment. He will not at all acquit the wicked.
The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. Sham 7 verse 11, God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. Again, that's hard for somebody to get if they've only had little smatterings of Bible truth presented to them. And they think, I can't imagine that. That God is angry with the wicked every day?
That's what he says. He hates sin because he's holy. And therefore Because of these individuals that are in rebellion against him and continuing a sinful course, he is angry with them. Deuteronomy chapter 7, verse 10. and repayeth them that hate him to their face.
to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that hateth him. He will. repay him to his face.
So we've seen basically something about the judgment of God. meted out upon these idolaters, These who lived and abominable lives that were totally contrary to the principles that are in the law of God. But God also set judgment On Israel. when they disobeyed.
Now he gave them adequate warning. Of course, you know, when the law was given at Sinai, And the people had said, oh yes, we'll do it, we'll do it. I mean, they were already in violation of it when Moses was on the mountain receiving the commandments. And so warning is given, and sad to say, they didn't heed the warning, but here's what was said back in Deuteronomy chapter 11, verse 16. Take heed to yourselves that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside and serve other gods.
I don't want you to be confused when you come into the land and you are. Uh Having to confront people that do not believe in the one, true, and living God. I don't want you to be deceived. I don't want you to turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. And then the Lord's wrath be kindled against you.
And he shut up the heavens, and there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit List. thou perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. If you're sidetracked. You get over there and you don't carry out my commands, and you've got these people living side by side and they are influencing you, and you want to become like them, and you want to fit in, and you worship their gods, you'll be destroyed off the land that I've given you. Roar.
Patience left for me. Let me find myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from my room inside restore. Today's message from La Serre Bradley Jr. has reminded us of the importance of receiving all that God has revealed in His Word.
Not just the portions that comfort us, but also those that challenge and convict us. Join us next time as we continue this message and consider further what the scriptures teach about God's judgment, His mercy, and our need for repentance. Sure. Thank you for listening to today's broadcast, and until next time, may the Lord richly bless you all. Do we have The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder Leser Bradley Jr.
Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. Mm-hmm. I draw this bleeding breath when my eyes shall pose in death when I rise to worlds unknown and behold thee on thy throne Rock of ages breath for me Let me find myself in thee
