I want you to open your Bibles, if you would please, to the book of Exodus, chapter 20. We're just going to read one verse tonight, and I'm going to be covering a lot of other verses as well. When we're talking about the biblical doctrine of self-defense, I have so many messages on this subject. that I would really love to preach all of them, but I cannot. But I've got messages like, Lord teach us to fight, based on Psalm 144 and verse 1. To teach them war, based on Joshua chapter 3. How to fight like a Christian, two messages on that, and many, many more. So this is something that's been very special to my heart. And I think that if you understand and grasp tonight what we're going to share with you, that it might really enlighten you and help you. So, in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 13, the Bible says very plainly, thou shalt not kill. Most people understand that, or at least they think they understand that. And the truth is, many people do not understand Because there is not only a negative here, there is a positive, which I will clarify a little bit later. One of my favorite stories happens to be about the old pilgrim who was walking to church. And as he was walking to church, he had his blunderbuss on his shoulder. And one of the men of the community came up to him and said, Pastor, do you not believe that God is absolutely sovereign? He said, most certainly I do. Well, he said, pastor, he said, if you believe that God is sovereign, do you believe that He's ordained the day of your death? He said, absolutely. He said, well, pastor, if you believe that God is sovereign, and if you believe that God has ordained the day of your death, and when it comes your time to die, you're going to die, there's not one thing you can do about it. Here's my question. Why are you carrying that blunderbuss on your shoulder? The pastor said, that's simple, in case I meet an Indian whose time it is to die. So, he believed in the doctrine of self-defense, that is for sure. Most of us have really never understood that our forefathers not only went around armed all of the time, but they also went armed when they were in church. I have an old book in my library. The title is, The Sabbath of Puritan New England. It was written by a woman, Alice Morse Earl, but thankfully that book has been reprinted, and the second chapter in that book is extremely valuable. It is very informative. It tells us not only how, but why our forefathers went around armed, even on the Lord's Day and in the assembly of the saints as well. In fact, the interesting thing is the pastors then told those people who loaded their weapons that not to discharge them on the Sabbath unless it was at an Indian or a wolf, which was their two greatest enemies at that particular time. It was Trumbull who happened to be the historian of Connecticut. who actually made a little jingle in his macfingle concerning the carrying arms of church. Here's what he wrote, "'So once, for fear of Indian beating, our grandsires wore their guns to meeting. Each man equipped each Sunday morn, with psalm book, shot, and powder horn, and looked in form as almost grant, like the ancient true church militant. And so that was his little rhyme on carrying to church. In the formation of our nation, many, many, in fact, it was a law that you had to carry arms on the Lord's Day. For instance, in 1640 in Massachusetts, it was ordered that the attendance of church should carry a competent number of pieces, fixed and complete, with powder and shot, and swords each Lord's Day to the meeting house." So swords were demanded as well as rifles. In Connecticut in 1643, those who failed to bring their arms to church were fined 12 cents. for each offense. Now, we think 12 cents is nothing, but back then 12 cents was really something. In 1644, a law demanded that the fourth part of a trained band of men, that is trained fighting men, that they were obligated to come to church each Sunday, and the sentinels were ordered to keep their matches lit. in case they had to shoot those match locks. So I've just often wondered what it must have been like in an early church, sitting back, smelling all the smoke coming from the matches. But they were there, ready to fire if needed to be. In 1692, the Connecticut legislature ordered that one-fifth of the soldiers in each town must attend the Sunday meeting. So these soldiers then were demanded that they attend in order that they might protect the congregation at that particular time. So in colonial America, church security was often mandated by law, and sometimes with the militia being there as well. Hence, in 1619, there was a statute in Virginia that required not only attendance, but that all such as bear arms shall bring their pieces, swords, powder, and shot with them under penalty of a three-shilling fine, if they did not." It says this was phrased in 1623 to require that all men that are fitting to bear arms shall bring their pieces to church, And so it was also made a statute in 1738. So the Plymouth colonies, as well as the southern colonies, really demanded that all the men in the congregation bear arms. In fact, In fact, there is a painting, of course most of you know, George Bowdoin's painting on pilgrims going to church, showing them walking three abreast with their muzzle loaders or their blunderbusses on their shoulders as well. And that was basically true. That's basically what happened. In the mid-17th century, The gun carrying to church was also mandated in Plymouth by law as well. And of course Connecticut also required everyone to bring a musket and a sword as well. So the early militia and the men of the churches were concerned then primarily about Indian attacks. But in 1743 in South Carolina, again, there was a law mandated that they must bring their weapons to church and swords as well. Many of our modern day habits, which we never even stop to consider actually come from what happened during the colonial period. I don't know if you ever noticed this or not. In fact, I can look around right now and just see one or two out. But I was raised in church. If there was a special meeting during the week, my father, mother, and my sister and I were there. We were there Sunday morning, we were there Sunday night, we were there Wednesday night. And I made an observation as a young man, and I did not understand it, but I just observed it, that most of the men sat on the ends of the pews. In fact, look around tonight, most of them are like that tonight. Well, one or two exceptions. And I often wondered why. Well, the truth of the matter is, this came from a custom in colonial America where the men stacked their muskets in the aisle. And they sat on the edge of the pews so that they could quickly grab those muskets if the Indians attacked or if some other danger arose. The women and the children were on the inside, and thus they would not hinder the men. They would not be in the way if danger happened to arise, and therefore the men would be able to quickly get their weapons and, of course, then defend their families as well. Now, this next little tidbit I find very interesting. Meaning people do not, have never even thought about this. Have you ever noticed that when the preacher gets through preaching, usually there's a prayer and he will go to the front of the church and stand there while everybody files out. And you say, oh yeah, I understand that. I mean, he goes back there to greet everyone and to shake their hands. No, that's not the reason, that's not the purpose. If you just wanted to shake my hand, you could come up here as easily as I could go back there. If you wanted to shake Pastor Robert's hand, you could come up here as easily as he could go back there. How in the world did this happen? Because the pastor was the under shepherd. He was the man that was most responsible for the flock. Are you listening? The pastor who was always a good shot. and usually had one of the finest weapons in the neighborhood, preached with that loaded weapon by his pulpit, and when he finished, he took that weapon and went to the front of the church, opened the door, looked out, made sure there was safety in his assembly, then the men filed out, and then the women and children filed out. So the pastor going to the front of the church was basically him being the lookout for danger because he was the under-shepherd and he was responsible. So in Concord, New Hampshire, once again, they stack their arms in the middle of the church aisle as well. Now, in June 17, 1775, at the onset of the War for Independence, There was a law passed that all churches within 20 miles of the seacoast had to have their weapons at the church. All men had to have them. Of course, by the time the war was over in 1783, the wisdom of that was certainly discovered. Now, I have a question for you. I've just given you a lot of history. I could have given it in greater detail, but here it is. In light of this history, were our forefathers correct? Were they biblical? And the answer, of course, is yes, they were biblical and yes, they were correct. So my next question would be this, do you consider this fact in light of the situation that we're facing today to be also biblical and correct? Some of you may or may not know about what happened in Cape Town, South Africa on July the 25th, 1993. It was some of Nelson Mandela's African communists who came to St. James Church, the largest evangelical church in South Africa. It had over a thousand people in attendance that night. And so these communist guerrillas opened the side doors, lobbed grenades in, and then opened fire with AK-47s blowing people to bits and shooting as many as they could shoot. People were diving behind the pews if they could. Another door opened and another communist guerrilla went to throw a hand grenade, but one missionary with frontline fellowship was armed. And he drew out his pistol and began to shoot at the one guerrilla who was going to lob the grenade. And the man did not lob the grenade. He did not open fire with his AK. In fact, he turned and ran because he was being shot at. And then the rest of them ran, and the missionary followed him out and emptied his weapon into the fleeing car. The police in that area credited this missionary with saving at least a hundred lives. He was the only one in that entire church building that was armed, and he used that weapon to defend those people there. Now, just I want you to stop and think about this. Let's ask the question, was the missionary right to use that weapon? Was the missionary right to fire that weapon in the church building? Let me ask it another way. Do you think those Christians in that building would say, well, wait a minute, we've got to die anyhow. Why not die today? Let's just die today. Let's die at the hand of these communist guerrillas. Would you say that they were not spiritual enough if they did not want to die, if they did not want to sacrifice their lives? The truth of the matter is this. Let me ask you a question. Had you much rather for righteousness to triumph or for evil to triumph? I don't know about you, but I much prefer the Christian to live than the communist to die. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather for righteousness to prevail than for evil to prevail. Do we need such today? Well, when you stop and think what is happening in this country, and if you are here on Wednesday night, I will be sharing some things with you, but I will point this out right now. Did you realize that within the last six years, attacks on local churches have risen over 800%? Eight hundred percent. Here's just a sum of them. In Richmond, California, three hooded men walked into Gethsemane Church of God, opened fire, and then fled the scene. They shot a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man. Here on March 8, 2009, Maryville, Illinois, Terry Joe Sedelec, 27, walks into the First Baptist Church and shoots Pastor Fred Winters dead, point blank. And some other men grabbed him to wrestle him down. He had a knife. Some of them were cut, but yet they did catch him. Knoxville, Tennessee, a gunman opens fire in a church during a youth performance, killing two people and injuring seven. Here's another one in Colorado. Three people were killed and five wounded in two shooting rampages, one in a missionary school in suburban Denver and another at a church in Colorado Springs. The gunman was actually taken down by an armed guard at that particular church. In Missouri, the Missouri Micronesian Church, a man walked in and killed a pastor and two other churchgoers. In 2007, there was a standoff between police and the suspect in the shooting of three people at a Moscow, Idaho Presbyterian church that ended with three dead, including a police officer. I could multiply these. In fact, here's one in College Park, Georgia, not too far from me, where a 27-year-old airman died being shot at a church where he had once worked as a security guard. The First Baptist Church in Texas, during a youth meeting, someone walked in and just simply opened fire. Seven people were killed during that particular attack. Lakeland, Florida. Authorities and family members say a man shot and killed his wife at their Lakeland home and then shot two others at a nearby church. Here's the point. People are going absolutely insane and absolutely crazy today. Used to, you would think that you were safe at home and you were safe in church. Communists always like to attack you where you are most vulnerable, and that's when you think you're the safest at home or in a church building. When you look at Exodus 20 and verse 13, it's very simple, where God says, Thou shalt not kill. May I point out the fact that the Ten Commandments are God's law. They're not Jewish law. You'll find Jewish law in the Mishnah, the Gemara, and the Talmud. You'll find God's law in the Bible. Our Lord Himself spoke out against the Jewish law in Matthew chapter 15 and Mark chapter 7, and He said, with your traditions you make void the law of God. So when we have The law given to us in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, it is indeed God's law. It is indeed biblical. Now, we have to understand what it means when God says, Thou shalt not kill. First of all, in the Hebrew it actually means, Thou shalt not do any murder. And when it's translated in the New Testament in the Greek, the Greek says, thou shalt not do any murder. In other words, we are not to take life except on God's terms. Many times life is taken, but it is not murder. The command is, thou shalt not murder, thou shalt not take life unjustly, or let me put it like this, thou shalt not take life but accept on God's terms. Now, without me going over all of these passages, I can give you actually 19 reasons in the Bible, why life may be lawfully and legitimately taken on God's terms. And it is true, sometimes this refers to the civil magistrate, but it's still the taking of life. For instance, life is to be taken for murder, but not for accidental killing. You'll find that in Exodus chapter 21. Life is to be forfeited Listen to this one, for striking or cursing a parent. You'll not only find that in Exodus 21, Leviticus 20, Proverbs 20, but also in the book of Matthew 15 and Mark 7. Life may also be taken for kidnapping, Exodus chapter 21. The death penalty is given for adultery in Leviticus chapter 20. The death penalty is also given for incest in Leviticus chapter 20. The death penalty is pronounced for bestiality in Exodus chapter 22. It's also demanded for sodomy. on homosexuality, Leviticus chapter 20. It's also demanded for unchastity, Deuteronomy 22. It's also demanded for the rape of a virgin, which is Deuteronomy 23. For witchcraft, you'll also find that in Exodus 22. For the offering of human sacrifice, Leviticus chapter 20. Also for incorrigible delinquency. Wow! You'll find that one in Deuteronomy chapter 21. And believe it or not, the death penalty is even required for blasphemy. You'll find that in Leviticus 24. For Sabbath desecration, Exodus 35, Numbers 15. How about this one? You'll find the death penalty for the propagation of false doctrine, Deuteronomy 13. Also, refusing to abide by the decision of a biblical The court of law demands the death penalty as well in Deuteronomy 17. And then of course, refusing to restore the bail or the pledge, Ezekiel 18, the death penalty is demanded. So here are 18 reasons why life may be lawfully taken on God's terms. Now there's another reason, and I'm not adding to the Word of God, because it's taught in the Word of God, and that is self-defense. You see, the sixth commandment forbids all violence. Let me make a point very clear. When God forbids anything, at the same time, He forbids everything that would lead up to it. Okay? So when God says thou shalt not commit adultery, that also forbids lusting, covetousness, and anything that would ultimately end in the act of adultery. When God said thou shalt not murder, at the same time He is forbidding anger, ill will, anything that would lead up to murder. So God says thou shalt not kill or thou shalt not murder. Now, God's law is always stated in negative terms with the exception of two commandments. Remember the Sabbath day, and honor thy father and thy mother." There are only two positives in the Ten Commandments. But each of these positives are undergirded throughout the Bible by a lot of negatives as well. So, here's what you should be doing. Whenever you read a negative in the Bible, you should ask what the positive is. Whenever you read a positive in the Bible, you should be asking what the negative is. So if I read, thou shalt not commit adultery, I should be asking, what is the positive? The positive is, thou shalt live a holy, righteous, sanctified life. Hmm. Thou shalt not steal. What would be the positive? That you must earn your own living, according to the Bible, working with your hands, doing that which is good, that you may have to give to him that needeth. In other words, you're not a taker. You're not a covetous individual. You're an honest man. You are a worker. And, of course, you are more than willing to give and willing to share. So when God says, Thou shalt not kill, then the positive is, Thou shalt preserve life. So, the positive then of the sixth commandment is that we must preserve life. That would include our life, the life of our family, and the life of others as well. So, based upon the sixth commandment, let me put it like this. Self-defense is obligatory. God demands it. If you do not defend yourself, then you are guilty of violating the sixth commandment. We're obligated to defend ourselves. Why? Because, say if Kevin walked up to me and said, Pastor, I'd just like to kill you. And I say, well, do whatever spins your wheels. If it'll make you happy, go ahead and do it. I'm going to heaven anyhow. If I allowed him to do that, then I'm violating the sixth commandment. Because I have a duty, I have a responsibility, I have an obligation to preserve my life. And if in preserving my life, I end up having to take His life, it is lawful and it is legal because I would be in obedience to the sixth commandment. Now, so you've got to understand, once again, that self-defense is indeed obligatory. Now, if we do not defend ourselves, we are not preserving our lives. Some of you fellas have been in the military. Have you ever thought about Article 3 of the United States Military Code? Let me read it to you. If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy. So we are taught that if we are captured by the enemy, we have a duty, we have an obligation to escape. We have a duty and obligation to help others escape. Why? It's not just so that we can bring back information to the commanding officer. It's based upon the sixth commandment. We have a duty to preserve our lives and the lives of others. So, if I am captured, I'm going to make every effort that I can to escape. You need to read some of the lives of those Scottish Covenanters. When they were captured and thrown in the Tower of London, they did everything they could to escape. Many of them did escape. Some were captured while they were trying to escape, and they said, well, Lord, we obeyed Your law, and if You want me to die, I'm willing to die for Your honor and Your glory. But they kept trying to escape until their death. Now, in other words, this is indeed the sixth commandment. Now, is self-defense wrong or wicked? And the answer is absolutely not. If we kill, To preserve life, it is not wicked, it is righteous. Someone says, well, can you prove that to me? I think I can, if you believe the Bible. First of all, I would say this, most everyone encourages Christians to emulate their heavenly Father. I mean, be ye holy as I am holy, saith the Lord. Of course. Let me just give you this. Do you know what God said to Hezekiah the Isaiah? I'm going to give it to you five times. I'm going to read it. Listen to this. 2 Kings 19 verse 34, God says, For I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for my servant David's sake. Now, what did God just say? I will defend this city. Wow, the Assyrians wanted to capture Judah and Jerusalem. I mean, after all, they had taken Samaria, they had taken the northern kingdom. So God tells Hezekiah, I'm going to defend this city. He said it again in 2 Kings 20, verse 6, God said to Hezekiah, And I will add unto thy days fifteen years, and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria. And I will defend this city for mine own sake and for my servant David's sake." What did he just say? I will defend this city. I'm going to do it. And then in Isaiah chapter 31 in verse 5, as birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending also He will deliver it, and passing over it, He will preserve it. And then in Isaiah 37 verse 35, again God said, for I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David's sake. And one more time, In Isaiah 38 and verse 6, he said, "...I will deliver thee and this city out of the hands of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city." Now, here's my question. Did God defend Judah and Jerusalem? Well, yes, He did. Did God, in defending Judah and Jerusalem, take lives? Did He kill? And the answer is yes. In fact, if you were to read Isaiah 37, verse 36, then the angel of the Lord went out and smote the Assyrian army, 185,000. And when they awoke the next morning, they were all dead men. That is those few that God did not kill. Now, here's my question. Could God have delivered Judah and Jerusalem without killing those Assyrians? Yeah. Did you know, do you remember? He delivered Samaria from the Syrians. How did he do that? He caused them to hear a noise, and they said, the king of Samaria has hired Terhaka, the king of the Ethiopians, against us, and they fled and left everything. He just caused them to hear a noise. But in this instance, he didn't do that. He slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Now, is anyone going to be so wicked and so blasphemous as to charge God with murder? He certainly killed them in defending the city. I want to challenge you to do something. I want to challenge you to read through the Psalms. And just note how many times David says, the Lord is my defense. The Lord is my defender. In the Lord, I will trust. Over and over, David says that. In Psalm 89, he said, for the Lord is our defense. So, if God defended Judah and Jerusalem, and God is our defense, we may understand that God is certainly going to defend us. And it's never wrong for you and I to emulate our heavenly Father. So, when there arises a necessity in our lives to defend ourselves, we must remember that God Himself did that. He defended His people. Now, let me explain something. I've said this so many times. You and I really need to grasp these principles, and we need to grasp these scriptures. Here's why. If you ever get into a situation that you actually have to defend yourself, it's too late for you to stand there and say, Lord, what can I do? I mean, Lord, I don't even know what to do. If you don't know what to do when it's time to do something, it's too late for you. You better understand. You better grasp. I will tell you this. I've never hurt anyone in my entire life. I've never shot anyone. I don't want to shoot anyone. I don't want to hurt anyone. But I don't want to be hurt either. And I don't want to be shot. And I don't want my wife to be hurt or shot. I don't want you to be hurt or shot. I'm simply pointing out the fact we need to understand what we can do in light of God's word. Someone's going to object and say, well, yeah, but wait a minute, Brother Weaver, what God does and what we do are two totally different things. Well, in one sense of the word, that is true because we are certainly not God. But one thing about it, when you study the Scripture and you find out what God demands and what God does, for instance, if you were just simply to read through the book of Judges, and especially when you get to Judges 10 and verse 1, let me read it. And after Abimelech, there arose to defend Israel Tola, the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he dwelt in Shamir in Mount Ephraim. Now, listen to what it said. And there arose to defend Israel. May I ask you. Who raised up the judges? It was God. For what purpose did He raise up those judges? And that was to defend Israel, to defend His people. That is exactly what those judges did. They went to war. Read about Jephthah. Read about Ehud. Read about these men and see how they defended Israel. God raised them up for that particular purpose. Now, let me show you something else. I want you to turn in your Bibles very quickly to 2 Samuel, chapter 23. 2 Samuel, chapter 23. In this passage, you're going to read about some of David's mighty men. We're not going to go over all of these men. They certainly all deserve recognition, but I want to point out just a couple of them, and I want you to see what is happening. Look in the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 23, and let's begin reading there with verse 8. Look at this. These be the names of the mighty men whom David had, the Takamnite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains, the same as Adino the Esnite. And he lifted up his spear against 800, whom he slew at one time." Now, that doesn't mean he threw it and got 800 skewered at one time, but he took it in one battle, he killed 800 with his spear. Watch verse 9, "'And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahoite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away." Now look what Eliezer did. He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword. And the Lord wrought a great victory that day, and the people returned after him only to spoil." Now, wait a minute. Look at verse 10 again. He, this is Eleazar, he arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto his sword. In other words, he fought so valiantly and with such intensity that when he got through fighting, his hand clave into his sword." In other words, someone had to prise those fingers away from the sword. So, Eleazar is the man who's killing all of these wicked men. But note, if you would, verse 10. The Bible says, "...and he arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword, and the Lord brought a great victory that day." Now, how did the Lord get a great victory that day? It was Eliezer who was doing the fighting. It was Eliezer who was sustained by God and empowered by God and doing the work of God, and God wrought a great victory. Look, if you would, in verse 11. Here it is again. And after him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Harite. And the Philistines were gathered together in a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lintels, and the people fled from the Philistines. But he, Shammah, stood in the midst of the ground and defended it and slew the Philistines, and the Lord wrought a great victory." Note, if you would, he was the one doing the fighting, but it was the Lord who wrought the victory. Why? Because God enabled him, God empowered him, God strengthened him. In other words, what we've got to understand is this. We must learn to use the means that God has ordained, while at the same time we're trusting God to make those means effectual. Great men in the Bible used swords, they used bows, they used knives, they used other weapons, but yet they trusted in the Lord to deliver them. It was not the power of the weapon, it was the power of God. You need to read Psalm 44. They got not the land in possession by their own arm, neither did their sword save them, but it was thou, O God. In other words, yes, Israel had to fight to conquer the land, but it was God who was giving them the victory. It was God who was making them effectual in their fighting. So clearly then, We must use the means, but at the same time, we must trust in the Lord. Do you understand this? That weapons are actually nothing in and of themselves. You could ask me, well, pastor, do you sleep with a loaded weapon in your bedroom? I most certainly do. Several. You say, well, you're trusting in that weapon. No, I'm not. I'm trusting in the Lord. Because you see, if God does not awaken me in time, if there's a violet breaking into my house, if God doesn't awaken me in time, and if God doesn't enable me to grab that weapon and shoot straight, my weapon is absolutely useless. I could have 40, 50 cal machine guns in my bedroom. I could have a bazooka. I could have a mortar. I could have anything in there. None of them would do me a bit of good if God did not open my eyes and awaken me and enable me to fight. I'm not trusting in a weapon. A weapon is useless without God and His grace and His mercy. Now, let me point something out. I want you to look in Acts chapter 7. This one is very clear, Acts chapter 7. And let's begin reading there with verse 22. Acts chapter 7, verse 22. I can quote some of these verses, but I want you to see them. Look in Acts chapter 7, verse 22. The Bible is talking about Moses. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptian, and was mighty in words and deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian. For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not." Now, note if you would, Moses saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, and he defended the Hebrew, and he killed the Egyptian. Here's the interesting thing. Nowhere in the Bible, Old Testament or New Testament, is Moses condemned for killing this Egyptian. In fact, you might say he's commended Because God listed him in the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. But you say, but Moses had to flee. He had to get out of Egypt and flee to the land of Midian. Yes, he did. But not because he violated God's law. but only because the tyrant Pharaoh was after him who did not regard God's law. And by the way, I have a message on this as well. Means of resistance to tyranny. One of the means that we may biblically use is flight. You say, if you flee, you're a coward. No, no, no, no. Don't say that. because the sovereign God of heaven and earth told Joseph, take the child and flee into Egypt. Now there are problems with flight, but all Moses was doing was getting out of the way of a tyrant who was intent on murdering him for doing that which was right. So nowhere in the Bible is Moses condemned for defending his brother. Now, When you get to 1 Samuel 17, you don't have to turn there because you know the story of Goliath and David. Everyone was afraid of Goliath. No one wanted to fight Goliath, till little David came along, 17 approximately. And he told King Saul, let not the king's heart fail, I'll go out and fight him. Saul said, how in the world can you do that? You're but a youth, and he's been a soldier since his youth. David said, well, God delivered me out of the paw of the lion, the paw of the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine, he'll fall just like them. And so Saul dressed him in his armor, and you know what he said, I can't go on these, I haven't proved these. So he took his sling and picked up five smooth stones. What? What did Goliath do? When he saw David, he was incensed. What? You're sending a kid out here to fight me? I'm a professional warrior. What? You think I'm a dog? And then he looked at David and he said, come to me and I will give your meat to the fowls of the air. I will kill you. David said, you come to me against me. But I come to you in the name of the Lord and the Lord will give me the victory and I will take your head. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you think David intended to kill Goliath? Well, of course, Goliath intended to kill David. And once David slung that stone and knocked him out, he went up and took Goliath's own sword and cut his head off. Yeah, he intended to kill him. Was he right? And absolutely he was right. So, Goliath was the one who purposefully and deliberately pressed the attack. Not David. David was the defender. Now, let me show you some things that God has commanded. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Exodus, chapter 22, and I want you to look at the first three verses. This is very interesting. I have a whole series on biblical law, and this chapter deals particularly with the law of restitution, but it gives more than just restitution. In Exodus chapter 22 and verse 1, the Bible says, if a man steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief be found breaking up and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. But if the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him, for he should make full restitution. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. Now, I want you to note how God allows for the taking of life in certain situations. Also, you have here, I wish I had time just to deal with this chapter on the law of restitution. Look in verse 1. He said, If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or son it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep. Why in the world is there a difference in ratio of restitution? You'll find sometimes in the Bible, there's a two-fold restitution, there's a four-fold restitution, there's a five-fold restitution, and in the book of Proverbs, there's a seven-fold restitution. The restitution is based upon the value and the usefulness of the item that is stolen. So, if Randy has a fine little car, that his wife likes to drive around, and yet he's got an old work truck that's full of his tools. I wonder which one he'd rather have stolen, the little car or the old truck full of tools? The little car would be a sheep. You can shear a sheep and you can eat the meat. The work truck is an oxen. Yeah, you can use his hide for leather, you can eat the meat, but you can plow with him. And so the ratio of restitution is based upon the value of that which is stolen. But look what God says in verse 2, "...if a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him." Now, then He goes on in verse 3 and said, "...if the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him." Now, let me explain this. First of all, verse 2 deals with a thief breaking in at night. You can't see who He is. You don't know whether He's armed or not. You have no earthly idea. And God says, if you shoot Him and He dies, there should be no bloodshed for Him. He had no business breaking in. Now, when we think of breaking in, we normally think of breaking into our homes, and probably that's how the law would look at it today. But if you look at verse 1, He said, If a man shall steal an ox or a sheep, Ox and sheep don't live in the house. They're in the barn. So here's somebody that's breaking into the barn to steal private property. God says, if you shoot him, he's at night, there's to be no bloodshed for him. Then he says in verse 3, If the sun be risen upon him, then blood shall be shed for him, for he should make full restitution. If he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. In other words, during the daylight hours, you can see him to recognize him. You can also see whether or not he's armed. Now, there would be a lawful way that you could kill him during the daytime as well. What would that be? If he's armed and he points that weapon at you, then you have the perfect right to defend yourself. But God said, if he has no weapon, and if you know who he is, hey, don't kill him, just make him make restitution. If we followed the Bible when it comes to restitution, we would have very little crime in this country. You've heard that old expression, crime doesn't pay? That's only under biblical law. It does pay. That's why we have so many criminals today under humanistic law. Okay. So God says you can take his life. I was preaching in Greenville years ago and I had a man come up to me. He said, I want to ask you a question. I said, ask me. He said, what would you do if you woke up during the night and a man was breaking in your bedroom window? I looked at him, I said, well, if I get my hands on a gun, I would shoot him. If I couldn't get my hands on a gun, I'd take a baseball bat and I'd hit him upside the head. He said, I don't think you ought to do that. I said, what do you think I ought to do? He said, I think you ought to go in another room and pray about it. I said, you mean to tell me you think I should be in a room praying when he's in there raping my wife or murdering my children? I said, sir, let me tell you something. I would pray. When he stuck his head through that window coming in my bedroom, I would draw that baseball bat back, and I'd say, dear Lord, please don't let me miss him this time. Pow! And I would swing it. That's how I would pray. That's what the Bible says. If he's breaking in and it's night, you don't know who he is. You don't know whether he's armed or not. God says he can be, life can be taken lawfully in that instance. Now, I want you to open your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 23. I mentioned some of these things earlier. I certainly won't have time to deal with all of them, but I want you to notice this one, Deuteronomy chapter 23. This is a powerful, powerful passage. Let's see, it's Deuteronomy 22, verse 23 is what I want. Deuteronomy 22, verse 23. Look at this. The Bible says, if a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that labored the woman and the woman, so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. If a damsel that is virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her, then you shall bring them forth, both out of the gate of the city, and you shall stone them with stones, that they die. The damsel, watch it now, because she cried not, being in the city, and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife, so thou shalt put away evil from among you. Now watch verse 25. But if a man findeth betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die. But in the damsel thou shalt do nothing. There is in the damsel no sin worthy of death. For as when a man riseth up against his neighbor, enslave him, even so it is in this matter. For he found her in the field, and the troth damsel cried, and there was none to save her." Now, here's a very interesting comparison. First of all, God says, here's a man that finds a woman in the city. And he lays with her. And God says, you're to bring both the man and the woman out of the city and stone them that they both die. Now the damsel in the field, if she is attacked, now it's the man only who's to be put to death. What is the difference? Well, I don't know if you've noticed this or not. But here it is. The Bible says the woman in the city is to be put to death because she cried not out. In other words, she was consenting to the sin. She was consenting to the crime. And since she was consenting, she's worthy of death just like the man is worthy of death. Hang on. When you get to the damsel in the field, the man attacks her. She cries. There's no one out in the field, but it's later discovered. God says, put him to death, let her live. Hmm. What is the difference? The difference is this, the woman in the city, if she had cried out, That meant that anyone and everyone who heard her would have the responsibility to save her. The woman in the field cried and there was no one to hear. There was no one to save her. So the man's to be put to death. I hope you're thinking, Because this is a perfect illustration of the positive side of the sixth commandment, thou shalt preserve life. Anyone who hears someone screaming and begging for help is responsible to help save that individual. Hang on. Here's a very famous case. It happened in 1964. I've never forgotten it. A woman by the name of Kitty Genovese, she was brutally raped and murdered. She was stabbed 17 times on a sidewalk and left for dead. She cried, she screamed, she begged for help. 38 people had either heard or observed some part of the crime, but did not lift a finger to save her. A few undoubtedly called the police. By the time the police got there, all they could do was draw a line around the dead woman. Are you listening? According to God's law, those 38 people who stood by and did nothing are just as guilty of murder as the man who stabbed her and killed her. because we have a responsibility to preserve life. I want to show you something. I want you to turn to two passages. I want you to turn to Deuteronomy 22, which you're already there, but go ahead and find Exodus chapter 23. Exodus chapter 23. Find that one. And since you're in Deuteronomy 22, let's go there first. I want you to watch this. I'll explain it. Deuteronomy 22 and verse 4. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 1. Watch it. Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. and thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it unto him again. In like manner shalt thou do with him with his ass, so shalt thou do with his raiment, and with all lost thing of thy brothers, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise. Thou mayest not hide thyself." Now hang on, look at verse 4. thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them, thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." So if you see your brother's horse stuck in a mud hole, and by the way, that happened to me one time, I let my horse go down to a sandy stream to drink water and the sand gave way and he was up to his chest in sinking sand. Thankfully, someone did stop and help me get my horse out. But God says you can't hide yourself. If you see an animal in danger, you can't hide yourself. You're bound to help. You say, wait a minute, Brother Weaver, I'd be glad to help my neighbor. I'd be glad to help my brother any time, any day. Wonderful. Now look in your Bible, Zechariah 23, if you would, please. Let's begin with verse 4. Exodus 23 and verse 4, here it is. God said, "...if thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and with the forbearer to help him, thou shalt surely help with him." You see a cow having difficulty having a calf, you know that's your neighbor or that's your enemy. God said, it doesn't matter. You can't hide yourself. You are duty bound. You're responsible to help deliver that animal and save that animal's life. Why am I telling you this? Because it is an argument from the lesser to the greater. If God holds you accountable and responsible to help save and preserve the lives of animals, how much more does He hold you accountable and responsible to help save the lives of mankind? I was preaching in Indianapolis, Indiana, and I was dealing actually with Romans 13. And I came up with something on self-defense. I don't know, just passing. And after the service, a young man came up with his wife and three or four little children. And he said, pastor, he said, I've got to tell you something. I said, what is it? He said, I don't agree with what you just said about defending yourself. I said, you don't. I said, what would you do if a man broke into your house to attack your wife and harm your children? So help me. This is what he said. He said, I would go off and I'd be praying about it. And I looked at him, I said, sir, I just want to tell you, I'm so thankful I'm not your wife and I'm not your child. Now, let me point something out. I don't know if you've ever noticed this or not, but God has instilled even in animals, a desire to protect their lives and to protect their young. When Alice and I lived in Greenville, South Carolina, many, many, many years ago, and there were some bushes out in front of our house, flower bushes, and a mockingbird had made her nest in one of them, and our neighbor's tomcat came stalking and walking across our lawn. Guess what? That mama mockingbird dive-bombed his head. repeatedly until she ran him off and out of the yard. What was she doing? She's just protecting her young. I was raised on a farm. We used to have to deal with pigs around sows. If you don't know how to pick up a pig without him squealing, you're in trouble. That sow will eat you alive. You know how to pick up a pig without him squealing? Pick him up by his tail. You put your hand under his stomach, he's gonna squeal. You pick him up by his tail, he will not squeal. But I've seen men chased by sows. Isn't it strange? You look around, I don't care what animal it is, that animal will defend itself. If God allowed animals to do that, and did not allow us to defend our lives, it would be a terrible anomaly. But our Lord said it like this in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 31, Fear you not, therefore, what did He say? You are of more value than many sparrows. And if God will allow birds and if God will allow other animals to defend themselves, He most definitely allows us because we are more valuable to Him than many animals. Thou shalt not kill. That is, thou shalt not take life except on God's terms. But the positive is, thou shalt preserve life. So learn this tonight. I don't care what situation you're in. I don't care what circumstance you face. You have a duty. You have a responsibility. You have an obligation before God to preserve life. That means your life, the life of your wife, your children, your neighbors, your friends. And what did our Lord say in John 15, verse 13? Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Yes, there is a biblical doctrine of self defense. Now you're going to ask me, ah, but Brother Weaver, what are you going to do with that passage in the New Testament when Peter drew out his sword? And our Lord said, Peter, put that sword back up in your scabbard. What are you going to do about that passage? You'll have to come back tomorrow night to find out. Because it's there. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask You for Your grace and Your mercy and Your goodness and kindness. And Lord, we do pray, Lord, that You would help us. Give us understanding. Strengthen us, Lord. May we, Lord, have a heart that is tender, and yet, Lord, a heart that is strong. May we stand fast in Your Word. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.