Well, we've been gradually making our way through the book of Joshua, and we're up to chapter 10 and verse 28. And I'm hopeful by the end of this sermon, we will all be that much more appreciative of the incredible salvation God has given to us. On that day, Joshua took Makeda and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them. All the people who were in it, he let none remain. He also did to the king of Makeda as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua passed from Makeda and all Israel with him to Libna, and they fought against Libna. And the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel. He struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua passed from Libna and all Israel with him to Lachish, and they encamped against it and fought against it. And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, who took it on the second day and struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, according to all he had done to Libna. Then Horam, king of Gezer, came up to help Lachish, And Joshua struck him and his people until he left him none remaining. From Lachish, Joshua passed to Eglon and all Israel with him. And they encamped against it and fought against it. They took it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword. All the people who were in it he utterly destroyed that day according to all that he had done to Lachish. So Joshua went up from Eglon and all Israel with him to Hebron, and they fought against it. And they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword, its king, all its cities, and all the people who were in it. He left none remaining according to all that he had done to Eglon, but utterly destroyed it and all the people who were in it. Then Joshua returned and all Israel with him to Debir. And they fought against it, and he took it and its king and all its cities. They struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed all the people who were in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Hebron. So he did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libna and its king. So Joshua conquered all the land, the mountain country, and the south, and the lowland, and the wilderness slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. And Joshua conquered them from Kadesh Barnea, as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even as far as Gibeon. All these kings and their land Joshua took at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. Then Joshua returned and all Israel with him to the camp at Gilgal. Amen. Father, we thank you for your Word, the comforting portions as well as the challenging ones, and I pray that you would anoint my lips and enable me to faithfully preach your Word. In Jesus' name, amen. One of the things that you will find a difference on between the children's literature of today and the children's literature that was written by the Puritans was that the Puritans were not afraid to talk in great detail about death and suffering and Satan and spiritual warfare and hell and God's judgments and passages like this one. Some of their graphics were actually pretty gory if you look at their books. There was one of my projects in college was studying some of the different changes in children's literature. But the point is they considered the judgments of God to be essential theology to children. And if Christians today are to restore a virile Christianity, I believe it is absolutely imperative that they not only see God as a tender bridegroom. He is that, but they also see him as a mighty warrior, as a God of judgment. Now last week I barely touched on the significance of God's judgments in the previous section. They are there. I can't preach on everything in every passage. I was focused on our fight with sin last time, but I Today I want to tackle head-on the issue that so many Christians struggle with, and you don't have to get very far into this passage to discover what it is. In some people's minds, the very first sentence of verse 28 is bad enough, but look at the second sentence. He utterly destroyed them, all the people who were in it. He let none remain." And some people translate that last phrase, he left no survivors. That phrase occurs six times in this passage. He left no survivors in any of the cities that he had attacked. It's almost as if God does not want us to forget this fact. He left no survivors. He left no survivors. He left no survivors. And then lest we think, oh, that's just the army, he left survivors amongst the rest of the city, he adds other phrases to highlight the judgments of God. Verse 30, second clause, he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, and he repeats that phrase, all the people, six times. And it wasn't just the adults or even just the humans, verse 40, he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. But I think it's the last phrase that I just read that people find to be the most offensive, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. Otherwise, people could just write this off, yeah, that's barbaric, we've gotten past that, we've evolved to much more genteel ways. But here, it's quite clear, God is the one who did that. This is not just, I've heard people say, and I've had commentaries that say, well, that was just a custom back in those days, they killed everybody. No, forget about that. It wasn't a custom. This was a command of God, and God reinforces over and over again that He wanted this judgment. He commanded this judgment. He is the author and finisher of this judgment. So you can't blame this war on sinful man. Okay, God is clearly implicated. This passage is actually telling us something about God's character. It's actually a picture of his final judgment. He is a God who has a holy wrath against all sin, and I think the sooner we come to grips with this fact, the better off we will be. The astonishing thing really is not that God judges anybody, but that he saves so many, and eventually it's going to be a saved world where grace triumphs over judgment. But verse 30 makes it clear. God moved the people in their slaughter. It says, and the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel. He, and what's the nearest antecedent to he? There could be debate on that, but grammatically it would seem to be referring to the Lord. But whether it's the Lord or Joshua, this verse is repugnant to modern man. He struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword. He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. Verse 32, and the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel. Verse 42, all these kings and their land, Joshua took at one time because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. So again, it is crystal clear that God brought these judgments and to be embarrassed by passages like this, means that you're ashamed of God. Let me repeat that. To be embarrassed by passages like this, to try to explain them away, means you're ashamed of God. And Jesus said, if you're ashamed of God, he will be ashamed of you on the final judgment day. So this is telling us something about God himself. And if you want to love and serve God, you cannot make up an imaginary God in your imagination, the kind of God that you think he should be, or you're breaking the second commandment. And actually, I think it's passages like this one that weed the chaff from the wheat, fake believers from true believers. The God of Joshua is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and his bride is for sure not going to change the way he exists. Our God is not only a tender bridegroom, but He is also a protector of His bride. He is a strong warrior husband. And as we become accustomed to that, I think it will give us comfort. He promises that He will destroy those who seek to destroy His bride. Now, some people actually don't object to God destroying the people. what they object to is that humans were involved. Okay, if God just sends fire from heaven, smokes a city, that's great. But for people to be involved, and let me go through four possible objections that people have brought up against this, and actually you can find that in the literature. I've read all of these. Here's the first one. Some think that this is a violation of the Sixth Commandment, and part of it comes from an unclear translation that the King James of 1611 gave, which says, thou shalt not kill. And I've had Hare Krishnas come up to me when I've been witnessing on the street, and they said, oh, you're a Christian. You're a hypocrite, because it says, Thou shalt not kill and you eat burgers. Now, there could be other reasons to go slow on Big Macs, you know, but it's definitely not the killing that's involved. Hebrew word is very specific word, which means to murder, and most modern versions translate it, you shall not murder. But even there, there are some people who have defined what is done in this chapter as murder. Now, I think it would be murder if Americans engaged in what's going on here, because God has not authorized it. And later in Israel's history, they were not authorized to engage in that. And so it would be murder if God had not authorized it. But I think it's important to see what is going on here is not murder. Here's the proper definition of murder. To murder is to kill on purpose, unjustly, with malice, and without authorization from God. So it's got four parts to it. To kill on purpose, unjustly, with malice, without authorization from God. So if in a car accident you accidentally kill somebody, that is not murder because it was not done with malice, it was not done on purpose. Defending your family from a nighttime intruder and killing a person there, Exodus 20 says that's not murder. When a doctor knows he's got a 50-50 chance, if he operates on this person, the person could die or he could, this could prolong his life, but either way he's going to die. And he operates on the person and it just so happens that the person dies. That is not murder, right? Capital punishment does not have to be murder. Sometimes it is, but Scripture commands the execution of murderers and other capital punishment crimes. And there are actually a lot of capital punishments around the world, especially in the Muslim world, that are murderous. Abortion is murder. Actually, when you think about it, it's a kind of capital punishment, isn't it? Northern Sudan's killing of Christians is murder. So it's astounding to me that America can even criticize what's going on in this chapter when they've got blood-stained hands from the murder of millions of babies. America's guilty of murder on a grand scale. But if God commands a killing in a given instance, then it is just. By definition, it is just. God's the only definition of justice you can have. And so because he's commanded it, it can't be murdered. Even though the holy wars were unique in Israel's history, never again to be repeated, they were types or symbols of something. We'll get to that later. But under ordinary circumstances, they could not do it. If God had not commanded them to do it, they should not do it. It would be murder to do what they did in this chapter. Okay, I want you to turn to Psalm 58, and I'm gonna read a Psalm which describes what the attitude of righteous magistrates ought to be when he has specifically commanded these magistrates to use the sword against evildoers. When we see Pornographers who torture, rape, and then snuff out little lives, it ought to fill a magistrate with a holy wrath in defense of those children. And when justice is brought, this psalm says, they ought to rejoice in that judgment. If they're really manly magistrates, they ought to rejoice in that judgment. Now he starts by saying, most magistrates do not. Let's start by reading the title. It's part of the inspired text, Psalm 58. to the chief musician set to do not destroy a miktam of David. So magistrates are put in place because criminals destroy society and destroy lives. But how do magistrates stop such destruction? It's by destroying the destroyers. If magistrates do not destroy capital criminals, then their lack of justice destroys the nation. And this psalm is titled, Do Not Destroy, because the injustice of the land was indeed very destructive. Destruction is unavoidable when criminals abound. A magistrate either destroys the criminals or the criminals destroy society. And by failing to deal with criminals, this title indicates that the magistrates were to blame for the destruction. Okay, verse one. Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? So he said, this silence on the part of the magistrates was in some way a wicked silence. Verse 2, know in heart you work with wickedness. You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent. They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ears, which will not heed the voice of charmers, charming ever so skillfully. Break their teeth in their mouth, O God. Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord. Let them flow away as waters which run continually. When he bends his bow, Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces. Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, like a stillborn child of a woman that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind. as in his living and burning wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, so that men will say, surely there is a reward for the righteous. Surely he is God who judges in the earth. So this psalm indicates that a failure to have proper capital punishment in the land causes people to think there is no God of judgment. There are serious ramifications for failing to have biblical civics. On the other hand, the psalm says that when a righteous magistrate and righteous executioners throw stones at a criminal, they get splattered with the blood, they still should rejoice that God's justice is done. And a failure to rejoice is just a reflection of how unrighteous we really are. And so let's apply this to the war that we have just been reading about. Since this holy war was a judgment of Almighty God, and since he called for it, it is not murder, okay? By definition, it cannot be. It was an act of justice. They were simply the executioners of the heavenly court where judgment had been given. In later history, Israel was again not allowed to engage in this kind of warfare. Human courts cannot execute children like they did. Why? because they've got limited jurisdiction, limited knowledge. They have to have limited judgments and checks and balances in court to keep them from reading hearts. No human is supposed to read somebody else's heart. Now, God can. He can read the hearts of all people being killed here, and He was not unjust in killing them. After all, He will inflict the second death known as hell on all who reject His grace. By the way, we're going to be seeing once we get up to chapter 11, verse 19, there was always the opportunity. There already were Canaanites who were saved and part of Israel now. And there was always the opportunity, it says in that verse, for people to sue for peace, but none except for Gibeon did, and they were only criticized because they did it deceptively, right? So there's always an opportunity for repentance. But in any case, in human courts, humans are not allowed to read hearts when it comes to justice. Biblical court procedure protected criminals by giving them a fair trial. And that was not needed here because God had already judged them as being worthy of death in His perfect courtroom. OK, a second misunderstanding that we frequently have is that people speak about the so-called goodness of man. I don't know how many times I've heard people say that I believe people are basically good. Many people believe that. And if that's true, that men are basically good, then it makes sense to be upset with a Holocaust like this. One farmer told my dad who was witnessing to him that he stumbled over the Bible, because the Bible talks about hell. And he said he can't believe in a God who would create a hell and cast people into it. He said, I wouldn't even throw a cat into hell, and God is much better than I am. Anyway, if he really believed God was better than him, he would understand why there must be a hell for wicked sinners. But he didn't. Now let's describe what scripture means when it says that the cup of iniquity for the Canaanites had become full. That is not an empty expression. Think of the worst child porn out there. The Canaanites were involved in practices such as these. Think of children being sold as sex slaves in their temples. Think of torture being a part of sexual gratification. Think of the god Moloch. Moloch was like a hollow metal idol, bull's head, arms stretched out. When they would put a fire under it, it'd get red hot, and they would roast babies on top of those arms. It was a wicked, wicked culture. Think of the Indiana Jones movie, Temple of Doom, and you got a little bit of a taste of what Canaan was like. Practices of Canaan were so bad, I suspect you would rejoice in this judgment back then. Now, actually, I should probably tell you that I regretted watching Indiana Jones. I don't recommend it. But if you happen to have seen it, it might be an illustration that might be helpful. But God would still have been just in executing them, even if everybody was as good as Americans are. Wait a minute. Even if they're as good as that, think of hell. It is a torture chamber designed to torment people for eternity. And why for eternity? People think that's just not fair. Why for eternity? It's because they're still sinning and blaspheming God in hell, so they still have more sins to be judged for. I have Facebook friends who absolutely deny the reality of hell. They argue with me on this, but they can't give exegetical reasons for it. It's just emotional reasons. It doesn't sound just to them. And I don't like the doctrine. because I'm a sinner, you know, but do I believe in it? Absolutely yes, because the Bible talks about it. I think our problem is we think we are much better than we are, and we think our neighbors are much better than they are. Do you keep the Ten Commandments? Talk to the foxes and they'll give you a very quick rundown of why that's not the case. Right out of the chute, we have violated the First Commandment because we don't love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. We violate the Second Commandment anytime we put something that we own as being more important than God in our lives. Money can be an idol. When we don't tithe, we are committing idolatry because we're clinging to something God has called for. Scripture says our children can be idols. Sleep, food, sex, they can all be idols. You go down through that list, you realize every human has to some degree broken these. They've broken the Sabbath. They've disobeyed authorities. They covet, steal from God in so many ways. They become bitter, envious, slanderers. The truth is, people are not basically good. That is a myth. Jeremiah 17 verse 9 says, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Genesis 5, 6 through 8, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Only grace can change that. John 3, 19, this is the condemnation that light has come into the world. And men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. That's the world that Christ was born into. Paul says in Romans 3.9, what then? Are we better than they? Not at all. And when you think about it, it's astounding because when you read that chapter, you realize what his description of evil men is. It's absolutely astounding. He gives God's perspective of the sickening ooze that flows from human hearts. Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues, they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips. Earlier, he said, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all gone out of the way. They have together become unprofitable. Unprofitable. That's God's evaluation of the state of man. So again, we are not saved because of any goodness in us. It's simply because of the gift of righteousness that's given to those who put their faith in Jesus. He alone is righteous. And so from that vantage point, we all deserve God's judgment. And Jesus bore God's judgment in our place because God is a God of holiness and he cannot let sin go unpunished. He couldn't just save us without Christ dying, impossible, without His wrath being poured out on Jesus. And Scripture indicates because of their sinfulness, these Canaanites actually got far worse judgment than just being killed. because they are still burning in hell. And that brings up a third misconception. It's a misconception about the tolerance level of God. We live in a generation that has created its own idea of God out of thin air. And I think the typical American thinks God is a God who tolerates anything that they do. And He still loves us and blesses us and serves our every want and whim. When you think about it, the evangelical God, even of today, is more of a slave of the Christian than vice versa. That's not the God of the Bible. Most Americans probably still claim that they believe the same God that's in the Bible, but they do not. They have recreated Him into a tame, safe God who forgives everyone no matter what and who tolerates everything that they commit. What is your conception of God? Does your God just sweep your sins under the carpet with no care in the world that you are sinning? I will say, your God is a fiction of your imagination. He is not real. What is the real God like? Well, he's described in the book of Joshua. And yes, we have seen passages where he is tender and gentle and loving. But he's also a God who kills off entire nations because he is fed up with their iniquity. He is a God who takes Christians out. because they continue to rebel against his word. Just study some time the doctrine in 1 John where it speaks of the sin unto death that a Christian, now it's not gonna be eternal death, but it's a sin unto death. He says, finally, you guys are so thick-headed, I'm taking you out, you're dead. Sin unto death in 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 11 talks about that as well and says some of you are weak, some of you are sick, some of you have even died because you wouldn't repent of your sins. This is the kind of God that even Christians have to deal with. It's not the precious moments God. That is a piece of trash that needs to be tossed. It is not the precious moments Bible God. But I think the main reason why people stumble over passages like this is because the church does not look much different than the world. These Israelites were different. They were radically sold out to God. And you can see why. If you take a look at verse 43, it speaks of them going back to Gilgal. It says, then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. If you remember from previous sermons, Gilgal was where the law of God was painted onto all of the stones on that cliff so that everybody could responsibly read, sort of like what we responsibly read up here. That was the place of worship, of sacrifices, of covenant vows. It was a place that spoke of utter antithesis between the church and the world. And that antithesis is missing today. Christians think, talk, act, and dress like the world. And it's no wonder that Christians have trouble agreeing with God's judgments. They look too much like the very ones whom God is judging. The more of an antithesis there is between the church and the world, the more we will agree with God's judgments. The closer we get to the spotlight of God's holiness, the more we'll see our own sin. Holy people are far more sensitive to their own sinfulness than self-righteous people are. Holy people are humbled into an awareness of how much they need Jesus, how much they love Jesus for what he has saved them from. So we need a holy church in America. Now let's quickly finish by applying the passage to the final Judgment Day because I think all of the book of Joshua was a symbol of New Covenant as well as of the final Judgment Day. Just as no one escaped from judgment in these cities, no one outside the true Israel will escape from judgment on Judgment Day. All who breathe will come under judgment. And so my admonition to you is if you have not yet made peace with God, you may be the one under judgment on Judgment Day. We need to consider this. Second, there will be no one who can deliver them from God's hands. Verse 33 shows the futile attempt of King Horem of Giza to rescue those in Lachish. No one could deliver. Third, the final judgment will be a judgment by God. And yes, angels will be involved, and it appears saints from heaven will be involved as well. But let's look at this type before we look at the anti-type. Verse 30 says, the Lord also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel. Verse 32 says, and the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel. So Judgment Day will be a day where all of us will pass before the throne of God and have judgment passed upon us because He's the omniscient God who knows everything. Not a single fact will escape His notice. In fact, Jesus said, we will be judged for every idle thought. that fleets through our head, every bad motive, every bad word. And because he's omniscient, he can do that. Now, beside the throne of God, there will be the throne of the Lord Jesus. Notice in this picture of final judgment that God judged through Joshua. He's a type of Jesus. In 13 verses, it says, Joshua slew the people. Joshua put them to the edge of the sword. Joshua fought against the people. Joshua took the city. Joshua conquered all the land, et cetera. And on judgment day, the greater Joshua Jesus is said to be one who will pass judgment. So don't think of Jesus as sweet, and God the Father is tough, and Jesus is rescuing us from the Father's toughness. No, it's the Father who sent the Son. They both are loving, and they both are united in judgment. The description of Jesus in Psalm 2, Psalm 110, Revelation, so many other passages, is of a warrior who strikes terror into the hearts of rebels. John himself, who was beloved by Jesus, fell down as a dead man when he saw Jesus in his glory. Revelation 117 says, when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his hand on me saying, do not be afraid, I am the first and the last. And so yes, Jesus is a tender and compassionate king, but he is also filled with splendor and power and judgment. Fourth, the fact that we will be involved in judgment, I think, is also pictured here. One phrase that occurs over and over in this section is, Joshua and all Israel with him, engaged in the slaughter. The wicked were delivered, it says, into Israel's hand, and the same is going to be true at the final judgment day. 1 Corinthians 6.2 says, do you not know that the saints will judge the world? Did you know that you're going to be one of the ones who is going to be judging others? You think, man, I'm worthy of judgment myself. But no, because you're clothed in the righteous raiments of Christ, you're going to be judging others. In my Revelation series, I point out that on the last day, all of the non-elect and all of the elect from history are going to be raised into resurrection bodies. The non-elect are going to make one last hurrah battle against the elect. And it indicates that not only is God and the angels and Jesus going to be involved, but the saints themselves are going to be involved as a part of this judgment of the non-elect. It will be quite the memory for all of eternity. So again, If you, you might have a hard time agreeing with God's judgments, but when you're glorified in heaven, you're going to perfectly conform to Christ's character, a character that not only perfectly manifests love and mercy, but perfectly manifests judgment and wrath. And since we'll be fully glorified, fully righteous on that day, we're going to fully rejoice. According to Revelation, we're going to fully rejoice in God's judgments. but only because we were spared judgment by trusting in Jesus. So again, I would admonish you children, any of you others who have never put your faith in Jesus. He is your only hope of escape from judgment. I'm going to end with one more observation. Verse 40 shows the final result of this judgment. It wasn't just people, it's the land itself which is going to be inherited. Verse 40 says, So Joshua conquered all the land, the mountain country in the south, and the low land of the wilderness slopes. And that's the ultimate goal of history that the meek will inherit. Romans 4.13 says that this inheriting of Canaan was a typological down payment of our inheriting all things. It's like a type, a picture of inheriting the whole world. And one argument that you can use with full preterists is asking them, when did Abraham inherit Canaan? He didn't. He had a burial plot. You know, but he never inherited Canaan, yet God promised that he would inherit Canaan. So when's he going to get it? If he doesn't inherit the world and the future, then the promises to Abraham have become null and void. Hebrews 11, 39 to 40 says, and all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. And so the only way that Abraham would inherit Canaan, the only way it could be fulfilled, is if full preterists are wrong, and God ends history by ushering everyone into we restored earth. Not just heaven. He's inherited heaven. But he's got to inherit the earth as well. And Canaan was just the down payment. And Abraham must get everything. Romans 4.13 speaks of the promise that he, referring to Abraham, would be the heir of the world. That hasn't happened yet. He's the heir of heaven. He's not yet the heir of the world. He has not inherited, at least. The saints of old will not enter fully into that promise until the wicked are cast out of this world and this world is renewed according to the promise. And if God was not a God of judgment, there would be no guarantee of our entrance into the glories of that promise. And so let's not just rejoice in God's peace and favor resting upon us, but also rejoice in his righteous judgments. It shows us his strength, his power to protect the bride. It shows us his hatred of sin. He's a God gonna do something about us. By the way, if you're a child of God, you know, he disciplines you, because he loves you, right? Disciplines for sin. So it shows that God is not content to let Satan inherit the earth. He plans to take over every square inch and cast the remaining demons out. And the fact that God is a God of judgment makes him a great God, an awesome God, a God before whom we will all one day bow. May he hasten that day. Amen. Father, we want to learn to rejoice more and more in your judgments, in your character, in who you truly are, your wrath against sin and against rebels. We do rejoice in your love, your mercy, but Father, the more we understand your wrath and your judgment, the more we appreciate. your love and your mercy to us. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I pray as we finish off this service and singing this psalm concerning your judgments that our hearts would even more be aligned with the truth of your scripture. In Jesus' name, amen.