Have you ever heard of “The Wicked Bible”?
• No, I am not making a joke. Back in the very earliest days of printing with movable type, someone made a mistake in setting the type of the seventh commandment. 1632
• It read “Thou Shalt commit adultery.”
• And as ridiculous as it sounds, I have a legitimate question: “Why not”?
• Why should all the commandments be negative, “Thou shalt not....”
• Why not have some positive commandments: Thou shalt steal. Thou shalt commit adultery, thou shalt bear false witness against thy neighbor?
• There is a reason why it sounds ridiculous....it is ridiculous.
But there is some confusion around the origins of divine law. There are those who argue for the abolition of divine law, but for that to be possible, the law itself must be arbitrary. I.e., God could just have easily have said “thou shalt steal, “ as to say, Thou shalt not steal.
• Now I’ll guess that you intuitively know that is not the case.
• That God said “thou shalt not steal” because it is intrinsically wrong. And it is intrinsically wrong because it is harmful.
Now what does that tell you about the nature of God?
• Why do you tell your children to stay out of the street? Because you don’t want them to have any fun? Because you want them to lose their ball?
• No, you tell them to stay out of the street because you care what happens to them.
• Do you discipline your children for going into the street? If you do, is it because you don’t like your children and want to hurt them?
• No, you discipline them because you love them and don’t want them to get seriously hurt.
• Your command to your children to not play in the street is of a piece with God’s commandments regarding boundaries.
• When those commandments are broken, there are several things that can happen. You can chastise your children. Or they can suffer the consequences by being turned into road kill by a cement truck.
• Or, nothing may happen. And the kid gets the idea that there is really no reason not to play in the street. And his life becomes increasingly dangerous.
• And he concludes that other rules can be broken as well. And the risks to his life increase incrementally.
• Sooner or later, it will bite him.
Now I am not talking about child rearing here. I am talking about the laws of God. All of which are given for our good.
• They are a revelation of the difference between right and wrong, of the difference between what makes life work and what makes it fall apart.
• And this is an important part of knowing God. If you go through life thinking that God is unfair, then you obviously don’t know him.
• And that brings me back to the words of God to Jeremiah.
(Jeremiah 9:24 KJV) "But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."
• So God can be known and understood.
• And there are three primary things God wants us to know and understand about him.
• That he exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth.
• I have already talked a lot about his lovingkindness. Now it is time to talk about Judgement and righteousness.
Consider one of the greatest crimes of man: Genocide.
• I heard an eyewitness tell the story of a Jewish woman pleading for the life of her child to an officer of the German SS. She offered her own life, begged him to spare her child, even kissing his hand.
• He just laughed, took her baby by the feet and dashed its skull against the pavement.
• What shall we say about this man? Is it fair to say that he is evil? Was his behavior wrong?
• Now how can you allow such a crime to go unpunished?
• The Nazis committed great crimes against humanity, They were evil to the core.
• And they led Germany to destruction.
(Romans 12:19 KJV) "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
• And that short passage should make the blood run cold.
• God believes in Justice, and vengeance is the central value of Justice.
When I come back after this short message, I’ll explain what that means.
Once upon a time, a long time ago, the sons of a man named Jacob migrated to Egypt in a time of great famine.
• They were treated well at first, because one of them had led Egypt through a period of terrible famine.
• And they were a prolific people. Before long they outnumbered the Egyptians and that became a problem.
Exodus 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13 And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour:
14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.
• Genocide. The foul murder of every male child born to the Israelites in this troublesome time.
• It is important to know that ALL the people of Egypt were complicit in this murder.
• There is no way to know how many thousands of little babies were taken by the heels and thrown to the crocodiles in the Nile.
Now here is an important question. How could God allow such a heinous crime to stand, a crime committed, not just by Pharoah, but by all his people.
• And how could God allow the Egyptian people to get off by saying that they were just following orders?
By now, everyone knows the story of the Exodus. They saw Charlton Heston as Moses turn the water of the Nile into blood.
• But I wonder how many people tumble to the fact that the Nile is where all those little babies were thrown?
• God gave these bloody people blood to drink.
• And in the end, he took the life of the firstborn in every family in Egypt. Not every male baby. Just the firstborn.
God only knows how complicit the German people were in the crimes of the Nazis.
• But He gave them utter destruction in return. God only knows how many people died in the fire bombing of Dreseden.
• God only knows how many people died in that terrible war. Estimates range from 35 to 60 million people died in WWII.
• At Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States was not merely avenging the blood of Pearl Harbor, but the rape of Nanking and Japanese atrocities all over the far east.
(Jeremiah 9:24 KJV) "But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."
• If no justice is never taken, then one act of man is as good as another.
(Hebrews 10:30-31 KJV) "For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. {31} It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
• Well, we started out with the assumption that we wanted to know God. We talked a lot about God’s lovingkindness. We know that he will let man off the hook if there is any way to do it.
• Let me tell you a story about getting off the hook.
Once upon a time there was a king named Ahab.
• And hard by his palace there was a truly fine vineyard on a good piece of property.
• The vineyard was owned by a man named Naboth, so Ahab made him an offer.
• Naboth turned it down, because it was a family inheritance. It was priceless to him.
• To make a long story shorter, Ahab and his wife arranged the judicial murder of this man so they could steal his vineyard.
• The rich and the powerful must have their way, no matter who suffers.
This crime was hideous in the eyes of God, so he sent a prophet to Ahab with message.
I Kings 21:16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.
19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
20 And Ahab said to Elijah, hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee; because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.
23 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.
24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.
25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
• There were no good kings in Israel throughout their 200 plus year history, but Ahab was the worst.
• But a funny thing happened here:
27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.
• What if Ahab’s sons had repented, fasted and humbled themselves? God would not have brought the evil in their days either.
• And after a few generations, the curse could have passed away completely.
In the process of time, Ahab was finally killed in Battle:
I kings 22:34 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
......
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake.
• What about Jezebel?
In the process of time, God anointed a man named Jehu to be king over Israel. And he was also given a commission to deal with Jezebel.
(2 Kings 9:30-37 KJV) "And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
{31} And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
{32} And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. {33} And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.
{34} And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. {35} And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
{36} Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: {37} And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel."
• Chilling, isn’t it? But Justice tends to be chilling to evil men and women.
• And that brings us back once again to God’s words to Jeremiah:
(Jeremiah 9:24 KJV) "But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."
• We have talked about lovingkindness and Judgement.
• That leaves righteousness for another day