Utterly Destroyed | Sunday, May 17, 2020 (Full Service)

And I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, "Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road... You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot..." But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand... So we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining... There was not one city too strong for us; the LORD our God delivered all to us. (Deuteronomy 2:26-37)

When God brings judgment, He has always first extended words of peace—and our outrage at His justice may be more unrighteous than His judgments are.

A Topic Our Culture Detests

I want to speak to you this morning on a topic that our day has anathematized—a culture that detests the concept of moral culpability. Words like accountability, liability, responsibility, and guilt stir our emotions, especially when they are conjoined to the idea of morality.

We're not generally hostile to these concepts when they are used about someone we don't like, someone on the other team. In that context we are more than ready to pick up stones and judge. If someone we dislike is held accountable for being unethical or immoral, something in us revels in it. But we grow uncomfortable when the discussion of moral accountability comes anywhere near us—and we become almost indignant if we feel that those in the seat of justice are not being fair or righteous.

This is why our text today is one of the most problematic passages for 21st-century Westerners. Some of the things in this passage are extremely challenging, so it's worth pausing to pray for understanding so we might wisely interpret and apply it.

The New Atheism and the "Genocide" Objection

In October 2006 and May of 2007, two books hit stores dealing with God, each becoming a bestseller and solidifying its author as a spokesman for what is now called the New Atheism. The first, by English biologist Richard Dawkins, was The God Delusion. The second, by the late journalist Christopher Hitchens, was God Is Not Great. Each of these atheistic heavyweights argued against God, Judaism, and Christianity, at least in part on the basis of passages like this one in Deuteronomy 2. For Dawkins, Hitchens, and Sam Harris too, a passage like this presents the believer with a moral conundrum.

Several things about this development fascinate me. First, it's more than a little ironic that atheists who believe there is no such thing as objective moral standards assert that they hold the moral high ground against religion because of passages like these.

Second, in the nearly fifteen years since these books, this has become one of the primary arguments levied against Christians—in debates, articles, documentaries, and college classrooms—and it's often dropped like a mic, assuming believers have no worthwhile answer.

Third, this challenge reveals a very narrow perspective on world history. It is relatively easy to belittle the perspective of other people in other places and times when you do so from the highly modern, peaceful, safe position of the 21st-century Western world. Most everyone who has lived in North America or Western Europe in the last sixty years cannot really conceptualize heinous evil and how such evil ought to be confronted—which is really what is happening here.

Fourth, the antagonistic position assumes the non-existence of a moral law and a moral Lawgiver, so it refuses to accept that God has any jurisdiction over our lives. To that mindset, this text is nothing more than ancient imperialistic warmongering genocide.

What This Text Looks Like Without Mercy

But if you're a Christian, your understanding of this text is different. For the Christian, this passage presents a moral accountability to a moral Lawgiver. Here's the challenging reality: passages like this in the Old Testament reveal what it looks like to live before a holy, righteous, and just God without mercy and grace. And the frightening fact is that the God of the Old Covenant is still on the throne. Though under the New Covenant He extends grace and mercy in Christ, the Scriptures reveal that there will be a future day of judgment—and it will be as bad, and likely much worse, than the judgment presented in Deuteronomy 2 and 3, Genesis 19, and the book of Joshua.

First we need some context. Moses is reminding Israel of their recent history just before they enter the land promised to Abraham centuries earlier. Israel had wandered in the wilderness for 38 years. As those wanderings ended and they were about to cross from east of the Jordan into the Promised Land, they came to the land of the Amorites (Numbers 21) and did battle against Sihon king of Heshbon, and later against Og, another Amorite king, of Bashan. This chronicles the beginning of Israel's conquest.

Words of Peace Before Judgment

But before we get to the utter destruction of the men, women, and little ones, we must not miss the opening words: "I sent messengers... to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace." You can check me on this. As far as I can tell from more than two decades of intensely studying Scripture, before God renders judgment, He always offers grace and extends words of peace. Our critics decry the harshness of God's judgment but never consider His offers of grace, mercy, and peace.

Let me be utterly clear: as a Christian I believe that one day God will judge the earth. But right now He has sent His messengers throughout the world with words of peace and an offering of grace and mercy in and through Jesus. That is what the gospel is—good news of grace and peace in Jesus. For twenty centuries Christians have gone throughout the world to testify of the grace of God. If you do not receive His offer of mercy in Jesus Christ, then you stand in opposition to the holy and mighty God, and His justice will one day come. It is not the church who brings about God's justice; one day He will bring justice and judgment.

Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Hebrews 9:27 adds, "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." And Hebrews 10 warns that for those who sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth there remains "a certain fearful expectation of judgment"—for "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

How the Amorites Responded

We are living during an extended time of God's grace, mercy, and peace. The Amorites also lived for centuries during a time of extended grace, and even right at the end God through Moses offered them words of peace. How did they respond? Numbers 21:21-23 records it: Israel sent messengers asking to pass through peacefully, promising to keep to the king's highway. But Sihon would not allow it; instead he gathered all his people and went out against Israel to fight.

God gave us the capacity to choose how we respond to His offer of peace, and He will hold us responsible for how we respond. Like it or not, this is what the Bible teaches.

Someone will object to a perceived inequity on God's part: "The LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate" (2:30). There's much to be said here, but at this point I'll say simply this: like Pharaoh in Exodus before him, Sihon's heart was already hard and obstinate toward God. God only allowed him to remain in his stubborn position. When all is said and done, don't let Pharaoh and Sihon be your role models. Do not harden your heart. There is grace, mercy, and peace on the table.

Living Without Mercy Before a Holy God

When you read the Bible from Genesis through to this passage, you realize the Amorites were given 400 years to repent. Then they were given the opportunity to let Israel pass through—an opportunity for peace. But when they obstinately stood against God, His people, and His offer of peace, God's judgment was final and complete.

It's worth pointing out that some scholars believe the language of utter destruction, including upon women and children, is hyperbolic. The traditional consensus, however, has been that it is literal—that this actually happened. Removed by some 3,400 years, we don't know for certain, but the main point remains: God's judgment will be final and complete. This is why we need His grace, mercy, and peace in Jesus Christ. There will be no excuse when we stand before God.

This is where modern Westerners shake their heads: "How can you believe this? I could never serve a God who judges like this." But have you noticed that you've placed yourself in the judgment seat and condemned God as unjust? I want to suggest that our moral judgments against God are more unrighteous than He will be in His judgments of us.

Abraham's Question: Shall Not the Judge Do Right?

A little more than four hundred years before Israel's defeat of the Amorites, God brought judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). But before pouring out that judgment, God revealed His plan to Abraham. And Abraham did exactly what you and I should do when we realize God will judge: he prayed. He interceded on behalf of the wicked people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

If you're a follower of God today, I have to ask—are you praying for those you know who do not yet know God? If not, I hope you'll start.

As Abraham interceded, he asked the critical question we all wrestle with: "Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place...? Far be it from You to do such a thing... Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:24-25). That is the question. If there is a moral law and a moral Lawgiver who will one day judge the earth, then He must be right and righteous in His judgments. And God responded, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes" (18:26). Isaiah 11:4 declares, "With righteousness He shall judge."

The Huge Problem—and the Gospel

But there is a huge problem. Romans 2 says, "You are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things... Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath."

The problem is this: you and I are no better than the Amorites, no better than Sodom and Gomorrah. We deserve every bit of the judgment they received. Jesus taught this in Luke 13: when told of Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices, and of the eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell, He asked, "Do you suppose they were worse sinners? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

Paul in Athens said, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17). That is the word for us today. God overlooked the ignorance of the Amorites for more than 400 years, but when they refused to repent at His offer of peace, they were judged.

You can be angry at what your finiteness perceives to be wrong, or you can receive His offering of peace by receiving the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Romans 5 says, "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly... But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." The peace of God will be found only in Jesus Christ.

Receiving the Prince of Peace

If you have not yet received the peace and grace of God, hear this: just as Moses sent messengers to the Amorite kings before judgment came, God has sent messengers bringing the gospel—pastors, friends, family members—to share the good news of what Jesus did on the cross, that we might have peace with God.

This is the simple gospel Paul preached: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again the third day" (1 Corinthians 15). He was lifted up on the cross for our justification. He died in our place to take away our sin and give us peace and righteousness. There is coming a day of judgment, and no one will be able to stand before a holy and righteous God unless they are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Romans 10 tells us that if we believe on the Lord Jesus and confess Him as Lord, we will be saved.

If you'd like to do that today, pray with me: Dear Jesus, I recognize that I am a sinner. I ask You to come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith. Be the Lord of my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer today, we would love to know. Please go to commit.lifeinconnection.com and fill out the form, and we will be in touch. We would love to send you a Bible and help you as you begin your walk with the Lord.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for the work happening through this church and many others as people are being reached with the gospel. We pray You would move in a mighty way in our nation and in the world, that You would move against this virus—whether by a vaccine, therapeutic alternatives, or a miraculous work. In the midst of this trial, encourage the hearts of Your people to rejoice in the good things You are doing. As Philippians 1 says, the things that have happened to us have turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it is clear You are working and causing Your church to be all the more bold. Continue that work beyond this season—would You bring about a revival? We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.