Sermon Tone Analysis

Our Scripture lesson this morning is taken from Deuteronomy 7:1-5:

May God bless this, the reading of His holy and infallible Word.

This morning, we have come to one of the most troubling and controversial passages of all Scripture—the complete destruction of the Seven Nations who inhabited the Promise Land.

Many claim that this makes God a moral monster.

It is for this reason many have rejected biblical Christianity.

For others, this is the reason they argue that the God of the Old Testament is a different God than the God of the New Testament.

While I cannot address all the issues brought up by this Old Testament event, I will attempt to address the major ones.

I will do this by answering three questions, beginning with...

What Does it Mean to Devote Something to the Lord?

This question is one few ask, and because they do not ask it, they immediately misunderstand what is going on in this passage.

The phrase we find in our English bibles, “devote them to complete destruction”, is actually one word in the Hebrew language, and it means to devote something exclusively and irrevocably to God.

The idea of “complete destruction” is only implied by the context.

A good example of its use is found in Leviticus 27:28-29:

The first thing we notice is that not only people, but objects can be devoted to the LORD.

Secondly, anything devoted to the LORD is considered “most holy to the LORD”.

That is, it is reserved for God’s use and purposes only.

Separation, is the basic meaning of the word “holy”.

As God’s people we are “devoted” to Him.

This is why we are called “holy”.

We see this in the very next verse after our Scripture lesson:

Returning to Leviticus 27, let us look at vs. 29 again:

Here is a good example of how the context tells us that the type of “devotion” is being “devoted to destruction”.

The last phrase of this verse, “he shall surely be put to death”, tells us that this person is “devoted to destruction”.

What does this mean?

It means that we are not talking about genocide, the complete destruction of the inhabitants of the Promise Land had nothing to do with their race or ethnicity, it was a judicial act of God.

We understand this when we ask the second question:

Why Were These Seven Nations Devoted to Destruction?

To answer this second question, we must begin with God.

Scripture reveals to us that God is holy and righteous, completely without sin.

Using “light” as a mediator for moral perfection, the Apostle John writes:

This leads to the second thing we must understand about God—He cannot abide by sin or sinners.

This leads to a new problem, both Scripture and our own experience teach us that God is patient, loving and kind towards sinners.

As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust”.

What is going on here?

Is God, tolerant towards sin and sinners?

The prophet Habakkuk struggled with this very issue, asking:

The answer to this question is that God is not tolerant, He is long-suffering.

God is patent towards sinners, giving them time to repent of their sin.

When questioned why God is so slow in bringing His promised judgement against sin and sinners, the Apostle Peter writes:

Scripture frequently pictures God’s long-suffering as a cup being filled.

One mere drop in the cup of God’s wrath is enough to bring on the full fury of God’s judgement, but God is patient with us, and will not bring upon a nation or an individual His wrath until the cup is filled, and for these Seven Nations in our text today, the cup was at full measure!

Hundreds of years before, God told Abraham that the time in which his descendants would inherit the Promise Land would be delayed for hundreds of years because “the sin of the Amorites has not reached its full measure” (Gen 15:16).

The book of Revelation teaches us that someday all who are not found in the Lamb’s book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire.

However, sometimes a nation or people become so evil, God must bring his judgement upon them in this life.

We find examples of this in the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, Assyria and Babylon; even Israel and Judah!

Sometimes God uses His power directly, as in the Flood and Sodom and Gomorrah.

More frequently, He raises up one nation to destroy another by His providence.

What makes Deuteronomy 7 unique, is that God gives Israel a commandment to do this as a test.

It is a test of their love and obedience to God, and as biblical history shows, they failed the test.

We need to appreciate the unique nature of this commandment.

Later, in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses will review God’s commandments to Israel in regards to warfare, and there He expressly forbids Israel from utterly destroying other nations.

Under the New Covenant, Jesus tells Peter to “put away your sword” (Mt 26:52) and to Pilate, He says that “my Kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18:36).

In conclusion, what we see in Deuteronomy 7 is not an example of genocide, but of judgement.

In the Final Judgement, all nations and all people who have not repented and believed in Christ will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, “devoted to destruction” for all eternity.

However, before the Final Judgement it is necessary for God to “devote to destruction” nations which have reached the “full measure of iniquity”.

The destruction of the Seven Nations, is but one of many examples found in Scripture and in history.

This said, there is still one find question that must be asked:

Is This Inconsistent With God’s Love and Mercy?

The short answer is no! God always provides a way of escape—repentance and faith!

Rehab is a perfect example of this.

Rehab was a member of these seven wicked nations; by trade, she was a prostitute.

A very unlikely candidate for a staring role in Jesus family tree; but that is what she is (Mt 1:5-6).

How did she end up in Jesus family tree and how did she escape the destruction of Jericho?

The author of Hebrew tells us:

By placing her faith in the God of Abraham, she by faith became a child of Abraham.

She was no longer a member of the Seven Nations, but rather of Israel.

She was not longer “devoted to destruction”, but rather “she was devoted to the LORD”!

This way of escape was not only open to her, but to all the Canaanites.

Not one of them had to die!

The same was true in the days of Noah.

Peter teaches us that Noah was a “herald of righteousness” (2 Pet 2:5), that is he preaches salvation by faith alone.

For forty years, as the Ark was being built, Noah preached the Gospel to his generation.

There could have been a fleet of Arks upon the flood waters, rather than just the one with eight individuals upon it!

The way of escape is still open.

Under the New Covenant the Ark God has provided us with is His only begotten Son Jesus Christ!

Are you in the Ark of Jesus Christ?

The application is clear, the only way for you to escape the destruction to come is by repentance and faith.

You must turn away from your allegiance to sin and Satan, and turn to God by placing your faith in Jesus Christ.

This means that you have switched sides.

You are no longer in Satan’s army; you are now in the Lord’s army.

This brings us to the topic of next week’s sermon; but as I close this message, I want to invite you to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus if you have not done so already.

You do this not by saying a “magic prayer”, but by real heartfelt repentance and faith.

The type of repentance and faith only God can create.

That is why I want to pray for you now.

Let us pray.