The Rebel Never Fares Well

The Rebel Never Fares Well

Introduction

Have you ever put in the hard work to reach a certain place in your life; you have finally obtained what you had dreamed about? It is not only about obtaining that goal, but continuing on a particular path to maintain or keep that goal you reached.

1) Gaining Full Control

A. Details of how it went down

As we have already seen, Joshua BLASTED through the center of Canaan and conquered the south.

Now we read where he turns his attention to the North.

In both cases, you will notice that it’s arrangement was by divine design (10:5 & 11:5, 20)

Northern Kingdom:

Their key weapon was horses and chariots.

Their numbers were VERY GREAT!

Joshua’s Army:

It was not made up of well trained men.

They were not equipped with a great military force.

They may have not been those things, but they for sure were STRONG and COURAGEOUS men.

They needed not to fret to find a earthly advantage, they had a DIVINE ADVANTAGE!

Remember Joshua 5:13-15 “13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.”

Now — Joshua 11:6 “6 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.”

Once again, victory came by following God’s instructions:

(vv7-9) Summarizes what happened.

B. Future trouble resulting from a present mistake

While Joshua and his army did do what is recorded here, however, we also undoubtedly see they allowed Canaanite pockets to remain.

These people became pockets of resistance to Isreal.

Notice Judges 1

(v19) (v21) (v29) (vv30-36)

Notice v27

Anything less than obedience is disobedience!

In all the battles of life, you are never at liberty to shift over as judge and jury over the direction of your life!

You may say, “I felt like it was the right things to do at the time.”

There are two issues here: 1) Feelings & 2) at the time

2) Mercy Expires For The Rebel

A. The continual wickedness of the Canaanites

Here is a little insight of their wickedness:

They worshipped the sun, moon and nature gods.

Stole, lied, cheated each other, robbed and had to respect toward the poor.

They preyed on the blind, deaf and sick.

Talebearers, gossipers and no respect for justice, truth or mercy.

Hate and violence.

Sexual sins: outside of marriage, with in-laws, incest, animals and aborted their babies.

Offered their own children as human sacrifices, loved witchcraft and devil worship.

No respect for parents, marriage, morals or children.

Leviticus 20:23 “23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.”

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 “9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”

B. How was Isreal to deal with these people?

God said to kill them all!

Deuteronomy 7:1–7 KJV 1900

1 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. 5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. 6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

God is in no way condoning anyone to commit genocide simply because they don’t agree with you.

What we witness here is a SPIRITUAL LESSON!

C. There is a future genocide coming!!!

As God had all right to control hearts to lead them to destruction then, He most certainly will have sovereign rights to destroy all who continue to reject the command to repent and believe.

Genesis 6:5-7 “5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

Genesis 19 Sodom and Gomorrah

Proverbs 1:24-28 “24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, And would none of my reproof: 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; When distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:”

Psalm 9:17 “17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.”