Deuteronomy 2:1-25 Dread and Fear

The Church Announcement and Deuteronomy Series Setup

Welcome to Recast Church, where we're growing in faith, community, and service. You're listening to a message by Pastor Kyle Douglas from the Book of Deuteronomy from a series entitled, Clinging to God on the Way from Here to There.

If you'd like more information about Recast Church, check us out at recastchurch .com or you can find us on Facebook. Here's Pastor Kyle.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Recast. I'll try not to yell into the microphone. Talk very softly so you can hear me. As always, we are glad that you are here and that you've joined us for worship.

We just love that you've ventured out into the snow to be a part of Recast this morning. Be sure to check out your connection card folder thing, right? The worship folder is what we call it. That gives you some updates on what's happening in our church.

Please read through those. There is a connection card in that that we would invite you to fill out, especially if you're a visitor. We can get your email and some contact info, at least just your name so we kind of know who you are and we can get connected that way.

Great way to share prayer requests with us and connect with us. If you do fill that out, it goes in the black box back there at the Welcome Center. And then also, if you feel led to give, tithe or an offering, put it in that envelope that's in that worship folder and put it also in that black box back there.

Well, Don is back from Mexico, complete with spray tan. It's actually, it's a real tan and I'm pretty jealous. But he's actually not with us this morning. At least I don't see him. Anyone see Don?

Not here.

Okay. So he's actually hanging out at another church in Coloma. We have a friend who's a pastor there and they set up church in a school and so he's seeing how they do their thing on Sunday morning because we are getting ready to do our thing in a school.

So the launch of our new service at Madawan Elementary School is coming up on what day? March 9th, which is how many weeks away? Three weeks away. Countdown is happening.

Big deal.

We will not be meeting here. We'll be meeting over there at the school. One service, 10 .30 a .m. and, excuse me, we've been doing a lot to get ready. As you can see, new equipment, equipment's getting changed around, new soundboard in the back and a whole bunch of stuff piled up here in the corner, but we're getting ready.

In preparation for that, on Wednesday of this week, so February 19th, all of the volunteers involved in what happens here on Sunday morning will meet at the school from 6 to 8 p .m. And we're going to do a run-through, just almost like a wedding rehearsal is how we're going to run it, right?

We're going to do a talk-through, we're going to do a walk-through and we're going to do a run-through. So we're going to practice setting up, getting everything ready, tearing down, setting up, tearing down and just make sure that we are aware of any problems that we have or things to adjust by the night.

So if you're a volunteer, you are invited to come and hopefully your ministry director, whoever is helping you, has clued you into that or overseeing your area has clued you into that. And then also, if you just want to come and be a part of our pretend church for that night and just kind of see what's happening or if you're interested in volunteering or you just want to get in on the ice cream that I've heard rumored may be there, please come and check it out.

So that's coming up this Wednesday night, 6 to 8 p .m. and you can see me for more info. Okay, so we are continuing in our series on Deuteronomy and this is my last time to preach for a while as Don returns and it's kind of neat because Don's coming back into the book of Genesis and he's actually going to land on one of the stories that we're going to reference here that Moses is looking back on.

But he's going to get back into Genesis and really looking forward to that. But for now, we are in chapter 2 of Deuteronomy and we're still in the historical prologue of Moses' sermon. And this text is an intriguing, lightning fast summary of the 38 years that Israel spent wandering in the wilderness.

And it's a very thematic text that deals with territorial possession and who's deciding what pieces of the nation's law, check, check, one, two, one, two. Okay, so it's this thematic recap of what God was doing in that time and how He was arranging all the pieces of the nations, right?

Deciding who goes where. And we're going to see that the one, well, like I just said, the one who's deciding who goes where is God Himself, our sovereign God arranging the nations. There are three main people groups that are encountered in these wanderings, the descendants of Esau around Mount Seir, and then the descendants of Lot's two sons through his own two daughters.

And yes, that's awkward, okay? If anyone needs to get caught up on that story, it's in Genesis 19. But basically from Lot and the relationship with his daughters, he has the Moabites and.

The Ammonites.

And Moses recounts here that God said that Israel was to be careful not to contend with any of these people because God had promised land to them just as He had promised to Israel. So we see that God's faithfulness extends to even those who are outside of His direct covenant people.

And I think that kind of shows that God is a merciful God, especially because some of these people would end up becoming enemies of the children of Israel down the line. And then we also see God being faithful to His word to kill off the generation of unbelievers who had refused to believe Him and enter into the land.

So this episode is sandwiched between their original rebellion against God's word to go up into the land at Kadesh Barnea, and then their fighting of King Sihon as they get ready to cross the Jordan River.

And part of the reason that God was walking these people out in the wilderness was because He wanted that generation to die off. He swore to them, you guys have not believed me that I would help you get into the land and you're not going to see it now.

So head on back into the wilderness and let's take a walk, right, 38-year walk. And then we'll land on verses 24 and 25. And the text ends with God commanding the people to fight the Sihon Amorite King.

And He says this, and we're going to read it in a second but it's worth repeating. He says, This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because.

Of you.

Okay, does that sound like the normal message that we get in church? Is that how you view yourself? Are God's people a people to be feared? Should people tremble when we're around? We are just dipping our toes into the murky waters that are the God-ordained killings of the people of Canaan.

Our text doesn't even contain some of the most explicit commands to wipe out entire people groups, but it opens up the opportunity to ask some big questions. Maybe you haven't really considered the fact that when God said that He would give His people a land, that there were already people inhabiting that land and that they would be militarily removed in order for God's people to take over.

Maybe as a Christian you've ignored or written off the fact that God saw fit to use His people as an instrument of destruction, one that other peoples would dread and fear. And maybe, and it would not be wrong if you're in this camp, maybe you're confused as to how that all fits with Jesus who told Peter to put away his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane.

These are really big questions and it would be impossible for me to comprehensively, if not satisfactorily, answer them for you in the time that we have this morning. And admittedly, I'm still wrestling with some of it.

But my hope this morning, especially as we focus on what is this idea of fearing God and what does it mean for His people to be feared, that I would begin to help you form a biblical understanding, a true biblical perspective on these matters, rather than just write them off or walk away from them.

And I do hope that it will increase your understanding and fear of our awesome, glorious God. So let's read the text. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 2 and we'll read verses 1 through 25 and it's on page 126 in your seat back Bible.

Deuteronomy chapter 2 starting at verse 1. Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord.

Told me.

And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. Then the Lord said to me, you have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward and command the people. You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, and they will be afraid of you.

So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land. No, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

You shall purchase food from them for money that you may eat, and you shall also buy water of them for money that you may drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows you're going through this great wilderness.

These 40 years the Lord your God has been with you, you have lacked nothing. So we went on away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Araba road from Elath and Ezean-Geber.

And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. And the Lord said to me, Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.

The Emim formerly lived there, a people great in many and tall as the Anakim. Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites called them Emim. The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled them in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.

Now rise up and go over the brook Zered. So we went over the brook Zered. And the time from our leaving Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was 38 years until the entire generation, that is the men of war, had perished from the camp as the Lord had sworn to them.

For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them to destroy them from the camp until they had perished. So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, the Lord said to me, Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar.

And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.

It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there, but the Ammonites called them Zemzumim, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir.

When he destroyed the Horites before them, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. As for the Avim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Kaphtorim, who came from Kaphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.

Rise up, set out on your journey, and go over the valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession and contend with him in battle.

This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because.

Of you.".

Let's pray. Father in heaven, we do thank you for these stories that you preserved for us in the scriptures. We thank you God that we get to read of you and your interactions and that we get windows into your character and your heart.

And Father, I pray this morning that as we come to your word and as we sing these songs and just continue in this time that we have together, God, that you would open up our hearts and our minds so that we can understand you fully.

And Father, I think each one of us can probably admit that our view of you is somehow different and weak, that we don't totally appreciate you for you, that we don't totally understand you, that there are parts of you that we'd rather not even admit are there.

But God, rather than us molding you into our image, I pray God that you would mold us, continue to mold us into yours, that we can see you fully for who you are, that we would understand you. And I pray also that as we struggle with who you are in these texts, God, that it would also make Jesus and his ministry more clear to us, that the great news would be truly great because of what we understand of your workings in the world.

And so be with us now as we sing, I pray God that our hearts would lift up to you in worship, that we would truly glorify you and praise you for being our awesome God. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Thanks band, as always. Go ahead and open your Bibles back up to Deuteronomy. It's always great to kind of have it open so you can reference it if you'd like. Feel free to get up and get coffee and donuts, make yourself comfortable as we dive in here.

And it is a doozy this morning. I'll just admit that this is not a super easy text to preach because I have a sense of how it sounds. I know how it sounds to me. And when we get to the point of wrestling through the questions, these are difficult.

Things.

But hey, it's the word of God and we're going to work through it and pray that it helps us to know him better. As we begin, we're going to go through the text and sort of outline it and I'll make some comments and we'll sort of look at the history.

There's going to be a lot of names thrown at you. Admittedly, I have trouble keeping all the A names like straight, Ammonites, Amorites, right, the land of R. So hopefully you won't get lost, but it's okay if you do.

Just relax. We'll get through it together. So as we look at verse 1, it says,. Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea. Turned from the promised land because they had refused to go in when God told them to.

Go in.

And so he said, all right, back out to the woods, you guys. And they had to turn around and go back into the wilderness. And they stay around Mount Seir for many days. Which is an extended period of time.

It might have even been some years that they were out there. And God gives them the order to head northward, which involves passing through Esau's territory. Anyone know who Esau is? Or at least recognize that name?

Okay, so you got Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Jacob and Esau were twins and God's favor went to Jacob. Well, Seir means hairy or shaggy. And it's related to the word for goat and sometimes used for a wooded forest or mountain.

And so God gives the hairy guy, Esau, a hairy mountain. It's just funny, right? I mean, like his own mountain is named after him. So this is the place where Esau has landed, Mount Seir. Literally the hairy mountain or maybe even known as Esau's mountain.

Little background on Esau, right? He took Canaanite wives, which displeased his parents. It was part of the family dynamic there. They sent Jacob away to go find a wife from relatives. Esau just went and did his own thing and took wives from Canaan.

His rashness and Jacob's deception combined to result in Esau losing both his birthright and the blessing of his father, Isaac. That would have included becoming a great nation. Instead, Isaac tells Esau that you will serve your brother.

Even though he's the older brother, the way of the times was for the older brother to inherit the blessing, to get the larger portion. Instead, this older brother is gonna serve the younger, which is part of what God is doing oftentimes in the world.

He's trying to say, I'm gonna use the weak to shame the strong, right? And that partly goes back to the story of these brothers. So the best he could do was say that he would eventually break the yoke of his brother, which probably happened when he moved away to Seir, to this mountain region, going away from Jacob because they had both become too large to dwell in the same area.

Genesis 32 and 36 has the background on that stuff if you guys wanted to look at it. Now there was a point of reconciliation when Jacob came back from Laban with his wives and he's going out to meet his brother.

And maybe you remember that story. Jacob's really nervous about meeting his brother. Why? Because he's bamboozled him, right? I mean, he's deceived him. He's Jacob the liar, right? Now he's coming back.

He's been made this great and powerful people, and he's coming back to meet his brother. His brother, he sends word to his brother. His brother Esau comes out with 400 fighting men to meet him. Jacob's like, man, how's this gonna go, right?

And he has that wrestling match right before he meets him. But they come together and they reconcile, which is awesome. But that doesn't mean that the family tensions all went away, all right? And there's still kind of this, you guys keep to yourself.

We're gonna keep to ourselves. No harm, no foul. But look, let's not hang out anymore, okay? So then we get to verse four. And as the children of Israel are coming to interact with this people of Esau, also known as Edom, the Edomites, God tells them to be careful with their brothers.

Because Esau will be afraid. Afraid of what, right? Afraid of Israel's power, very likely. You got a million people coming, that's a big army, all right? He also might've been afraid of what it would have required of them resource-wise.

You have some guests over to your house, they eat your food, right? And the more people, the larger the grocery bill. Well, it's interesting. Later on, we'll see, we'll get to this King Sihon. And if we go back to the historical record in Numbers 20, that tells about these interactions in more detail that Moses is referencing.

Listen to what King Sihon was afraid of as the people of Israel approached. It's probably the same that Esau was worried about. In Numbers 22, verse four, he says, this horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field.

So you get a million people walking through your territory and they're gonna use your resources. And it's probably right that he would be concerned about that. We find out in Numbers 20, 21 through 22, that Esau actually denies the people passage.

He says, you can't come through. We don't want you here, stay out. They come to meet them with soldiers and Israel has to go around. Now, it's interesting that Moses recounts that God had commanded the people to be gracious to their relatives.

He said to make sure that you pay for whatever you use, food or water. If you take anything from your relatives there, the Edomites, I want you to reimburse them for it. So they weren't gonna come through and just ravage them.

In fact, that probably would have been a pretty significant windfall, right? I mean, it's like being at McDonald's and all of a sudden a bus pulls up. It's like, you're gonna sell a lot of hamburgers, okay?

So it's interesting though that Esau, the people of Esau still reject them from being in their land. So God is telling his own children to be gracious to them, to be generous to them, pay for what you use.

And yet Esau denies him. It's gonna prove to be a bad choice because later on, God would judge Edom for not supporting their brothers as they came through the wilderness. A couple of brief notes of application here.

Even though Esau was an idiot, and Hebrews actually refers to him as godless, right? Not the prime example of a faithful follower of God. God still sees fit to be faithful to him and protect the land that he gave to him.

Isn't that an example of the mercy of our God? God says, you protect him, you take care of him, even though eventually his people would become their enemies. But then I think it's also interesting to note that God's favor on our lives often means giving somebody else the deal rather than getting the deal yourself.

I have some friends who own a sign shop. It's a small business and pretty close with them. And sometimes I'll go and we'll go in the back room and they'll be doing their work and we'll just be shooting the breeze.

And I was back there one time and this car pulls up, a gold speckled Cadillac, custom paint job, high rolling, right? Spinners, everything. The people that I'm meeting, the owners of the shop kind of rolled their eyes.

They're not Christians, good friends, but not Christians. And they're just like, oh man, watch this. This guy comes in, we're just sitting there, right? Happens to be a local pastor who's being driven by a driver.

And he comes in to talk about the signs that they're doing for him for his church remodel. And they're going through all these details and he's being nitpicky about this and saying, I want this changed and I want you to redo this one and that's not what we wanted.

And just going through this whole big thing, right? And then he gets to the end and he starts haggling about price. And he says, oh, but you must understand this is the Lord's work. Can't you do a little bit better than this?

Is that the kind of example that we're to give? This guy's rolling in a gold speckled caddy and he's asking for a deal on signs? I'm a Christian, so give me a deal. Maybe it should be, I'm a Christian and I'll pay full price because I want to bless you.

God says to the people, look, I've been with you this whole time. Don't you worry about being generous. I've always provided for you. Yeah, it might cost a lot to pay for all this food and stuff that you're gonna use, but don't worry because just like I've been with you these 38 years in the wilderness, I'm gonna be with you again.

So go ahead and bless your neighbors. Do you know that your inability to be generous and bless others may be an indicator of your own lack of trust in God's provision? A little aside there. Back in the text, if we look at verse eight, we see that Israel's rerouted.

Moses, for some reason, was kind of generous in his recounting here. He doesn't explain why they were rerouted. He simply says that we just went around our brother Esau and they head towards Moab. And then in verses nine through 23, we get two more instances of God protecting people that Israel would interact with and both sons of Lot.

Moab both refers to a larger general area from east of Canaan and more specifically, the strip of semi-fertile land just east of the Dead Sea. And Genesis 19, 30 through 38 recounts the origin of the Moabites.

And Moab, as I mentioned, was the son of Lot and his eldest daughter when Lot fled with his family from Zoar. So the whole Sodom and Gomorrah thing happens. Lot's freaked out. He goes and hides in a cave with his daughters.

His daughters are afraid that his line's gonna be cut off. And so they seduce him, get him inebriated and then both have children through their father. And then that produces the Moabites and the Ammonites.

So that's where the Moabites come from. The family would spread out. So Lot's lineage wouldn't be cut off. And the Moabites and the associated land of Moab would play an important part in the history of Israel.

More often seen as enemies of the Israelites than as friendly cousins. And the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot's other son, Ben-Ammi with his younger daughter. And that's not to be confused with the Amalekites, right?

So all these names, just like, what's happening? They both become a people. And it says that God tells Moses and the Israelites, don't contend with them because I have given them the land of Ar, which is part of Moab, to the descendants of Lot.

And then the same is said of them in verse 19, that God has given them their territory. So once again, I just point out that this shows how awesome is the faithfulness and the kindness of God. That these peoples would all prove to be annoying, dangerous, contentious enemies of Israel down the line, but God keeps his word.

However it happened, he said, I'm gonna place you here and don't worry, I'm gonna protect you and your land. God is gracious upfront, even knowing that eventually they would sin against him. And it reminded me of the 10 commandments.

Remember what God said as he was giving the law? He says, I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

And I think this is an actual example of God showing his love down through the generations, even to those who would eventually oppose him. Now in the sandwich in between this whole deal with all these names and these people who are getting moved around are a couple of verses, several verses that talk about, you know, who's displacing who and who whooped so-and-so and who completely annihilated this other person, right?

And these are all pretty obscure references. We don't know much about the Rephaim and the Anakim and the Horites, but what is clear is that Moses sees all of this territorial shuffling as being under the authority and intention of God's will.

So who's in control? God, and not just with Israel, everybody. Says, as the Lord gave to them, Psalm 47 verse eight says, God reigns over the nations. God sits on the throne. God is in control of the nations.

And it certainly doesn't mean that everything that goes on in the world is condoned by him, right? Manifest destiny, anybody? But even in the sinful and greedy exploits of men, God is working to position all peoples to come to an understanding of himself and the work of his son all the time.

He's the engine behind history. Then right in the middle of all of these kind of footnotes is an important note about all the rebels who God swore would not enter the promised land. And look at the emphasis that he puts on this.

It really reminds me of the Monty Python deal, I'll kill you till you die from it, right? I mean, it's just like, he just wants to make really clear that they're all dead now, right? That as the men of war had perished from the camp as the Lord had sworn to them, for indeed the hand of the Lord was against them to destroy them from the camp until they had perished.

So as soon as all of them had perished, right? It's just, they're done. Do you ever wonder how this played out, right? They're in the wilderness because of all of these sinners who refuse to obey God and now they all have to walk around the wilderness until they all die off.

Could result in some awkward moments, you know? I imagine like one of the boys sitting there at breakfast with his dad eating his cinnamon toast manna, right? And he's just staring at them. We're out here because of you, right?

Maybe they had like a checklist, you know, where they were like keeping track, you know? And like, every time someone kicks the bucket, they're like, another one down.

We're one closer, right? Only 3 ,812 more to go.

What if you were the last one? You know, I mean like, would people have a funeral for you or like, would they be sad or would they be like, yes, we're moving, right? Anyway, sorry, that's probably like really bad.

Joking aside, God was very serious that his consequence would be fully played out. And God is faithful to keep all of his promises, blessings and curses. And now we arrive at verses 24 through 25. And this is where it starts to get really fun.

I mean, not really fun, maybe interesting is a better word. Here, Israel gets clear instructions that it's game on, okay? Time to start moving into the land of Canaan. And again, God's sovereign will is revealed.

He says, he has given into your hand, Sihon the Amorite, along with all of his land. So after three no contends, right? Don't contend with them in battle. Don't contend with them in battle. Don't contend with them in battle.

Finally, time to contend. And I think that this is showing that Israel is starting to figure it out. Of course, they would fall again many times, but it's evident that they have learned over the course of these past 40 years of wandering to be relatively obedient, right?

If God says don't contend, then don't. If God says it's time to fight, then fight. The key is obeying God in whatever he says to do, whenever he says to do it. The rest is up to him. So we've gone back.

We've looked at the people of Esau, Moab, the Ammonites, right? And done a little bit of background on them. But what about these people who God finally gives the green light to fight? Who are these Amorites?

They were a notable cultural presence in the ancient Near East. It's actually been shown through research that much of the Babylonian culture is rooted or influenced by this Amorite nation. And Babylon was a major force, a major power, also seen as an enemy of God.

And much of their thinking comes from these Amorites. They were likely descended from barbaric nomadic peoples from the Northern Arab regions. But they established themselves as a nation comprised of well-fortified villages, all kind of spread out.

And they specialized in animal husbandry, likely sheep, probably supplied the surrounding area with wool and things for clothing, and also agriculture. By the time of Israel's confrontation with them, they were in decline.

Their power was in decline, likely due to the pressures of the growing populations and people around them, but they were still a respectable force. Their gods included, and here's a list, quite the list.

Dagon, Hadad, and Anat, Atharat and Yam, Il, Ilat, Ba 'alat, and Ba 'al, Baal, whose proper name is unknown, but who is later identified with the Amorite storm god, Hadad. These are idol-worshipping pagans.

So in verse 25, after giving orders to take these idol worshipers out, God promises them, this day He will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.

And so begins the Canaanite conquest.

Cool, right?

Yeah, finally, the good guys, gonna get some respect. We got these weak slaves, you know, they're just wandering out in the desert, no land of their own, and man, now they're gonna really start, you know, whooping some behind.

If you're like me, maybe there's a part of you that both rejoices in it and feels uneasy about it. It almost sounds like God wants His people to be bullies. You ever been there when like winning didn't seem that fun?

Like you wanna win real bad, but then you feel bad for the losers? Is that what's happening here? Should we feel bad for these people? Should we question the celebration of God's strength and might being put on display among His people?

I think this text gives us some options. And other texts like this in the Old Testament that we come across and we go, what is that our God, right? Option number one, we can ignore it. And we can just say, well, this is just too uncomfortable and I don't even wanna hear that happened.

Onto the New Testament, right? Option two, we could deny that it even happened or that it was sanctioned by God and just say that the Bible is inaccurate. And there are some people who try and prove that, that this conquest is really just secular history, that they were adopted into the canon against God's will.

And so we don't actually have an honest representation of what God was doing. Option three, we can argue that the New Testament God represented by Jesus isn't the same God we see in the Old Testament, thank the Lord.

And maybe some of you have heard that argument. Oh, I'm just glad God isn't like He was back then, right? The trouble there is that the Lord you're thanking wouldn't be the Lord Jesus knew and spoke about.

We do serve the same God. So maybe the fourth option is the right way to go. We can take a deep breath, we can settle ourselves in and humble ourselves to listen fully to the Word of God in an effort to know God fully in His great love and in His wrath.

This is by far the more difficult option I know. It was a tough week of study, but I do think it's the right one. Remember Hebrews 4 .12, a lot of you probably have this memorized, right? For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

I think a good preparatory question might be to ask ourselves as we move into some of these harder questions, as you read these things about God, why does your heart fight it? What might be in it that would cause you to say, God, you can't be like that.

That's not you. I don't want to serve you if you're doing this. These hard examples can do just what Hebrews says. They can help us understand the intentions of our heart and maybe identify some pride that we have or some ignorance that we have about who God really is.