[music]
00:00:00.03\00:01:45.97
[didgeridoo and guitar music]
00:01:51.21\00:01:58.55
This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
00:02:00.22\00:02:03.28
Thanks for joining me.
00:02:03.28\00:02:05.29
They call it the
00:02:05.32\00:02:06.25
"Lucky Country":
00:02:06.32\00:02:08.29
Australia.
00:02:08.32\00:02:09.79
It's just slightly
smaller than the contiguous
00:02:09.86\00:02:12.46
United States--that's the
United States minus Alaska
00:02:12.46\00:02:16.10
and Hawaii--but it
has only seven and a half
00:02:16.10\00:02:18.87
percent of the
population: 24 million people.
00:02:18.87\00:02:22.67
And that's for
pretty good reason.
00:02:22.67\00:02:25.11
Much of the country is
virtually uninhabitable.
00:02:25.11\00:02:28.21
The vast majority of
Australians, 85 percent,
00:02:28.21\00:02:31.58
in fact, live within
30 miles of the coast.
00:02:31.58\00:02:35.25
And there's a lot of coast.
Miles and miles and miles and
00:02:35.25\00:02:41.29
miles of magnificent and
very often untouched coastline.
00:02:41.29\00:02:47.50
Now, you've got to be
a little careful here.
00:02:47.50\00:02:50.13
Australia is home to sharks, and
plenty of them; crocodiles, and
00:02:50.13\00:02:54.97
plenty of them; and
snakes, and plenty of them.
00:02:54.97\00:03:01.14
Depending on how you measure,
the Inland Taipan is the
00:03:01.14\00:03:05.35
deadliest snake in the
world. They've got that here.
00:03:05.35\00:03:09.72
Dubois Sea
Snake, second deadliest.
00:03:09.72\00:03:13.46
Yep, they've got that,
too. Eastern Brown Snake,
00:03:13.46\00:03:17.49
third deadliest in the world.
00:03:17.49\00:03:20.53
Yeah, that one lives here
also. And they'll all kill you.
00:03:20.53\00:03:26.27
Now, for the most part,
if you get some antivenom,
00:03:26.27\00:03:28.77
you're going to be okay.
But if you don't, well, that's
00:03:28.77\00:03:32.91
a horse of a different color.
00:03:32.91\00:03:35.44
Out there in the water,
especially further north in
00:03:36.85\00:03:39.68
Australia, the real menace
is jellyfish, Box Jellyfish.
00:03:39.68\00:03:45.49
When they're in season, you'd
better stay out of their way.
00:03:45.49\00:03:50.03
They're only small, but
they pack a powerful punch, and
00:03:50.03\00:03:53.70
they can kill you, too.
00:03:53.70\00:03:55.43
Morning Morning
00:03:56.43\00:03:58.97
[haunting guitar music]
00:04:00.57\00:04:02.90
Did I tell you they
call this the Lucky Country?
00:04:07.04\00:04:10.08
Australia is a new
country, relatively speaking.
00:04:10.08\00:04:12.88
And thankfully
today, for the most part,
00:04:12.88\00:04:14.85
the locals are friendly.
00:04:14.85\00:04:17.25
You won't find here the kind of
history that you get in Europe.
00:04:17.25\00:04:20.09
There are no medieval
castles, no ancient cathedrals.
00:04:20.09\00:04:23.93
You won't find Roman ruins.
European settlers came here late
00:04:23.93\00:04:27.86
in the 18th century, and within
about 80 years 160,000 convicts
00:04:27.86\00:04:33.07
had arrived here
from Great Britain.
00:04:33.07\00:04:35.90
However, there is plenty of
history here in Australia, and
00:04:35.90\00:04:39.91
some of it's uncomfortable.
The indigenous people here are
00:04:39.91\00:04:45.01
the Australian Aboriginals.
When white settlers arrived,
00:04:45.01\00:04:47.82
they found somewhere in
the region of half a million
00:04:47.82\00:04:50.29
Aboriginals here. So,
before white settlement,
00:04:50.29\00:04:53.12
there was plenty of
room for the Aboriginals.
00:04:53.12\00:04:56.39
They were great
stewards of the land.
00:04:56.39\00:04:58.99
In fact, the saying
went, "You don't own the land;
00:04:58.99\00:05:02.16
the land owns you."
But Australia has this
00:05:02.16\00:05:06.07
very awkward history,
as do many countries--
00:05:06.07\00:05:09.77
the United States, New
Zealand, India, Canada,
00:05:09.77\00:05:13.07
South Africa, Zimbabwe,
and on and on--colonization.
00:05:13.07\00:05:20.05
Colonization is
fraught with difficulty.
00:05:20.05\00:05:22.85
The European settlers weren't
invited here, but they came
00:05:22.85\00:05:26.15
as colonizers do.
Unsurprisingly, they didn't
00:05:26.15\00:05:30.26
negotiate good terms with
the people they colonized.
00:05:30.26\00:05:33.76
Colonizers were often motivated
by greed or opportunity, or
00:05:33.76\00:05:38.17
both, and by
loyalty to their country.
00:05:38.17\00:05:42.24
To conquer was their
right. It was their duty.
00:05:42.24\00:05:46.64
And what then?
00:05:46.64\00:05:48.78
[ominous music]
00:05:48.84\00:05:52.88
The Europeans who
arrived here discovered an
00:05:53.72\00:05:55.55
indigenous people, who
embraced a very different
00:05:55.55\00:05:58.52
culture and lived by
an altogether different
00:05:58.52\00:06:00.89
set of values. And so,
a clash was inevitable.
00:06:00.89\00:06:05.93
The whites treated the
Aboriginals, generally speaking,
00:06:05.93\00:06:09.33
with very little respect and
without a whole lot of regard
00:06:09.33\00:06:12.97
for their welfare. All
too often, they were herded
00:06:12.97\00:06:15.50
onto reservations, stripped of
their language, and dispossessed
00:06:15.50\00:06:19.51
of their culture. And
then there's the matter
00:06:19.51\00:06:22.31
of what has become known
as "The Stolen Generations."
00:06:22.31\00:06:26.28
Writing in his book
"Australia, a Biography
00:06:26.28\00:06:28.52
of a Nation," author
and university professor
00:06:28.52\00:06:31.15
Philip Knightly said
this: "This cannot be
00:06:31.15\00:06:34.89
overemphasized. The
Australian government
00:06:34.89\00:06:37.56
literally kidnapped these
children from their parents
00:06:37.56\00:06:40.30
as a matter of policy.
White welfare officers,
00:06:40.30\00:06:43.26
often supported by
police, would descend on
00:06:43.26\00:06:45.90
Aboriginal camps,
round up all the children,
00:06:45.90\00:06:49.17
separate the ones
with light-colored skin,
00:06:49.17\00:06:52.11
bundle them into
trucks, and take them away.
00:06:52.11\00:06:56.28
If the parents protested, they
were held at bay by police."
00:06:56.28\00:07:00.75
Now, keep in mind, the land
on which the Aboriginals roamed
00:07:02.88\00:07:06.59
was, and is, mineral rich.
Were the newcomers going to
00:07:06.59\00:07:11.06
share the mineral wealth
with the people who'd been here
00:07:11.06\00:07:13.66
for thousands of
years? No, they were not.
00:07:13.66\00:07:18.43
If this was the Lucky Country,
then Aboriginals were the
00:07:18.43\00:07:21.54
unlucky ones. As
recently as the 1930s,
00:07:21.54\00:07:26.01
complaints from white parents
were enough to have Aboriginal
00:07:26.01\00:07:30.55
children forcibly removed
from schools, put on trucks,
00:07:30.55\00:07:35.68
and transported to
camps or reserves hundreds of
00:07:35.68\00:07:39.05
miles away. Less
than a hundred years ago.
00:07:39.05\00:07:45.36
Mate!
00:07:45.36\00:07:47.66
[sounds of crashing
waves] We've come to Red Rock,
00:07:53.57\00:07:57.07
just north of the city of
Coff's Harbor on the coast
00:07:57.07\00:08:00.04
of New South Wales.
This place, Red Rock,
00:08:00.04\00:08:02.64
is referred to by
some as "Blood Rock,"
00:08:02.64\00:08:06.01
and there's a good reason why.
00:08:06.01\00:08:08.52
In the 1880s, a group of white
European settlers pursued the
00:08:08.52\00:08:13.15
local Gumbaynggirr Aboriginals
right around this place.
00:08:13.15\00:08:18.06
The women hid in rushes by
the riverbank; the men swam
00:08:18.06\00:08:21.93
for their lives.
The men were shot.
00:08:21.93\00:08:25.53
It is said the river ran
red with their innocent blood.
00:08:25.53\00:08:31.84
An unprovoked attack.
How many died isn't really
00:08:31.84\00:08:35.08
known. Was anybody
brought to justice?
00:08:35.08\00:08:37.85
No. Absolutely not.
00:08:37.85\00:08:42.12
You will find hardly any
mention anywhere of the Red Rock
00:08:42.12\00:08:45.55
Massacre. It was
one of many that took
00:08:45.55\00:08:48.66
place here over the
years. It was business as usual.
00:08:48.66\00:08:54.00
So what then happens when
it's God doing the killing?
00:08:54.00\00:08:58.83
And this is a question that many
people have struggled with for
00:08:58.83\00:09:02.27
years and years and years.
We read in the Bible about God
00:09:02.27\00:09:05.24
wiping out entire
people groups, whole cities.
00:09:05.24\00:09:08.11
In fact, come to the time of the
Flood, and God killed everybody
00:09:08.11\00:09:12.35
on planet Earth with
the exception of only eight
00:09:12.35\00:09:17.02
people. People killing people;
00:09:17.02\00:09:19.95
that's terrible. God
commanded the eradication of
00:09:19.95\00:09:23.39
men and women and
the aged and children?
00:09:23.39\00:09:27.60
How do we reconcile
that? Let's take a look further
00:09:27.60\00:09:31.90
in just a moment. [music]
00:09:31.90\00:09:38.84
What is God like? The
answer offered in John 3:16
00:09:38.84\00:09:43.08
and throughout the
Bible is that God is love.
00:09:43.08\00:09:46.18
We also know that God is just.
But then, there's the concept of
00:09:46.18\00:09:50.15
sinners being burned on and
on at the hand of an angry God.
00:09:50.15\00:09:54.72
How are we
supposed to reconcile that?
00:09:54.72\00:09:57.43
Let me send you
our free booklet,
00:09:57.43\00:09:59.46
"Hellfire: Would
God Really Do That?"
00:09:59.46\00:10:02.50
Just call (800) 253-3000
and ask for your copy of
00:10:02.50\00:10:06.90
"Hellfire: Would
God Really Do That?"
00:10:06.90\00:10:10.07
Or write to It Is
Written, PO Box 6, Chattanooga,
00:10:10.07\00:10:13.68
Tennessee, 37401. We'll
mail a free copy to your
00:10:13.68\00:10:17.31
address in North America.
Again, our toll-free number is
00:10:17.31\00:10:20.85
(800) 253-3000.
00:10:20.85\00:10:24.09
[music] Thanks
for joining me today
00:10:25.55\00:10:35.50
on It Is Written.
I'm John Bradshaw,
00:10:35.50\00:10:38.23
on the north coast
of New South Wales,
00:10:38.23\00:10:40.94
in Australia. This
is the home of long,
00:10:40.94\00:10:44.27
golden beaches, warm weather,
and attractions like the
00:10:44.27\00:10:49.01
Big Banana, which
boasts a really big banana, and
00:10:49.01\00:10:54.65
the Big Bunch of Bananas.
It's also the site of some
00:10:54.65\00:10:57.92
tragic history.
Colonization saw European
00:10:57.92\00:11:01.09
settlers dispossess
the Aboriginal people and
00:11:01.09\00:11:04.53
commit atrocities
like the Red Rock Massacre.
00:11:04.53\00:11:08.00
Just a small massacre, really,
in the grand scheme of things.
00:11:08.00\00:11:11.37
And perhaps that's what
gets through to me about it.
00:11:11.37\00:11:14.50
Imagine, a massacre happening.
Real people losing their lives,
00:11:14.50\00:11:19.57
real families being devastated,
and communities being forever
00:11:19.57\00:11:23.65
altered. And not
really anyone ever
00:11:23.65\00:11:26.68
having heard about it.
Years ago, here at Red Rock,
00:11:26.68\00:11:31.92
many Gumbaynggirr Aboriginals
were massacred by white
00:11:31.92\00:11:34.89
settlers. Even
today, many Gumbaynggirr
00:11:34.89\00:11:37.49
won't come
anywhere near this place.
00:11:37.49\00:11:40.16
It was a terrible atrocity;
but is there a great obelisk
00:11:40.16\00:11:43.83
or a monument erected
in honor of the fallen?
00:11:43.83\00:11:47.47
No. Are there
commemorations held on
00:11:47.47\00:11:49.90
a certain date every year
about this terrible thing?
00:11:49.90\00:11:52.34
No. As a matter of fact,
00:11:52.34\00:11:54.08
read the history books
and you won't find much
00:11:54.08\00:11:56.04
written about the Red Rock
or the "Blood Rock" Massacre,
00:11:56.04\00:11:58.91
because it's just one of many
atrocities perpetrated against
00:11:58.91\00:12:02.95
the indigenous
people of this country.
00:12:02.95\00:12:05.29
And, as a matter of fact--
and I say this with respect
00:12:05.29\00:12:08.12
to the dead and their
families and their people--
00:12:08.12\00:12:12.09
if you compare it to other
massacres around the world,
00:12:12.09\00:12:15.40
what took place here just
about pales into insignificance.
00:12:15.40\00:12:19.07
We think of Adolph Hitler,
and the gassing of the Jews,
00:12:19.07\00:12:23.10
and the Holocaust
during World War II.
00:12:23.10\00:12:25.34
But then think of Joseph Stalin,
who killed many more millions
00:12:25.34\00:12:28.54
of people than did Hitler.
We could think of Pol Pot and
00:12:28.54\00:12:32.08
the Killing Fields of
Cambodia. Idi Amin and Uganda,
00:12:32.08\00:12:35.35
the genocide in
Rwanda, or even terrible events
00:12:35.35\00:12:38.65
like the St. Bartholomew's
Day Massacre, and all kinds
00:12:38.65\00:12:42.12
of killings perpetrated
in the name of religion.
00:12:42.12\00:12:45.93
Those were colossal, and we
think about those and we say,
00:12:45.93\00:12:50.33
"How in the world?"
But that's what people do.
00:12:50.33\00:12:52.47
When people lose their
way and want what they want,
00:12:52.47\00:12:55.60
they're prepared to kill people.
00:12:55.60\00:12:57.47
And sometimes, they're prepared
to kill a lot of people.
00:12:57.47\00:13:02.11
But now, let's think for a
moment about the God of the
00:13:02.11\00:13:04.61
Bible, who killed not a city
or a nation, but at the time of
00:13:04.61\00:13:08.38
the global flood in Noah's day,
an entire planet filled with
00:13:08.38\00:13:12.55
people, with the
exception of eight souls.
00:13:12.55\00:13:16.62
And people say,
"How could God do that?
00:13:16.62\00:13:19.36
"How could God kill defenseless
women and children and elderly
00:13:19.36\00:13:24.23
people? How?"
00:13:24.23\00:13:25.83
One television host referred to
God as a tyrant, and said that
00:13:25.83\00:13:30.44
God was nothing more than
a psychopathic mass murderer.
00:13:30.44\00:13:34.11
[music] But
that's a fair question.
00:13:34.11\00:13:37.55
Why would God do that?
Here at Blood Rock maybe dozens
00:13:37.55\00:13:42.48
were killed; but God has
killed thousands and thousands
00:13:42.48\00:13:47.76
of thousands of
people, wiped off the face of
00:13:47.76\00:13:50.86
the Earth. How is that fair?
00:13:50.86\00:13:54.20
Well, the Bible
says that God is love.
00:13:54.20\00:13:57.63
So can a God of love do that?
And when you get to the end
00:13:57.63\00:14:01.94
of the story, the Bible has
God wiping out a planet full
00:14:01.94\00:14:06.14
of people in the lake of fire.
Why did God order the killing of
00:14:06.14\00:14:11.65
so many people in the Bible?
Why was God able to destroy the
00:14:11.65\00:14:16.55
Earth with a global
flood in Noah's day?
00:14:16.55\00:14:19.92
And how do we get our minds
around God destroying the world,
00:14:19.92\00:14:23.32
virtually everyone in
it, in Earth's last days,
00:14:23.32\00:14:27.76
in the lake of fire?
Not understanding this has
00:14:27.76\00:14:30.60
caused a lot of people to
lose their faith in the Bible,
00:14:30.60\00:14:33.40
or to fail to accept the Bible
as any kind of meaningful part
00:14:33.40\00:14:37.14
of their life. So
let's look into this a
00:14:37.14\00:14:39.21
little more deeply.
We'll go to First Samuel,
00:14:39.21\00:14:41.34
chapter 15. The
prophet Samuel is talking
00:14:41.34\00:14:44.21
to King Saul.
We'll start in verse 3.
00:14:44.21\00:14:47.55
He says, "Now go
and smite Amalek,
00:14:47.55\00:14:51.25
and utterly destroy all that
they have, and spare them not.
00:14:51.25\00:14:55.89
But slay both man and woman,
infant and suckling, ox and
00:14:55.89\00:15:00.90
sheep, camel and
ass." Verses 8 and 9 say,
00:15:00.90\00:15:06.00
"And he [that's Saul] took Agag,
the king of the Amalekites,
00:15:06.00\00:15:11.14
alive, and utterly destroyed
all the people with the edge
00:15:11.14\00:15:15.08
of the sword. But
Saul and the people spared
00:15:15.08\00:15:18.51
Agag and the best of the sheep,
and of the oxen, and of the
00:15:18.51\00:15:23.42
fattlings, and the lands, and
all that was good, and would not
00:15:23.42\00:15:28.19
utterly destroy them. But
everything that was vile and
00:15:28.19\00:15:32.39
refuse, that they
utterly destroyed."
00:15:32.39\00:15:36.53
And Samuel was not amused.
Verse 18: "The Lord sent you on
00:15:36.53\00:15:41.77
a journey and said,'Go and
utterly destroy the sinners,
00:15:41.77\00:15:46.64
the Amalekites, and
fight against them until they
00:15:46.64\00:15:49.88
be consumed.'
Wherefore then didst thou not
00:15:49.88\00:15:53.21
obey the voice of the Lord,
but didst fly upon the spoil
00:15:53.21\00:15:56.92
and didst evil in
the sight of the Lord."
00:15:56.92\00:16:00.79
He then compared Saul's
stubbornness to witchcraft,
00:16:00.79\00:16:04.36
and told him, in verse 23,
"Because thou hast rejected
00:16:04.36\00:16:08.40
the word of the Lord,
he hath also rejected thee
00:16:08.40\00:16:12.67
from being king."
Now, if you want to make an
00:16:12.67\00:16:16.24
honest attempt to understand
this, you have to consider
00:16:16.24\00:16:18.57
the big picture. And I
think I need to say this:
00:16:18.57\00:16:21.68
Even as you consider the big
picture, this is still serious
00:16:21.68\00:16:24.48
stuff. We're
still talking about the
00:16:24.48\00:16:26.48
loss of life here, and the
loss of life on a massive scale.
00:16:26.48\00:16:30.99
God created a perfect
Earth. It was Adam and Eve who
00:16:30.99\00:16:36.06
willingly chose to sin and
plunged the earth into sin,
00:16:36.06\00:16:41.43
and everything
that sin brought along.
00:16:41.43\00:16:43.50
But it was God who
said, here's what I will do.
00:16:43.50\00:16:46.97
I will bear the brunt of
your freefall into catastrophe,
00:16:46.97\00:16:51.64
and I'll allow Jesus to
come and die for your sins,
00:16:51.64\00:16:56.28
so there would be a way
back for you from sin to life.
00:16:56.28\00:17:01.12
Now, if you're keeping
score, that's God 1, humanity 0.
00:17:01.12\00:17:07.92
And so then God
called to the human family.
00:17:07.92\00:17:10.13
The Bible says, when you
read in Genesis 6 and verse 5,
00:17:10.13\00:17:13.43
that by the time the flood came,
every thought of the human heart
00:17:13.43\00:17:18.03
was -- and I'm quoting now
-- "only evil continually."
00:17:18.03\00:17:23.64
So is this God's
fault? No, it is not.
00:17:23.64\00:17:26.01
Human beings chose to sin.
God called to the human family,
00:17:26.01\00:17:28.94
come to Me, there's a way
out. Come to Me, there's life.
00:17:28.94\00:17:33.45
But we didn't, did we? At
least, our forebears didn't
00:17:33.45\00:17:36.72
come to God to
receive life at that time.
00:17:36.72\00:17:39.85
And before very long, there
were a lot of profoundly wicked
00:17:39.85\00:17:44.56
people populating planet
Earth. I'll be right back.
00:17:44.56\00:17:49.60
[soft piano music]
[sound of waves crashing]
00:17:50.40\00:18:04.18
"Every Word" is a one-minute,
Bible-based daily devotional,
00:18:05.81\00:18:09.12
presented by Pastor John
Bradshaw and designed especially
00:18:09.12\00:18:12.09
for busy people like
you. Look for "Every Word"
00:18:12.09\00:18:15.56
on selected
networks, or watch it online
00:18:15.56\00:18:17.79
every day on our
website, ItIsWritten.com.
00:18:17.79\00:18:21.56
[music]
00:18:22.20\00:18:26.00
They called him the
most hated man in America.
00:18:27.67\00:18:30.11
He was the CEO of a drug company
that raised the price of a drug
00:18:30.11\00:18:33.04
from $13 to $700 a
dose, close enough to a
00:18:33.04\00:18:37.65
5,000-percent increase.
He said that there was no way
00:18:37.65\00:18:41.28
they'd reduce the price.
And then, a day later, he
00:18:41.28\00:18:43.35
changed his mind and said
the price would come down,
00:18:43.35\00:18:45.49
and more happened after that.
00:18:45.49\00:18:48.32
Of course, the company said
they were raising the price for
00:18:48.32\00:18:50.29
the noblest of
reasons: money for research.
00:18:50.29\00:18:52.86
The drug had been underpriced.
And people said it was
00:18:52.86\00:18:55.40
just greed. Proverbs 15:27 says,
00:18:55.40\00:18:58.70
"He who is greedy for
gain troubles his own house."
00:18:58.70\00:19:03.54
There's a fine line between
having enough and doing well,
00:19:03.54\00:19:06.54
and then there's a line
between doing well and greed.
00:19:06.54\00:19:10.18
Greed isn't good for society;
it isn't good for individuals.
00:19:10.18\00:19:13.35
Sometimes winners can be
losers. I'm John Bradshaw for
00:19:13.35\00:19:18.15
It Is Written. Let's
live today by every word.
00:19:18.15\00:19:20.92
[sound of loud waves] [music]
00:19:22.49\00:19:43.81
This is It Is
Written. Thanks for joining me.
00:19:43.81\00:19:46.41
How do we reconcile
the idea of a God of love,
00:19:46.41\00:19:50.95
with the God who destroyed
the Earth with a flood,
00:19:50.95\00:19:54.56
wiped out entire people groups,
and is one day soon going to
00:19:54.56\00:19:59.23
destroy the Earth
again in a lake of fire?
00:19:59.23\00:20:03.10
Let's understand this about
God: God calls people to repent.
00:20:03.10\00:20:08.84
He saved from Sodom and
Gomorrah everyone He could save.
00:20:08.84\00:20:12.54
The rest were given over to sin,
and there was no coming back
00:20:12.54\00:20:16.61
for them. God
sent Jonah to Nineveh,
00:20:16.61\00:20:19.85
an amazingly sinful place,
because He knew there were
00:20:19.85\00:20:23.45
people there who would respond.
00:20:23.45\00:20:25.79
God preserved the
life of King Manasseh,
00:20:25.79\00:20:28.16
unfathomably wicked,
and Manasseh repented and
00:20:28.16\00:20:31.79
was saved. And
think about Nebuchadnezzar
00:20:31.79\00:20:34.73
in Babylon: cruel, a
killer, an idol worshiper.
00:20:34.73\00:20:40.80
But God reached out
to him and saved him.
00:20:40.80\00:20:45.34
God never destroyed
anybody who would have repented.
00:20:47.38\00:20:51.31
In fact, it was out of mercy
to that person, and out of mercy
00:20:51.31\00:20:55.98
to the world, that
God destroyed the wicked.
00:20:55.98\00:20:59.42
If God had not destroyed
the wicked, the Earth would have
00:20:59.42\00:21:03.39
been entirely overrun with sin.
In removing the wicked at the
00:21:03.39\00:21:08.30
time of the flood, what God
was doing was given you and me
00:21:08.30\00:21:12.40
the opportunity to be saved.
You see, now God could bring
00:21:12.40\00:21:17.87
Jesus into the world.
Without destroying the wicked,
00:21:17.87\00:21:21.81
there more than likely
would have been no Mary to find,
00:21:21.81\00:21:25.05
to give birth to the Son of
God. There wouldn't have been a
00:21:25.05\00:21:28.15
Joseph anywhere, who
could have raised God's Son here
00:21:28.15\00:21:31.79
on the Earth. So God
destroyed the unrepentant
00:21:31.79\00:21:37.19
before the world was completely
devoured by sin and sinfulness.
00:21:37.19\00:21:44.77
Now, back to the Amalekites.
God told King Saul that Israel
00:21:47.84\00:21:51.44
must wipe out the Amalekites.
And why did He do that?
00:21:51.44\00:21:55.28
Because if they didn't,
the Amalekites would have wiped
00:21:55.28\00:21:59.11
out Israel. This was
a protective measure.
00:21:59.11\00:22:02.68
The Amalekites, by the
way, were not the Girl Scouts.
00:22:02.68\00:22:06.29
These people
were champions of sin.
00:22:06.29\00:22:10.33
They were full of wickedness.
So, if Israel didn't wipe out
00:22:10.33\00:22:14.83
the Amalekites, the Amalekites
would have eradicated Israel.
00:22:14.83\00:22:19.17
This was survival. Now,
fast forward to the story
00:22:19.17\00:22:23.67
you read in the book of Esther.
You read about a man named
00:22:23.67\00:22:26.34
Haman. Haman
convinced the king to sign
00:22:26.34\00:22:30.18
a law ordering the
extermination of the Jews.
00:22:30.18\00:22:33.98
Every Jew in the
kingdom was facing eradication.
00:22:33.98\00:22:38.99
Death. Because of who?
00:22:38.99\00:22:41.06
Because of Haman.
And who was Haman?
00:22:41.06\00:22:44.26
The Bible says Haman was the son
of Hammedatha, the Jews' enemy.
00:22:44.26\00:22:50.37
He was the son of
Hammedatha, the Agagite.
00:22:50.37\00:22:54.20
Now, if God's people
had wiped out their enemies,
00:22:54.20\00:22:58.41
there wouldn't
have been a Haman.
00:22:58.41\00:23:01.34
If God's people had wiped
out their enemies, Israel would
00:23:01.34\00:23:05.51
have avoided this
crisis of their existence.
00:23:05.51\00:23:08.68
You see, there were good reasons
for doing what God wanted done.
00:23:08.68\00:23:14.72
[music] Now, don't get me wrong.
00:23:15.72\00:23:24.93
I'm not rubbing my
hands together with glee,
00:23:24.93\00:23:27.34
cheering on the God
who wipes out cities and
00:23:27.34\00:23:31.07
kills old ladies
and little children.
00:23:31.07\00:23:33.71
I'm not trying to defend God for
wiping out nations and people
00:23:33.71\00:23:38.25
groups and so forth. I
don't mean that, but looking
00:23:38.25\00:23:41.45
at this dispassionately, and
looking at this analytically,
00:23:41.45\00:23:47.06
what we find is that God is
not cruel and that God is not
00:23:47.06\00:23:52.19
a tyrant. In order
to protect His people,
00:23:52.19\00:23:56.06
He saw to it that other
people were stopped, in order to
00:23:56.06\00:24:00.07
preserve a place
where Messiah could come.
00:24:00.07\00:24:03.77
He saw to it that there was
an environment in which that
00:24:03.77\00:24:06.41
could happen. In
order to make sure that
00:24:06.41\00:24:08.71
Jesus could come at all
-- imagine if all Israel had
00:24:08.71\00:24:12.48
been wiped out -- God
did what He had to do.
00:24:12.48\00:24:15.58
Why? Simply
because He was jealous
00:24:15.58\00:24:17.12
for His people? No!
00:24:17.12\00:24:18.92
Maybe some of that, but more so
because He was jealous for you.
00:24:18.92\00:24:23.29
God wanted to save you.
And if thousands of years ago
00:24:23.29\00:24:28.03
His people were overrun and sin
engulfed and swallowed up the
00:24:28.03\00:24:32.70
world, that would
never happen. Was it serious?
00:24:32.70\00:24:35.84
Oh, it was serious.
Stopping lives, ending lives,
00:24:35.84\00:24:39.64
wiping out civilizations,
flooding the earth--
00:24:39.64\00:24:42.31
that was serious. But
if God had not, wickedness
00:24:42.31\00:24:45.41
would have run such a course,
we just wouldn't be able to
00:24:45.41\00:24:48.12
imagine it. These
were really wicked people.
00:24:48.12\00:24:51.09
God talked about these
people who were idol worshipers;
00:24:51.09\00:24:53.92
they were flagrantly immoral.
They were sacrificing their own
00:24:53.92\00:24:58.33
children and doing other things
that we don't even need to talk
00:24:58.33\00:25:02.46
about. And God
stopped that before sin
00:25:02.46\00:25:05.43
just ran away even
further than it did.
00:25:05.43\00:25:08.27
You've heard the question asked,
would it have been better to
00:25:08.27\00:25:10.91
stop Hitler before he developed
into the tyrant and mass
00:25:10.91\00:25:15.68
murderer that he developed into?
Or, would it be better to just
00:25:15.68\00:25:18.98
let history run its course?
Most people wouldn't think too
00:25:18.98\00:25:22.88
long before saying, if we could
have stopped Hitler, that would
00:25:22.88\00:25:25.02
have been the right thing to do.
And God stopped a lot of evil
00:25:25.02\00:25:28.02
and a lot of wickedness before
it just got way out of hand.
00:25:28.02\00:25:32.39
Unfair? No.
00:25:32.39\00:25:33.76
Tyrannical? No.
00:25:33.76\00:25:35.33
Serious? Sure.
00:25:35.33\00:25:37.33
Just absolutely,
justice was served.
00:25:37.33\00:25:39.97
But there's no way we can charge
God with acting reprehensibly.
00:25:39.97\00:25:44.24
There's no way we can say
that God was out of control.
00:25:44.24\00:25:46.51
There's no way we can
say he was a, a tyrant.
00:25:46.51\00:25:48.91
Everything God does,
He does out of love--
00:25:48.91\00:25:52.38
even ending the lives
of the unrepentant wicked.
00:25:52.38\00:25:57.89
God is love, and everything
we read about in the Bible,
00:25:57.89\00:26:00.79
as serious as it seems,
is a manifestation of God's
00:26:00.79\00:26:03.86
love for the human
family and God's love for you.
00:26:03.86\00:26:08.03
Come on, now, let's not
lose sight of what's really
00:26:08.03\00:26:10.33
important in this. And
that is, God offers the gift
00:26:10.33\00:26:12.50
of salvation to the world.
Today, God's asking you if you
00:26:12.50\00:26:16.07
would accept this
gift of salvation.
00:26:16.07\00:26:18.17
If you've not done
so, you can do so now.
00:26:18.17\00:26:20.38
If you've not been sure how
to relate to this God of heaven,
00:26:20.38\00:26:23.81
you can understand now
that God is a good God.
00:26:23.81\00:26:26.01
Everything He's done is good,
gracious, loving, merciful.
00:26:26.01\00:26:30.72
And you want to be the child of
a merciful God who will shine on
00:26:30.72\00:26:33.92
you, and smile on you,
and shower His grace upon you.
00:26:33.92\00:26:38.53
Can you respond
to that God today?
00:26:38.53\00:26:40.66
The God who has done everything
He could to give you the
00:26:40.66\00:26:43.90
opportunity to be
present in this moment and hear
00:26:43.90\00:26:48.44
His voice. Would
you respond to that God
00:26:48.44\00:26:51.44
today and open up your heart
to Him, and invite Jesus to
00:26:51.44\00:26:54.78
be the Lord of your
life? Let's pray together.
00:26:54.78\00:26:58.21
Our Father in heaven, we look
at the Bible and we have to come
00:26:58.21\00:27:02.02
away saying God is love.
There are some passages that
00:27:02.02\00:27:04.92
challenge us. You
knew they would, and You
00:27:04.92\00:27:08.66
allowed them to be written,
believing that if we have
00:27:08.66\00:27:12.86
an encounter with You,
if we will look for the
00:27:12.86\00:27:16.20
true God, we will see
a picture of a God who
00:27:16.20\00:27:19.73
loved the world.
Friend, would you respond to
00:27:19.73\00:27:23.54
Jesus and invite
Him into your heart?
00:27:23.54\00:27:25.17
Even now, just pray,
Lord, come into my life.
00:27:25.17\00:27:27.14
Would you do that?
Jesus, come into my life.
00:27:27.14\00:27:30.58
God of heaven, be my
God. Heavenly Father, I offer
00:27:30.58\00:27:34.12
you my heart. Lord,
we do that together,
00:27:34.12\00:27:36.62
we do so gladly, and
we pray confidently today
00:27:36.62\00:27:40.76
in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:27:40.76\00:27:45.89
[music]
00:27:46.83\00:27:56.27
What is God like? The
answer offered in John 3:16
00:27:59.17\00:28:03.24
and throughout the
Bible is that God is love.
00:28:03.24\00:28:06.15
We also know that God is just.
But then, there's the concept of
00:28:06.15\00:28:10.12
sinners being burned on and
on at the hand of an angry God.
00:28:10.12\00:28:14.56
How are we
supposed to reconcile that?
00:28:14.56\00:28:17.39
And most everybody's wondered
about being in heaven while
00:28:17.39\00:28:20.33
their loved ones
burned on and on in hell.
00:28:20.33\00:28:23.16
This topic is so very important.
Let me send you our free
00:28:23.16\00:28:26.23
booklet, "Hellfire:
Would God Really Do That?"
00:28:26.23\00:28:30.11
Just call (800) 253-3000 and
ask for your copy of "Hellfire:
00:28:30.11\00:28:35.54
Would God Really Do That?"
If the line's busy, please do
00:28:35.54\00:28:39.55
try again, or write to
It Is Written, PO Box 6,
00:28:39.55\00:28:43.62
Chattanooga, TN 37401.
We'll mail a free copy to your
00:28:43.62\00:28:47.79
address in North America.
It Is Written is a faith-based
00:28:47.79\00:28:51.33
ministry, and your support
makes it possible for us to
00:28:51.33\00:28:54.46
share God's good
news with the world.
00:28:54.46\00:28:57.10
Your tax-deductible gift can
be sent to the address on your
00:28:57.10\00:28:59.93
screen, or through our
website at ItIsWritten.com.
00:28:59.93\00:29:03.97
Thank you for your
continued prayerful support.
00:29:03.97\00:29:06.94
Again, our toll-free number
is (800) 253-3000, and our web
00:29:06.94\00:29:11.58
address is ItIsWritten.com.
00:29:11.58\00:29:15.38
[music] Thanks
for joining me today.
00:29:16.28\00:29:18.25
I look forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:29:18.25\00:29:20.36
Until then remember, it
is written: man shall not
00:29:20.36\00:29:24.33
live by bread alone but
by every word that proceeds
00:29:24.33\00:29:29.03
from the mouth of God.
00:29:29.03\00:29:31.17
[music]
00:29:31.83\00:29:44.95