Today’s study opened by dealing with the often asked question, “If the God of the Bible is loving, why did he tell the Jews to kill every man woman and child in the land of Canaan and to then move in and take their land?”

God’s answer is very simple, because they were so wicked they needed to be judged.

In the rest of the chapter God makes it clear to the Jews who are about to enter and conquer the land that they too are stiff-necked and disobedient to the commands that God had given them on mount Sinai. But there sin had not yet reached that of those who were then living in Canaan.

We can see from the Bible, Old and New Testament, that we are all sinners and we all fall short of the glory of God, thus deserving judgment. But some people and cultures exceed others in their wickedness. As an act of love towards those who want to obey God and not be victimized by the wicked, God uses His judgment (in this case using the Jewish people) to rid the land of their influence. This love is not unlike a rabid dog being shot by its owner in order to save the pets and people in the neighborhood.

In an act of extreme love, God sent His only begotten Son into the world to take our judgment upon Himself so that He could give us His righteousness if we repent of our sinfulness against God and call upon the name of Jesus to be saved.

The associated notes and links are at the church’s website (calvarypo.org) under: sermon archives, Deuteronomy, For you are a Stiff-Necked People, Deuteronomy 9:1-29, April 3, 2022. Be sure to right-click and refresh your browser in order to see the newly posted info at the web site.

https://calvarypo.org/sermons/for-you-are-a-stiff-necked-people-deut-91-29/

Maranatha!