made my door Amen. People of God, let's come to our scripture reading this morning. First, before we turn to 1 Samuel, we're going to turn to Exodus chapter 17. Exodus chapter 17. We have in 1 Samuel a passage about devotion to destruction. The idea which is seen almost always in the Old Testament with relation to the conquest of the promised land, especially in the book of Joshua. And so there's important historical setting all the way back in that time, in the time of the wilderness wandering, in the time of coming towards the promised land, When, in other words, when we come to a passage about the severe judicial act of God to devote a people to destruction, it doesn't come out of nowhere. It is something which comes in the context of God's people and those who have battled against and been a threat against God's people and their entrance into the promised land. And so we're gonna read from Exodus chapter 17 beginning at verse eight. And then we're also gonna read into chapter 18 all the way to verse 12. And the reason why we do that will become clear even towards the end of our sermon. Exodus chapter 17 beginning at verse eight. Then Amalek came and fought with Israel. at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, choose for us men and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses told him and fought with Amalek while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. And whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat on it while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, the Lord is my banner, saying, a hand upon the throne of the Lord, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people. how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom, for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land, and the name of the other Eleazar, for he said, the God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the mountain of God. And when he sent word to Moses, I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her, Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake and all the hardship that had come upon them in the way and how the Lord had delivered them. And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Jethro said, blessed be the Lord who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods. because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people. And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God. And Aaron came with the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God. Then we'll turn, people of God, now to our text, having some of the details. There is more traced through Exodus and Deuteronomy and Joshua and even Judges, but that is the key account leading up to 1 Samuel chapter 14 and into chapter 15. So we'll read 1 Samuel 14, verse 47, through 15, verse nine. 14, beginning at verse 47. When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he routed them. And he did valiantly instruct the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who had plundered them. Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malkishua. And the names of his two daughters were these. The name of the firstborn was Merib, and the name of the younger, Michael. And the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Himaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle. Kish was the father of Saul and Nur, the father of Abner, was the son of Abiel. There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he attached him to himself. And Samuel said to Saul, the Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have done. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, 200,000 men on foot, 200,000 men on foot and 10,000 men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, go depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Hivalah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag, the king of the Amalekites, alive, and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the ox, and of the fatted calves, and of the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless, they devoted to destruction. So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are some conversations which we might call light conversations. So for example, two people might talk about their favorite meals or how to prepare their favorite meals or what kind of kitchen utensils are good in preparing certain meals. This would be a light conversation. You are not discussing heavy things. It is an easy conversation. Now there's nothing at all wrong with light conversations. We don't need to talk about heavy things all the time. That would, in one sense, probably wear us out. But it would be wrong to avoid heavy things altogether. In fact, when we think about the heavy topic of God's destruction of enemies in the Old Testament, we are explicitly told in Psalm 78, not only that we are to talk about these things, but that we're to talk about them to our children and to teach them from one generation to the next. And certainly, Devotion to destruction and death and judgment and sin, these are all heavy subjects. But scripture does not avoid them. Scripture speaks of them. Scripture reminds us to continue to speak about them and teach about them. Scripture shows us what death is, why death is. even as it surely shows us where life comes from. And so our theme this morning is this, that following the way of this world is to follow the way of death. And we're gonna look first at war against the enemies of God, and then destruction upon the enemies of God, and then third, preservation amidst destruction. So the first thing we see in our text is a list of the enemies of God in 14 verses 47 and then highlighted in verse 48 is the Amalekites anticipating what is to come in the following verses. And we notice here that there are threats against the people of God in every direction. The kings of Zobah were in the north, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites were on the eastern border. The Philistines were the thorn in the western side of Israel and the Amalekites lived in the deserts to the south of the promised land. Thankfully, even in his rebellion, the prideful rebellion of Saul, yet God will use Saul mightily to fight against these enemies. He did valiantly. Verse 48, we might think of the words of David upon hearing that Saul passed and how David speaks about how the sword of Saul was used mightily. We might say, Here is another reminder that God can use rebels to help to preserve his people. And so Saul continues to serve this useful purpose. We see these enemies, they're all around. Now they are all on the borders of Israel. And so the nations mentioned here, the focus is not upon the Canaanite peoples, indeed, None of these nations listed are Canaanite nations. They are all nations, with the exception of the Philistines, related to the Israelites. They are all relatives to one degree or another. The kings of Zobah are Arameans. Who is Arameans? Well, that means they're from Noah, through Noah's son Shem, through Shem's son Aram. Aram is also that same line continues down and gives us the Israelites and so Jacob at one point in the book of Deuteronomy is called a wandering Aramean. These are cousins. but this is going back many generations. The Moabites and Ammonites are closer. They're descendants of Lot, that is Abraham's nephew. And so they are closer relatives also through Shem and Aram, but also through Terah, the father of Abraham. Then there's the Edomites. Now we're not so distant cousins at all. Not only are they descendants of Shem and Aram and Terah, they are descendants of Abraham. The Edomites are descendants of Abraham through Esau. Esau, who was a good businessman with a huge estate, who was a nice guy, who embraced Jacob instead of killing him. But Esau, who finally had no regard for the greater blessing and turned away from the one true God, even being a direct descendant of Abraham, The Amalekites, we don't have as many details, but they may be a sub-tribe of the Edomites. They may also be descendants of Esau. Esau had a grandson named Amalek, and they may be descended from there, so then they too. would be closer cousins of the Israelites. The Philistines are the exception to the general pattern. In the Old Testament, we know the ancestors of almost every people group mentioned, the Philistines we do not know. But none of these are Canaanites. And what does this family history teach us? What is useful for us to know about this? Well, there are certainly a few things we learn just from this list itself. First, while the Canaanites were long ago marked out for judgment, even as Canaan was the product of the rebellious son of Noah, and anyone who continued in the idolatrous ways of their fellow Canaanites would be judged, it is possible for those who come from more faithful roots to fall away as well. See, people of God, your genealogy, it is important in the Old Testament. It is important in the New Testament. You cannot be baptized, you cannot receive the sign of the covenant unless you have at least one parent who is a believer. But your genealogy then, your genealogy now cannot save. And when we see that these are all descendants of Shem and some are even descendants of Abraham, and yet they are all enemies of God because they have rebelled against God and followed their rebellious ancestors, we are reminded of that plainly and clearly. Your genealogy does not save you. Your growing up in the church does not save you. Then and now, generation by generation, you must turn to God. repenting of sin and trusting in God alone for salvation, who gave that salvation through his son, Jesus Christ. So that is one thing we learn by considering that these are not Canaanites, but they are cousins of the Israelites. The second thing is that when there is a falling away, it can have a massive impact. We tend to think in terms of the here and now. We tend to think in terms of our own day. We don't tend to think forward. Certainly, we don't tend to think forward what will happen hundreds of years from now. But while God can certainly bring forth an obedient son from a disobedient father, even as Jonathan has just been an example of that, Even as God is often pleased to bring back the wandering sons, it may be that one rebellious generation could be the birth of a nation of rebellion. Do you see that in the life of Esau? He forsakes God, it does not only impact him, it impacts as a threat against the people of God for centuries. What does this tell us? Sin can have massive impact. Sin can carry consequences for hundreds of years. Do we think of sin and falling away from God in such a way? Certainly on a personal level, anyone who falls away from sin is judged not just for centuries, but eternally. Sin is a serious thing and it can carry very serious consequences. We see a slightly more narrow version of this in verse 52. The Philistines remained enemies all the days of Saul. How different might things have been if Saul had not made his proud vow and stayed in his proud vow, and if the miraculously panicked army of the Philistines had been routed by well-fed Israelites. That one day, that one sin that he stubbornly hung on to, and what does it lead to? It leads to the Philistines remaining a thorn in the side of the Israelites all of his days and past his days. Once again, we see sin can have a massive impact. One sin, one serious sin. One time, a husband, a wife is unfaithful. Can that one sin have serious consequences? One time, A rebellious youth living in that rebellion harms himself and or others. Can that one sin have serious consequences? Any sin against the holiness of God for which we do not repent or trust in God alone as our Savior has what? Eternal consequences. Sin is a serious thing. And we must repent and see that only in Jesus Christ can any sin be washed clean. Only in Jesus Christ can the murderer who stands in the stoning of Stephen and who is pursuing the people of God and persecuting them be turned into an agent of righteousness. Only by the grace of Jesus Christ can your sins, which do have massive and serious consequences, be wiped clean. Now to consider more things that this list of nation teaches us, we need to consider not only their genealogy, but also their history. And that takes us into our second point as we focus in on the Amalekites. Destruction upon the enemies of God. Samuel comes to Saul. in the beginning of chapter 15, and he reminds Saul that God is king, the Lord of hosts. Now, host, it's often used in the Old Testament to speak of God as being the God over the angelic host. It's sometimes used to refer to God as the God who created the starry host. Here, it's used, as it sometimes is, to refer to the host, the army, so the word could actually be translated, the army of Israel. In other words, Samuel's coming to Saul and saying, I want you to do something not for you, not for any material gain, not for the nation, but acting as the commander on earth of the army of God. I want you to take God's army and be used as his agent for justice. on this earth. This is not something that came out of nowhere. This is something for which the Amalekites have been marked for a long time, even going back to Exodus chapter 17. And this is not something for the people of Israel to do on their own for their own benefit in any way, which is to anticipate what we'll speak about more next week, why it's so serious that they keep things for themselves. This is to be a judicial act of God carried out by His army. So many people are tempted to call God unfair at this moment. The same people who, if an earthly judge allowed a murderer, though convicted of his guilt, to walk free, would call that earthly judge a fool. People of God, this is a judicial act of God. It is to be a devotion to destruction Who is it being devoted to? It's being devoted to God. It is to be His justice carried out against the Amalekites. The Amalekites who, so long ago, battled against the Israelites from even getting into the Promised Land. Basically, there are not many of these commands in the Old Testament. Basically, all of them are about the conquest of the promised land and directed against the Canaanites who had filled up their wickedness and would keep the Israelites from obtaining that promised land. This is basically the only non-Canaanite nation. The other nations around the fringes were sometimes even specifically allowed to exist, but this nation Because they were a threat and they sought to keep Israel out of the promised land is marked out as well. This is the Amalekites. This has not come out of nowhere. This is centuries in the making. This is what God commanded Joshua to do, but Joshua failed to do earlier. And they've remained in their rebellion. They are plunderers. In Judges we are told that they plunder on their camels. They are from the south and so it's not surprising that the army of Judah is specifically mentioned as being part of the force which will go out to defeat them in verse 4. We get a couple of details about what they do. They are plunderers, and judges were told that they ride on their camels. In verse 33, which we'll read next week, we read that they made many mothers childless, which is most likely implying that when they went on their pillaging raids, they would have no regard for anything that was in their way, or any person of any age who was in their way. This is the people God is devoting to destruction. Now, when we think of a camel, we might think of a funny creature. If I ask my three-year-old, what do you think about a camel? She's probably going to say, it's that funny creature with a hump on its back. And it's not just three-year-olds, it's probably Many of us of any age probably think the same thing. Camels are kind of funny. Now what would a five-year-old or a 10-year-old or a 40-year-old in Judah say when you mention a camel? They wouldn't think of a funny creature. The answer of a five-year-old in Judah would not be, that's a funny creature. The answer would be fear. If you are 10 years old and you live in Judah right next to these pillaging raiders who come in on their camels, that animal is going to be associated with fear and with death. We might say it this way. When the camels are specifically mentioned at the end of verse 3 to be part of the devotion to destruction, we can understand that. that makes sense. They are used as part of the agents of destruction by these people who have been against the people of God in horribly destructive ways for a long, long time. Now, the camels are easy to understand. But why the children? Because all of the Amalekites are to be wiped out. All of their belongings, all of their descendants. The camels is easy. That part is not so easy. I'm gonna read from two chapters, one Old Testament, chapter in one New Testament chapter, Ezekiel chapter 33. If you would turn there with me, Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 11. Remember that sin is a serious thing. Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 11. Say to them, as long as I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Spiritual death and physical death can come with sin. God does not delight in this, but God is a just judge. Now you say, we still haven't answered the children part. Romans chapter five, let's turn to Romans chapter five. It is true that genealogy does not save in the Old or New Testament, but it is true that there is a federal headship, which is seen especially in Adam, and then especially in Christ, but it's reflected also within family units and within nations, especially in the Old Testament. The way it's carried on in nations is not exactly the same in the New Testament. In Adam, all have sinned. All stand worthy of judgment. He's the federal head of the human race. And it's not exactly the same, but there's a picture of that federal headship within a family and within the Old Testament nations. The whole nation is guilty, from the oldest to the youngest. Is federal headship fair? How can that be fair? People of God, we are all sinners, but here is the fairness of federal headship. Romans 5, verse 18. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Verse 21, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. This is the fairness of federal headship in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. If you do not turn back, if you do not repent, you will die. And that is true. of all of us in Adam of any age. But if you are in Christ, your federal headship is under him. He becomes your new head. And that's true for your family. If even a young one who does not know who God is, because they don't know They don't know, they can't speak, but we ought not to doubt because God's promise is for you and your children. People of God, that's true in judgment for the Amalekites, but it's also true in the promise of life for all who have come through repentance to not be under Adam, but to be under Jesus Christ. That is the fairness of federal headship. We all deserve to die. But in Christ, we are all brought to life and we all have the promise of life. Though yes and amen, we must each embrace it for ourselves. Now, I knew this sermon would be a little longer, but it is important that we go through our third point because I'm going to give some historical details and I don't want to get lost in the details, but verse six is important. Then Saul said to the Kenites, go depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. Now, who are the Kenites? Judges 4 verse 11 tells us that the Kenites are the descendants of Jethro. the father-in-law of Moses. What is the act of kindness that they showed? It was Jethro going to Moses and the Israelites and caring for them when they were facing hardship in the wilderness. Exodus chapter 18 shows us that not only is Jethro kind, but Jethro also comes to worship the one true God, though he does not unite himself to the people of Israel. Israel is God's chosen people, there is no doubt. But there are examples of those who are saved, though they never join themselves to the Israelites. Melchizedek in the days of Abraham being the most famous example. The Assyrians who repent at the preaching of Jonah are another example. And the Kenites are an example of this. Jethro worshipped the one true God. That was about 400 years before this, about 400 years after 1 Samuel 15. Descendants of the Kenites called the Rechabites, because now 400 years have passed and they're a sub-tribe of the Kenites. Descendants of the Kenites, so Kenites now called Rechabites, are an example of faithfulness in the preaching of Jeremiah even though they're not part of the nation of Israel. What does this show us? What is this telling us? People of God, it's a reminder that God loves to show His wonderful and we might even say surprising grace. 1 Samuel 15 1-9 is not the easiest passage to read. We have a hard time understanding God's justice and the seriousness of sin and the absolute holiness of God. People of God, it's almost as though God knows that we are weak and knows because of our imperfect understanding it's going to be hard for us to read these verses. And so right in the middle, between the command to devote them to destruction and the devoting of them to destruction, we have preservation amidst destruction. We have those who are not even Israelites who are an example of true worshipers of God 400 years before this and 400 years after this and right here. Why do we have this verse? Because even in the middle of a section of God's word about devotion to destruction God wants to remind us of his preserving and saving grace. Even in a way that might be surprising to us we. Israel is God's special people that is who the Old Testament is focused on but God is saying even my Kenites will be saved and this is this is Saul When he is at his best David will follow the example of Saul David will intentionally not fight the Kenites And again, they will be an example of faithfulness even 400 years later and And in Jeremiah 35 verse 19, speaking about the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, the descendants of the Kenites, we read this, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall never lack a man to stand before me. Actually, in Jeremiah, it's serving almost the same purpose as it's serving here. Jeremiah is surrounded by wickedness, and God intentionally sends him to the Rechabites. He says, go, see, I still have my people. I will always have those who serve me and love me. God is the God of justice, and God can carry out that justice fairly, even if it's hard for us to understand all of that fairness. It's because God is holy. It's because sin is ugly. But God is not only the God of justice. God is also the God of amazing and sometimes, on human terms, surprising grace. But that is because God will bring anyone who repents to Him. Anyone who repents, God says, mine and my son died on the cross for your sins. Amen. Let us pray. Lord, God Almighty, you are not like man.