Thank you Pastor Skip for all the amazing teaching series. You are a great blessing this generation and for generations to come. Our prayers and blessings with you.
Thank you Pastor Skipp. Hearing your teachings are the highlight of my mornings after prayer. You have been with me through so much Pastor. I truly appreciate you and now I lift you up Amen.
Thanks Pastor Skip for another great teaching. Regarding God's command to Saul to wipe out the Amalekites - including their children - in verse 15:3 a few thoughts come to mind. First, as you said, God - as the Creator of all things and the Giver of all life - has the right to do whatever He pleases. In Deuteronomy 32:39 He says, "I kill and I make alive." About 2000 years earlier, He carried out a much larger extermination with the flood when He saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5). (Kind of like where the world is headed now...) Also, we try to bring Almighty God down to the level of human reason when God makes clear that "as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9). If we could understand God, He wouldn't be God! Human reason - which God gave us - needs to get on its knees and say, "Oh Lord, only thou knowest." Now the atheist will ask how can you believe in such an evil God? But the atheist has no ground to stand on, because in an atheistic and materialistic worldview, we are all just soulless bags of chemicals - pond scum that got lucky. Without God there is no absolute moral standard - there is no absolute good or evil. Good and evil and right and wrong are totally subjective. Everyone just does what's right in their own eyes (sound familiar?). In a materialistic universe, even love is just an illusion - the product of chemical reactions in the brain. Indeed, the entire universe is ultimately meaningless, because after it's all over, one can ask, "SO WHAT?!!". I also notice that many people who take issue with 15:3 don't seem overly concerned with the daily extermination of the 2000-3000 unborn innocents that take place in this country every day. Finally, one could argue that by killing the children, God actually saved them. How? Again, I'm just surmising (using human reason!) but because they had not reached the age of accountability, God would hold them innocent and grant them salvation. Just because He ordered them killed doesn't mean He also sent them to hell. If they had been allowed to live, they likely would have grown into vile murderous adults destined for hell. This is solely God's right, however, not human right! And again I say, "Oh Lord, only thou knowest!" But I do know God is far more concerned with our eternal souls than our temporary bodies. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Sorry for the long comment! God bless!
@@alyseceleste Hi Alyse. As you spread the "seed" (the word of God) just remember the parable of the sower that Jesus spoke in Matthew 13. Some seed will fall by the wayside, some on stony places, some among thorns, and some on good soil. Don't get discouraged when non-believers are not convinced. When Jesus sent out the 12 apostles (Matthew 10) He gave them power over demons and to heal disease and even raise the dead, and told them to preach the word. But He also knew that not everyone would believe and in that case to turn away and shake the dust off your feet. There are many rational justifications for the Christian faith and you can talk about the origin of the universe, intelligent design, etc. But many non-believers will remain unconvinced. There has to be an inward working of the Holy Spirit within the "inner shrine" of the person and that's only between the soul and God. God will often use pain and suffering as His tools to "ready the soil". Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.." (John 6:44). We can spread the seed, but God does the drawing and whether the seed takes root or not depends on the spiritual receptivity of the person. Even seeing is not always believing - there were some people who saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead and they still didn't believe in Him. They said it was a trick or that He performed miracles through the devil. God will hide Himself behind a "cloud of unknowing" from the proud and arrogant person, but reveal Himself to the humble helpless soul. Jesus said you have to receive the kingdom of God as a little child. God bless!
I was hoping that you would address not only the reason for God's judgement of the Amalikites but also the stumbling block for Christians and non- Christians alike, which is why God would order his own people to kill women and children. It appears to break the commandment against murder, and also makes soldiers possible victims of post traumatic stress syndrome, carrying such memories of killing women, children, and babies. It is the elephant in the room and should be talked about by Bible expositors.
