My text is found this morning in Joshua chapter 1. Joshua chapter 1, we'll be looking at verses 4 through 7. I'm sorry, judges. You know, I told you last week, it's kind of a continuation of Joshua. That's what caused me to say that. And in these verses, the initial battle was fought by a new commander. Joshua is dead now. And Judah had been appointed by God to go up for Israel. And before he even calls his troops to assemble, the Lord had already given him the land. He said, behold.

I've already given you the land. It's yours. You're going to go up, and you're going to fight, and blood's going to be spilt, but the battle's yours. I've given it to you. So let's read these verses together, and I'll do the best I can then to try to tell you what they mean. I'm over here in Judges chapter 1, verse 4. And the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went up with him. And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands.

And they slew them in Bezek 10,000 men. And they found Adonai Bezek in Bezek. And they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. And Adonai Bezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him. and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adonai Bezek said, threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table, as I have done, so God hath requited of me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

My subject this morning is the slaying of a sinner. That's what we're looking at. Slaying of a sinner. Now before we get into this rather bizarre lesson, let me see if I can establish the proper context of these verses. Israel, God's chosen people, have obtained their inheritance. Joshua gave them the land according to what Moses had spoken, according to Moses' word, according to God's promise. He'd given them the land by law. It belonged to them. They've obtained their inheritance, or at least what you would say the first fruits of it. And this is the sure promise of ownership.

But there's two problems. First of all, Joshua is dead. The man who led them across Jordan, that man appointed of God as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, died. He's not there anymore. You know, if you think about these two men, Moses and Joshua, it's astounding what the Lord did through these men. what he did for Israel and what he did in Israel by their hand.

It's just amazing. And I can't imagine what an emptiness they must have felt when he died. All my life, my dad took care of me. And I was married and established my own house. had a good job. I wasn't dependent on him anymore at all. But when he died, there was a big empty hole in my life. I realized, I guess for the first time, just how much he meant to me and how much I depended on him.

If you think about these men who had acted as a father to them by the hand of God, had led them by the hand out of Egypt, preserved them in the wilderness, caused them to cross over that flooded Jordan River, and then led them into battle where they won the victory.

But here's the problem. Joshua died. Our Lord was nailed to a wooden cross, hung out naked in that eastern sun until he gave up the ghost. And having finished the work he was sent to do, he said to his father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, And having said thus, he gave up the ghost. He died. He died.

And I know that those apostles felt that same emptiness when he died as Israel felt when Joshua died. They laid him in a borrowed tomb, and on the third day, as it was written of God, God raised him from the dead, and for more than a month, he continued to reveal himself to the saints, establishing his resurrection beyond question. And that's where Israel, the type of the believer is now in the book of Judges, what's being typified. Christ has died.

He's ascended. He's at the right hand of God. But there's no visible form. There's no man standing before them anymore. How will Israel go on without Joshua or Moses? That's problem number one. Problem number two is this. The enemy was still in the land.

They'd broken their reign. They broke their power. Their reign was taken from them, but the former occupants of the land still dwelt there. What happened in the fall? Sin entered, death passed. That's what the scripture said. What happened in time? Death passed upon all men for the dog's sin. And what will take place in that great day of the Lord? The last enemy shall be put down. He must reign until all enemies be put under his feet, and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. But not until that last day. That enemy still dwells in us, don't he?

That's the situation there. Christ is not standing here in person before you today. He's present here by his promise, I know that so. From time to time, he gives us times of refreshing, and we feel his presence, don't we? He makes himself known that he's here. But we know he's here by the promise of God. Where two or more gather together in my name, there am I in the midst. He's here.

We just don't see him. Says Joshua died, did he? God's saints don't die. They've already passed from death unto life. He's not dead. He's not dead, but his person is no longer standing there in the presence of Israel. In the meantime, sin still dwells in us, and the danger of the Canaanites rising up to an army to defeat Israel was no longer a threat. They were a defeated foe.

So why are they still permitted to dwell in Canaan? several reasons. Number one, because God's mystery of his elect being Gentiles is not yet revealed. That's one reason he left them there. Another reason is God's elect, his future, what we might say his future elect, those elect not known of men yet, are still be carrying in the seed of these men even though they might not be saved. They might be absolute enemies of God.

Terah was an idol worshiper, but he was the father of Abraham. He carried that seed, and God preserved him that way. And so it is with these Canaanites. Now, having said these things, let me say this. The account that we're reading and considering this morning has a twofold gospel application. First of all, it's to show us God's power over our enemies.

Nobody's going to get away from God. No enemy. I know I've done things in my past and thought as a fool, an unconverted fool, thought I got away with. You ain't getting away with anything. Now, you may not be confronted with it right now, but you're not getting away with anything.

As symbolic of our enemy, this man's name is significant. He calls himself Adonai Bezek. His name means Lord of Lightning or Lord of Light. And we can immediately see that this man is another counterfeit of Christ. That's what he is. He's trying to set himself up as a Christ, so to speak, as the king. And there's only one Lord of Light, and that's Christ. shooting stars or dying suns or whatever you want to call them, fallen suns, if you will, they shine for a second or two at night and then you see them disappear into darkness forever.

And Jude uses that to describe these men, these fallen men, who are counterfeits of our Lord. and God's enemies and so his people's enemies, their counterfeit priests and kings and prophets. Spirit of Antichrist is such that men under their influence, here's what it says about them over in 2 Thessalonians 2, they oppose and exalt themselves above all that's called God or that is worship. They sit on the throne as though they were God. They sit in that place of authority as though they were God.

And I know they don't realize that when they're doing it. What they call this is free will. Free will. I decide my destiny, not God. Well, then you're sitting on the throne As a pretender, are you not? As a counterfeit, you're saying I control these things when you don't. God controls these things. Not even a spell can fall to the ground without your father. He's in control of these things.

And the body being the temple and the heart the throne, they sit in charge of everything as though they were God. Is it not God's eternal sovereign grace and mercy that manifests His glory? That's the very thing that manifests His glory. And yet they want to take these things, steal these things from us, claim ownership of this land God gave to Israel. He allowed these people to live there, but they abused those things. They didn't worship God. They worshiped idols. They were heathens. And he gave this land to his people. But they're going to stand and fight. They're going to say, I'm king. Now, you can have all canyons, but you're not having Bezek. We'll see. We'll see. Adonai Bezek. There's another name in that same place. that you'll find after we've read for a little while, Adonai Zebek.

And his name means Lord of Righteousness. He's another imposter, another imposter. And they're saying you can have Canaan, but you're not going to dwell in Bezek. But secondly, here's another picture of God's enemies. He dismembers all that challenge him, cuts off their thumbs and their big toes.

And then he invites them into the big dinner table. Now remember, this man's a chieftain. He's a wannabe king. And he's got this huge, big table. And here are 70 kings that he conquered. cut off their thumbs and their big toes, and he invites them in to eat. Try to eat without a thumb. He made them a laughing stock. That's what they were there for. He made a public spectacle out of them, did he not? When you get home after a while, read Psalm chapter 2. Why did the heathen rage? Why has he imagined a vain thing?

They all got together. They took counsel together and they said, here's what we're going to do. We're going to break his cords from us. He ain't taking us prisoner. He ain't telling us what to do. We're going to do what we want to do. You know what it says? God will laugh. God in heaven will laugh. What a joke, what man's going to do to God. It says he will have them in derision. You know what that means? A public spectacle. He's going to make a public spectacle out of them.

This man was full of himself. He had an I.B.Z. He was full of himself. He named the town after his own name, called it B.Z. That first part of his name, Adonai, means Lord of. And he's saying, I'm Lord of Bezek. I'm Lord of my own Lord. That's what he's saying. Everything he owns and everything he rules and everything he claims to have bears his name. But I'm going to tell you something.

God's Lord in Israel, isn't he? God reigns in Israel, and all who oppose him are going to bear their folly. And then the second application of this, God's going to overcome all enemies. No enemy's going to stand. There's not even a shadow of a doubt about it. No enemy's going to stand before God. But the second application of this bit of history has to do with the slaying of a chosen sinner.

A well-meaning lady once told old Ralph Barnard. Now, if you have ever listened to Ralph, you know that his words sometimes were pretty barbed. He was pretty plain spoken. And he just said things that ruffled feathers. But he was dealing at that time with a people who laid claim to be saved, but were preaching another gospel. And God set that man apart as an evangelist. And he went in there and said some things. And this well-meaning lady caught him after the meeting and said, Brother Barnard said, you can Catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. Talking about his barbed words. And he said, sweetheart, I'm not trying to catch flies.

I'm trying to kill sinners. And that's what we're talking about here. We're talking about the slaying of a sinner. Now, I don't know if you really know this or not, but the first work of God in the sinner is to slay him. I remember Ralph's introduction and a message.

He said, my god is going to kill your god. That's the first thing that's going to happen. When he assaults the land, the first one to die is your king, your lord. He's going to kill your god. That old man must be exposed for what he is and be slain by the gospel of Christ. Paul told the Colossians, he said, you're dead. You reckon they knew that? I believe they did. They heard his gospel and believed it. He said, you're dead. And your life is hid with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you appear with him also in glory.

And here's what you're to make of that. Mortify, therefore, your members which are upon the earth. Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Put off anger, and wrath, and malice, and blasphemy, and filthy communications out of your mouth, and lie not one to another, having put off the old man with his deeds.

The old man has to be slain. That's what happens when the Holy Spirit attends the preaching of the gospel. He slays the old man. Now, how am I to understand and deal with this old enemy of God as being dismembered of God? Dismembered. He tears him apart. There's nothing left of him. He takes that old man and he reveals to him what he is.

And he's the walking incarnation of sin, is he not? Every part of his body is mentioned in Romans 3. Read through there. It'll tell you what his mouth is and what his throat is and what his heart is and what his feet is and everything else. It's all sin. He describes him head to toe. He's the sinner. He's going to slay him. Going to slay him. Well, it's offensive to him.

You know what our Lord said about that? If your right eye offends you, pluck it out. You'd be better off to enter into glory. Halt. Then your whole body would be turned into the lake of fire and sent to hell. You'd be better off to be without an eye, wouldn't you? If your right arm offends you, cut it off.

And now what he said? Oh, that's horrible. That's dismemberment. Well, he's talking spiritually. He's not telling you to go home and take a machete and cut your arm off. He's talking spiritually. We're to cut these things off, mortify your members. That's what he's telling you. And here's the picture.

God's slaying the sinner. He's a chosen sinner, and he takes him apart. Takes him apart. Takes his throne away from him. How do I know when God establishes the kingdom of God? Because a stronger than him comes upon him. That's how. And he's trusting in his armor. He's got this big phony armor on. Can't touch me. We'll see. That's what they said in Jericho. You ain't going to touch us. But he takes away that armor wherein you trusted, and there's nothing left, just you. Just you.

Bezek came to an end, didn't he? An old Adonai Bezek, he ran. He was running fast as he could go, but you can't outrun God. He caught him. They caught him. They caught him. And God dismembered him. dismembered him. And that's what he does with the sinner. He arrests him. He exposes what he is. He cuts off everything that's offensive to him. He just cuts it off. What is it you're so proud of? God's going to cut it off. I heard a wonderful message by Henry Mayhem one time. God's going to meet you at your point of rebellion, whatever it is.

That's where he's going to meet you, right there. That old king came over there, and the prophet wouldn't even come out and talk to him. He just sent him that word by his servant. Well, that's OK, isn't it? The Lord don't talk to you personally. If he sends a servant, that'd be all right with him.

Told him to go down and baptize into Jordan. He said, man, we got wonderful rivers over in our country. Did that man have to be baptized in Jordan to take away his leprosy? There wasn't anything in Jordan to take away his leprosy. But if he hadn't went down into that muddy Jordan where God commanded him, he'd have died a leper.

And he's going to meet you at your point of rebellion, whatever it is, and you're going to let it go. You're going to let it go. You're going to obey him or die in your sins, one or the other. That's just how it is. And I think this is the most wonderful part of this whole story. They dismembered him. He don't have any thumbs. He don't have any big toes. And he's marching back to Jerusalem. And he said, boy, I did this to 70 kings. And now God's done it to me. He made a public spectacle out of me. And he took him back to Jerusalem, and he died in Jerusalem. Where'd you die? Huh? We died on the cross, didn't we? And now what scripture teaches, we died on the cross. I was crucified with him. That's what Paul said. I was crucified with him. And then I was raised with him. And then I seated with him. This man died in Jerusalem.

And I'm not trying to make him out to be a saint by any means. I'm just trying to show you typically how this man, we're sinners. We're going to have to take our place beside the worst of the sinners. This man was a sinner, undeniable rebel. Dismembered those kings that he defeated. Abused those people that he took captive.

That's us. That's us before God. Sinners. Sinners. And I'll tell you something. He took us out, put us on trial, convicted us, sentenced us, and put us to death on the cross. Now, if you think God's going to accept something that you've done over time based on your own righteousness and your own goodness, go down to the cross. There's the representative for centers. They're in him.

If there's anything honorable in the center, it's going to be talked about. There was nothing talked about. He opened not his mouth. There's so much in this message that's going to distract from my next message that that's why it's taking me so long to say anything. I'm trying to weed it out.

But here's my hope. My hope is that the Lord will teach us from these things what it is. He's going to convict and convince the sinner. What he's going to do, he's going to see what he's done He's going to say, that's me. That's exactly. They've done this to me, but that's exactly what I've done to others my whole life. I'm the sinner. Take my place before the judgment of God. Here I am. I'm guilty. I've often said this. You're going to take sides with God against yourself in your own condemnation.

You're going to say, he's just. If he sends me to hell, he's just. If he slays me, he's just. And isn't that exactly over in Romans 3, what he said about our death? It's to show him just and justify. That's right. We're going to get on his side in this matter of condemnation. I can tell you that. But oh, what a type, this Adonai Bezek. What a type of the sinner. God's going to expose you for what you are.

And you sit here, and you look at what all he's done, and you say, well, God was just in what he did to this man. Yes, he was, and he's just in what he's done to us. But he's merciful, and loving, and kind, and did it in a representative. May the Lord teach us all what these verses are saying.