It’s very hard for our modern minds to get over the sometimes destructive, jealous things our God does in order to preserve righteousness. On Sundays we are going through the Old Testament story by story to see how it fits in our daily lives. Last Sunday we went through the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Several questions immediately go through my mind when dealing with this story. Why would God go through Abraham in order to save Lot? Why didn’t God have mercy with Lot’s wife instead turning her into a pillar of salt in front of Lot’s eyes?
So many people are afraid to deal with the terrible side of God’s wrath towards sin and rebellion. However, we do see mercy and grace in this story. The fact that God would have saved the entire valley if he found 10 righteous souls demonstrates this. Also, God did save Lot and his daughters when He could have let them endure the same punishment as the unrighteous.
No matter how much grace or mercy, the true facts of the story remain. An awesomely compassionate, morally absolute God destroyed an entire valley because of sin. As He did in the times of Noah, He shows us the absolute violent stance He has against sin. We wish He would budge or move, but the truth is, He won’t. He can’t. God will though, do whatever it takes to protect and preserve righteousness and also give the unrighteous an opportunity to hear what God has to offer.
Remember it was Lot, a righteous man, that decided to live among unrighteous people. From the time Lot and Abraham split up in Gen. 13 to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, they had the opportunity to hear God and a chance to advert the destruction.
I hope and pray that we remember why we are here on this planet and in this community. Regardless of our situations and our comfort zones, we are here to serve, love and communicate the desire God has for everyone and His hatred of sin and its consequences in all of our lives.
