Episode 275 - "Offered mercy from the Imminent Wrath of God" - Genesis 19:12-29

Gen. 19:12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

Gen. 19:15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” 18 And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. 19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. 20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

Gen. 19:23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Gen. 19:27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

Gen. 19:29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.

I can’t help but notice the presence of God’s mercy and imminent wrath in verses 12-14. The angels allowed Lot to intercede for others, to give them a chance to obey the warning and escape. Otherwise, they would experience the divine wrath of God. Tragically, his future sons-in-law took Lot’s warning and exhortation as a joke and did not heed his word.

As I write this blog post in January of 2025, we have a little more understanding of the sense of urgency to heed warnings regarding rapidly moving catastrophic fires. Terrible fires are destroying vast neighborhoods around Los Angeles, California. Winds at speeds of 100mph are giving people little time to prepare for evacuation. At least a few dozen people have died, and it’s yet to be determined what the loss in property will ultimately be. As fast as the fires have spread, many people have heeded the warnings and have escaped to safety. Sodom and Gomorrah was about to be utterly destroyed within a very brief span of time with no time for people to escape. The reason for it stated again was, “because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD.” (Gen. 19:13) Yet, as Abraham had interceded for Lot, Lot was allowed to intercede for others. But they did not respond positively to that warning.

Surprisingly, at the eleventh hour, when the angels were about to destroy the city. Lot lingered. (Gen 19:16) The angels had to take them out of the city. Why did they bother? The answer is given to us: because the LORD was “merciful to him.” (Gen 19:16) When we think of this story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we don’t often think of grace and mercy, do we? We think of God’s wrath and judgment. But this story demonstrates plenty of God’s grace to Lot, his family, and others. Unfortunately, no one outside of Lot’s family will receive it, and Lot is not demonstrating the ideal response to God’s grace to him. He was slow to leave and then petitioned the angels to let him go where he wanted rather than where they directed him. After the angels told him to take his family, escape to the hills, and “Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley” (v. 17), Lot convinced the angels to let him go to the small city of Zoar. They conceded. But after they arrived, Lot’s wife looked back. She directly disobeyed their command from the LORD. We’ve seen that before in Genesis, haven’t we? It always leads to problems. Lot’s wife was judged for it.

Moses made an important statement about this judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah in verse 29. Speaking of this judgment, he writes, “God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.” (Genesis 19:29) This is not saying that God had forgotten Abraham. It informs the reader that God is acknowledging his covenant promise to Abraham, and Lot, as part of Abraham’s family, is receiving the benefit of God’s protection from this judgment. It seems to me that this is what happens with us who’ve placed our faith in Christ. We may be like Lot and we don’t always act the way we should. But because of our relationship to Christ, we receive the benefits that offers. God demonstrates amazing grace and mercy to us each day.

Episode 249 - "And the Lord shut him in" - Genesis 7:6-16

Gen. 7:6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. 7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

Gen. 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, 14 they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

To begin this day’s observations of the flood story of Genesis, I want you to notice Noah’s age. When the flood began, he was six hundred years old. Just a little over a chapter ago, he was only five hundred years old. It was after he turned five hundred that he fathered his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The LORD’s instructions to him to build the ark commanded Noah to take his wife, sons, and daughters-in-law. Apparently, there are no grandchildren in the picture yet. The point I’m getting to is that it may have taken 70-80 years to build the ark according to the instructions given by the LORD. That’s a long time for the word to get out what Noah is doing and for people to come by and ask, “What’s this all about?” We don’t know that they did. But I think it’s safe to say that if anyone undertook this project today, the word would get out pretty quickly. It strikes me that God never told Noah not to allow other people on the boat. The Scriptures only tell us that God was showing grace and mercy to Noah and his family because Noah was obedient to the LORD. God was telling Noah, “This is how I’m going to deliver you and your family from this destruction I’m bringing.” While it’s outside of the context of what the Scriptures tell us explicitly, it seems entirely possible, and likely even, that if someone had heard about God’s coming judgment and repented, I think God would have spared them as well. But that’s an argument from silence. There’s no indication that happened, even though the ark was possibly under construction for 70-80 years.

I make this conjecture because people often interpret a story like this as God being mean. In reality, however, this story shows God’s patience in that he did not bring this judgment until people were so wicked that nothing God did would bring them to repentance. They had plenty of time as Noah constructed this ark to ask questions and consider the implications, yet refused to respond to God’s mercy and revelation. I think they were likely cursing God as the flood waters rose.

Much of this text emphasizes the obedience to God’s commands to Noah, his family, and the animals. They entered the ark. The other thing that is highlighted is that what God had been telling Noah for nearly 100 years was fulfilled precisely. The text is so detailed that it mentions the day the flood started, with the rain continuing non-stop for forty days. This detail is joined with a description of how violently it began. Water came from every direction. It burst forth from the ground and from the sky above. It’s a frightening scene to imagine and one that I believe should inform our thoughts about God’s wrath. God consistently shows himself to want the best for people. The Scriptures speak of his desire for us to enjoy the life he has given us, his desire to commune with us, and his patience and love for mankind. But he is also a holy God who does not turn a blind eye to rebellion, violence, injustice, and other manners of evil. He justly and righteously judges sin. We should fear that wrath and respond to his loving and patient offer to deliver us from any judgment we might deserve.

My final thought on this section is the concluding remark in verse 16: “And the LORD shut him in.” God instructed Noah to make one door on the side of the ark. Noah had put pitch on the ark's outside and inside to help waterproof it. But what about the door? How did the door get sealed after Noah and his family were inside the ark? Verse 16 tells us, “the LORD shut him in.” I think this is an important image for us as well. In Christ, we are invited to enter into the one door into God’s protection and blessing and God makes that a secure place to be. Whatever we think might be a liability, God has it covered.

Episode 31 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life

John 3:31-36   He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The third chapter of John’s gospel has evoked much scholarly discussion over the years regarding where Jesus’ words to Nicodemus end and where the author takes over and subsequently where John the Baptist’s teaching to his disciples ends as well. Is it John the Baptist still speaking in verse 31 or is this John the apostle picking up the point from the Baptizer and explaining the truth more completely for his audience. I am inclined to see this section as the author’s interpretation and explanation of the significance of who Jesus is.

The point in verse 31 there are those who are “earthly.” Nicodemus, John the Baptist, and John the apostle himself are from the earth. But, there is “He who comes from above” and he is superior to all. He understands things of heaven and earth and he “bears witness to what he has seen and heard” (v32), but “no one receives his testimony.” Essentially, the one who knows more and knows truthfully shares the truth. But, as we’ve seen with Nicodemus, the representative ruler of the Jews and teacher of Israel, they have not received Jesus’ teaching even though Nicodemus stated that “we know that you’ve come from God.” 

In verse 33, John speaks of the exception, “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” What does that mean? To set one’s seal is to make a uniquely identifying mark on something which signifies the one who initiated or authorized a document or agreement. So, to receive the testimony of the One who came from above is to strongly affirm that you believe God is true. Craig Keener in volume 1 of his two-volume “The Gospel of John: A Commentary” suggests that using this imagery of a seal could mean that this believer becomes a witness as well. (Vol 1, pg. 582) 

Verse 34 explains the reasoning for this assertion; “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” The first part of this is explaining that Jesus (the One whom God has sent) utters the words of God. He is not coming with his own agenda or message. The second part is a little confusing. It evokes the question of who is giving the Spirit without measure? Is it God the Father or Jesus the Son? In chapter one John the Baptist saw the Spirit descending and remaining upon Jesus signifying the Father’s identification of Jesus as the one whom John the Baptist was to direct people. Later in this gospel, we see how Jesus will promise to send the Holy Spirit to be with those who trust in him. So, in a sense, they are both “givers” of the Holy Spirit, which is consistent with what we’ve been learning since the opening verse of this book; that the Son is divine and always has been. He is from above. Verse 35 gives us a glimpse at the difference in person between the Father and the Son. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” We see oneness in divinity but uniqueness in person. This contributes to the Trinitarian doctrine of the Christian faith; there is only one God, that is three in person. Verse 35 emphasizes the Father’s love toward the Son and gives him all authority. Yet, the Son does not come speaking his own words, but that of the Father. This is a picture of harmony of will between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The message culminates in a reinforcement of mankind’s need to believe in the Son. The one who believes in the Son receives eternal life. However, the one who disobeys (or disbelieves) the Son “shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Why? The point of this text is that if you do not believe the Son, you are not setting your seal that God is true, and therefore, you’re calling God a liar.