Tag: Judgment

Digging in Deeper: Genesis 19:26

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“But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This has always seemed like such an odd punishment to me.  What would this have been like?  Was it instant?  Did she gradually start to transform from the feet up or the head down?  Is there any kind of a natural explanation for this or was it entirely miraculous?  Was Lot aware of it at first?  Or, did he go on for some distance before realizing he couldn’t hear her trying to keep up any longer?  If only they had smart phones back then!  We could have gotten the whole thing on video.  Imagine how many hits that would have received as a YouTube post… Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Revelation 9:20-21

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“The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is the real key of this chapter and, really, one of the main themes of the entire record.  There appear to be two goals of the various acts of cataclysmic judgments described in Revelation.  One goal is the punishment of sin.  God has been patient long enough and now it is time for judgment.  It is time to let people see and experience the full weight of their sin.  Just like with the nation of Israel in the days leading up to and during the conquest of Jerusalem and the exile, the time for the whole world has come up and sin is finally being judged on a large scale. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Ezekiel 33:7

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“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel.  Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

This is the second time now Ezekiel has been given this message.  The first was in the context of a series of warnings to the people of Israel.  This time it comes on the heels of a series of warning to the nations.  He was called to warn the people about God’s impending judgment.  If the people didn’t listen, they were going to be judged and the fault would be entirely their own.  If they listened, they would be saved and Ezekiel was to thank.  If, however, he didn’t warn and they received the judgment coming, their doom would rest on his head since he didn’t warn them as he was told.  This is powerful stuff.  What does it mean for us? Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Ezekiel 9:9

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“Then he said to me, ‘The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great.  The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice.  For they say, “The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.”‘”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Ezekiel was prophesying during a hard season in the life of the people of Israel.  The good and faithful King Josiah had instituted incredible moral and spiritual reforms among the people.  But after his death, the people went right back to the paganism they had pursued before him.  This proved to be the final straw.  God sent Babylon to enact His judgment against the people. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: Jeremiah 4:18

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“Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you.  This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Much of the judgment heralded in the prophets is tough to read.  It is gloom and doom that sometimes seems to roll on for pages without reprieve.  But, if there’s anything we can take from all of this today it is this: Our choices have consequences. Read the rest…