By: Obed Pineda
“The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness” (Proverbs 21:12). Upon reading this godly proverb, two thoughts quickly appear in this author’s subconsciousness. First, I am reminded of Jehovah God’s explanation to His friend as to what mission His angels were about to carry out in Sodom. Holy Writ declares, “And the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.’ Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord” (Genesis 18:20-22). One could wonder why the omniscient God would have a need to verify if the outcry against a nation is true or not? However, falling prey to such a devious thought that subtly attacks God’s divine nature obscures the real motive behind the task assigned to the two angels. It is irrefutable that God was already aware of the profundity of the wicked abysses these cities indulged in, because He is all-knowing (cf. Amos 9:7-8). This vital fact aids in illuminating that the angels’ assignment was not to gather information, but was instead a merciful attempt to deter the people of Sodom and Gomorrah from sin. God was personally appealing to the dwellers of the plain to repent and return to Him, assisting Lot who had already been attempting to convince them to do so (cf. Genesis 19:6-9). This is reminiscent of the Master’s parable about the wicked vinedressers where He explains the Father’s decision of sending Him personally from heaven stating, “I will send My beloved Son. Probably they will respect Him when they see Him” (Luke 20:9-13). Tragically the reaction the Lord received from the chief priests and the scribes after hearing the parable was the same as the reaction found in the parable itself, likewise resembling the reaction of those in Sodom (cf. Luke 20:16-19, Genesis 19:9-11). Their refusal to disengage from avidly practicing sin opens the door to the second thought that entered this author’s mind in light of the proverb. God’s undeniable longsuffering exhibited in Him exhausting every possible option to persuade man to cease sinning to no avail, unveils why God afterward proclaims “My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will repay you according to your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst. Then you shall know that I am the LORD who strikes” (Ezekiel 7:9). When Ezekiel was enlisted into the service of “watchman for the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 3:17), he hears God repeatedly declare to the captives in Babylon “and you shall know that I am the LORD.” The Lord makes this declaration to Ezekiel approximately sixty-six times throughout the book bearing his name. This was done so to eliminate any doubt that could have crept into the minds of the exiled Jews as to the purpose for their predicament. The Almighty was making them aware that they were experiencing the rod of His correction as a direct consequence of their insistent disobedience to His commandments. He, too, was declaring to the surrounding nations witnessing Judah’s downfall that He does not allow sin to go unpunished, regardless of who you are, because He is a righteous God (cf. Exodus 34:6-7, Romans 11:22). For this reason, they would have to answer to Him for their transgressions and refusal to submit to His will as well, despite them not being a part of Israel (cf. Romans 1:18-23, Ephesians 2:1-3). Verily it would be unjust if God punished His own people for practicing idolatry, but allowed other nations to remain unperturbed for doing so. Yet, it is written in Holy Writ concerning Egypt’s daily activity of idolatry, “I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD” (Exodus 12:12). The impact of what God did to Egypt and her gods was felt by all the nations surrounding her. God’s total destruction of the false gods of Egypt was such a massive event that even several decades later Rahab confessed, “we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2:10-11). Rahab’s faith that the God of Israel is the one, true God was a product of hearing about God’s marvelous acts of love for His people (cf. Joshua 2:8-11). Accepting what she heard as truth granted her the boldness to change her allegiance from the gods of Jericho to the God of Israel by protecting the two Israelite spies from Jericho’s king (cf. Joshua 2:3-7). This gave her the courage to request safe passage for herself and her family, confessing her assurance that Jehovah God would deliver Jericho into Joshua’s hands in victory (cf. Joshua 2:12-13). Rahab would succeed in securing this salvation only if she and her loved ones thoroughly obeyed all the instructions given to her by the two spies (cf. Joshua 2:14-21). Heeding to the commandment given to them by God’s people blessed Rahab and her relatives from being destroyed with the rest of the inhabitants of Jericho (cf. Joshua 2:20-25). It is imperative to note that although Rahab was from Jericho and had previously worshiped the gods from there, she was able to obtain salvation from the utter destruction that befell the rest of Jericho because she chose God, turning away from idolatry. In other words, Rahab repented from her sins, obeyed God’s word, and because of her meek submission to God’s will, acquired salvation. It was this pattern that Israel failed to remember to follow to prevent their ultimate demise by the hand of God’s servant Nebuchadnezzar. All this validates that it is God who visits the iniquity of the wicked to personally deal with their evil as the proverb states, and should serve as dire warning to us all. Furthermore, learning that God does allow man ample opportunity to relent from his wrong and return to Him, even if destruction is near as it was with Rahab, should stimulate us to move swiftly back into favor with God as she did, lest we fatally miss our opportunity at redemption like Judah did. To be concluded…