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The Grace of God in the Old Testament: 1
Part One
The Grace of God
In the Old Testament
God has revealed His love and grace to mankind from the beginning. Contrary to
both orthodox and modern views of theology, God is manifested throughout the
Old Testament as a God of LOVE AND MERCY!
Let’s understand the most basic characteristic of the nature of God. First of
all, GOD IS LOVE. Everything God does flows from His love. When God grants
His GRACE, it likewise is rooted in and flows from His love. Whenever He
extends mercy and forgiveness, favor and blessing, kindness and forbearance,
it is by HIS GRACE!
In the Old Testament there is one basic Hebrew word which has been translated
“grace.” That word is chen, which is pronounced khane. This
word is derived from the root word chanan
(pronounced khawnan), which means “grace, favor, goodwill, kindness,
gracious and pleasant.” The adjectival form of c/zen is channuwn
(pronounced khannoon), which means “gracious.” The Hebrew root word
chanan means “gracious, to favor, to be favorably inclined, to pity, to be
compassionate, to make acceptable.” It can also mean “to bend or stoop in
kindness to an inferior, to be moved to favor by a petition or request, to
show favor, to grant or give favor or to graciously show mercy and pity”
(Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon)
Let us examine the description of the Creation in the first chapter of Genesis
to understand how God’s grace was revealed from the beginning.
God’s Grace Revealed From Creation
After God had created the heavens and the earth, He “saw every thing that He
had made, and, behold, it was VERY GOOD” (Gen. 1:31). The word good
is translated from the Hebrew tolby,
which means “beautiful, bountiful, cheerful, fine, good, GRACIOUS”; its
secondary meaning is “joyful, loving, mercy, pleasant, pleasure, prosperity,
wealth, well or well-favored” (Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon).
When God looked upon everything He had made, He saw that everything was very
good. It was a BLESSING! As viewed through God’s eyes, His very Creation was
a manifestation of HIS LOVE and HIS GRACE.
In order for us to fully understand that the entire Creation was an expression
of God’s love and grace, we need to examine the Scriptural account of the
creation of Adam and Eve. The very words of God reveal His love and grace:
“And God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness; and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps upon the earth.’ So God created man in His own image, in the
image of God created He him; male and female created he them” (Gen.
1:26-27).
Of all the creations of God, only mankind was made in the image and likeness
of God. This blessing, which was bounteously bestowed upon mankind, is a
profound expression of God’s supreme love and grace. To further demonstrate
His love, when the Lord God made Adam and Eve, He personally formed them
with His very own hands. This act reveals that the Lord God intended from
the very beginning to have a personal, intimate relationship with them.
No other creature was formed by the hands of God. All other created things and
beings were brought into existence by the word of His command, through the
power of His Holy Spirit. “You send forth Your Spirit, and they are created”
(Psa. 104:30). Of the creation of the heavens, the Scriptures reveal: “By
the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the
breath of His mouth” (Psa 33:6). Again the Scriptures confirm, “Praise ye
the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights.
Praise ye Him, all His angels; praise ye Him, all His hosts. Praise ye Him,
sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of
heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. Let them praise the name
of the Lord; for He commanded, and they
were created” (Psa. 148:1-5).
However, in the account of the creation of man, notice what the Scriptures
record for us: “And the Lord God [Elohim’s Jehovah--a literal
translation from the Hebrew] formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”
(Gen. 2:7).
The very act of the Lord God Himself breathing the breath of life into the man
reveals the intimate relationship that God desired to have with mankind.
When God breathed the breath of life into Adam, God also imparted to him a
special spiritual essence, called the “spirit in man” (Job 32:8; 33:4; Zech
12:1; I Cor. 2:9-11), giving him the unique ability to think and reason,
hence to acquire knowledge and to make decisions based on that knowledge. At
the same time, God also implanted into Adam’s mind a fully functioning
language in order that he might communicate with his Creator.
Furthermore, in order to show the close, personal relationship of love that
God intended man and woman to have as husband and wife, He personally formed
Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that
the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet [a counterpart, fully
compatible and complementary in every way] for him’….And the Lord God caused
a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof: and the rib, which the Lord God had
taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam
said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be
called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen. 2:18, 21-23). In the
same way that the Lord God had breathed into Adam the breath of life, He
also breathed the breath of life into Eve and imparted to her the spirit of
man and a fully functioning language.
Of all the living creatures that the Lord God had made, only man and woman
were created to give and receive love in a most intimate and personal way.
None of the other created beings were made to give and receive sexual love
face to face. That blessing was reserved for mankind alone. Through the
process of procreation, all human beings are blessed with the physical,
mental, emotional and spiritual ability to give and receive love. Greater
still, only mankind was created to have a personal, spiritual, loving
relationship with the Creator God. This special blessing of love and grace
was not extended to any other fleshly being which the Lord God had made. Man
alone was created in the image of God for the ultimate purpose of sharing
the power and immortality and glory of God!
Thousands of years later, the Scriptural truth of man’s divinely ordained
potential was proclaimed by David, king of Israel, who was a man after God’s
own heart. He praised God for His magnificent Creation, and particularly for
the creation of mankind. He wrote in one of his many Psalms, “O Lord, our
Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! Who has set Your
glory above the heavens….When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your
fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man,
that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You visit him? For
You have made him a little lower than God [Hebrew Elohim,
meaning God, incorrectly translated angels in the KJV and other versions;
the Hebrew word for angels is malak], and have crowned him with glory
and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You
have put all things under his feet” (Psa. 8:1-6).
THINK ABOUT IT! Adam and Eve, the progenitors of all mankind, were created in
the image and likeness of Almighty God, with the potential to become like
Him in every way. This awesome potential is the HIGHEST BLESSING and
expression of His LOVE and GRACE that God can bestow upon the work of His
hands! When we truly understand and grasp this fact, our love of God and
appreciation for His grace grows deeper.
In addition to God’s loving and gracious act in creating them in His image,
God further expressed His love and goodness by blessing Adam and Eve. “And
God BLESSED them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moves upon the earth’” (Gen. 1:28).
What a blessing of love and grace that God bestowed upon Adam and Eve! They
could create and produce children made in their own image through the
wonderful, intimate act of love. Moreover, God gave to all mankind,
beginning with Adam and Eve, dominion over all the earth. God in His
gracious goodness created the entire world, and all that is in it, as a gift
to mankind. A gift can also be called a grace, because it is freely given.
Adam and Eve
Began Under Grace
The Scriptural account of the Creation makes it clear that mankind was created
in a state of grace. From the beginning, God placed Adam and Eve in a
physical and spiritual condition of grace and blessing by the act of
creation and by His personal presence with them. To help them maintain this
personal state of grace and to ensure that they would always know their
Creator and be able to commune with the Lord God Himself, in His personal
presence, He specifically created and sanctified the seventh day as a
perpetual day for rest and fellowship with Him.
The weekly seventh-day Sabbath is more than a memorial of God’s creation. From
the beginning, God blessed and sanctified the seventh day as the Sabbath
day, as an act of kindness and goodness for all mankind, so that mankind
could fellowship with Him as Creator. “And on the sixth day [correct reading
the Hebrew] God had ended His work which He had made; and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the
seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all
His work which God created and made” (Gen. 2:2-3).
God created and sanctified the seventh-day Sabbath specifically for mankind.
Jesus Christ, Who was the Lord God of Creation, made this fact absolutely
clear when He declared that He and He alone was Lord of the Sabbath day. He
declared, “The Sabbath was made for man [mankind], and not man for
the Sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is LORD ALSO OF THE SABBATH
(Mark2:27-28).
When we understand the observance of the first Sabbath in the light of other
Scriptures, we can learn a great deal about the grace of God. The Scriptural
record in Genesis 3 reveals that Adam and Eve were personally taught by God.
They saw God face to face, they talked with God and walked with God--before
they had ever sinned. Most certainly God had personally rested and kept the
very first Sabbath with Adam and Eve. They kept this first Sabbath with God
in a perfect state of grace in His presence. There can be no doubt that God
had instructed them on that first Sabbath. What a marvelous day that very
first Sabbath must have been! There could be no greater grace than being in
the presence of and being taught by the Lord God Himself—their very Creator!
The Scriptures do not tell us how long it was after their creation before Adam
and Eve sinned. But until they sinned, they undoubtedly kept the seventh day
Sabbath in the presence of the Lord God, their Creator.
The Scriptures make it clear that the creation of the seventh-day Sabbath was
an everlasting expression of God’s loving grace to mankind. Because God
desires to bestow His love and grace upon us, God has commanded that we keep
His Sabbath by resting every seventh day in order that we may be instructed
in His Word and may have fellowship with Him. Those who fully understand the
purpose of the seventh-day Sabbath know that Sabbath keeping is an
acknowledgment of the love and grace of God, not merely the fulfilling of
commandment or law.
God Has Given Free Choice—Free Moral Agency
God further revealed His love and grace to Adam and Eve by creating paradise
for them to live in. It was called the Garden of Eden. God provided
everything for them. “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the
Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for
food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:8-9).
After placing Adam in the garden, God instructed him and set before him
choices. “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden
to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you
eat thereof you shall surely die [literal meaning of the Hebrew,
“in dying, you shall surely die”]’” (Gen.
2:15-17).
By creating the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, God revealed that even
greater grace was available to Adam and Eve. The Scriptural truth is that
eternal life, symbolized by the Tree of Life, is the ultimate destiny of
mankind. It is for this purpose that God created Adam and Eve in the
beginning. When God placed them in the Garden of Eden, He gave them free
access to the Tree of Life. If they had eaten of this tree, God would have
revealed to them the way to spiritual salvation and eternal life. The Word
of God reveals that spiritual salvation and eternal life are God’s supreme
acts of love and grace toward mankind.
However, God does not force His salvation upon mankind. The Lord God created
Adam and Eve as free moral agents and gave them the power of independent
choice. Every human being has been given this capacity to choose. God has
ordained that we must CHOOSE to love, serve and obey our Creator. In the
beginning, God desired that Adam and Eve choose His way, which would lead to
eternal life, as symbolized by the Tree of Life. But God did not force them
to choose to serve and obey Him, nor did He restrict their choice, otherwise
free moral agency would not exist.
In order that Adam and Eve might exercise their free moral agency by making
independent choices, God also placed in the garden of Eden the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree symbolized the way of man apart from
God, under the sway of Satan the devil, which leads to eternal death. But
God commanded Adam and Eve NOT to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil.
These were the two choices God placed before Adam and Eve. THEY HAD TO CHOOSE
between: 1) God’s way of life, as symbolized by the Tree of Life,
resulting in eternal life; and 2) their own way of life, as symbolized by
the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil--cut off from God, removed from
His grace, under the sway of Satan the devil--resulting in eternal death.
Although God had specifically commanded them not to eat of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve willfully chose to eat of it. When
they ate of that tree, following Satan and rejecting God’s way of life, they
cut themselves off from God and His blessings, and lost their original state
of grace. As a result, they forfeited their right to the Tree of Life.
Through their disobedience, Adam and Eve brought sin, misery and death into
this world! Curses came instead of blessings, hatred instead of love,
judgment instead of grace, sorrow instead of joy, war instead of peace, and
death instead of eternal life.
In addition to the sentence of eternal death being passed on to all human
beings, a sinful, hostile nature also was passed on to all mankind. The
apostle Paul describes the rebelliousness of human nature against God and
His law: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God--neither indeed can it be!” (Rom. 8:7, AT.)
Paul calls this carnal nature which is inherent within our very beings
“the law of sin and death” (Rom. 7:21-8:2).
Jesus Christ also revealed that human nature is inherently evil: “For from
within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil reasonings, adulteries,
fornications, murders, thefts, covetous desires, wickedness, guile,
licentiousness, a wicked eye, blasphemy, haughtiness and
foolishness. ALL THESE EVILS COME FROM WITHIN, AND DEFILE THE MAN”
(Mark 7:21-23, Al).
All mankind since the time of Adam and Eve—In every age, civilization and
society—has rejected the way of God! The only exceptions are the few whom
God personally called and who responded by choosing to love and obey God.
Every one who is personally and individually called by God must CHOOSE to
serve Him and walk in His way. God will never FORCE anyone to love and obey
Him. We must FREELY CHOOSE to love and obey God with our whole hearts and
minds.
Because Adam and Eve chose to DISOBEY God, and did NOT obey His command, they
lost God’s blessings and grace, and incurred God’s judgment. But the
fact that God withdrew His grace from Adam and Eve, and brought judgment
upon all humanity, does not mean that God’s character and nature had
changed! Not at all! God was and is always the same! God was still a God of
LOVE. God was still a God of GRACE. Even while He was pronouncing sentence
upon Adam and Eve for their sins, God prophesied of the coming Savior and
the grace that would come to all mankind through Jesus Christ (Gen.3:15).
After Adam and Eve lost their state of grace, they were expelled from the
Garden of Eden. By removing them from Eden, God cut them off from access to
the Tree of Life. In spite of the fact that Adam and Eve had sinned, and
that mankind in general was cut off from the way to eternal life, God still
granted His blessings and grace to those few who truly sought Him and loved
Him! Abel, Enoch and Noah were all blessed by God and accepted by Him,
obtaining GRACE in His sight. The Scriptures record that Abel was righteous
in God’s eyes (Gen. 4:4, Heb. 11:4). Enoch walked with God and pleased God
(Gen. 5:22, 24; Heb.11:5). The New Testament confirms that these two
righteous men will be resurrected to eternal life, along with Noah and other
faithful men and women of the Old Testament whose righteous acts are
described in Hebrews 11.
In Old Testament times, only a faithful few received the grace of God unto
salvation. The sin and rebellion of Adam and Eve cut off mankind from
salvation and eternal life “until the seed should come to whom the promise
was made” (Gal. 3:19). The vast majority of Adam and Eve’s descendants had
no hope of eternal life until the coming of the prophesied Savior, when the
fullness of God’s grace unto salvation became available to all who were
called by God (Acts 2:38-39). As the apostle Paul wrote, “For God has shut
them up all together in disobedience, so that He might [later, according to
His plan and purpose] show mercy to all” (Rom. 11:32, AT).
As a result of being cut off from God by choosing the way of sin and death
under the sway of Satan the devil, mankind before the Flood became satiated
with evil, violence and wickedness. “And God saw that the wickedness of man
was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts [and
intents] of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord
that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart....The
earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh
had corrupted His way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, ‘The end of
all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through
them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth’” (Gen. 6:5-6,
11-13).
Noah Found Grace
In the midst of this sinful and corrupt society, only one man remained
faithful to God and found grace in His sight. “But Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord....Noah was a JUST man [he was righteous] and
perfect [that is, spiritually sincere and mature] in his generations, and
Noah WALKED WITH GOD” (Gen 6:8-9). By recording that Noah walked with God,
the Scriptures make it clear that he was humbly and meekly obeying God. He
was walking in “the way of the Lord.”
Here is a profound Scriptural truth: GRACE CAN NEVER BE IMPUTED WITHOUT
OBEDIENCE AND REPENTANCE!
Noah found grace because he willingly loved God, walked with God, served and
obeyed God. Noah also taught others about God’s way. The New Testament
records that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (II Pet. 2:5).
God extended His grace to Noah because Noah loved righteousness and willingly
obeyed God’s commandments. Noah was able to remain in God’s grace and favor
because he diligently obeyed God in everything. After God gave him the
instructions for building the Ark, it is recorded, “Thus did Noah; according
to ALL that God commanded him, so did he” (Gen. 6:22). When the Ark was
completed, God gave further instructions about the animals. Again it is
recorded, “And NOAH DID according to ALL that the Lord commanded him” (Gen.
7:5).
Think for a minute! If God was about to destroy all life because of the sin
and wickedness of human beings, do you think that Noah would have continued
to receive God’s merciful, saving grace, if he also had sinned with the rest
of mankind (sin is the transgression of the law--I John 3:4), or if he had
taken part in the corruption and violence which filled the world?
The answer is a resounding NO! From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible shows
that to receive and continue in God’s grace and favor, loving obedience to
God is required.
From the terrible destruction of the Flood, God reached down and saved Noah
and his household alone. That was a tremendous act of GRACE! It was a
blessing for all humanity! Had it not been for the GRACE OF GOD given to
Noah, none of us would be alive today! And had it not been for the GRACE
that God later extended to Abraham, none of us would have an opportunity for
salvation!
Abraham Found Grace
Abraham was called by God, which was an act of grace, and was commanded, “Get
you out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s
house, unto a land that I will show you: and I will make of you a great
nation, and I will bless you [an act of GRACE from God], and make your name
great; and YOU SHALL BE A BLESSING; and I will bless them that bless you,
and curse him that curses you: and in you shall ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE
BLESSED [a prophecy of the coming grace and salvation through Jesus Christ]”
(Gen. 12:1-3).
Again, God was graciously reaching down to give a blessing to a human being
who was willing to love and obey Him. Throughout the Scriptural account of
his life, it is recorded that Abraham believed God and obeyed God. Because
he loved God and walked with God, Abraham was called the friend of God. “And
the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it
was imputed unto him for righteousness
[by God’s grace]: and he was called TFIE FRIEND OF GOD” (Jas. 2:23).
The apostle Paul makes it clear that Abraham received God’s grace through his
faith (Rom 4:3-5). Paul describes Abraham’s justification by grace as
“the righteousness of faith” (verses 5-8,
13, 16). Did the state of grace under which Abraham lived mean that he
was not required to keep the commandments of God? Of course not! Grace
never gives anyone license or permission to ignore or reject the
commandments and laws of God and to commit sin--which is the transgression
of the law
(I John 3:4). The apostle Paul was inspired to write, “What then shall we say?
Shall we continue in sin, so that grace may abound? MAY IT NEVER BE! We who
died to sin, how shall we live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:1-2, AT.)
Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach us that we cannot live
under the grace of God if we continue to live in sin! It was as true for
Abraham as it is for us!
In the book of Genesis, God said of Abraham, “For I know him, that he
will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep
the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment: that the Lord may bring
upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him” (Gen. 18:19).
Because of this intimate relationship based on love, grace and faith, God had
confidence in Abraham. God knew Abraham, and Abraham knew God! That is what
grace is all about! We must come to know God—His love, His grace, His
goodness, and His mercy.
God’s act of grace toward Abraham is a model for Christians today. Paul was
inspired to write, “If you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and
heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29). Like Abraham, we can come to
know God by walking in faithful, loving obedience to Him.
Abraham’s Ultimate Test
What was the ultimate test required of Abraham so that the blessing of God’s
grace would be passed on to all generations? The Scriptures record that God
instructed Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, whom he had received as
a miraculous act of grace by the personal promise of God. Having faith that
God was able to restore Isaac to life, Abraham proceeded to follow God’s
instructions. By his faithful and willing obedience, Abraham proved that he
loved God more than any person or thing in this world. “And they came to the
place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid
the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon
the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay
his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said,
‘Abraham, Abraham’: and he said, ‘Here am I.’ And he said, ‘Lay not your
hand upon the lad, neither shall you do any thing unto him: for now I
know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, YOUR ONLY SON
from Me’ “ (Gen. 22:9-12).
As a result of Abraham’s obedience, God gave this blessing and promise of the
grace to come: “By Myself have I sworn, says the Lord, for because you have
done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son: that in
blessing I WILL BLESS YOU, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as
the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and
your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in your seed shall all
the nations of the earth be blessed; BECAUSE
YOU HAVE OBEYED MY VOICE” (Gen. 22:16-18).
Abraham continued in loving, steadfast obedience to God, and he died in the
faith. After Abraham’s death, God passed His blessing of grace on to Isaac,
“Because that Abraham OBEYED My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws” (Gen. 26:5).
Again, the Scriptures teach us that there can be no grace without
obedience.
The New Testament reveals that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is the
promised seed of Abraham. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises
made. He says not, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many; but as of one, ‘And to your
seed,’ which is Christ…..And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:16,29).
The blessing of grace through faith in Jesus Christ is now being extended to
all those whom God calls. Later in God’s plan, after Christ’s return, the
blessing of grace will be extended to the entire world!
Lot Found Grace
After God had manifested His grace to Abraham, He also showed His loving mercy
to Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Lot and his two unmarried daughters were saved
from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah through grace. Lot knew that it
was through the mercy of God that they were allowed to escape. After the
angels had brought them out of the city, the Lord told them, “‘Escape for
your life; look not behind you, neither stay in all the plain; escape to the
mountain, lest you be consumed.’ And Lot said unto them, ‘Oh, not so, my
Lord: behold now, Your servant has found GRACE in Your sight, and You have
MAGNIFIED YOUR MERCY, which You have showed unto me in saving my life; and I
cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: behold
now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me
escape there...’ ”(Gen. 19:17-20).
Lot FOUND GRACE in the sight of the Lord, Who granted his request and delayed
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot and his daughters had safely
entered the city of Zoar. Through His graciousness, God spared Lot and his
two daughters! Moreover, God would have delivered Lot’s entire family from
destruction if they had not rejected His grace.
We can learn a vital lesson from the example of Lot’s family. God’s grace MUST
NOT BE TREATED LIGHTLY or in a disbelieving manner, because that is, in
fact, REJECTING the grace of God! Lot’s sons-in-law perished because they
refused to believe Lot and treated the warning from God lightly: “And Lot
went out, and spoke unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters, and
said, ‘Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city.’
But he seemed as one that mocked
[was only joking] unto his sons-in-law” (Gen. 19:14). As a result of
their disbelief, God could not extend His grace to Lot’s sons-in-law or his
married daughters, who remained in Sodom with their husbands.
Lot’s wife also rejected the grace of God through disbelief and disobedience.
When she was leaving Sodom, she looked back, thereby disobeying God’s
instructions through His angels. Because she had rejected the mercy of God
through disobedience, she was turned into a pillar of salt. “But his wife
looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Gen. 19:26).
No one can tempt God, rejecting His goodness and mercy by disbelief,
without reaping His just wrath! Christians today who are anticipating
God’s gracious act of saving them from the coming worldwide calamities
should take heed to Jesus’ admonition, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).
Through her disobedience, she lost the grace of God and died.
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