The Salt of the Earth

Some years ago I heard a song that I believe was named “The Hands of an Angry God,” and it seems to me that it was a Scott Wesley Brown song, but I haven’t been able to find any mention of such a song by him, anywhere, but I did find a reference to a song that was, at least, very similar by Steve Camp, but I can’t find it in his discography, either. I personally really liked the song, even though I found it somewhat convicting. I suspect that the song was not as popular as I think it should have been because a lot of other people were convicted by it as well. The verses talk a lot about why God is angry at mankind in general (and the listener, specifically), but then the chorus talks about the sacrifice that God made on the cross. “The hands of an angry God are pierced and bleeding…” We, as a people, have done much to make God angry. We, as a people, deserve to have the wrath of God poured out on us. We, as a people, should be extremely grateful that God has chosen to make a way for us to escape. In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, before God sent His angels to destroy the two cities, He told Abraham about His plan. Abraham, understandably, became very concerned, because, although he knew the type of people that lived in those cities, he also knew that his nephew Lot lived there. Abraham attempted to bargain with God. “Wilt thou destroy the righteous with the wicked?” That was a gamble, in and of itself, because he hadn’t seen Lot in some time, and couldn’t be completely sure that Lot hadn’t adopted the lifestyle of the Sodomites, but he thought Lot was still a righteous man. Abraham probably wondered to himself why a righteous man would live in Sodom, but he had faith in his nephew. But, in keeping with his assertion that God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked, he asked God if he would destroy the city if He found fifty righteous there. God assured Abraham that He would not. Abraham talked God down to ten (which, of course, was easy for God, since He already knew there weren’t ten moral people living in the entire city of Sodom). Think about that for a moment, though. How many people lived in Sodom? We don’t know, but probably several thousand, maybe tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands. How big of a percentage is ten out of the population of an entire city? I think we can safely say less than one percent. Statisticians sometimes use the term, ‘statistically significant.’ To be statistically significant, a result must be unlikely to have occurred by chance. It is entirely possible for a result to be statistically significant, and still not be actually significant. The point is that there was a very small number of righteous people living in Sodom when the angels arrived and met with Lot. The experts would probably say that the number of moral people was not statistically significant. I would have to agree, if only because God destroyed the city anyway; at the same time, though, He offered them an escape so those people were clearly actually significant.Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. Salt can be used for a lot of different things, but these days we mostly use it just to add flavor to foods that we eat. Not too many years ago, though, sailors used salt as a preservative. Meat that was salt-cured could be eaten many days after, without refrigeration, and with no ill effects. Think about that for a minute: If Lot had a bigger family, Sodom might not have been destroyed, they might have been able to preserve the city. We are the salt (the preservative) of the earth. We have a tremendous responsibility to remain righteous, because salt that has lost its savor is good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under feet of men; if we stop being righteous (if we lose our savor-the quality that makes us salt), then we are no longer serving as a preservative, and all we are is dirt (fit to be walked on); just as we were before God gave us life (we become spiritually dead-even if our bodies are still walking around).

Sodom and Gomorrah

There’s an interesting story in Genesis 18 and 19: God appears to Abraham in the form of a man, with two angels, also in the form of men, and He warns Abraham that the city of Sodom is going to be destroyed. Abraham knows that his nephew Lot is living in Sodom, and he is, understandably, concerned for his nephew’s life. For whatever reason, though, Abraham doesn’t want to just come out and say, “God, you aren’t going to kill my nephew, too, are you?” So, instead, he tries to bargain with God. “But, God, surely there are some righteous people in Sodom (they can’t all be wicked—I know, my beloved nephew is there), you won’t destroy the city if there are, say, fifty righteous people in Sodom.” That’s not a direct quote, by the way, I’m paraphrasing. And God says, “If there are fifty righteous in the city, I will not destroy the city,” knowing full well that there aren’t fifty. So Abraham decides to push his luck—God answered much too quickly, there must not be fifty righteous people in Sodom, “But what if there’s only forty-five? You wouldn’t destroy an entire city for the lack of five people, would you?” Again, God answers immediately, that He would not. Now Abraham realizes that there must not be forty-five. “What if there’s only forty?” Eventually, Abraham talks God to ten, dropping five people each time. But, after God promises not to destroy Sodom if there are ten righteous people in Sodom, He tells Abraham not to ask Him again.
Of course, God did spare Lot, even though He did destroy the city. The two angels that were with God when He spoke to Abraham went to Sodom and got Lot, and his wife, and two of his daughters out of the city. They tried to get Abraham’s other two daughters out, but they, and their husbands, thought Lot was crazy, or drunk, or playing an April Fool’s joke; they wouldn’t leave. Even then, the angels told Lot’s family not to look back, and Lot’s wife looked back, anyway. Why? Apparently she had friends in Sodom; she had become accustomed to her way of life in Sodom, she didn’t want to give that up. When your way of life becomes more important to you than your life itself, then you have a problem.
There are a few things that we can learn from this: The usual moral attached to this story is don’t look back. Of course, Jesus told us that any man, putting his hand to the plow, and looking back, is not fit…In Romans chapter 6, Apostle Paul asks the church at Rome what good were they able to do before accepting Christ, that now they have regrets. That’s a good moral, but I think that there is more.
Abraham tried to bargain with God. It is a testament to Abraham’s faithfulness that God allowed him to try, but, I think that it’s important to note that it didn’t do any good. God still destroyed the city of Sodom, even though Abraham tried to talk Him out of it, but God saved Lot, even though Abraham never specifically asked Him for that. It’s what Abraham wanted, but he never did ask. It occurs to me that it’s better to just ask God for what you want—He may say no, but you aren’t going to bargain anything away from Him that He isn’t willing to give you, anyway.