Can we do תפילות prayers for:
Mike Clayton and his ministery
That through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?
 | | October 22, 2010 |
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TEACHING THE HEBRAIC PERSPECTIVE OF FAITH IN AND OBEDIENCE TO THE ONE TRUE GOD
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| Vayera "And appeared" Genesis 18:1-22:24 2 Kings 4:1-37 *Archived teaching from 2009*
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| Vayera "And appeared"
Genesis 18:1-22:24
2 Kings 4:1-37
Joshua 10-12
Outcry of a City
Remember Noah? In this week's Torah portion he has only been dead for just over a hundred years. His son Shem is still alive and able to tell the story about the time when his Dad built a huge boat which would provide a safe haven for his family. Shem could also tell stories of what the earth was like prior to the flood. He could tell of a time in which people engaged in all manner of sin. He could still, after all these years, with much emotion, tell of the day the door to the Ark was closed and the rain began to fall. Shem could, and no doubt would, continue to tell the story of hearing the cries for help which surrounded the ark. He could recall his attempts to help those who had sealed their fate by their hardness to the warnings of their neighbor, a prophet, a man named Noah.
Even with the warnings of righteous people who had lived to tell of judgment, mankind would continue to turn from his Creator to walk the road of sin. He would willingly forget the judgment of the past and somehow think that it could never happen again. He would come to believe that now The Almighty may not see, may not notice and may not act upon His sure word that sin must be judged. Man would once again become so blinded by his debauchery that he would think that this time he could get away with it and nothing was going to happen to stop him.
We read this week of an outcry going up to the heavens. Who was crying out about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Could it have been men like Shem who knew the certain fate that would come? We are not told the answer to this question or why Elohim allowed the cities to continue their downhill slide in sin. We are not told what actions prompted His visit to Abraham on that day. We are simply told that the day came when judgment would be certain and would be swift.
In the account we are given a glimpse into the nature of the people when two angels are sent to rescue Lot. It is a story which almost seems beyond belief, at least for those who may have lived in the present world a century ago. But today we can read the words of scripture regarding life in Sodom and Gomorrah and, without too much imagination, understand how similar events could happen in many cities in the United States, Europe and in other countries.
So has the world of today "gotten away with it?" Some would think so, or at least they are living like they think they will. We could even ask, "Why has the world, especially America seemed to be immune from the kind of judgment Sodom and Gomorrah were given?"_
I do not believe the world of today will get away with sin. Scripture is very clear that this is just not going to happen. But what will be the trigger that brings the world into judgment? Do the world of the flood and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah give us clues as to when these things will take place again? Maybe the greatest clue is not in the sin, but rather in the attitudes of the people. In both cases scripture tells us the people were living life like it would go on forever. They had no thought of eternity or that they were even doing anything wrong. They had fooled themselves into thinking they were living a life of peace and safety and that everything would just continue like it always had.
Paul and Peter write of a time in which people will have the same attitudes that they had prior to the flood and to Sodom and Gomorrah. It would be a time they would be so removed from the clear words of The Creator that they would forget that He and His words will never be mocked. In their sin they will once again have created a world which is right in their own eyes, but very wrong in His. It will be during a time such as that in which sudden destruction will come as a woman giving birth to a child.
Noah was told of the judgment to come as was Abraham. In our day we can trust in the same pattern to be upheld in the lives of those who are following Him. He is sounding the warning today that once again something is about to rain down upon this earth. This time as it was in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, an umbrella and a boat are just not going to cut it!
How long will it be? We do not know. What will be the final event that triggers these events? We are not told. What we are told though is to be alert. We are commanded to understand the times we live in and warn of the approaching storm of wrath. We are not told to change others, but to warn them. It is up to them whether they will repent and turn to Him. Our job is to do as Noah and build our ark. We are to learn from Lot and make sure we are not lingering so long in our ways that angels have to pull us to safety at the last moment.
Judgment has come throughout history and will no doubt come again. If this is not true then scripture is a lie. I believe it to be true. I wonder though, when other people see my life, are they able to tell that I believe its words only by my lip service or do they see its truth in my actions?
Probing question, is it not?
Shabbat Shalom,
Mike
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