Looking back.

[B-A-C]

There were times all through the Bible, God judged people instantly. Sometimes seemingly without mercy or grace.

Gen 19:17; When they had brought them outside, one said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away."

Gen 19:23; The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
Gen 19:24; Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven,
Gen 19:25; and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Gen 19:26; But his wife, from behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Gen 19:27; Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before the LORD;
Gen 19:28; and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke of a furnace.

Now it seems that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were judged here, yes. But also Lot's wife was judged. Simply for disobeying and looking back at the city.

Luke 17:29; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
Luke 17:30; "It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
Luke 17:31; "On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.
Luke 17:32; "Remember Lot's wife.

Luke 17 is considered a prophetical chapter about the end times and the second coming of Jesus. It says here that when Jesus comes back, "it will be just the same" as it was for Sodom
and Gomorrah. Does that mean fire and brimstone will reign down heaven again? I don't know, but it doesn't sound like it will pleasant whatever it is.
Lot and his family were told not to look back. Perhaps his wife gave one last reminiscent, longing look at the city, at the life she used to have.
When Jesus comes back, we are given the same warning. Don't turn back. Don't look back. "Remember Lot's wife".

Even in the New testament, people say they want to follow Jesus.... "after" they take care of their current worldly needs".

Luke 9:57; As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go."
Luke 9:58; And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
Luke 9:59; And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."
Luke 9:60; But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:61; Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."
Luke 9:62; But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

We say we want to follow Jesus, but then we prove to Him that other things are more important. We want to follow Him for a "little while".
We want to follow him until things get hard, or things get rough. But Jesus said if you look back (longing for your previous way of life) you aren't "fit for the kingdom of heaven".

In Numbers 11, the sons of Israel are still wandering around in the desert. God is giving them food from heaven. Manna. But they are complaining.

Num 11:1; Now the people became like those who complain of adversity in the hearing of the LORD; and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
Num 11:2; The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD and the fire died out.
Num 11:3; So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burned among them.
Num 11:4; The rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "Who will give us meat to eat?

God displays His anger toward the people, and yet the people still aren't happy. They are tired of Manna. They want meat.

Num 11:10; Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was displeased.

God tells Moses, the people want meat? Fine, I will give them meat until it comes out of their noses.

Num 11:18; "Say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat.
Num 11:19; 'You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,
Num 11:20; but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

Like Lot's wife, they longed for "the way things used to be". Why did we ever leave Egypt? Sure we were slaves in bondage there, but life was easy. (how quickly we forget).
Some people ask, why did I ever get saved? Why did I ever agree to follow Jesus. Sure I was a slave to sin, but I could do whatever I wanted.

Num 11:33; While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very severe plague.
Num 11:34; So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy.

... to be continued.

 

[B-A-C]

Luke 13 if often read along with, and compared to Matthew 24 as and eschatological chapter (end times events)

Matt 24:37; "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
Matt 24:38; "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
Matt 24:39; and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Much like Luke 13, where Jesus mentions Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus mentions an event where virtually all of mankind was wiped out. The great flood.

Matt 24:40; "Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
Matt 24:41; "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Matt 24:42; "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Matt 24:43; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
Matt 24:44; "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Matt 24:45; "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
Matt 24:46; "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
Matt 24:47; "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Matt 24:48; ''But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master is not coming for a long time,'
Matt 24:49; and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards;
Matt 24:50; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know,
Matt 24:51; and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

He speaks of a "faithful and sensible" servant in "His household" His household represents the church, the body of Christ, the kingdom of God.
That person will be rewarded. But then it speaks of another servant here. An "evil" servant. Seemingly in the same household. Seemingly with the same master.
But like Lot's wife, and the Israelites in the wilderness, he gets impatient. He looks back. He starts doing the things he used to do.
When the master returns, He will "cut him in pieces" and assign him a place with the hypocrites.

Luke's version puts it like this.

Luke 12:46; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

"the master of that slave". Who is the master of this slave in this story who is going to return when the servant isn't expecting Him? It's Jesus.
Jesus is the master of this slave. And yet it says He will cut the unfaithful servant in pieces, and and assign him a place... "with the unbelievers".

Why do we look back? Why do we let the pull of the old life and sin make us long for "how it used to be".

1 Pet 3:10; For, "THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.
1 Pet 3:11; "HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.
1 Pet 3:12; "FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."

We are quick to say things like "If God is for me, who can be against me". That's great. But is God "for you"? God is for the righteous, but the Lord is against those who do evil.
Let me turn the question around and ask it this way. If God is against you, what can be for you?

1 Pet 4:1; Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,
1 Pet 4:2; so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
1 Pet 4:3; For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
1 Pet 4:4; In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you;
1 Pet 4:5; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

There are some people who call themselves "Christians", but they want to live like non-Christians. They want to stay in Egypt. They want to stay in Sodom and Gomorrah.
Peter says it's "past time" for you to keep living like this and doing these things". Like the good and sensible servant above, he says "they are surprised you do not" keep running
around and living a sinful lifestyle. We should be different from thew world. They should be surprised at our change. Our change should be that we longer want to look back.
We should no longer want to live like we did before.

 

[Brother-Paul]

We say we want to follow Jesus, but then we prove to Him that other things are more important. We want to follow Him for a "little while".
We want to follow him until things get hard, or things get rough. But Jesus said if you look back (longing for your previous way of life) you aren't "fit for the kingdom of heaven".

So true brother.

I came across many who would sing God's Praises and worship and give thanks, 'O Come Lord Jesus. Amen'

Then after the service talking or at other times they say...

Well I have this holiday coming up I wouldn't want to miss that for anything!

I wouldn't miss the cup final for anything!

Yes I want the Lord to come but I have a new car coming next month, so hope it is not yet, can't wait to receive it!

There can be a million and one excuses, strange how they are always, material or worldly items.

God knows the thoughts of our hearts.