Lot’s and Paul’s stories in the Bible
Lot’s Encounter
A crucial and outstanding aspect that has been well presented in Genesis chapter 19 is the issue of remaining righteous no matter the situation at hand has been demonstrated in an amplified way (Carroll & Prickett, 2008). At times, a heavy resentment has to be overcome with not so favorable options, but just to defend what is righteous. In Sodom, the two messengers could not find a room to stay. No one accepted strangers in the place since they did not adhere to the immoral culture that had taken root in the region. The two strangers were men of God and so there is no way that they could give in to the needs of the people of Sodom. In spite of the unlucky fate of these two men, it is important to note the effort it must have taken them to resist the people of this region. Technically, it meant that they would have to spend their nights outdoors.
Lot, a moral man showed up and was willing to help these people. It is not an easy option for lot either. He has to sacrifice his two virgin daughters in order for the people to accept him accommodate the two men (Polhemus, 2005). I am obliged to believe that this was too much to give off. Lot definitely knew that these are men of God whom he served. He must have been ready and willing to give off whatever it takes; so long as it is for the sake of securing the men of God. He risked his life in a bid to saving the messengers.
Upon seeing the immorality of the two residences, Sodom and Gomorrah, God is ready to punish these two towns with fire. While the issue of righteousness and fighting for what is pleasing to God is the primary agenda, we see some people who fail to abide to these rules. The first disobedient person is Lot’s wife, who could not stand the curiosity of seeing fire rain from heaven. Upon looking back and disobeying an order from God’s messengers she turned into a salt rock (Polhemus, 2005). Lots daughters who had been raped opt to rape their father in order to have children. The two sons ended up being outcasts of Israel (Polhemus, 2005).
Paul’s Encounter
Looking at the account of the first disciples, and the establishment of the church, we see Paul spread the gospel in Thessalonica (Carroll & Prickett, 2008). We see Paul explaining the crusification of Jesus so as to make mankind immaculate and worthy of entering the kingdom of God. Paul goes on and tells the people that Jesus died for our sins. A great sacrifice of once life so that humanity may receive eternal life is visible here. This sacrifice of Jesus’s life surpasses that of Lot’s daughters since He is the son of God. We see a fruitful response as many people are willing to convert to Christianity. However, the antagonists claim that this religion is bound to bring about a political revolution. The angered multitude puts Paul’s life in danger and this leads to him being dispatched to Berea. It has to be recalled of the demeaning treatment that Paul experienced at Philippi, there was a need for him to ensure that he soon leaves Thessalonica immediately (Johnston, 2008).
Heading Berea, he received such a wonderful welcome and converts appeared quickly. Sacrifice is still eminent since we are aware that Paul was a wanted man. Yet he did not stop spreading the gospel. In fact, the hosts were abducted and presented before the rulers in the region. They had been accused of allegedly co-operating with the perpetrators of violence and political havoc. Of course the motive was to punish Paul fro he had forsaken his own Jewish people and attended to the gentiles. But Paul was accustomed to first attempting to spread the gospel to the Jews in the synagogues only that most of them rejected his good news (Johnston, 2008).
In Berea, the people are seen to have clear minds. They were ready to accept the gospel. It must be acknowledged that these Jews had received the holy spirit which had prepared them even before Paul arrived. They had two factors that made them ready to accept Jesus Christ and His teachings:
They had open hearts
they also had clear heads
When the Jew from Thessalonica heard that Paul is in Berea, bitterness got the better of them and they just had to stop the good news proclaimer. The freshly converted Christians were convinced that Paul was the bad guy and so they had to be chased out, and they headed to Athens. Just as the name suggests, it was a city that had people who worshiped the worldly gods. This shocked Paul and he felt an inner challenge provoking him to launch a campaign for the new gospel against the gods that the people worshiped (Flemming, 2002). This was going to be a challenge given the development that the city had experienced especially the intellectual and political power. The people here were loyal to their culture and they loved it. He had to come receive challenge from philosophers that professed a certain theory of life (Flemming, 2002). In a nutshell the facts that led to the rejection of Paul’s gospel are as follows:
He did not use the philosophical language used in town.
The people were proud of their culture
The town’s philosophers had furnished the people with theories about gods that the people felt sufficient with any theological campaigns
Some just fancied this news just because they were strange and appeared like fairly tales
Most people rejected the idea of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead
All in all, a number of them were saved and baptized (Carroll & Prickett, 2008). However, the number appear to be much less since Paul had decided to avoid some issues that would make him appear foolish. For instance, the preaching about the cross among Athens did not make sense as these were intellects in human thinking (Flemming, 2002).
References
Carroll, R., & Prickett, S. (2008). The Bible: Authorized King James Version. Oxford Paperbacks.
Flemming, D. (2002). Contextualizing the Gospel in Athens: Paul's Areopagus Address as a Paradigm for Missionary Communication.Missiology: An International Review, 30(2), 199-214.
Johnston, R. M. (2008). Preaching to Jews and Gentiles. Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, 4(2), 89-98.
Polhemus, R. M. (2005). Lot's daughters: sex, redemption, and women's quest for authority. Stanford University Press.
