1 February 2010
Psalm 56, 57; Gen. 19:1-29; Heb. 11:1-12; John 6:27-40

Lot immediately offers hospitality in the same way his uncle did, in contrast to the rest of Sodom. Lot has moved from outside of Sodom into the city itself and his daughters have seemingly married men from that city. The wickedness of Sodom is so great that a crowd gathers demanding that Lot send out the men who are visiting him in order that they may “know” them. The word “know” is clearly here a euphemism for sex, they don’t want to have a friendly chat. The passage makes plain the frenzied nature of their demands and their insatiable desire to have their way. Lot is willing to give them his daughters to appease their lusts but they are unwavering. Lot lingers when told to leave and the men forcibly press him out of the city, his wife can’t bear not to have one last look and meets her end. This is a terrible story but also a warning to us to not accommodate ourselves to the world. Sin is a powerful thing, it has great allure for us and it requires an act of God to change us in order that we can see things aright.

Jesus calls them to faith and they call Him to feed them as Moses did in the wilderness. He speaks of heavenly bread and they ask for it always, just as the woman at the well responded to Jesus’ offer of living water, but they weren’t truly hungry for that spiritual bread. There are connections here with Isaiah 55 - "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Jesus is offering what they need, the bread of life. They want a sign and He offers reality, that to which the sign points.

Faith is believing in that which cannot be seen and living in the world as though it were not all there is. Materialism says that this is all there ever is or ever will be so either eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die or walk about in mourning for tomorrow we die. Hebrews 11 tells the stories of those who lived by faith, believing that the unseen or invisible is greater than the visible but that the visible matters. We can’t make the mistake of being anti-materialists because God created those things that are visible out of the invisible things and He pronounced them “good.” It is ungrateful to treat what God has said was “good” as though it were “evil.” We have already proven that we really don’t know the difference? How we relate to things of earth matters to God. We have been given stewardship of earthly, created things but often we live as though they have dominion over us.

In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!