Taking the Warning Seriously!

Read: Hebrews 11:7; 2 peter 3:3-7; Matthew 24:37-39

Multitudes of people are or will be traveling in order to have a good vantage point for observing Monday's up-coming eclipse. There are even people coming from Germany for the April 8 event.

Although I won't be viewing the eclipse, the fact that we can know the precise timing that it will occur reminds me again of the awesome God Who both made and sustains our world and solar system, Colossians 1:16-17. The order He has placed in His creation and His attention to detail amaze me. After all, I have been known to brew a pot of fresh coffee having forgotten to put ground coffee in the filtered basket.

How wonderfully unlike me Creator/God is. His attention to detail and His wisdom on display in the eclipse is unfathomable, Romans 11:33-34. So, perhaps many will view the eclipse and come to know the God Whose handiwork is on display everywhere, Psalm 8:1; Romans 1:19-20.

Of course, as is true each time there is a solar eclipse, everyone is warned not to look at the sun during the eclipse without wearing approved glasses which make it safe. A few days ago, I heard an additional warning. It was put out by Amazon. They had discovered that some of their protective eye wear hadn't been approved and vetted by the American Astronomical Society. People were told to discard the glasses that were contained in those particular lots and that they would receive a refund without having to return the product. Amazon called it "an abundance of caution", indicating that the product might be effective and safe, but that there was uncertainty. If I had purchased those glasses, I wouldn't take a chance. I would act on the warning and toss them into the trash, and I'm guessing that this will be a warning that most people heed.

I wish that were the case concerning the warnings we find in the Bible. After all, the words we read in the scriptures are given to us by the One Who cannot lie, Titus 1:2. When the Lord says that something is a certainty if action isn't taken, we can be sure that it will be so. Let's look at one warning that effected people long ago and is still held up for us as a reminder. It concerns Noah and the people who lived during the time he was alive.

We first meet him in Genesis 6. I can't fathom what it must have been like when God spoke to him with such ominous news. Total destruction was going to come because of the unparalleled wickedness of mankind. God gave His man a great task. He was to proclaim God's words and build God's ark. Noah had a great deal of work to do before the day that the calamity would strike the earth, destroying each person and animal that wasn't sheltered in the ark. What a warning Noah had to proclaim. A flood that couldn't be imagined because there was no precedent for it. They had never yet experienced rain. Even so, it was going to come. God had said it would come.

Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah believed the warning and therefore obeyed God by building the ark. He feared God and believed that His word was true even though he had never seen rain falling out of the sky. Surely the people all around Noah could see that he believed God's warning. No one would go through all of that work unless he did. Wouldn't we think that some people, other than Noah's family members, would also heed God's warning? Sadly, that never happened, and in His timing, we read that God shut the ark's door, Genesis 7:16.

Some people would like to disregard the Old Testament and even call its accounts fairy tales. If that is done concerning Noah and the flood, Jesus' words must also be discounted. In Matthew 24:37-39, the Lord spoke of the veracity of the Genesis account. He spoke of the dire consequences if the warning of judgment is disregarded. He reminded those who heard Him that those not on the ark were swept away in the flood and that another judgment would just as surely come in the last days. A strong warning from the Master.

Let's look at one more warning. This time from Peter in 2 Peter 3:3-7.  It is another parallel reminder like Jesus gave. Peter spoke of the scoffers who would deny the truth of Noah's worldwide flood. They would therefore also deny that future judgment would come. No abundance of caution here. Instead, they will tell anyone who will listen to throw caution to the wind. Everything, they would say, will go on as it always has.

Can you imagine the outcry if a company like Amazon would have told people to go ahead. Take a chance. Wear glasses about which we are uncertain. After all, most likely you'll be fine. It is ridiculous, and no reputable company would do that.

Sadly, so many people are apathetic or mock God's warnings. Perhaps, they think that they might look into "those things" later. May I say with loving respect that the future is uncertain. No one knows if there will be time to look into the Bible's warnings. No wonder God says, that if today, we hear His voice, we must not harden our hearts. Instead, like Noah, we should receive God's warnings and act upon them.

Lord, help us to be like Noah. Living in such a way that others can see that we believe Your warnings are true.