job 6
As Christians, our function as salt is to give flavor to the earth. God enjoys this fl avor. Unappetizing food becomes tasty and acceptable when seasoned with salt. Job asks this rhetorical question: “Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?” (Job 6:6). The presence of salt makes the difference, causing us to enjoy food we would otherwise refuse to eat. Our presence makes the earth acceptable to God and commends the earth to His mercy. Because we are here, God continues to deal with the earth in grace and mercy rather than in wrath and judgment. Our presence makes the difference. This principle is vividly illustrated in the account of Abraham’s intercession on behalf of Sodom, as recorded in Genesis 18:16–33. The Lord told Abraham that He was going to Sodom to see if that city’s wickedness had come to the point where judgment could no longer be withheld. Abraham then walked with the Lord on His way and reasoned with h Him about the situation.
Abraham first established a principle that was the basis for what followed: It is never the will of God that the judgment due to the wicked should come upon the righteous. “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Abraham asked (verse 23). “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (verse 25). The Lord makes it clear in the ensuing conversation that He accepts the principle stated by Abraham. How important it is that all believers understand this! If we have been made righteous by faith in Christ and are leading lives that truly express our faith, then it is never God’s will that we be included in the judgments He brings upon the wicked -Derek Princ
Abraham first established a principle that was the basis for what followed: It is never the will of God that the judgment due to the wicked should come upon the righteous. “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Abraham asked (verse 23). “Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (verse 25). The Lord makes it clear in the ensuing conversation that He accepts the principle stated by Abraham. How important it is that all believers understand this! If we have been made righteous by faith in Christ and are leading lives that truly express our faith, then it is never God’s will that we be included in the judgments He brings upon the wicked -Derek Princ
