When looking around at the anti-god behavior of folks in the United States these days, we may wonder why God allows it continue. Why is His judgment delayed? These challenges to the reality and holiness of God continue far too long from our perspective. God’s mercy and patience with mankind is what this paper is about. Please see my related paper titled, God’s Patience.
Our culture in America was heavily influenced by godliness from the beginning, but is becoming more brazen as folks lose their biblical moorings. It looks like we have become a post-Christian culture.
Some examples of this anti-God sentiment and behavior can be seen in:
- Gay pride parades -Homosexual behavior is clearly condemned in Scripture,1 but now it is openly flaunted with parades on main street.
- Abortion on demand -God made us in His image.2 Therefore life should be protected at all ages -especially the unborn.
- Sex change operations -God created us male and female and instituted marriage for a man and woman for life.3
- PBS4 “Science” programs -Evolution is a theory of our existence. On PBS however, it is presented as science fact and creation is not given a hearing.5
This type of sacrilegious6 conduct is not new. The biblical record has many instances of extreme behavior in previous generations. Here are two well known examples where God did judge sin:
The Great Flood
During the time of Noah, the wickedness of man got to the point that God judged the earth with a great flood. Only eight persons were saved through the deluge (1 Peter 3:20). Genesis 6:5 records,
“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
and in verse 13:
“Then God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.’ ”
God directed Noah to build an ark for his family and animals.7 Upon completion, Noah’s family and the animals boarded the ark, and then God flooded the earth destroying everything that was on the face of the land.8
The Sin of Sodom
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are described by the Lord in Genesis 18:20 saying,
“The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.” Therefore God sent two angels to visit Sodom and confirm the extent of its immorality.
When the two angels came into the city of Sodom, Lot, the nephew of Abraham,9 met them at the gate. Lot, being a righteous man, invited them to stay at his house, knowing that they would need protection from the wicked men of the city. That evening after dinner, the men of the city, young and old, surrounded Lot’s house.10 As described for us in Genesis 19 verse 5, the men of Sodom called out to Lot saying,
“Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”
The men of the city tried to break down the door to Lot’s house, but the angels stopped them. Speaking of the angels, Genesis 19:11 says,
“And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.”
Lot Escapes
At dawn the next morning, Lot escaped from the city with his immediate family, and God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. Genesis 19:24 tells us,
“Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”
Sodom was judged for their behavior and the name of the city became connected with the sin they were judged for. The etymology of the word sodomy can be traced back to this event.11
These examples of God’s judgment provide insight into His righteousness and justice. There are other accounts in the Bible where we might wonder why God allowed evil to continue without judgment, such as the story of King Manasseh.
King Manasseh
In 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 we have the narrative of Manasseh, who became king at the age of 12 and reigned for 55 years in Jerusalem. Verse 6 tells us, “He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger:” His sacrilegious behavior included:
- Engaging in idolatry
- Desecrating the temple by building alters in it to worship false gods
- Offering his sons as sacrifices like the heathen do,12
- Practicing witchcraft and sorcery
- Using divination
- Dealing with mediums and spiritists (v2-6).
Manasseh offering his own children up in sacrifice is unimaginable, but he also misled the nation. Verse 9 summarizes the spiritual state of Manasseh’s reign:
“Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.”
Concerning the offering of his own children as sacrifices, Manasseh was influenced by the surrounding heathen nations. One commentary says,
“There can be no doubt that this worst of cruel abominations, learned from Ammon and Moab, amounted to nothing less than the sacrifice of the child in the fire.”13
Ammon & Moab
The long term effects of sin should not be underestimated. As discussed earlier, Lot escaped Sodom with his family, but the consequences of living in such a wicked place had an impact on his daughters. After their escape, Lot’s two daughters did not think they could get husbands for themselves, but wanted to preserve their families. So, they got their father drunk and went in and laid with him. Genesis 19:36-38 reports to us,
“Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.”
Some 1400 years later, the godless ways of the Moabites and Ammonites found their way into the idolatry of the Israelites.14 Following after the gods of the heathens and their religious practices was constantly warned against by God.15 Their abominable acts were not to be copied, but despite God’s warning, Manasseh took up child sacrifice.16
Why did God allow Manasseh to reign for so long? Why did God delay judgment? I think it was to allow time for Manasseh to repent of his wickedness. Not just time, for God applied pressure in the form of an invasion from a foreign nation.
Assyrians
God spoke to Manasseh and the people but they paid no attention. So, God brought the Assyrians against Jerusalem to discipline them. The Assyrians captured King Manasseh, put a hook through his nose, and bound him with chains. Then, in Manasseh’s distress, he humbled himself greatly and called out to the Lord. In His mercy, God listened to his supplication, and delivered Manasseh back again to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.17
Repentance
King Manasseh repented and 2 Chronicles 33:15-16 reports the following concerning him:
“He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the LORD, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the LORD and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. And he set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.”
Matthew Henry comments that, “We have seen Manasseh’s wickedness; here we have his repentance, and a memorable instance it is of the riches of God’s pardoning mercy, and the power of his renewing grace.”18
Conclusion
We have see the judgment of God on the wickedness of man in the first two examples: The Great Flood; and, Sodom and Gomorrah. We have also seen God’s mercy when He extended the reign of King Manasseh allowing time for him to repent.
We don’t know how long, in His mercy, God will wait for repentance. That is why the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:2 and 3 that we should not receive the grace of God in vain. For He says,
“AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,
AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU”;
behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold,
now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION!”
1 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
2 Genesis 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (See also Psalm 139:14-16)
3 Matthew 19:4-6 And [Jesus] answered and said, “Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (All caps in the New Testament indicate an Old Testament quote.)
4 PBS -Public Broadcasting Station.
5 For example, a ‘teaching tip’ given for the PBS show NATURE: The Story of Cats, says,“Based on evidence presented in the video, describe how the process of evolution led the South American Jaguar to the point of apex predator.” https://oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nat35-sci-jaguar/animal-adaptations-jaguar-jaws/ 2/25/23
6 Sacrilegious: committing or characterized by sacrilege : having or showing a lack of proper respect for a sacred person, place, or object. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sacrilegious 2/25/23
7 For those wondering how all of the animals could fit on the ark, here is a great article that helps explain it: . https://www.icr.org/article/how-could-all-animals-get-board-noahs-ark 3/3/23
8 Genesis chapters 6-8
9 Genesis 14:12
10 Genesis 19:1-4
11 Middle English sodomie “a culturally stigmatized form of sexual intercourse,” borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin sodomia, from Late Latin Sodoma SODOM (Greek Sódoma, Hebrew Sĕdhōm) + Latin -ia -IA entry 1; from the belief that the men of Sodom’s intention was to practice such intercourse on Lot’s male guests (in the Biblical story of the destruction of Sodom, Genesis 18-19) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sodomy 3/2/23
12 2 Chronicles 33:6 “he made his sons pass through the fire.”
13 Pulpit Commentary on 2 Chronicles 33
14 One Biblical timeline puts the destruction of Sodom around 2067 BC and Manasseh’s reign around 687 BC.
15 Some examples: Exodus 23:24, 34:15; Deuteronomy 7:25, 12:3; Joshua 23:7; Judges 2:3; 1 Kings 11:2; Isaiah 37:19, etc.
16 God addresses Manasseh’s particular sin in Deuteronomy 12:31: “You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.”
17 2 Chronicles 33:10-13
18 Matthew Henry Commentary on 2 Chronicles 33