MONDAY 9th
2 Peter 2:4-22
v5 ‘. . . if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly . . .’
The verses that we are considering at this moment seem at first as if they are all about doom and gloom, and yes they are, but for a particular reason and that is to warn those who would have heard this letter being read and us who read it today of that which will befall all who fail to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is so that as we read its warnings we may be moved into a place of hope.
In today’s verse, Peter moves forward in time, remember the previous verse was about the angels who transgressed along with Satan, he now looks at the example of the time of Noah, in what he calls the ancient world, the pre-flood world, and again it speaks of the judgement that was brought upon the ungodly at that time. What is important to note is how Peter refers to Noah, as ‘a herald of righteousness’.
There is no doubt from this verse that in the time that it took Noah to build the ark, that he would have warned those who would have watched him of the impending judgement, but instead of believing Noah, they chose not to listen or to obey his call to repentance, Peter had already stated this in his first letter, chapter 1:20 ‘because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared’.
And Peter like Noah was a herald of righteousness, he also didn’t want to see men and women perish and thus he warns them through this letter of the importance of responding to and obeying Gods call to salvation which comes through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Back on the day of Pentecost, Peter’s message to those who started out by mocking him and the other disciples, just as the people mocked Noah before the flood was to ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’. Acts 2:38.
It is also my responsibility to warn and to encourage all that may read or hear the devotion that if you have not yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, just as the flood suddenly came upon those in the day of Noah and took them to their judgement, so the end will suddenly come to this period of time which we call the day of God’s grace. Don’t let it overtake you, be ready, accept Jesus as your Saviour.