This chapter tells the story of the progression of mankind, the increase of sin and - in its final sentence - the development of worship. There are interesting snippets of cultural information (vs. 20-22). There may be progress in the horizontal dimension - agriculture, music, industry, but history reveals again and again that all is not well in our relationship with God. Sin was on the increase (vs. 1-16). Things were getting out of control. Could they be turned around again? A strongly positive answer is not spelled out in detail in this chapter. There is, however, a hint of God at the end of the chapter. He is still at work, calling sinners to worship Him. People are beginning to respond. This is the note on which the chapter ends. "At that time, people began to worship the Lord" (v. 26). This is the ray of hope. This is the word of inspiration at the end of a chapter which is, at best informative - the progression of culture, and, at worst, depressing - the increase of sin.
"Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" (Matthew 17:6),. even after there us divine revelation (Matthew 16:17), the influence of evil can be felt (Matthew 16:23), The warning - "Be careful! Watch out ... !" must never be forgotten. Satan is looking for an opportunity to leads us away from the Lord. We must hear what Jesus is saying to us about discipleship (Matthew 16:24), and we must commit ourselves to Him (Matthew 16:25). There is nothing more important than this (Matthew 16:26). If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must learn to live our lives in the light of eternity (Matthew 16:27). We are to seek revelations of God's eternal Kingdom, revelations which will send us back, from the mountain-top, to live each day for Jesus.
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