Related commentaries – Judgment

God’s severe judgment on Korah’s crowd – Numbers 16:23 – 16:50

Lawrence - The city that dared God to show Himself

In a book entitled Down to Earth, John Lawrence tells the story of a city that dared God to show Himself and paid a terrible price. It seems that the city of Messina, Sicily, was home to many wicked, irreligious people. On December 25, 1908, a newspaper published in Messina printed an article against God, daring Him to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, on December 28, the city and its surrounding district was devastated by a terrible quake that killed 84,000 people. (Today in the Word, October, 1997, p. 25).