Once a bank manager told me, I do not read the Old Testament because the God of the Old Testament is a punishing God. It is difficult for me to love such a God and pray to him. When I read the Old Testament my mind is perturbed by so many doubts and questions. For example, if God is loving, forgiving and saving, why did he destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by bringing down fire and brimstone on them? Even when Abraham pleaded with him, God did not relent and commute the punishment! I have come to know that many people nurse in their minds such thoughts. Many things that look like punishments to the human intelligence might be salvation and a sign of love in the divine wisdom. We should understand the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as described in Genesis 19, in this perspective. The cities of Sodom of Gomorrah were stinking with sin and depravity. Their sin was grave. Sin without remorse will bring misery. That is also the natural law. The cities were punished in a state where there werent even enough people to pray for them for forgiveness. God desires the salvation of people. In those cities there were not even 10 righteous people. For the welfare of the whole, sometimes a part may have to be severed. Let me clarify it through an example. The bone of a persons leg is afflicted with cancer. When medications fail, the doctor recommends the amputation below the knee. If the diseased part is not removed, the malady will spread to the other parts of the body. Here, removal of the leg is inevitable to save the whole body from devastation, from sure death. In the same way, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was simply an act of love that would save the rest of mankind. Mans assessment of many things is superficial and short-sighted. God has infini-tely broad foresight. When a person stands very close to the railway track he will see only just one compartment of the train. But when he looks at the train from a hill, he will be able to see the entire train. Gods vision is infinite. Gods plans and work are conceived with the salvation of the entire mankind in sight. The near-sighted man may not understand the subtleties and nuances of this broad view. In Exodus 7:14 to 10:28, we read about the 10 signs that God wrought in Egypt. They are referred to as plagues sent by God against the pharaoh and the Egyptians. Bible scholars prefer to call them as signs and not plagues. NILE WATER TURNED TO BLOOD (Exo 7:14-25): When Moses struck the water with his staff, the water of the Nile turned into blood. All the fishes in the river died. The disaster was wrought because of the hard- heartedness of the pharaoh. A natural calamity for his gross sin. Egypt is popularly known as the gift of the Nile. Nile is a blessing to Egypt in three ways. a) It gives water for household use, irrigation and navigation. b) The silt brought by the river during floods is deposited on the sides of the river when it floods and this makes the land fertile. c) The fishes and other river products help the people to live comfortably. Because of the multifarious uses of the Nile, the Egyptians began to consider Nile as a deity and worship it. The name given by them to the Nile deity was Happy. They offered sacrifices to placate their deity and get blessings from it. The pharaoh had come to the bank to pay homage to this deity (Exo 7:15). By turning the water into blood, it was proved beyond any iota of doubt that the real master of the Nile, which was the source of all blessings for the Egyptians, was none other than the Lord himself. The gift of the river is the gift of God. So this sign, more than being an expression of punishment, proves the might of Jehovah. Through this Gods power over everything was very powerfully exhibited. FROGS INFEST THE WHOLE COUNTRY (Exo 8:1-15) The second sign is a continuation of the first. When the water in the Nile turned blood, and all the fishes died, the frogs started coming to the land. They even entered the palace of pharaoh giving him ample cause to worry. When Moses prayed at the request of the pharaoh, the frogs died. God has brought an end to the natural calamity which ensued as a result of the recalcitrance of the pharaoh. Now the pharaoh realized that there is no one like the Lord our God (Exo 8:10). It is usual for the frogs to croak before the new rains. When the frogs croak, rain comes. The rain makes the river full and it starts flooding. The floods bring in the silt and make the land fertile. The Egyptians had foolishly believed that rains came because of the croaking of the frogs. They started worshipping the frog also giving it the status of a deity. The frog deity was called Hect. This sign was showing them that it was not Hect, but Jehovah who was the Lord and Master of everything and the real source of all their prosperity. If we look at these signs which have been branded as plagues and punishments, in this new perspective we will find that they were for disciplining the people by giving them divine revelations and not mere punishments emanating from some sort of vengeance. The Bible presents a merciful God. The Psalmist always extols that mercy. The Lord crowns you with steadfast love and mercy (Ps 103:4). The Lord is merciful and gracious (Ps 103:8). As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him (Ps 103:11). As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him (Ps 103:13). Those stand in humility and awe before this mercy will receive divine graces. Satan instilled the fear of the punishing God into the minds of Adam and Eve when they sinned in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:10). Such a fear will distance us from salvation. When God is distanced from us, we are bound to be rooted in evil. There is no point in merely recognizing sin or acknowledging it. We have to relinquish sin for ever and rededicate ourselves to God. We should be able to see the merciful and compassionate face of God behind all the good things happening to us.