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12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. 15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." ~ Genesis 19:12-17
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 19 where the nephew of Abraham, Lot, has been visited by two angels who were sent by the Lord Himself. The purpose for their visit was to make a final assessment of the moral climate in Lot's hometown, Sodom. After arriving, the men of the city wanted to rape these two visitors they surrounded Lot's house with the desire to exact the worst wickedness upon the them. As a result, the failure by the people of Sodom to heed the warnings of God yielded utter destruction to them and to their city.
In v.12-13 of today's passage we read, "12 Then the men said to Lot, 'Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.'"
Disaster never occurs apart from God’s will. After the planes struck the twin towers on September 11, 2001, several made it known to the world at large that it was the judgment of God on America. Of course, the news media ate them alive and over time they either partially or completely retracted their statement. But they were right, 911 was God's judgment upon America. The judgments of God are the expression of His justice and calamity comes upon us to either remove our sin or to protect us from sin.
Having said that, not all tragedies are because of sin, but some are caused or allowed in order to save us from even worse. When a child dies, for all we know, God looked through time and saw that death was far better than what otherwise would have happened. We simply can’t know what God knows and what we perceive as evil may have a very good reason. God's judgment upon Sodom was directly the result of their sin. And the authority ascribed to the judgment by the messengers was clear; the final words of v.13 makes this clear.
In v.14 of today's passage we read, "So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, 'Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!' But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking."
The most important news that these men could have ever heard in their lives was met with disbelief. In fact, when Lot told them that the Lord was going to destroy Sodom, they thought he was joking. With his very own sons-in-law Lot had very little influence. When Abraham had pleaded with God for divine mercy, there needed to be found only ten righteous men in the city for the whole city to be spared of His judgement. But when Lot went out beginning with his own family, he could find none. His political power was great, but his spiritual influence was quite small.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, 'Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.'"
Four people, only four made it out of Sodom alive. Abraham had asked the Lord to spare the city if ten righteous could be found, not even half that came out alive. Of course, the Lord knew that all along. In going through the process, the Lord gave us an example of how to mitigate a situation as serious as this. At dawn, when the city’s eyes were heaviest and the smell of the previous night’s sickness still hung thickly in the air, Lot was urged to get his family up and leave the city quickly.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city."
Amazingly, Lot lingered. He halted in his steps as the angels implored him to move. The Bible doesn’t tell why, but if we go back to Genesis 13 we are reminded that Lot was a man of wealth. He had flocks and herds, tents and servants. He had so much stuff that he and Abraham couldn’t live together. In addition, he was also a judge in Sodom. Lot had much status, and position, but he had little of value. He hadn’t influenced a single soul nor even convinced one person that their wicked life was wrong. This, probably, is what caused him to linger, both for the loss of his stuff and for the loss of those he failed to influence spiritually.
In v.17 of today's passage we read, "So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, 'Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.'"
The message from the Lord was emphatic because only destruction and death awaited them. The angels told Lot to take his family to a mountain because it was there that they would be preserved by its elevation from the flood of rain, sulphur, and fire which descended on the low ground on which the cities were built. This warning was rather similar to a warning the Lord Jesus told the nation of Israel regarding the end times in Matthew 24:15-16 which reads, "15 Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place' (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 'then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.'"
After the rapture of the church, during the Tribulation, the entire world will gather to destroy Israel. The Jews with a willing heart to believe will look to the Lord Jesus and they will be saved. In the book of the Revelation, the Apostle John informs us that 1/3 of Israel will be saved. Many try to find God guilty when they ask about those who have never heard of the way out of His judgement. This is course is proven over and over to be a bogus question. Everyone has heard. By virtue of the fact that He has placed eternity in our hearts which is our conscience and His creation screams His existence, no one is without excuse. The Lord Jesus said it most simply when He said, "The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light."
