Exalting God

The text of Genesis 19 illustrates once again two critical aspects of God’s interaction with humanity.     On the one hand we see the destructive power of His divine, perfectly just wrath.  On the other hand, we see the liberating power of His matchless grace.  I say once again because this chapter mirrors a similar display of His wrath and grace that we saw in the flood narrative of Genesis 6-9 as God graciously saved righteous Noah and his family from the destructive force of His wrath upon sin.

As any faithful Bible student knows, identifying repeated themes is critical to understanding the flow of Scripture.  Therefore, we must stop and pay careful attention to the theme of this passage: God is not only gracious in spite of sin, He is wrathful against sin.  We see both aspects very clearly in this passage.

Our narrative starts near the conclusion of the same day that saw God and two of His angels visit Abraham under the Oaks of Mamre.  After a meal and a direct, but loving challenge to Sarah regarding her lack of faith, Abraham approached God and pleaded for the righteous of Sodom while the two angels departed for the same city.  Later that very evening, the two angels arrived in Sodom and found Lot, Abraham’s nephew, “sitting in the gate”.  The fact that we are given this piece of information is extremely important, for throughout this account, Lot and the recourse of his life decisions are given much attention.

Genesis 13:10-12 provides our first insight into Lot’s character:

“…while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom.”

It seems evident here that Lot, at least to some degree, struggled with selfishness.  He saw the Jordan Valley and salivated over its lush greenery.  So Scripture records that he chose for himself all the Jordan Valley and settled there, moving as far as Sodom.  Genesis 14:12 takes the move a step further:

“They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.”

So here we see Lot taking the next step in conforming to the world.  He began by moving a little too close; from there it was easy to just move on in.  Sadly, Sodom and Gomorrah have already been described by God as a wicked and perverse place (Genesis 13:13).  However, his descent did not stop with moving to a new town, for as chapter 19 opens, we find that he had actually become so involved in the town’s culture that he actually developed some degree of leadership or notoriety.  Tradition records that the gateway to the city was a place of position among the city leaders.  It was not a place for the traveler or the newcomer.  The reality is this: as will be demonstrated shortly, Lot, a man declared as righteous by Peter (2 Peter 2:7), has succumb to the fleeting pleasures of sin and compromised his faith in God.

We get an idea of Lot’s descent by contrasting his interaction with the two angels with that of Abraham’s.  We see Abraham under the Oaks of Mamre, a place of blessing and worship, while Lot was in Sodom, a place known for its wickedness.  Abraham was at the door of his tent, while Lot was in the gate of the city.  Abraham arose and hurried to greet his guests.  It is recorded that Lot merely rose to meet them.  Later we see that Abraham walked with God (18:16), yet Lot lingered (19:16).  Abraham pleaded for Sodom (18:22ff).  Lot pleaded for himself (19:19).  Perhaps to some these are but minor aspects of Lot’s life, but taken as a whole they clearly reveal a character flaw in him.  However, he has not entirely abandoned his sense of morality and faith.

As did his uncle, Lot offered his home to the two angels.  But likely to his surprise, the two rejected his offer, choosing instead to spend the night in the city square.  The text goes on to say that Lot “pressed them strongly” to stay in his house for the night.  Although it is clear that Lot loved Sodom and the life that it offered him, he still had a sense of right and wrong.  He knew the sinful misadventures of the Sodomites and he knew exactly what would happen to these men if they stayed out over night.  The angels subsequently agreed to stay with him.

However, before they could retire for the night, Scripture records that all of the men of Sodom, both young and old, gathered at Lot’s home and surrounded them.  “Lot”, they cried out, “Where are the men who came to you tonight?”  They quickly confirmed Lot’s fears: “Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”  The Hebrew behind “know” in this case is a word that can be used in a variety of situations.  It can be used literally or figuratively.  Thus, we are dependent upon the context of the passage to guide our interpretation.  As we see in verses 6-8, these men clearly had sexual abuse in their minds as they called out to Lot, for he responded to them with a disgusting offer that hinged on sex.

In an effort to understand Lot’s actions here, I want to place two passages before us: (1) the actual verses from Genesis 19 that recount Lot’s offer, and (2) the apostle Peter’s words mentioned earlier.

Genesis 19:6-8

2 Peter 2:4-10

One does not have to be a father to grasp the depravity of Lot’s offer to those wicked men of Sodom.  How any self-respecting, devoted and loving father could ever, under any circumstances make such an offer is beyond my ability to comprehend.  It is a disgusting offer which betrays the very nature of fatherhood.  So how are we to understand Lot’s actions?  Moreover, how are we to understand God’s actions in light of Lot’s offer?  Rightly answering these questions is crucial to learning and living the truths of this passage.

Understanding Lot’s Actions

Up until verse seven we have seen at least a semblance of righteousness in Lot.  Scripture reveals that even though he had fallen in love with Sodom and its culture, he still had the desire to exhibit some level of morality.  So we have hope for Lot.  But then we read verse seven and our hope turns to anger and confusion.  As Lot steps outside to confront the men, the rabble he refers to as “brothers”, all of our fears about Lot are confirmed as we witness the powerful affects of going beyond living in the world to embracing the world.

As Peter notes, Lot’s embracement of the Sodomite culture caused a great conflict within his soul.  Day after day of witnessing horrid act after horrid act had taken a toll on the righteous man Lot.  In essence, he had become what surrounded him.  He allowed his natural tendency for pleasure and prosperity to develop a strong foothold in his life.  He knew he was wrong for staying in Sodom; otherwise there would have been no torment within his soul over the lawless deeds of the Sodomites.  But he stayed anyway.  And the power of sin overtook him.

So he stood before the men of Sodom as a confused, tormented man.  So as the old saying goes: Sin will you cost you more than you ever wanted to spend and take you farther than you ever wanted to go.  I would venture to say that when his daughters were born he never envisioned making such an offer.  As he raised his daughters he probably could not have even fathomed saying such a thing.  But then there was the lush Jordan Valley.  Then there was Sodom, with all of its activities and buying and selling and pleasures.  There was notoriety.  And there was money.

Perhaps we can compare Lot’s actions with that of a drug addict.  The pleasures of sin had so encapsulated him that he just could not imagine life without them.  We see this later as the angels dragged he and his family away from Sodom, Lot pleaded with the angels to allow them to stay in Zoar, a town that was closer to Sodom than the mountain he had been instructed to flee to.  He just did not want to let it go – no matter what it cost him.  Lot’s actions are a direct result of the concessions he had made months, perhaps years before.

Understanding God’s Actions

Lot’s actions, particularly when set against the strong theme of the justice of God which we saw in Genesis 18, make it difficult for us to understand God’s actions.  One would think that any idea of justice would include swift and decisive action against Lot, but what we find is the opposite.  Lot does not receive wrath.  Instead, God extends to him the gift of His grace.

God had sent His angels to Sodom not to confirm His suspicions, but to make it clear to Abraham and to Israel later on, that He is a gracious God and that His wrath is always warranted.  As we begin to see in verse nine, they had seen enough.  The time had come for judgment.

Lot’s plan had failed.  The men grew angrier by the minute at the sound of a sojourner lecturing them about the morality of their actions while simultaneously offering his daughters as sexual surrogates.       As they drew close to him we are told that they pressed so hard against Lot that they were about to break down the door.  Their anger enraged, they were prepared to do what they had come to do plus more.    And I believe it is fair to say that it would seem just to us if God had allowed them to have Lot and brutalize him, but God did not see it that way.

Instead of turning Lot over to the outworking of his sinful choices, God’s angels reached out and quickly delivered Lot from his oppressors.  Rather than receiving judgment, Lot received grace.  What is more, grace would continue to flow from God toward Lot.  Not only did He deliver Lot, the men of Sodom were struck with blindness so as to prevent them from finding the door to break it down.  God was protecting Lot!  Why?  Why would God act to protect and as we are about to see, to deliver this sinful man?  One reason is revealed in verse 29, where we are told that God spared lot because of His promise to Abraham to spare the righteous from the judgment of the wicked.  In other words, God’s deliverance of Lot was not at all about Lot, it was about God’s faithfulness.  He was demonstrating to Abraham and to Israel after him that He could in fact be trusted.  God always keeps His word – always.

Yet, there is another reason that flows out of God’s faithfulness, and it hinges on another question that this passages raises: How are we to understand Scripture labeling Lot as “righteous”?  This is a fair question that must be answered.  Are we to believe that God’s standard of righteousness was somehow less than it is today?  Absolutely not.  God’s standard has always been and always will be perfection.  Only sinless perfection is allowed in the presence of God.  Lot was obviously not perfect, but then again, neither are we.

The painful reality is this: If every thought, every action, every word of our lives was laid bare before us right now, and we were all allowed to read or see the contents of one another’s lives, we would have the same reaction to one another that we have to Lot.  “I can’t believe you said that!”  “Did you really do that?  Oh, my goodness…I cannot believe it!”  Remember, sin is sin.  Recall Peter’s words once again:

2 Peter 2:7-10 – “…and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.”

What God demonstrates through delivering Lot – even though he did not deserve it – is His matchless grace.  This is why god chose to deliver Lot, to proclaim the wonder of His love.  We should find hope in this passage because God has clearly proved that not only does He know how to deliver the godly from trials, He has the power and the willingness to do it as well.  Praise God, for ultimately we are no different than Lot.  We are sinners in need of a constant flow of grace from God’s hand.  By describing Lot as righteous, Peter was not saying that he was perfect.  He was a man, a man who had made some serious concessions in his life, and the consequences of those concessions proved extremely costly.  They clouded his thoughts and confused his soul.  Like the addict who just cannot seem to free himself from meth’s control, Lot was bound.  But the grace of God prevailed.

As the passage concludes, the two aspects of God’s interaction with humanity become painfully clear.  We see God deliver Lot in spite of his sin and we see the unbridled fury of God’s wrath rain down upon Sodom.

What strikes me in this passage is an aspect of God’s grace that is often overlooked.  It is very common for us to speak of God’s grace as something offered with the condition of our acceptance.  However, that is not what we see here.  Lot was too captivated by sin to make a conscience decision to run after God.  So what did God do?  Did He beat His fist against the wall and lament the fact that He could not preserve Lot?  Absolutely not.  He pulled him back into the house, He did not invite him.  When Lot was told to get out of Sodom, his response was to linger (19:16).  But how did God respond?

Genesis 19:16 – “So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.”

He seized their hands in a sovereign act of mercy and took them outside the city!  This is similar to a father choosing to hold the hand of their child as they cross the road, as opposed to allowing the child to hold his hand.  When we do that it is not an act of domination or control, it is an act of grace because we know what they do not.  We know that a child is no match for a 2,000 pound car.  By taking their hand we are saying, “Trust me, I know best.  I am going to take care of you in spite of what you think.”  No matter what we see in Lot’s life, God knows more than we.  He knew the inner turmoil.  He knew the pain and confusion.  Therefore, He graciously delivered him from the wrath to come.  Rather than being dumbfounded by the outwardly inconsistent events of this passage, we should be blown away by the amazing extent of God’s grace, for this narrative demonstrates the grace of God in flood like proportions.

It would be natural to think that after such a powerful deliverance that Lot would be completely humbled by what God had done for him, but that is not the case.  Instead, Lot makes a request.

Genesis 19:17-20 – “And as they brought them out, one said, ‘Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.’ And Lot said to them, ‘Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there-is it not a little one?-and my life will be saved!’”

Even after all that had happened, Lot still had the nerve to ask for his own little Sodom.  Apparently he doubted God’s ability to get him to the mountain, so he asked if he and his family could reside in Zoar, a little town closer to Sodom than the mountain.  Amazingly enough, God agreed.  And what is more, He extended His mercy to Zoar because of Lot.  Friends, we serve a gracious God.  He will deliver from evil those who are His; but do not mistake, He will likewise rain down judgment upon those who are not.

As the sun peaked over the horizon, Lot entered Zoar.  About this same time Abraham awoke from sleep and began to make his way back to the spot where he spoke with God the day before, which overlooked Sodom.  Sodom was likely waking up as well.  Jesus said it best:

Luke 17:28 – “Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot-they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building”

All seemed normal.  But then everything changed.  Scripture records that somewhere between Lot’s arrival in Zoar and Abraham’s early morning gaze upon Sodom, the LORD rained down sulfur and fire out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah.  You can almost picture the think black clouds and choking fumes as the fires raged throughout the cities.  God’s judgment had arrived.

Christians, I pray that this scene breaks your heart.  I pray that you find no enjoyment in God’s judgment upon the wicked, for truly, it is only by the grace of God that any of us are pardoned from such a fate.  Truly, we all deserve the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.  It is according to God’s good pleasure alone that we have been graciously plucked from the fire just as Lot was – and we like him are undeserving to the very end.  This is what makes Ephesians 2:4-7 all the more special to the life of every Christian:

Ephesians 2:4-7 – “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

But God – two of the most precious words in all of Scripture.  Those two words paint a picture of the gospel in the most simple of terms.  We do not deserve God’s favor.  But God.  We cannot earn God’s favor.  But God.  We rebel against God’s favor.  But God.  Through Lot God demonstrated the immeasurable riches of His grace.  By extending the same grace to us He reveals the immeasurable riches of His grace.  But God.

The truth of this narrative has two very direct and important challenges.  First, every Christian hearing this sermon needs to do some serious and prayerful examination.  To say in terms of Genesis 19, how close are you living to Sodom?  What is clear from Lot’s life is that he started out easy and innocently enough, but the downgrade was more than he could manage.  It is like the time I tackled a black diamond slope one cold winter day.  I could not see the bottom of the slope until I crested the top.  To say it simply, at that point it was too late, for I was already going so fast that stopping was simply not an option!  The same is true with our lives.  We must be careful to never place ourselves at the top of a dangerous slope that we have no business being on.

But it takes discernment to identify our Sodom.  It takes the ability to distinguish the difference between righteousness and wickedness.  Sound familiar?  That is exactly what God was teaching Abraham in Genesis 18!  Not a person hearing this sermon desires to live a life like Lot; yet, if we approach life with the same flippancy toward righteousness, that is exactly what we will accomplish.  Consider the following suggestions as you examine your life and ministry:

(1) Examine through prayer

Ask God to show you the sin in your life.  Ask Him to show you your Sodom and then listen, He will show you in His time.  And when He shows you, be prepared to respond – don’t linger!

(2) Examine in light of Scripture

Meditate on Psalm 1.  Be honest as you compare your life with the firm standard of Scripture.

And remember, if you find that your life is too closely tied with Sodom, repent!  Do not wait for them to gather around your home, flee.  Run to cross of Christ and find forgiveness.

This leads us to our second challenge, which is directed at every person hearing this message who has never received the redeeming grace of God in Christ – repent!  I pray that if nothing else, you have been confronted with the reality that God will judge every sin and every sinner.  Like Sodom, everything will function as normal.  Kids will be at school.  Parents will be at work.  Life will be happening as it does every day.  But then everything will change.  Consider Jesus’ words again:

Luke 17:29-37 – “…‘but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all-so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.’ And they said to him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’”

Friends, judgment is coming.  And just as our forefathers in the New Testament did, I implore you to hear the gospel and believe.  As I said, God will judge every sin and every sinner.  But there is one more truth that you must hear – God is not only just, He is the justifier.  He justified Lot.  He justified Abraham.  He justified Noah.  He justified Paul and Peter and John and James.  These men were not righteous in and of themselves, God declared them righteous.  And through faith in Jesus Christ He will do the same for you today.  He will graciously lift you up and make you alive in Christ.  He will remove your sin-loving heart and give you a new one.  And in that new heart He will plant faith.  In other words, He will illustrate the same sovereign grace in your life that He did in Lot’s life.

Let us not be like Lot’s wife, who found separation from the pleasures of this world too difficult.  She and Sodom stand as testimony to God’s wrath against sin.  In them we have a life never regained and city never rebuilt – God is serious about sin.  Repent, therefore, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Amen.