As we approach life as believers having God’s Word before us, we ought never to forget that our Majestic Lord says:
2 Tim 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We might not like this at times because it might hamper how we want to do life, but when you see the purpose of verse 16 you realize God has our interest at heart. The “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” has one single focus … “that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
The “every good work” needs to be understood as far more than our daily employment, our home and household schedules, our schooling, our church ministries and activities, our relationships within the family, employment, church and society … “every good work” needs to be seen as our spiritual life before God and our morality and ethics.
So, thinking of Lot, the choices he has made so far and the choices that we still need to discuss teaches us that our holistic spiritual condition impacts on the decisions we make and affects all of our life. Also, to put our studies in Lot into perspective, we ought never to forget that if we were in Lot’s shoes, we most likely would have made similar choices and decisions. By this I mean that we must not judge Lot too harshly, rather let’s learn the lessons from his mistakes so that we don’t follow him towards disaster!
I hope repetition does not cause boredom. Lot seems to have had a streak in him towards the world starting off by his choice of pasture land for his flock. This land was situated near the City of Vice known as Sodom. In no time he enjoyed living within its walls, becoming part of the society, enjoying friends and fellowship with the inhabitants. When he tried to speak to his “sons-in-law” who were to marry his daughters about God and what would soon come to pass, they treated him as a joke. That is where his testimony and credibility as a “believer” had drifted too. His witness was seriously compromised. Even his so called ‘friends’ rejected him. By this time the stage is set for an outpouring of God’s wrath.
Ge 19:15 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
As you think through the latter part of this sentence, what comes to your mind? To me it’s not so much … “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished” … but the word “Hurry” followed by the exclamation mark. Verse 16 starts with the phrase “When he hesitated” … the emphasis is urgency! There is no time to waste.
There is another day that has been planned and spoken about by God for many years … right from Old Testament times … the Day God ends this world and ushers in Judgement! Although the warnings through Gospel messaging from preachers, pastors, evangelists and authors have been going out from the time of the Old Testament prophets, apostles and leaders of the true church throughout history … it’s urgency has largely fallen on deaf ears.
I want to repeat … Eternity is in sight … the day is closing in upon us … there is urgency … the lost must hurry … the backslider ought to hurry … everyone who is sensible ought to hurry for the Dreadful Day of the Lord is closing in on us! Hurry … seek the Lord whilst He may be found … for He will not always be findable! The urgency of the angels could not be contained as the catastrophy, so imminent, was on its way:
Ge 19:16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
The acts of these angels was singularly … “the LORD was merciful to them” … leading them safely out of the city. We must however not neglect the words … “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” Don’t be distracted … your only mission right now is to follow instructions and flee. The thrust is … “as fast as possible without distractions such as looking back and seeing what happens to the city.” My wife Jenny will never look at an accident should we pass one. She does not want to see the gory details … yet many stop and enjoy such horrific pictures. Don’t look back! Yet, Lot always needed a plan B:
Ge 19:18 “No, my lords, please! 19 Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. 20 Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very s mall, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.”
The angel agreed … and in the morning:
Ge 19:24 … the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.
We don’t know what this “burning sulfur” was, but it was sent by God destroying Sodom, Gomorrah and the entire plain, people and vegetation … and this would also mean all Lot’s livestock! Total devastation, total destruction and total death … because:
Gen 13:13 … the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
Gen 19:13 “… we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
The term “burning sulfur” appears 10 times in my Bible, of which 4 times is in the Book of Revelation. It always refers to “damnation, hell, the Lake of Fire”:
Rev 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Rebellion against God will be dealt with … severely. Hurry … that day approaches for all outside of Jesus Christ!
Dear God, Sovereign, Eternal God, in the passage today we see Your Mercy and Your Wrath presented to us. Thank You for being merciful to so many. O Lord, we plead that You will extend this mercy to great numbers of people across the planet so that as they turn to Jesus they might avoid Your wrath. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.