Genesis chapter 19, we've been looking at the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. It starts in chapter 18 at verse 1 when the Lord appears to Abraham and expresses to him his intention to investigate and then bring judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah and those cities of the plain. Last week we saw the investigation by the angels and the confirmation of Sodom's wickedness in chapter 19 verses 1 to 11, and tonight we'll take up the rest of the section up to verse 29, but I'll begin reading in chapter 19 at verse 1. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.
When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Here now, my lords, please turn into your servants' house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise early and go on your way. And they said, No, but we will spend the night in the open square.
But he insisted strongly, so they turned into him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Now before they lay down the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter surrounded the house. And they called Bilad and said to him, where are the men who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally. So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly. See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish.
Only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof. And they said, stand back. Then they said, this one came in to stay here. And he keeps acting as a judge.
Now we will deal worse with you than with them. So they pressed hard against the man lot and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. Then Lot said to them, please know, my lords, indeed now your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life.
But I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Please, let me escape there. Is it not a little one?
And my soul shall live. And he said to him, See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there. Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar.
The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. So he overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of Saul.
And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar.
And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. Now the firstborn said to the younger, our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come into us, as is the custom of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father. So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, indeed I lay with my father last night, let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father. Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi. He is the father of the people of Ammon to this day.
Amen.
Introduction
As I said, we'll take up to verse 29 tonight. Last time we saw the demonstration of Sodom's wickedness in chapter 19 here. in verses 1 to 11. Remember, in Ezekiel chapter 16, God highlights several sins that the people of Sodom were guilty of. The specific sin shown or demonstrated here is homosexuality, sodomy, where the word sodomy comes from, from the sodomites.
They wanted to know these men carnally. and they were very hostile and very aggressive in this particular venture until, of course, the men who were really angels struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the doors. We see the demonstration of Sodom's wickedness. Tonight we'll look at the deliverance of Lot in verses 12 to 23, and then finally the destruction of the region in verses 23 to 29. So God's judgment has come to bear upon this particular place.
It's not just Sodom, but it's also Gomorrah, and it's also Admah and Zeboim. These are the cities that were connected together or were in conjunction together back in chapter 14. This city referred to as Zoar was one of the other cities that really should have been eliminated as well. It takes on the name of Zoar, little or insignificant.
Lot asks if he can go there instead of into the mountains. So God spares that particular city for the sake of one righteous, namely Lot. Well,
Deliverance of Lot (vv. 12–23)
let's look at the deliverance of Lot.
The Angels' Announcement of Judgment
Notice first the announcement by the angels in verses 12 and 13. They command, first of all, he says, or they say, have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in your city, take them out of this place. The judgment of God is coming.
The wrath and fury of God is coming. And that is the rationale in verse 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. So the impending destruction is upon them, and the angels are concerned that Lot and his family get out of this particular city before the judgment of God falls upon them.
Go back to chapter 13 and verse 12. We see there, with reference to Sodom, verse 13 rather, but the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord. And then in chapter 18, God's disclosure to Abraham in verses 20 and 21. The Lord said, because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to me, and if not, I will know.
The angels go, the angels investigate, the angels confirm. So God's due diligence is completed and now His judgment is going to fall upon them. And certainly there is obviously a spiritual illustration that we could lay right alongside of this particular chapter. God's wrath and His curse and His impending destruction and devastation is coming upon sinners.
And we can assume that posture or that role of these particular angels and call men to flee from the Sodom that they find themselves in. Again, that's not the primary emphasis in terms of eternal salvation, but it certainly parallels what we find in the spiritual realm in terms of salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We notice the relationship between the living and true God and these two particular messengers. Notice at the end of verse 13, they say, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.
So they go to investigate, they confirm that in fact it is a wretched and godless place, and now they are going to execute the vengeance and the judgment of God upon them. And then
The Exhortation to Flee Sodom
this exhortation to flee Sodom in verses 14 to 22. Notice what Lot does to his family. In verse 14, Lot went out and spoke to his son's-in-law. Now, the next clause can be translated in one of two ways.
It can be translated this way, who had married his daughters, which would probably indicate he had other daughters. Because in the next verse, we have two daughters that are in the home. Or it could be that it could be who were to marry his daughters. It could be that they were betrothed, that they had not yet entered into the relationship in a formal way in terms of sexuality.
Because when we get to the end of the chapter, these two girls had not known a man. They had not lain with a man. And so either he had additional daughters or it refers to the two daughters that we have here in verse 15 that were betrothed but had not yet consummated their marriage with these particular men. So the grammar, or the language, or the syntax could go either way in terms of translation, but the exhortation is absolutely clear in verse 14.
Lot says to his family, or to his sons-in-law, get up, get out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. Now this is a legit, and a consistent, and a godly warning on the part of Lot, but notice how they interpret this. But to his sons-in-law, he seemed to be joking. To his sons-in-law, he seemed to be joking.
When we get to the end of our message tonight, or our study tonight, I'm going to suggest that Lot showed or evidenced a spiritual sluggishness, at least in the written record. We know that he's a righteous man. We know he's a righteous man because he's spared from the judgment of God in Genesis chapter 19. We also know that he's a righteous man from the divine commentary in 2 Peter chapter 2, where Peter tells us that he was a righteous man, that his soul was vexed day by day as he looked upon the godlessness that occurred there in Sodom.
But as we look at the particular narratives containing Lot, that righteousness doesn't shine forth. When we look at Lot, we do see some sluggishness. We'll see it in just a moment while he lingered. He knows the city is wicked.
He knows the impending judgment of God is about to fall upon the city. He shouldn't linger. He should run. He should run as fast as he can to get out of this particular town.
But there's a sluggishness about Lot, evidenced by his wife, who rebelled against God, turned around and looked back at the cities, and was turned into a pillar of salt. It's evidenced as well in the case of his daughters. They certainly had learned something of the ethical perversion of the Sodomites as they engage in this incestuous relationship with their father. And so here, as he appeals to his sons-in-law, it says to them, it seemed like he was joking.
Now, this word has come up already in the narrative whenever God has announced to Abraham and Isaac Abraham and Sarah, that they're going to have a baby boy and call him Isaac, they laugh. It's the same verb that's employed. It's a different sort of usage here, but it's the same sort of overlap. And the idea is, is that they're laughing at, or they're scoffing at, or they're rejecting divine revelation.
Because in this instance, Lot is absolutely right. He is revealing to them the very Word of God concerning the judgment of God that's going to come upon them, but to his sons-in-law, he seemed to be joking. Now, this is going to prove detrimental in their case because they're not going to survive the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, John Calvin makes the observation. that where there is no religion and no fear of God, again, I think he's taking Lot in a similar way in terms of a spiritual sluggishness.
You don't read the narratives that have Lot in them and say, wow, this is a vibrant, godly man. In fact, when you compare him to his uncle, when you see Abraham every step of the way, Abraham is not perfect, Abraham does falter, Abraham does have his issues, but they're not the same sort of issues that we find with Lot. And so Calvin says, where there is no religion and no fear of God, whatever is said concerning the punishment of the wicked vanishes as a vain and illusory thing. In other words, he didn't have any moral ground to stand upon in the way of captivating their consciences so that when he said, the judgment of Yahweh is coming, they said, oh yeah, we ought to follow you and run from the city.
He didn't have that status with these sons-in-law such that when He did speak to them the very truth of God Almighty, to them He seemed to be joking. Now notice the instructions given by the angels in verses 15 to 17. There's that urgency in verse 15. When the morning dawns, now think about this, the morning dawns in verse 15 and the sun rises in verse 23.
We're not talking about a great deal of time here. The urgency of the angels is absolutely understandable. They need to beat feet, they need to get out of dodge, because the judgment of God is coming. So in the morning dawn, 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.
Remember that transaction with God and Abraham, that God would spare the city as long as there were righteous in that particular city? Well, the proviso is that the righteous now escape from the city, and God's judgment comes to bear upon them. Now, verse 16, again, is very puzzling, very surprising, but not so much when we consider Lot as a whole. It says, and while he lingered, Again, there was no reason whatsoever for lingering at this particular juncture.
When angels serving the living and true God come to you and say, hurry up and get out of the city, there's no reason whatsoever that you should ever linger. lingering Lot. The folly involved is that he knew the wickedness of the city and he knew the impending judgment of God. Bruce Waltke says, Lot felt more secure inside an evil city than outside of it with God. And if we ask the question, why did he linger?
Well, probably the first answer would be a practical reason. I mean, if somebody came to your door and knocked on it and said, you have to leave because destruction is going to happen right away. Would there be an immediate obedience on your part? Let's say you didn't see fire.
I mean, if somebody said that and you saw flames blazing, I think you'd be inclined to follow their lead. But if there were no signs of judgment, if there were no signs of any imminent threat or any imminent danger, you might linger. Why might you linger? Because this is my house.
This is my stuff. This is my dog. This is my life. This is everything that I've sort of hitched my wagon to in terms of a pony.
I don't want to leave this. So on the one hand, this lingering lot is a practical reality, perhaps, with all of us. But in terms of religiously or spiritually, he had compromised before. And therefore, he is not spiritually in tune to make the kinds of decisions that are consistent with people who are spiritually mature.
There's a great sort of essay, or I don't know if it was a sermon or it was a written paper, by J.C. Ryle in his volume called Holiness, and it's on lingering lot. And it is a very excellent study on Lot himself and how he got to the point where when the angels are telling him to flee from Sodom, he lingered. He was not spiritually mature.
He had compromised previously, and as a result now, he is not obedient to the divine word. And Riles says this, He says, make a wrong choice in life, an unscriptural choice, and settle yourself down unnecessarily in the midst of worldly people, and I know no sure way to damage your own spirituality and to go backward about your eternal concerns. Now, the point is... Genesis 13.
When he and Abraham see the land before them, their shepherds, or their men, start to sort of fight with each other. And so Abraham says, take whatever parcel of property you want, and then I'll take whatever is left. Well, what does Lot do? Lot takes the best, according to chapter 13, verses 10 and 11.
He doesn't defer to godly Abraham. He doesn't defer to his older uncle, which the Bible says we're supposed to defer to the whorey head. We're supposed to give preference to those who are over us, in terms of superiors and inferiors. He doesn't do that.
And in chapter 13, he pitches his tent near Sodom. Now in chapter 19, he has a house in Sodom, but he's not only a homeowner in Sodom, he also sits in the gates of the city of Sodom, according to chapter 19 what? So he's recognized within the city. There's a lack of spiritual maturity on the part of Lot, and J.C.
Ryle traces it back to that wrong choice, living or dwelling near Sodom, and then ultimately living in Sodom. He says, this is the way to make the pulse of your soul beat feebly and languidly. This is the way to make the edge of your feeling about sin become blunt and dull. This is the way to dim the eyes of your spiritual discernment, so you can scarcely distinguish good from evil and stumble as you walk.
He then skillfully applies the principle to the choice of residence. In the case of Lot, he chooses to dwell in Sodom. He then applies it to calling a vocation, a job, a place where you're supposed to flourish and thrive. But if it demands Sunday work, for instance, or it demands time away from God or time away from family, that may not be the best pursuit for you to take.
And then he applies it to spouse. choosing the wrong person to marry. And throughout the essay, he says, beware of Lot's choices. And there is a principle here that when we get to chapter 19 and he lingers, it's because he sort of demonstrated that in his spiritual life all along. Remember in chapter 19, verse 8, when confronted with the reality that his guests may be gang-raped, he offers his daughters to the mob.
That is absolutely unconscionable. So that when we focus on or when we consider the righteousness of Lot, I hope that we'll appreciate in the first place that it's the imputed righteousness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Not to say he was a miserable guy every jot and tittle of his life. We don't know.
But the key events that we do know and that we do have in Genesis 13, he doesn't do well. In Genesis chapter 19, he doesn't do well. And that is sort of the trajectory of his life. He doesn't end well in terms of this relationship with his daughters, with reference to the Moabites and the Ananites.
It's a horrible thing that occurs at the end of this particular chapter. Now
The Physical Removal of Lot
notice the physical removal of Lot and his family by the angels. He neglects to listen to the verbal warning. They're telling him, hurry up, get out. God's judgment is going to fall upon this particular city.
Verse 16 says, and while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters." Now notice this, the Lord being merciful to him. You see that spiritual principle underscored at least twice in this section of Genesis 19. It's not the case that God delivered Lot because Lot was such a righteous guy in and of himself. He delivered Lot because God is merciful.
He delivers us because God is merciful. That's the emphasis, say, in Titus chapter 3. He saved us, not because of our righteousness, not because of our goodness, not because we were doing the best that we could, but He saved us according to His mercy and according to His grace. And that is evidenced here by this statement, the Lord being merciful to him.
It's almost as if that's inserted there just by way of reminder. Look it, this guy is being told to run by angels and he's not. This guy is being told to flee from Sodom and he's not. So finally the angels grab him by the hand and they yank him out of his dwelling.
And the reason for this is because the Lord was being merciful to him. And it says, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass when they had brought them outside that he said, verse 17, escape for your life, do not look behind you, nor stay anywhere in the plain, escape to the mountains lest you be destroyed. It's important data for when we get to verse 26.
When Mrs. Lott turns around to gaze upon her beloved city, she's turned into a pillar of salt. Why? Because God said, don't do that.
Do not turn around. Do not look at the devastation. Do not look at the decimation. You need to be obedient to the Lord.
It's not only that you flee the city, but you flee the city the way that the Lord God commands you to leave. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed. Now
Lot's Request for Zoar
notice the request by Lot in verses 18 to 20. It really is incredible here. And interestingly, God allows him to go to Zoar. Once he's in Zoar, what does he do?
He goes back to the mountains. There's no rhyme or reason, there's no explanation whatsoever for that movement, other than he doesn't appear to be the most spiritually mature guy. I think undergirding the entirety of the Lot narrative is that in separating himself from Abraham, He is in an unsafe place, he's in an unsafe condition, and his spirituality has declined as a result. There is safety near Abraham, Lot, and you have chosen to be away from Abraham.
You chose with the physical eye the best part of the land because you thought it was going to yield the best fruit and the best life for you. Well, separation from Abraham never ends in a good way for Lot. Now notice in verses 18 to 20, Lot said to them, please know my lords. Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life.
But I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. Lot, you are being preserved by the hand of God presently. You're not going to believe God that he's able to protect you when you go to the mountains? You don't think that the God who has dispatched holy angels into a profligate city to be threatened by a mob of homosexuals is going to keep you from danger when you get to the mountains?
I mean, it really is an outlandish request. It's as if God says, OK, I want you to run, get to the mountains just so you'll be safe and not suffer under the overthrow of the city. Can you imagine yourself saying, but Lord, I don't want to go to the mountains. I want this little city.
It's just a little one. My ask isn't great. It's not big. I'm not longing for New York.
I just want little Zoar. I'm a wretch, brethren, and I confess that. I've got a thousand sins. I would weary you to even begin to start, but I can't ever envision myself saying to God, no, I don't want to run to the mountains.
I want Zoar. Now, maybe I would put into that particular situation, but this is a strange ask at this particular juncture when the wrath and fury of God is going to come upon the city, which he formerly called his home. I don't want to. I cannot escape to the mountains lest some evil overtake me and I die.
Brethren, if God's going to spring you from Sodom in this miraculous and dramatic way, He's going to spare you when you get to the mountains and you are living in dependence upon Him. So in verse 20, he says, see now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Please let me escape there. Is it not a little one?
And my soul shall live. Now, it may go two ways why he's stressing the littleness of the city. On the one hand, it's a small ask. Again, I'm not asking for New York City, but it's a little one.
There's not the kind of evil in Zoar that obtains there in Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zebulim. Out of the five cities, it's the least wicked, it's the most insignificant, it's the littlest of all. That's all I want. I don't need Sodom, but I would certainly like Zoar.
Now, the amazing thing in all of this, and I've really tried to lay it upon Lot here, is that God answers him favorably. Isn't that amazing? Now again, I'm not suggesting we do this. I'm not suggesting that we in Genesis 13 choose the best for ourselves without any regard to our spiritual condition and separate ourselves from godly Abraham.
I'm certainly not suggesting that in Genesis 19, we offer our virgin daughters to a sexually perverse mob to try to appease them in their wickedness. I'm not suggesting that when God tells us to leave Sodom and go to the mountains, we say, but Lord, I really am not a mountain dweller. I don't have the right shoes. I don't have the right training.
I would rather go to Zohar. It's more sort of my speed. I'm not suggesting we do that, but I am suggesting that we appreciate God's grace and God's mercy and God's kindness. Now, we may ask for things at times, in the wrong way.
We may ask for things at times with the wrong sort of motivation. God, nevertheless, in His mercy and in His goodness at times will even give us those particular things, and we have evidence here. Verse 21, He said to him, See, I have favored you concerning this thing also. It's very intriguing.
The two angels become one, and then the one speaks as authoritative Lord. So this whole conglomerate of Genesis 18 and 19, in terms of the personal pronouns, in terms of the appearance of the angels, in terms of the Lord who appeared to Abraham, it's really intriguing. There's a lot of things going on sort of in the grammar that is suggestive of God's presence here, specifically with Lot. So verse 21, he said to him, see, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
I'm going to answer your request, Joe Watts. Now again, brethren, I don't suggest that we pray with wrong motives. I have preached on proper motives in prayer from Matthew 6. We're not supposed to be like the hypocrite, you know, that wants to be seen when he's praying on the street corner.
We're not to pray like the heathen who uses vain repetitions, who thinks that he's going to be heard for his many words. We're not to be like those pagan priests for Baal in 1 Kings 18 when they're cutting themselves gushing blood all over themselves, and they're appealing to Baal to come and consume the sacrifice with fire. We're not supposed to use improper motives. We're supposed to pray to God as understanding who God is and who we are.
But in this particular narrative, we ought to appreciate how good God really is, and how gracious God really is, and how merciful He is, in that He gives him the very specific thing that He asks for. I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Verse 22, hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there. Therefore, the name of the city was called Zoar.
So God promises to spare the city due to the presence of four potentially righteous persons there, Lot, Missus, and the two daughters. Now
Destruction of the Region (vv. 23–29)
that brings us to the destruction of the region in verses 23 to 29. Notice in verse 23, The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Like a normal day, isn't it? It's like a day like any other day.
Nobody knew anything except Lot and his family, but everybody else in these cities, in Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, didn't know one bit of what was going to happen. It looked like any other day, the sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. very similarly to what Jesus teaches in Luke 17, specifically with reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. He says it's going to be like in the days of Noah. People ate, they drank, they were given in marriage, and then, boom, the judgment of God comes.
And then Jesus speaks specifically concerning the days of Lot. They ate, they drank, they were given in marriage. Everybody did what they would do normally. And then the judgment of God comes.
Luke 17. There, in that particular context, a little bit further, Jesus bids his disciples, remember Lot's wife, You need to learn the lessons concerning the judgment of God. There may not be signs, there may not be evidences, there may not be sort of a Jonah walking through the city and saying, okay, the Lord's going to overthrow the city. It's going to look like any other day.
And that's precisely what we find here. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Now
Severity of God's Judgment
note the severity of the judgment in verse 24. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens. The emphasis is upon God. Now, you know, many have come to try and explain the science and the phenomena with reference to fire coming out of the out of heaven.
Waltke says the fire and cataclysmic destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah may be explained by an earthquake. Heat, gases, sulfur would have been spewed into air through the fissures formed during a violent earthquake. The lightning that frequently accompanies an earthquake would have ignited the gases and so on. All of that is not the interest of Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
He's not here to explain the science behind the fire that came down from heaven on that day. Moses is a theologian, and he wants us to understand that this is the wrath, the fury, and the judgment of God against wretched sinners. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heavens, so He overthrew those cities." Again, it's not just Sodom, but Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
Go back to 1310 for just a moment. 1310. And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar." So God devastates the land with reference to the sinners that occupy it. Now, I think John Gill explains the significance of the judgment or the interesting significance of the judgment of God upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He says, this was a righteous judgment on those cities and a just retaliation for their sin.
Their sin was an unnatural one, and nature is inverted to punish them. Fire comes down from heaven. See, that doesn't normally happen, right? You don't typically get fire coming down from heaven.
That's an inversion of nature, consistent with the inversion of nature taking place in Sodom and Gomorrah in terms of their sin. He says, nature is inverted to punish them. Fire comes down from heaven or hell from heaven to consume them. They burned with lust one against another and flaming sheets of sulfurous fire fall upon them. burn and destroy them.
So the significance, I think, is accurately described here by Gil. Now
The Sin of Lot's Wife
notice the sin of Lot's wife in verse 26. But his wife looked back behind him and she became a pillar of Saul. Again, Lots of people try and explain all the science behind it. It is what it is.
She turned into a pillar of salt. It was a disobedience to the divine command to not look back. That wasn't her job. That wasn't what she was supposed to do.
She was supposed to be obedient. And notice that she was behind him. He didn't have consciousness of the reality that she was doing this. So when he says, honey, later, and she's not there, he learns that she had done this thing.
Wenham describes what happens here. By looking back, Lot's wife contravened the instruction not to look back in verse 17. By disobeying a God-given instruction, she forfeited her God-offered salvation. In looking back, she identified herself with the damned town.
Her petrification also explains her absence from the closing episode of the lot cycle when his daughters intoxicate him to have intercourse with him. It would be difficult to imagine their ruse succeeding if mother had been around. You see how it's all connected. What is said in verse 17 comes up later in verse 26.
Her absence is conspicuous in verses 30 and following when the daughters come to seduce their father so that they can lay with him. So she disobeys God, she reaps the judgment of God along with the cities. And then
The Justice of God Demonstrated
notice the demonstration of God's justice. I remember years ago reading this passage and thinking, you know, this was an interesting morning devotions for Abraham. You know, you get up in the morning, get your coffee, and you read your Bible, and you pray. You have your devotions.
Or you might read, you know, morning and evening. If you read morning and evening, you should supplement it with more Bible. Morning and evening is great. I would never say don't read Spurgeon.
You should get one verse, and then you get great Spurgeon. But more Bible is always a good thing. But anyways, you have your morning devotions. Well, he's having his morning devotions.
And notice how it ties up the narrative. 18.1. The Lord appears to him at the terebinth trees at Mamre. 1927, where's Abraham? He's at the terebinth trees at Mamre. Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain, and he saw and behold the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. So that was his morning devotional on that particular day. It was on the judgment and the wrath and the fury, but on the justice of God. See, as we survey both chapters 18 and 19, this wasn't capricious.
This wasn't just a fit of passion or rage from an angry God. There was due diligence. Again, it's in the manner of men. God knows they're wicked.
God knows He's going to bring their destruction upon Him. But He's also illustrating to us something that will come up later in the Pentateuch in terms of legislation for man, two or three witnesses confirming a particular situation before you render judgment on a particular situation. God does that. And so Abraham now sees a demonstration of the just judgment of God.
He looks toward Sodom, he looks toward Gomorrah, all the land of the plain, and there he sees, behold, the smoke of the land, which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And then
God's Mercy Through Covenant with Abraham
notice verse 29. I mentioned earlier that there were two indicators in this section of God's mercy being the determining factor and not Lot's righteousness. I mean, it's specifically stated in verse 16, the Lord being merciful to him, but it's specifically stated here in verse 29 as well. And it came to pass. when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt.
Lot received blessing and benefit via his connection to Abraham, the mediator of that covenant. Abraham was given a promise by God in Genesis chapter 12 that he would bless those who blessed him. And then Abraham prayed to God in Genesis 18 that God would not destroy the righteous along with the wicked. And so God spares a lot with respect to Abraham.
It's covenant, it's promise, it is a solemn oath on the part of God to Abraham that is the means by which Lot is delivered. It's not Lot's righteousness, it's not Lot's goodness, it's not Lot's law-keeping, it's God's mercy toward Lot directly and God's mercy toward Lot sort of indirectly through Abraham, this covenant mediator. So the Lord God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. That really would sort of reinforce that promise in Genesis 12 at verse 3.
God's going to bless those who bless Abraham. God's going to curse those who curse Abraham. Here's one who, though he wasn't the most respectful in Genesis 13, nevertheless esteemed his uncle, loved his uncle, blessed his uncle. As a result, he is blessed by the God of his uncle and is spared from the destruction that comes to these cities on the plain.
Well,
Application
in terms of a few thoughts, and then we'll close. First, the just judgment of God. We see the outcry of Sodom comes to the Lord in chapter 18. We see the investigation of the city by the angels.
In chapter 18, 22, they go to Sodom, and then in chapter 19, verses 1 to 11, they investigate the city. That investigation yields confirmation. When the men of the city, the mob in the city, want to know carnally the two men, this indeed confirms the wickedness of Sodom. There's an exhortation to flee given to the righteous that are in the city.
They take those steps, they come to Lot, they tell him, you need to hurry up, you need to get out. Then there is the deliverance of the righteous vis-a-vis Lot and his daughters. They benefit, obviously, by their connection to Lot. And then finally, we see the overthrow of the cities is executed.
So not the case that God just, oh, I'm going to destroy these cities. No, there's a process, a due process, even that God himself shows by way of example to his creatures that he engages in. Secondly, the spiritual sluggishness of Lot. His wrong choice in earlier life.
Genesis 13, he chose with the eye. He didn't choose by what's gonna yield the best benefit to my soul. No, what's gonna be the best for my life, my quality of life. Secondly, the movement from a tent near the city, Genesis 13, to a house in the city.
You know, these are sort of not really conspicuous statements, it's just a matter of fact narration, but we're supposed to get that. We're supposed to see that he pitched his tent near Sodom in Genesis 13, and then he owns a house in Sodom in Genesis 19. Knowing what we know about Sodom, would we ever counsel anybody to pitch a tent near it? Would we ever counsel anybody to buy a house in it?
Absolutely, positively, no. It is detrimental to the good of your soul living around those people. As well, the lack of seriousness in his religion as manifested or evidenced. Maybe he did have a seriousness in his religious life in terms of himself, but Abraham is commended in chapter 18 because he commands his family.
You don't get that vibe from what? You don't get that vibe when his wife turns around and looks at the city and ultimately is destroyed as a result. You don't get that vibe when you get to chapter 19, 30 to 38, when the daughters concoct this scheme to lay with their father so that they can become impregnated by him. So there's this lack of seriousness in his religion.
As well, the failure to respond immediately to the angel's instructions. Don't linger. When an angel tells you, get out, go. There's no time for lingering, no sort of praiseworthiness, and not immediately following that angelic word.
As well, the reluctance to go where he was told to go. I mean, there's some really bad stuff that he does that I think just puzzles me, that he says, I don't want to go to the mountains, I'd rather go to Zoar. Dude, you're being spared your life. You should just go to the mountains, live in a cave.
And then that he does leave Zoar and goes to dwell in the mountains. Why is that? That's one of those things. You ever get that when you read your Bible and you think, I'm just never going to get an answer.
There's an instance of that when Jesus walks on the water. I think it's in Mark's account. He's walking on the water, and it says he would have passed them by. I've always thought, where was he going to go?
Of course he was going to see the disciples. They see him walking on the water. They make contact with him. But in Mark, it almost indicates that he's going to just walk right on by that.
And I've just often thought, where was he going to go? That's just me. Sometimes I read these things, and I think, man, there's just no answer. So that's a puzzling one to me.
He's in Zoar like he asks, and then he goes to the mountains like he didn't ask. And there he lays with his daughters. Lot was righteous. He was not destroyed with the others.
As well, Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2, 7 and 8, it says, in delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked, for that righteous man dwelling among them tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds." So he was. He was a righteous man. He just didn't always do the righteous thing. And again, I don't want us to be encouraged to not be righteous practically and live like Lot with the imputed righteousness of Christ.
It doesn't matter how I live. We're not supposed to glean that from the passage. But what we are supposed to take away is that God's mercy, God's grace, God's loving kindness is great. It availed for David, it availed for Peter, it avails for Lot, it avails for the likes of you and I, and we ought to rejoice in Him for that goodness and that loving kindness.
And the last observation, there are similarities in Genesis 19 with Genesis 6 and 6-8 in terms of the flood. A lot of similarities, both cases the Lord brings judgment on whole populations because of wickedness, the Lord marks out one family for survival, and in both cases the male survivor of the particular calamity becomes drunk and in some way sexually violated by his offspring. So the similarities in terms of God's judgment coming upon a people are very obvious here in Genesis 19, and it reflects a bit of what we see in Genesis 6 to 8 in terms of the flood narrative. Well, let's close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for your graciousness and your mercy and your kindness. Lord, I know that It truly is amazing what we see here, how You dealt with Lot, and what You say about Lot through Your servant Peter. I pray, Father, that we would learn the lessons from these chapters, that we would learn the lessons from Your Word, that we would rejoice in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ that has been given to us and received by faith alone. But may it indeed inspire us and stir us up and spur us on to pursue those things that are pleasing in Your sight, to be faithful, to think in terms of spiritual concerns when we select places to live, or callings, or spouses, or the things that most greatly affect us.
Help us to think spiritually and biblically concerning those things. And as well, Lord God, help us to be obedient to the divine word, to take scripture as the authoritative and infallible and inerrant word of God and to submit to it. And I ask that you'd go with us now, watch over this church, watch over your people here, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.