A few years ago, we hosted Steven Maxwell at The Downtown Church, at which time he led a two-night family conference. During that time, he pointed out the contrast that we see in the life of Lot. Quite simply, it is this:
1) On one hand, he found himself in Sodom (we'll roll through the details in a moment).
2) On the other hand, the New Testament calls him "righteous Lot" (see 2 Peter 2:7).
This led Mr. Maxwell to ask the question: "Are we Christian?," meaning, do we simply have the name that makes us righteous? Then, "Or, are we Christ-led?" And, he noted, "There is a difference."
I studied the stories in Genesis that recount the story of Lot, Abraham's nephew. Interestingly enough, Abraham should have never taken Lot with him when God called him to leave his family and his country and follow the Lord. He was told specifically, in fact, to leave the relatives all behind (Genesis 12:2). It would have been easier on Abraham had he obeyed even in this detail- because:
* He ended up having to rescue Lot after he was captured by the five king (see Genesis 14:1-16).
* Later, Abraham actually had to plead with the Lord to save Sodom because Lot was there (Genesis 18:22-33).
* And, the incest of Lot (details in a moment) actually created two enemy races of Israel- enemies they would fight for years.
I digress... back to the point.
Abraham took Lot with him when God told him to leave Babylon (Ur of the Chaldeans being the capital) and Canaan (he had already left his hometown) (see Genesis 11:27-32).
God did bless Abraham, just as He had promised. And, by virtue of being near him, Lot was blessed, too. They were so blessed, in fact, that they eventually had to split- because their servants and stuff and animals had become so massive that the land could not contain both groups (see Genesis 13:6).
Abraham then gave Lot the choice of which direction he would head on the "split," agreeing to go the opposite direction. So, the Bible tells us that Lot "lifted up his eyes and saw the Jordan Valley... so he chose for himself all of the Jordan Valley" (Genesis 13:10-11).
Lot made his decision and began traveling east (13:11).
Eventually, he migrated as far as in to the cities that were in the valley, cities not seen in the initial "look" (Genesis 13:12a).
Finally, he made his way all the way to Sodom (13:12b).
In the mean time, God uses the dust of the desert wilderness to give Abraham a mental image of what his legacy will be like- as many descendants as grains of sand (13:16-17). By the time Abraham begins grasping just what that means, we read that Lot has actually settled inside of Sodom (14:12), which is how he ended up getting captured by the five kings.
Of course, when Abraham rescues him (another story for another time), he moves right back in. We next find him in the "gates" of Sodom, which would be where business and legal transactions are carried forth. This means he had settled in comfortably to the lifestyle of the region (see Genesis 19:1). Bad habits come quickly; evidently, they are slow to leave, though.
While in Sodom, a few things happen:
* Angels come to rescue Lot, since the area is about to be destroyed. No one knows they are angels; they look like people. The men of Sodom want to sleep with them (19:5). And, remember, he has chosen to live here... twice.
* Lot then (get this!) offers his two virgin daughters to the men of the city to be gang-raped- in exchange for the safe return of the angels (19:8). Who would make a decision like that...?
* Once the angels tell him that the city is about to be destroyed, he turns and tells his sons-in-law (evidently, who had married at least two other daughters he had). Respecting him and God so little, they deem him to be joking (19:14). What does this say about the caliber of men to whom he was entrusting his daughters...?
* The angels get him to flee in the morning... but the Bible says that he lingered (v10).
* He actually had to be seized by force and taken away- with his wife and the two daughters that he had offered to the brutes outside of his house (v16b).
* This leads me to another question: What about the married daughters, the ones he gave to sinful men? Did they stay in the city and get destroyed with their husbands (19:14-16)?
* Lot did leave the city and was told to escape to the hills (19:17). But, we read that he could not do that. He stopped at another town nearby- one that was also slated to be destroyed (19:21). The angels actually let him stay there- the fact they were going to destroy it, though, means that it really wasn't a better option that Sodom, though.
And, why could he not make it...? Rather than choosing to stay in sin (Sodom) or seek complete redemption with God, did he instead opt for a "lesser evil"? And, how much of this "I can't make it that far" attitude was driven by physical exhaustion from the quick exodus? And, how much of it was due to the emotional loss of the old life of comfort and... sin...?
* Of course, the most famous part of the story is that his wife looked back (19:26). I'm sure it wasn't a mere glance... but a stare... that forced her to become a pillar of salt.
* Lot was then left with his daughters. Realizing that there would be no heir to carry on his name, and realizing that their prospects for marriage were grim where they had fled, they actually got him drunk and committed incest with him, impregnating themselves (see Genesis 19:30-38). We read that this gave rise to the race of Ammonites and Moabites, fierce enemies of Israel.
OK. A lot of information there. The Bible insists that Lot was righteous (2 Peter 2:7). And, it insists that when we come to Christ, we are righteous, too (2 Corinthians 5:21, i.e.). But, is that enough? Is that simply what we want?
Or do we want to experience and ongoing, living, thriving encounter with God?
What can we learn from Lot? Well, work through the following, prayerfully, as you pray today...
* Where have we negotiated?
* Where have we chosen what looked good (like the Jordan Valley) over what might have truly been God's best (dust in the wilderness)?
* Where have we found ourselves delivered from Sodom as he was (even through an unusual circumstance) only to find ourselves return to the same place?
* Where have we settled in with people that we should not have settled in with, conducting business and transacting partnerships, just as he did in the gates of evil men? What alliances have we made that we should not have made...?
* Where have we "settled" on behalf of our children? Have we offered them to lesser men? Are we truly discipling and training and praying for them? Or, are we choosing our comfort over the hard work of helping forge their character...?
* Do we linger on the wrong things...? Or, are we truly seeking God's rescue?
You see, the story of Lot is not a story for us to begin pointing fingers, to begin prodding someone else, and to begin propping ourselves up. Rather, it is the opportunity to, prayerfully, take a sobering look at ourselves, allowing the Holy Spirit to examine and lead us, knowing that it is the very kindness of God that invites and empowers us to change (Romans 2:4).
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