God's Judgment and God's Favor

 Read Genesis 19

Abraham bargained with God to the point where God said if there were 10 righteous men in all of Sodom, he would not destroy the city. I’m not sure that there were any righteous men in the entire city.  Lot would be saved because God found favor with Abraham, but the men that were to marry Lot’s daughters didn’t believe that God would destroy their city.

The story unfolds with these men that had visited Abraham entering Sodom.  These men were most likely angels.  They met Lot at the entrance to the city.

Lot invited them to stay with him.  They said they would sleep in the city square.  Lot insisted that they stay with him.

We see this insistence on hospitality for the visitor with Abraham and now with Lot.  While we don’t know much about Lot, we can see that he valued caring for the stranger.

These men entered Lot’s house and in very short order that house became the center of attention for the entire city.  Men gathered around it demanding that the visitors be sent out to them so they could have sex with them.  These were young and old men alike.

Lot knew to show hospitality.  Now he demonstrated that he must protect those who were under his roof.

The townspeople demanded that the strangers be sent out.  Lot tried his hand at bargaining.  How about I give you my two virgin daughters instead?

That’s putting a premium on taking care of the visitor, the stranger who enters your household.  That’s going the extra mile to protect them.

That’s not the guy most young ladies would want for a father.  Here, take my two daughters and do what you want with them.

There seemed to be a tussle around Lot’s door and the angels blinded the men who came with bad intentions.  They were blinded and could no longer find Lot’s door.  One less problem to worry about…

That was not the end of the story.  The angels came to get Lot and his family out of the area before God destroyed Sodom and the surrounding plains.

Lot’s sons-in-law didn’t believe that God was going to destroy Sodom.  Perhaps they didn’t believe there was a God.  In any case, they were not going.  They were not yet married to Lot’s daughters, but it seems that they would rather stay in Sodom than go with their brides-to-be.

Lot and the women were somewhat hesitant too, so the angels grabbed them by the arm and said let’s go.

Abraham bargained for Sodom, probably because his nephew lived there.  Abraham did not know that God already had plans underway to rescue him and his family—at least those willing to be saved.

These angels were on a mission from God and there was some urgency to the mission.  The angels didn’t say, pack a few things and then we will leave first thing in the morning.  They grabbed Lot and the women and said, we’re leaving.

Visualize the angels dragging these few people at first then giving them the boot once they were out of the city.  Run for the hills and don’t look back.

Lot didn’t think that the mountains would work for him so he got a concession out of the angels and they let him stop at a small town which would be called Zoar because it was a small town.  Sometimes you wonder how a town got its name.  I wonder that every time I drive I-40 in Arkansas and the sign for Toad Suck.  Who were the people on the naming committee?  In today’s account, we see why Zoar got its name.

  It is quite possible that this action by Lot saved this small town from the destruction that came upon Sodom and the surrounding area.

Lot reached Zoar.  The sun came up.  Burning Sulphur came down upon Sodom and the plains around them. And there was one more thing.  Lot’s wife looked back.

What’s with the women in the Bible?  Eve made a calculating decision to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree.  Sarai convinces her husband to have sex with her female servant and then blames what follows on him.

Lot’s wife—who is not named in the Bible but some Hebrew commentaries call her Idit—disregarded the instructions not to look back.

Fortunately, you have Ruth, Ester, and Mary the mother of Jesus to look forward to, but so far the wives and mistresses have not received the best roles.

The words don’t look back are generally used metaphorically, but in the case of Lot’s wife, they were more than a metaphor.

She became a pillar of salt.  When we say that someone is a pillar of the community, that a metaphor.  It’s a complement encased in a literary tool.

But Lot’s wife becoming a pillar of salt, that’s actual salt in a vertical display. Everyone remembers that part of this story.  Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt.

There’s an image for you.  There’s something to think about the next time you want to push your luck with following instructions.  Here’s a question for the ages. There is much speculation as to the answer.

Why did she look back?

Was it just human instinct?  Perhaps she felt that she had outrun the judgment of God and now she could see what had happened.

Was there something there that she missed?

Was there someone there that she missed?

Did she hurt for those who she knew were now dead? Could some of them have been her family?  Some non-biblical accounts say that Lot and his wife had two daughters that were already married and living apart from them.

Was it disbelief?  Did she think that Sodom would still be standing?

Had she left the coffee pot on?  Was the roast still in the oven?

We just don’t know.  We see a brief reference to Lot and his wife as Jesus is explaining the end of the age.

It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.  On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.

Perhaps we see our own tendencies in Lot’s wife.  What tendencies?  Those that want to hang on to the things of this world when we should be seeking the things of God.

The world behind me.  The cross before me.  No turning back.

Here’s a paraphrase of the scripture found in Luke 17.

Whoever tries to hold on to their life that is vested in the things of this world will lose it, but those who can let go of the things the world desires so much and seek God will know life.

That was Tom’s paraphrase.

We just don’t know for sure why she looked back, but the only survivors of this judgment were the 3 who did as they were directed and didn’t look back.

The world behind me.  The cross before me.  No turning back.

Maybe Lot’s wife should have been singing:  No looking back.  No looking back.

Abraham had bargained with God for Sodom. I doubt he even knew anyone in the city other than the King who he didn’t want to have any association with and his nephew, Lot. Was Abraham negotiating for the life of Lot?

Perhaps, but when we read further, we see that such a negotiation was not necessary.

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

Abraham looked down from where he was and saw the city and the surrounding plains in ruin.  He did not know what God had done.  His angels had rescued his nephew because God found favor with Abraham.

Did Lot deserve God’s favor?  Probably not.

Lot seemed to be pretty much along for the ride for most of the story since Abraham left his father’s household and came to the land that was promised to his descendants.

Abraham was on a mission from God. Lot, perhaps not so much.

Lot chose the greener pastures when Abraham and Lot went separate ways.  Abraham let Lot choose where he would go. Lot chose Sodom.

Lot was lumped in with the rest of the residents of Sodom when the 4 armies came and overran Sodom.  Lot was just another body in the spoils of war.

Even after Abraham rescued Lot, Lot chose to live in Sodom.

And when it came time to find a wife, let’s just say it was slim pickens for finding a righteous one.  The struggle was probably equally difficult for finding husbands for Lot’s daughters.

We must understand this. Lot received God’s favor because of Abraham. So, as we digest this chapter in Genesis, let us consider the favor of the Lord.

We live in the Lord’s favor.  We have received his mercy.  We have received his blessings. We are saved from sin and from death and we have been given life now and for eternity.

We didn’t do anything to deserve it, but we surely are blessed to know it—to know God’s favor.

Remember this simple verse from Ephesians:  We are saved by grace through faith so that no one can boast.

Our salvation is not of our own doing.  We are forgiven of sins that would condemn us.  We receive blessings that we don’t deserve.

We live in the Lord’s favor.

I doubt that Lot knew the whole story.  He just knew to receive these men—maybe he knew they were angels—into his house, treat them well, and protect them.  As it turned out, they had come to protect and save Lot and his family.

They were the instruments of God’s favor.

We don’t always know the instruments of God’s favor but we must always know that we live in God’s favor.  If we are drawing a blank in our prayer time about what to thank God for today, we can always thank him for living in his favor.

What separated Lot from the lot of those in Sodom was God’s favor.  Lot received it because God found favor with Abraham, but God’s favor is God’s favor.

It’s not something that we do to deserve it.  God pours his favor out upon us.  There is a simple term for this.  It is blessed.  We are blessed.

So, we read about the destruction of sinful Sodom but Tom wants you to go home thinking about how blessed we are to live in God’s favor.

That’s the ticket.  That’s the message for today.

Have eyes to see how richly we are blessed to live in the favor of the Lord.

Thanks be to God that we live in his favor!

Amen.