Lot’s Lessons
Genesis 19:1-38 (NLT)
. Intro: Life Lessons, sometimes they are hard aren’t they? I have a Question for you, how many have ever learned a lesson the easy way? It seems all lessons are learned the hard way. I used to think that if I could only get my children to listen to me, to heed my advice, that I could spare them many hardships and pain that come with life. Sadly they insist on learning them themselves. We sometimes do get through though. Here are some of the life lessons that my parents taught me and I tried to teach my children.
. My mother taught me about me about religion:
When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet."
.My dad taught me logic with these unforgettable words:
"Because I said so, that’s why."
. My mom taught me foresight:
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident."
. My dad taught me irony:
"Keep laughing, and I’ll give you something to cry about."
. My mom taught me about weather:
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."
. My dad taught me about stamina:
"You’ll sit there ’til all that spinach is finished."
. My mom taught me about behavior modification:
"Stop acting like your father!"
. Finally my dad taught me the true meaning of the circle of life:
"I helped bring you into this world, and I can take you out."
. We learn many different lessons from many different people.
. This morning our scripture is going to point out some very valuable lessons about life and especially our spiritual life.
. We can learn many lessons from the story of Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
. We are back in Genesis this morning Chapter 19.
. When we were last in Genesis, we saw that God had reassured Sarah and Abraham that indeed they would have a son, even in their old age. Then God told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah as punishment for their sin and wickedness.
. If you remember, Abraham pleaded with God and finally made a deal with God that if 10 righteous people could be found, the cities would be saved.
. Let me stop right here in the story. Many times we get confused about righteousness. When we read this, we say surely there are 10 good people there in the cities. How can there not be 10 good people down there. We have to remember that righteousness comes from faith in God, not what we do. Basic theology. We use Abraham as a mighty testimony to righteousness through his faith, not through his action. Abraham did many things in his life that would disqualify him as a righteous person if he received his righteousness through his actions.
. Back to our story.
. God made a deal with Abraham that if 10 righteous people were found, believers in God, then the cities would not be destroyed.
. Lets read the first three verses of chapter 19.
1That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground.
2“My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”
“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate.
. The Angels had left Abraham and went to the city of Sodom. There they found Lot sitting at the gates of the city. We will come back to that in a few minutes .
. Lot saw them and immediately went to talk with them and invite them into his home for the night. They declined but Lot insisted.
. If you go back to the original Hebrew language there is more than just an insistence. They language gives a sense of urgency. Lot knew what would happen to these men if he let them camp out in the city square and he insisted that they come to his house for the night.
. They finally agreed and they went to Lot’s house and he prepared a meal for them.
. The story then gets interesting. After the sun went down and just before bed time, the men of Sodom surrounded Lots house and and told him to bring those new men out so that they could have sex with them. Blatant homosexuality seemed to be one of the problems there in Sodom.
. Well Lot steps out of the house and begs the men not to do this thing. And then his complete disregard for females and his daughters comes out. He shows his hypocrisy and in no way could be called a good man with what happens next. Look at verses 6-8 with me.
6So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him.
7“Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing.
8Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”
. What did you say Lot, so it’s not okay to give these two men to them but you will give them your two virgin daughters.
. What has gotten in to you.
. The crowd got rowdy then and told Lot to get out of the way. Who did he think he was anyway? He had not lived there long enough to garner their respect as a leader. Even though he sat at the city gate.
. The angels saw was taking place and they reached out and grabbed Lot and pulled him back into the house. Then they blinded the eyes of the ones who were attacking the door and eventually the crowd gave up trying to get into the door.
. The Angels told Lot that the sin and debauchery and wickedness of Sodom and the area around it had gotten so bad that God had sent them to destroy the cities in the area.
. Obviously they had not found ten righteous people in the city.
. They told Lot to get his family ready to travel because the next morning they needed to leave before the city was destroyed.
. Verses 15-17 tell us the of the escape.
15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”
16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful.
17When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
. Lot didn’t want to go to the mountains so he begged them to spare a small village that he and his family could settle in and they agreed to that.
.Verses 23-26 tell of the destruction of the cities on the plain.
23Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon.
24Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.
25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.
26But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
.God’s justice had been served. God had spared Lot because according to scripture, he was a righteous man.
. 2 Peter 2:6-8
. 6Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people.
7But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.
8Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.
.He was a believer in God and he placed his faith and trust in God. Would we consider him a good man today, of course not, but his faith in God had saved him.
. Just like King David, a murderer, adulterer, lousy father and husband, was considered a man after God’s own heart, so Lot was seen as a righteous man because of his faith and trust in God.
. Lot went and lived in the little village for a while and then went and moved into the mountains with his daughters anyway.
.There scripture tells us that his daughters saw that there were no men to marry and carry on the family name so they got Lot drunk and they both slept with him and became pregnant. The children of this incestuous act went on to become some of the greatest enemies of the Jewish people. The Moabites and the Ammonites.
. According to answers.com, the Jordanians, enemies of the Jewish people even today can be traced back to the Moabites who were descended from the incestuous children of Lot.
. We don’t hear much more about Lot in scripture. He is mentioned several times but just as an example or historical fact.
. What we can do though is look at Lot’s life and learn many things.
. The first thing we see is that a sinful life usually has a progression to it. There is a:
Progression Of Sin
. Over in Genesis 13 we see where Lot separated from Abraham and the KJV translation says that he pitched his tent near Sodom.
. Genesis 13:13 tells us this:
13But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the LORD.
. Lot started associating with the wicked people of Sodom.
. Lot moved from that stage to dwelling in Sodom.
.Look at Genesis 14: 12 with me:
12They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned.
. There had been a great battle for the area and the invaders had won and they had captured many of the people and Lot was one of them.
. Look at where Lot was, he had now moved from pitching his tent toward Sodom to now living in Sodom with the sin and wickedness.
. Finally, our scripture this morning tells us that Lot was now sitting at the gates of the city. That was where all the city leaders would gather every day. The important business of the city would transpire there. The men who had a seat at the gate were somewhat important.
. Lot had moved from gazing at Sodom to moving there with them to being part of the governing of the city.
. This makes the old statement that you momma told you so very true.
. If you lay with dogs, you are gonna get fleas. While Lot may not have been participating in all that was going on, his presence there was basically giving approval for what was going on.
.Folks be careful with your testimony. While we have to live in the world, we do not have to be part of the world and we certainly do not have to approve of what id going on in the world.
. The second thing we can learn is that there is:
.No Looking Back After You Have Been Saved
. Vs 26 told us that after they were saved from the destruction of the city, they were told not to look back. Lot’s wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt.
26But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
. The verb here indicates a prolonged, intense gazing toward the world she had left behind. It wasn’t just a glance, it was a lustful look thinking how much she was going to miss the world she had just left. The world she had been saved from.
. Folks, when Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again, He meant that we become a new person. A new creation through our faith and trust in Him. We are saved from the old world and come into a new world. We should never look back and long for what was. We need to look forward, anticipating what is to come.
. Finally, there comes a point in time when you can:
.Push God Too Far.
. The people that Lot lived among had gotten so far away from God that not ten people in the entire area who placed their faith in God could be found. We kind of read into this that only Lot and his family were believers in the one true God.
. God had seen and heard enough from the people in the region and as an example and a warning to the rest of the world, He destroyed them.
. Our country could take a lesson from this scripture.
. I believe that God allows us to live our lives and make decisions about our own lives but there may come a point in time when He says enough is enough.
. If you are here this morning and have never become a righteous person, I’m not talking about a good person, I am talking about placing your faith in God through accepting what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross. He died in your place so that you could be born again into the kingdom of God and become a righteous person.
. While this is your decision, we can only make this decision through the drawing or conviction of the Holy Spirit. Don’t continue to ignore or fight this call.
. We see in the Life of Lot an example of pushing God too far and He says enough is enough. Do not ignore God’s calling this morning.
. Christian, is God calling you to do something this morning? I may be as simple as helping with the Hallow Him festival. Don’t ignore what God is calling you to do this morning.
. Do you hear or feel God speaking this morning? Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Opening illustration from sermon central
