The Razor's Edge

The Razor’s Edge; Genesis 13:1-11

The Eskimo’s are among the greatest hunter’s of the world, but there is one animal that is the most difficult for them to catch. This animal has the greatest intellect, keenest smell, and the sharpest eyesight. And yet for the Eskimo’s to survive they must trap and kill this animal before it destroys their way of life. The animal I speak of is the white wolf.

The white wolf has a sense of smell that can detect the presence of a human up to 2 miles away. It’s suggested that his eyesight is so great that if man had the same eyesight he could read a newspaper from 150 yards away. It is their eyesight, sense of smell, and their cunning that make them the most difficult animal to bring down.

And yet, the Eskimo’s have devised a tactic that never fails. And it is similar to the tactic that the devil uses to attack Christians. The Eskimo’s say there is no sense in going against all the ability that the white wolf possesses. The devil says there no sense in going against the power of God in you.

To bring down the white wolf, the Eskimo’s take a knife and sharpen it to a razor’s edge, put it outside and let it freeze, dip it in blood, freeze, again and again until there is a thick coat of blood on the knife. Then they go out into the wilderness and plant it in the ground blade up.

The wolf scenting what is on the blade, and sensing that there is no danger, believes he has a free lunch. There is nothing to be alarmed about, so he makes his way to the knife. The blood has drawn him to it, and he licks it and nothing happens, he licks again and again. But with each lick he is working his way closer and closer to what’s going to destroy him.

How many Christian’s have been tempted to give into sin, tempted to mix God’s standards with the world’s, tempted to take that lustful glance, that first drink, to tell that little white lie, to cheat on a test, to cheat on their taxes, or to cheat on their spouse. and have taken that 1st, 2nd, 3rd lick not knowing that their getting closer to what’s going to destroy them.

Now, the white wolf gets comfortable and licks faster and faster as he tastes the frozen blood. Then he gets to the blade and slices his tongue but doesn’t even know it, because he is numbed by the bloody ice. Now he is tasting his own blood, but he continues to lick until the blade is clean and his tongue is shredded. He never walks more than a mile before he bleeds to death and the hunter has won.

The devil has planted blades all around us. And all he wants you to do is to get comfortable with the first lick. No one will ever see, no one will ever know. Your safe, there is no harm. But with every lick you’re getting closer to the blade, to destruction, to death.

The blades that Satan offers appear to be beautiful, desirable, something to be longed for, something that will bring satisfaction & pleasure. But they will destroy your life. Countless Christians have been overcome by things that Satan has set in front of them and they lost everything that was truly dear to them, their home, marriage, family, and friends. I can handle it.

1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Let me share a story with you of a man that took that 1st lick and he felt comfortable with his position in life so he took that 2nd lick 3rd and so on, and it destroyed his life and he almost lost his soul. The man’s name is LOT. Genesis 13:1-11…

I. He was a Righteous Man

2 Peter 2:8, “For that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds.” In studying his life I was surprised to see that, because Lot is an example of a Christian who tried to live as close to the world as possible, while still being a child of God. But there are a few things that we can look at.

1. He left a land of idol worshippers with Abraham. Gen. 12:1-4 (Ur – Haran).

2. He was hospitable to the angels of the Lord. Gen. 19:1-7

3. He risked his life to save his son’s-in-law. Gen. 19:12-14

Even though the Bible says he was righteous we can clearly see that he made some very foolish decisions and he was forced to face the consequences. That ought to be a warning to all of us. We are all vulnerable, we all can be tempted and overcome by sin. 1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him that thinks he stand, take heed lest he fall.”