COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 51 - THE NARROW ESCAPE

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

 So the angels went ahead to Sodom and Gomorrah and when they entered the city Lot was sitting at the gate. 

To “sit at the gate” in ancient times usually meant to hold an office or some form of civic or governmental leadership.  Apparently Lot had just been appointed to the office of a judge and he was sitting with all the other elected officials and politicians of the city at the gate.  Most scholars believe that Lot was new to this office, had just been appointed, and that he was elected as a “fall guy” or someone who would be easy to push around to help pass the laws of the city the way the residents wanted them passed.  After all the cities did have to conform to the rules of the region, and we have previously discussed that there were kings in charge of all the regions of the area. 

Perhaps the citizens of Sodom thought Lot, being an outsider and not native to the area, could negotiate with these kings and keep them out of their business.  The faithful men of Abraham had come to the aid of Lot earlier when Sodom had been in trouble.  Perhaps Lot used this as leverage to gain in politics.  Maybe the corrupt city leaders thought the kings of the region ruling over the area of the Jordanian Plains would listen to Lot because he was Abraham's nephew.  More than likely they wanted to use Lot to present a false front where they could twist justice into their own definition.  Who knows?  It is possible Lot had decided for once in his life to try to make a change.  

Lot seemed to be gullible, perhaps he even thought he could make a difference; there is no way to know for sure.  What we do know is that Lot had a past history of being a push over, one who was weak and unwilling to take a strong stand, and he was one who could not defend himself when push came to shove.   Money and material blessings seemed to be very important to Lot, important enough to ignore his own heritage and make his home in a completely different culture.

Everything that Lot had gained in life was the product of Abraham’s hard work and generosity.  A lot of people probably gave Lot grace because of Abraham's reputation in the land.   Maybe this was yet another reason that God wanted to remove Lot from this wicked place.  His rule would have probably brought shame and disgrace to Abraham’s family.  Perhaps God had another plan for Lot, a better one that Lot had not anticipated, but as usual, we know that Lot just kept trying to make his own plans instead of listening to God.  Otherwise, Lot would have left this wicked region of Sodom of his own accord long ago.  Now he was in a place where he could be used by the enemies of God, and if he was not removed, he would fall with them. 

God sent the angels ahead to remove Lot and his family, mostly for the sake of answering the many pleas and prayers of Abraham.  The best thing most fools have going for them is a good godly person who cares enough about them to intercede.  God had heard the intercessions that Abraham lifted up for Lot and had decided that he and his family would be spared.

When the angels saw Lot and greeted him he did display the best traits that he had learned from Abraham.  Lot was hospitable to the angels, and that fared well for him.  Even fools do well sometimes because they conform to the teachings of their youth.  Lot had grown up observing the godly traits of hospitality that Abraham and Sarah had always given their guest.  Lot had seen that the house of Abraham had often been visited by angels and he knew how to recognize this when it happened.  He seemed to be aware that even though they looked like men, they were angels.  This immediately put Lot on guard to protect them from the evil devices of those living in Sodom.

Lot’s natural instincts and learned habits from childhood came into play and he invited the two angels to come and be the honored guests of his home. 

The way Lot offered hospitality to the angels is very interesting.  He did the very same things in presenting his hospitality that Abraham had done when they came to his tents.  He honored them by bowing low and greeting them.  He invited them into his home.   He offered them water for washing their feet and rest from their travels.  He fed them a good meal of fresh baked unleavened bread. 

Isn’t this interesting?  Why do we always think of Abraham being the hospitable one?  Why do we not hear more about Lot’s hospitality?

The reason is not obvious until you look at the details.  Lot was doing all the things that he had been taught while growing up in the tents of Abraham.  He was presenting himself as he had seen a good example of a successful man do.  It was all rote.  It was all habit.  It was all mechanical in nature.  He did it because it was the thing that he was trained to do.  The words and the motions were right, but they probably did not mean anything to Lot.

Have you not ever done this yourself?  Are half the churches in America not simply doing the things that they have been trained to do?  The seats are full of courteous people, they bow their heads at all the right times, they utter prayers together, they sing, they listen, or they appear to be listening.  Are all these motions genuine worship from the heart?  What carries over into these people's homes?   Could the worship of many modern churches today not be like the external trappings of Lot's up-bringing?  How many church members are just attending because their parents taught them it was the thing to do?   Are they just done because they are expected and they help to keep the peace?  Are these deeds of worship not just ways to make the individual more socially acceptable to the community?  Where is the sense of conviction or compassion from the heart toward God?  Is the Name of God even mentioned or thought of during the rest of the week?  Lot was simply following what he perceived to be the politically correct traditional thing to do.  It was his trained custom to behave in this manner and that had nothing at all to do with his belief in God.

 

Abraham, on the other hand, had no training in these things.  He had grown up under the roof of a pagan father who worshiped idols.   He had been convicted of the truth of the One God of Heaven and Earth and had proceeded to worship Him from the heart.  Abraham had done these things, not from rote mechanics but straight from his genuine desire to please God and to be His servant.  His bow was one of genuine honor and respect.  His hospitality came from love and obedience to God and true compassion for his fellowmen.  He had studied Torah and his every action emanated this fact.   He lived it and breathed it.  It was his nature, not just his custom. 

Before the angels arrived, Abraham had sat inside his tent and waited to see what God would do next.  Following a time of repentance and a time of turning he had submitted to a painful circumcision that was a sign of his obedience to God in all circumstances.  That act was a sign that he had put all future generations of his family within God’s hands and let go of any of his control over them or his own plans for them.  Abraham was truly trusting God for every next second of the ticking hand of the clock.  

Lot sat in his honored position at the gate of a wicked, selfish, greedy and materialistic city expecting no one to visit or interfere with his seemingly good fortune that he had sought out on his own.  He probably gloated with pride and beamed at the new found fame, even among the pagan.  He actually sat in the city gates to be used by evil and corrupt men in order to make it easier for them to carry on their evil and corrupt lives in the way they desired.  Lot was proud of his own foolishness.  There was no obedience or love for God in Lot’s heart.   He was a puppet for those who were opposed to God’s will.  He stood for nothing.  It was all about his own importance and material gain.

There was a vast difference between the state of Lot’s heart and the state of Abraham’s heart, just as there is a huge difference between mere habitual behavior and true, genuine love.  Those sitting on the outside looking in cannot always see or tell the difference, but those who have the discernment from heaven can and usually do know when this happens.  Lot was addressing angels.  They must have known and seen the difference, but they desired to show their love and mercy to Abraham who had prayed to God, and they had been commanded by God to honor Abraham’s prayer requests.  Lot was spared because Abraham prayed.  It had nothing to do with his hospitality to the angels, though his sudden bravery and willingness to stand up for their protection does seem to be a change toward a more acceptable attitude.   Lot DID know how to be righteous, he just did not make righteous choices when the time came to take a true stand.

So what exactly transpired that day?

The angels came to Lot and greeted him at the gate and Lot showed them hospitality and insisted that they stay in his home instead of the streets of the city.  Whether from the heart or not, this was a righteous thing to do.  Lot knew the pattern that Sodom had for strangers who entered their gates.  The people of Sodom considered themselves to be a private city and strangers were not welcomed or invited.  They did not like to entertain strangers, and they made this known whenever a stranger entered their gates often in very cruel ways.  There was nothing hospitable or just or right about their actions toward new people in the area.   Lot's desire to protect the angels from this shows a new-found compassion that has not been seen in him before.  Was it for self gain too?  Did Lot know that the angels could help him in ways that the citizens could not?  Had Lot observed the blessings that came from angels while living with Abraham and Sarah and did he desire some of that for his own personal gain?  Or was it maybe fear?  Lot DID understand that God existed and he knew from Abraham's teaching that it was healthy and wise to fear God.  What were Lot's true motivations?  Had he suddenly become more righteous?

This tells us that Lot understood the difference between right and wrong and that he DID honor it in some strange twisted foolish sort of way even though he lived in a place that the scriptures say was inhabited by “wicked great sinners against the Lord.”  This made Lot stand out as righteous among the other citizens.  Even the smallest gestures could make a difference in such a city.  The hospitality of Lot, though not perfect, was considered good and appreciated by the angels.    

When the angels had came to Abraham and Sarah’s tents earlier they had delivered an announcement.  It was a happy announcement, an announcement about the birth of a child, an announcement that would bring new life.

When the angels came to Lot’s house later they had come to deliver another type of announcement.  This was a sad announcement; the announcement to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because the great sins of the city had come up before God.   It was an announcement of death.

The sins of the city became even more evident as the angels were staying in Lot’s house for the night.  These are the scriptures that describe what happened:

 Genesis 19:4-7:   But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.   And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, “ Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

The word used here as “know” has sexual connotations.  In so many other passages of the bible we have seen that the word "know" was used when people were sexually intimate with one another.  This was usually the word used to describe the proper relationship between a husband and wife, but not here in Sodom.  This was a perverted city full of immorality of every kind.  Homosexuality was only one of the immoral sins of the city.  It was a piece of the whole pie of adultery, fornication, incest, rape, etc.  This night the citizens had chosen homosexuality with angels as their entertainment for the evening. The scriptures become clear and make more sense as you read further:

Genesis 19:8:  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him.  And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.  Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known a man; let me, I pray you, bring them unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.”

Again, we see Lot’s character flaws and hypocritical ways in this crazy situation.  He offers the depraved men his own virgin daughters in order to protect the angels!  

It is worthy to think that he wanted to protect his divine guest, but it is horrible that he would be willing to sacrifice his innocent daughters for this cause.   

Why does that sound familiar?  We honor the divine in our worship services, yet some of us walk out the door and destroy new life with abortion.  Just as it was convenient for Lot to offer his daughters to protect the angels, it seems to be convenient for the citizens of planet earth to destroy life when it is inconvenient and interferes with our own plans.  Dare we to point a finger at Lot?   Is this not hypocritical?  So many things in this picture are wrong and the answers can only be found at the foot of the cross where there is mercy, grace and forgiveness.  This can only happen with repentance and people who are willing to turn.  God can do anything with people who repent and turn from their sins.  That was the problem with Lot's city and that is the problem with the world today.  Sin is so common and so accepted that no one is repenting, much less turning away from it and going in the other direction.  We leave God with only one option.  


Lot had not been willing to turn from a place of sin to a place of godliness.   He would not turn from the evil place where he was living without compassion or trust in God and the generation that he had fathered would suffer the consequences.   Was Lot's situation so unusual and different than many situations across the world today?  What are we teaching our children by our own actions?  If we are not backing up those words from all those worship services with every day actions we waste our breath and we curse our children's future.  They listen and they see.  What are we teaching them?

What was Lot thinking? 

Perhaps he knew the men would refuse his daughters, after all they had lived in the same community for awhile now and they had been safe and unharmed.  No man had shown them any interest.  Lot’s two other daughters had found husbands and married,  but these two had found no husbands.  The men were obviously not interested in the female sex or they would probably have taken up Lot’s offer and fulfilled their desire for lust by abusing his daughters.  It was a different kind of lust that they had in mind.  All lustful sins are equally punishable by God.  He abhors immorality of any kind.  None of us are innocent, but again, the answer lies in repentance and turning.  Lot could not turn away from the evil place.  He needed help and intervention.  God had sent it thanks to the prayers of Abraham.

The angels saw that Lot might lose his life defending theirs.  This was a new and noble and admirable trait for Lot, but it was unnecessary.  They had come to protect Lot, not for Lot to protect them; so they quickly reacted by making the depraved mob blind and grabbed Lot and pulled him back inside the house and shut the door.   

I find it interesting that the depraved mob was made blind.  They were made not to see.  When you think of the people of sin that they represent this seems very appropriate.  Most of the time those who are living in immorality like to be blind.  They refuse to see their own sins.  They try to justify it in a million different ways and want to act as if those who can see are the ones who are blind.  

Without the help of the angels Lot would have been killed.  He was over his head and up to his neck in trouble.  Have you ever been in over your head?  It can happen if you find you can't walk away from evil.  Sometimes God intervenes.  If this is the case you have been blessed!

Once Lot was safely inside the angels announced that they had been sent from God to destroy Sodom because of the wickedness found there.   When Lot heard this announcement concerning the destruction of the city, he quickly went out to his son-in-laws and married daughters and told them that the city was about to be destroyed. He tried so hard to reason with them.  Have you ever tried in vain to reason with people about a message from God that they do not want to hear?  It is never easy.   Are any of mankind listening to the good news of the gospel anymore?  Typical human reaction to such warnings is "that is something that happens to someone else; not to me." Satan's demons are kept very busy stopping up people's ears and distracting them from the truth.    

Like Sarah in the tent when the angels came to Abraham, the son-in-laws of Lot laughed.  That the city could be destroyed was unbelievable to them.  They were natives to Sodom.  They had witnessed lots of revenge on strangers who had tried to change things.  They had probably looked at Lot's new position as a judge in the gates as a joke.  Maybe they had laughed behind his back before this night.  Things never went well for the strangers of Sodom and the city itself always kept thriving on.  They had no interest in listening to Lot or his stories of angels and danger just as most men living today do not really believe that there is a hell and that the wicked will again be destroyed by fire.  They thought Lot was delusional.  They did not believe a word he said!  They laughed and ignored him until it was too late for them to be saved.  

I wonder if Lot thought about the fact that he had raised his daughters in a community with only these choices for husbands.  These foolish men were probably the cream of the crop for the young girls wanting to marry in Sodom.  It was too late for Lot to change any of this.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  There was nothing he could do.  "Too late" comes quickly.

There is a day coming on the earth when many men will be in the same situation as Lot as he tried to convince his daughter's husbands to leave.  It will be too late.  All the deeds of life will be done.  There will not be a way to go back or undo the past at that point.  There will only be sure judgement and fire and brimstone ahead.  I pray that we all may believe the messages from Heaven that we are sent supernaturally and that all people will decide to turn in their hearts and leave the places of evil and go toward the place where God dwells before it is too late.

When the sun rose the next morning the angels urged Lot to take his wife and his two single daughters out of the city immediately.  When they hesitated the angels took their hands and supernaturally delivered them to a place that was outside the city and then told them to hurry and escape for their lives.  They were told to run to the mountains and not stay in the plain and not to even look back as they went. 

By now you know how stubborn and unwilling Lot could be to follow any plans but his own.  He was afraid to go to the mountains and asked the angels to let him escape to a smaller city on the edge of the plains called Zoar.  

The angel, probably tired of Lot’s stubborn ways, agreed to this and sent them quickly on their way.  

How many times have we all been like Lot, trying to stay in the low valley and the plains when God wants to send us up to the mountaintop?  For fear of the unknown we hesitate and huddle in our own little plans, but if only we would go as God commands without question!  

What do you think God had in store for Lot on that mountain?  

We will never know; Lot did not listen.  He missed the blessings of the mountain that day and opted for the little insignificant city of Zoar.  God allows us choices and Lot chose Zoar, a little town whose name meant "insignificant and small."   

Lot; the man who knew righteousness but never lived very close to it, was now having to run with his family.  As they saw the sun rise over the plains they also smelled the smoke of burning sulfer and they knew hail and brimstone were falling from the sky only miles behind them.  

COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 38 - WHO WILL GO WITH ABRAHAM

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

While we have been studying the biblical  Abraham (and we will continue on - I promise) who rescued Lot from King Cherdorlaomer and his allies, I have also been reading about current day battles going on in modern times in the same area of the world.  I have pondered the way both times seem so similar in nature.   I have wondered about the prophetic significance of it all for the Christian people who claim to be The Church of today’s world.  

Will we be like Abram?   

Will we go to rescue God's people in need?

As I studied modern times, I read a modern-day story about another man named  Abraham.  The words printed in the next paragraph are from some of the writings of Mat Staver.  Mr. Staver speaks of a ministry he is trying to help called RUN Ministries.  RUN Ministries is now sending people over to these war torn and terrorized lands that are living right in the midst of a horrid nightmare.  These people are voluntarily risking their lives to help our brothers and sisters in need.  Many of them have also been killed and/or tortured in the process.   They are trying to help people who have been run off their land simply because they are Christians with humanitarian relief, shelter and food.  

Many of the people they have helped are recovering from months of torture and seeing the ones they love being murdered right before their eyes.   RUN Ministries has a mission to help the helpless.  This is an excert from the borrowed story that I read:

“Abraham had been working non-stop for more than two days and was completely exhausted. But he knew that he could not rest; he had to go out one more time to look for those hiding in the Sinjar Mountain area of northern Iraq.  Earlier that day, he had gotten word that families may be still be hiding.  So he and his teammate set out in the middle of the night. Within a couple of hours, Abraham spotted a family huddled together, eyes closed and trying to hide silently to avoid terrorists or wild animals. Abraham approached them and quietly announced that he was there to help, offering food, water, and safe passage to a peaceful camp.  Their fears subsided, and then the long journey through the mountains began. Hours later, as the sun began to rise, the "Community of Hope" refugee camp appeared. Abraham had rescued another family and led them to safety.”

This modern-day family must have felt like Lot did when the ancient Abram came with his army to rescue him and bring him and his family and many others back to safety.  It is nice to know there are still people like this around.  You may help their cause if you wish.  Their website is:  www.runministries.org.

As I read this article pertaining to the horrible times we are living through and prayed and thanked God for this ministry,  I thought of how Abram and his men attacked in the middle of the night, and brought the captives home with their possessions restored.  Perhaps RUN Ministries thinks a lot like our Father Abraham.  I’m sure they are both listening to the same God.  Their actions certainly seem to state this.  They trust in God and have no fear in rescuing God’s people from terrorist.  These good people are risking their lives to help save people who have not sinned or committed no crimes other than being Christians. They are fighting a growing cancer spreading across the land.  Today this is in a far away land, tomorrow who knows?  Oh Church - Arise!

Abram’s plot was similar in many ways.  His men also voluntarily risked their lives in order to save God’s people from danger.  They too attacked the enemey in the night and brought the captives to safety.  God never forgets of forsakes his children in need.  He uses His church as hands and feet.  A church is not a building full of members, a church is a land of people full of The Holy Spirit.  Abram was not the "organized" force in this battle, yet he won because he followed a God who knew all things.  No king ruled over him and no taxes supported him.  He was simply a good and godly man using the abundance provided to him by a Mighty God.

I thought of the name RUN Ministries and I remembered that one of the Jordanian kings who won with the help of Abram was Shemeber and his name meant "gazelles" or "strong and fast."  

Please pray for these people who have been terrorized for being believers.  As you consider how Abram rescued Lot pray for the same for them.  Pray for God to provide for those who are willing to risk their lives in His name.  

As I pondered all of the above, we were going through the time of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement).  I celebrate the Christian understanding of this day.  It is customary to read the story of Jonah at Yom Kippur.  Of course, it is because the story relates to repentance, but as I studied Jonah this time I also read an  up-to-date modern article about the city in his story called Ninevah.  It seems that ISIS has driven all Christians out of Ninevah and it has been proclaimed that communion is no longer held in that city.  I thought of Melchizedek coming to Abram after the battle was over and offering the blessings of God and bringing bread and wine.  How sad to learn that a city that Jonah preached to so long ago which had repented at one time was now desolate of the people of God and that no more communion (handed down from Melchizedek to Abram to those of God's church) was taking place in that land.   It seems that the enemy would like to wipe out the name of God in association with this old ancient city.  They have even gone so far as to blow up the burial place of Jonah in this land.  

My friends who seek God with the heart of a child, please pray for them.  History is repeating itself.  This often happens, first God will show us a physical situation and then it will be repeated so that we will understand the spiritual significance of it all.  This story says the same thing to me that it did to Jonah.  People MUST repent and turn to God.  All people.  All nations.  Can we drink this cup?

The whole earth must be restored to knowing and serving a loving and merciful God.   Ninevah and their king believed the truth of God that Jonah brought to them.  For the short span of about 100 years they turned and repented.  Can it happen again?  Pray that God's will prevails and these people will be restored.  Pray that God's people all over the world come together in repentance and turn from evil and spport their brothers and sisters who are staying true to the course set before them.  Pray that the evil be ended by a mighty God, The One True God of Heaven and Earth.  Pray that we are worthy to be left standing when it is done.  

Also pray that America, who is showing the same ugly immorality that existed in the city of Ninevah in the days of Jonah, will be led to repentance as a nation.  Do we stand like hypocrites praying for another third world country without first repenting in our homeland?  God forbid.  We must repent and turn.  This is where our hope for the future lies.