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.