Genesis 19v12-29
Consider the following from the passage:
- The Judgement of God
a) God came to a conclusion about Sodom and Gomorrah. Someone was crying out to God about the sin of Sodom (Gen. 18v20-21), which they knew was out of line with God’s commands (God’s special revelation) and God’s divine order (God’s general revelation). Is there a committed outcry for the state of the world today by the body of Christ?
b) The deliverance of the righteous initiated – God gets out His people first.
c) The destruction of the wicked initiated – “for we are about to destroy this place!”
d) The depravity of the wicked indicted – the outcry resulted in God taking the situation seriously and taking action.
e) The unbelieving amusement behaviour of Lot’s sons – they did not take God at His Word.
f) Undue attachment of Lot – Lot lingered in Sodom.
- The Mercy of God
a) God’s resolve – He won’t leave His people in the line of His wrath.
b) Lot’s reticence – he hesitated to listen to God and leave Sodom (see Mat. 24v15-18).
c) The Lord’s relenting in His mercy – He let Lot go where he wanted to go and waited until he was safe. - The Wrath of God
a) The Lord lashed back – He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with great fury. Do we believe this God is real and that this Book is true? If you do, then there needs to be an outcry and readiness for when God acts and a willingness to follow God’s directions and not look back!
b) Lot’s wife looked back – despite everything that happened she longed for what God had commanded her to forsake! If we do the same, we run the risk of, to quote John Bunyon, “turning to pillars of salt, as a result of our disobedience”. - The Faithfulness of God
a) The safe place – God remembered Abraham and the sacred place where he went when he saw the wrath of God coming on Sodom and Gomorrah. That scared place is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is where we need to flee to. From there Abraham could see:
b) The saving protection of God – He remembered Abraham amongst the destruction of Sodom. In Deut. 7v9 we see the intercession of the righteous for God’s mercy. We see God showed mercy to Lot while subjecting Sodom and Gomorrah to His terrifying wrath.
We need to cry out to God for the sins of mankind. We must not look back at worldly pleasures. Remember the saving protection given to Lot. In Christ, the Lord will preserve us, being faithful to His Word and Covenant.