Genesis 19:29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt
Genesis 19 is a sordid story. It is absurd, and the events that it records are obscene and wicked. The first words in Genesis 19 talk about the gate of Sodom, that wicked city that God destroyed, and you read about Lot, Abraham’s nephew, who was in this wicked city. God destroyed this city, and in His mercy allowed Lot to flee.
So, what is the story in Genesis 19? It is not really a story about Sodom. We find the account of Sodom, but it is part of something bigger. It is not even the story of Lot. Though he is the main character in this chapter, he is not the main character of the larger story. The chapter before is about Abraham, and the chapter after begins, “And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country.” So, this is all about a man of faith, and chapter 19 gives context to that.
It is a contrast. In Genesis 19:29 says, “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.” So, God did not spare Lot’s life because of Lot. He spared Lot’s life because of Abraham.
Galatians 3:9 says, speaking about those who are living a life of faith as Abraham did, “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Abraham was a man of faith. Both Abraham and Lot were fathers of great nations. You find the origin story for the nation of Moab, the Moabites, and the nation of Ammon, the Ammonites, both of whom were descendants of Lot through his daughters. But the Bible says that God remembers those who look to Him. God remembered Abraham. I want to encourage you that no matter how wicked the day and how outnumbered you may feel, God remembers those who look to Him.
I am reminded of Noah. God destroyed the entire world, but He remembered Noah and those who were with him in the ark. Life will be built on either faith in God or faith in your sight. Sometimes we contrast faith and sight. That is valid. Lot was a man of faith; he just trusted what he saw. The Bible says he lifted up his eyes and saw the well-watered plain. He “pitched his tent toward Sodom.” Lot was trusting that what he saw was reality, that what he saw was going to pan out for good. Abraham saw the God who sees everything. So, God remembers those who look to Him, and your life will either be built on faith in God or faith in what you can see.
You can see the contrast here. First, you see it in the priorities that Lot had. Abraham was not perfect, but Lot had messed up priorities. When the men of Sodom came to Lot’s house and asked after the two angels that God had sent to Lot’s house, they had immoral intentions. Lot literally offered to send out his two daughters in the place of his guests. That sounds absurd, obscene, and ludicrous. However, it makes sense. In Lot’s day and time, hospitality was of preeminent importance. These men were under Lot’s roof. So, Lot would rather sacrifice his daughters to the mob than to betray his guests even though they were strangers. The point is that there is no limit to your low if the culture calls the shots.
In the last verses of Genesis 19, Lot escapes Sodom with his two daughters. He dwelt in a cave, but Sodom was there. The problem was not so much that Lot was in Sodom as it was that Sodom was in Lot. The whole world was wicked. Abraham wasn’t living in some believer’s paradise. He was living in a wicked world too. I’m not saying it was right of Lot to go to Sodom, but the primary problem was not Lot in Sodom, but Sodom in Lot. Who was the real threat to these daughters? Was it the mob outside or their father by whom came the Moabites and Ammonites? Lot’s priorities were thoroughly messed up.
You can see that Lot was living by faith in his sight by his credibility. When he finally warned his family of the encroaching doom in verse 14, he went to his sons-in-law to warn them, but “he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.” This is easy to get confused. Sometimes we think that when Lot went to warm his sons-in-law, they said, “Hey, you old coot. What do you know?” The Bible doesn’t say that the sons-in-law mocked him. It says that his sons-in-law thought that Lot mocked them. Why? It was because what he was saying was so contradictory to what he had said with his entire life.
God spared Lot because of what God saw. Three times the New Testament says that Lot was righteous and was vexed by the wickedness in Sodom. You would have never guessed that. So, God spared Lot because of what God saw, Lot’s relationship before God, but Lot’s family perished because of what they saw, a man who never lived out his faith. His priorities and credibility reveal this.
His unwillingness to obey quickly is revealed. His faith was in his sight, not in God’s Word. The Bible says he lingered when he was warned to leave, and when instructed not to look back, his wife did. The angels warned him to make haste, but Lot actually argued against the angels of God. Instead of quickly obeying what God said through His messengers, he made objections. What place did Lot have to argue with these messengers of God?
I don’t know what you need today. Maybe you feel you need money, friends, health, influence, or health. Let me encourage you today. Don’t force it; faith it. Lot was desperate to get what he could by his own means. He looked to Sodom. He had faith in what he could see, and he lost out. Abraham, though flawed, trusted in the God who sees everything. Lot saw Sodom; God sees everything. Abraham’s faith was in God. Life will be built on your faith in God or your faith in what you can see. Today, God remembers those who look to Him in faith. God remembered Abraham and God will not forget you.