“The God Who Rescues the Righteous and Judges the Wicked: Angels Rescue Lot: Part One” Genesis 19:1-7

Father Abraham

A Sermon Series

“The God Who Rescues the Righteous and Judges the Wicked:

Angels Rescue Lot: Part One”

Genesis 19:1-7

 

Opening

God blessed Abraham and Lot so much that the land could not sustain both men traveling together with their herds. So Abraham allows Lot to choose whatever land he wanted, and Abraham would go in the opposite direction. Genesis 13:12 says “Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.”  Since the time Lot chose to go close to Sodom, it was already corrupt. It was already known as a place where wicked men lived and they sinned against the Lord.

2  Peter 2:6-9 is explaining how God preserves the righteous while also judging the wicked, “. . . if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,”  These verses tell us that (1) Sodom and Gomorrah was so sinful and corrupt that it demanded the judgement of God, and that (2) Lot was a righteous man. God will judge the ungodly while at the same time save the righteous.

We are going to see that Lot does some things that would cause us to ask, “why does the Bible refer to him as righteous?” It does not mean that he was without sin, or lived a sinless perfect life. Lot is called righteous because of his belief – “like his uncle Abraham, Lot was righteous in the sense of being a believer to whom God credited righteousness by his faith.”[1]

Lot reacts differently to the angels when they arrive in the city than any other person in the city, and he seeks to warn his sons-in-laws of the coming destruction. His heart is moved toward God and he believed that the promised judgement was coming (he left the city).

When Peter says that Lot “was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds” tells us that while he was morally compromised, and materialistic, he did not want anything to do with their “outrageous behavior,” “Unrestrained,” “without moral standards,” Sodom’s sinfulness was so great that it oppressed his troubled his soul.

Everyday when Lot went out among the people of Sodom and Gomorrah their actions tormented his soul. God eventually judges the city with fire from heaven, and he will escape (being the only righteous man in the city), yet, “only as [those] escaping through the flames.”

On His way from heaven to Sodom, God stops and talks with Abraham; informing him of what he was going to do to Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18:20 “Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.” God has judged; against the serpent and his offspring in Gen. 3; the world already through a worldwide flood (Genesis 6); And now he is moved to judgement once again.

What is a righteous man doing in a place

so corrupt that it demands the judgement of God?

 “Lot is an illustration of the worldly Christian, half-hearted Christian. He had the knowledge of God and wanted fellowship with Him. But he wanted the world too, and in the end he lost almost everything he valued.”[2] But instead of gradually growing closer to God, he moves in the opposite direction. He enjoyed living like the world and then though the sin bothered him, it wasn’t bad enough for him to do anything about it.

Whatever Lot received from Sodom outweighed his disdain for their abominable acts.

That downward slide always begins with a first step, and for Lot it was when Abraham and Lot were standing on the overlook deciding which direction they would go. In Genesis 13:10 we are told that his first step toward his decline was that he looked toward Sodom. He no longer wanted to live in tents and move around he wanted city life and what he thought Sodom could offer him that God’s plan would not.

God’s plan for his people were for them to live in tents and move around

– Lot wanted to be permanent and live in a city.

The second step in his decline was that he “pitched his tent near Sodom” (Gen. 13:12).  Then in today’s text we see him sitting in the city gate and living in a house inside the city.  The city gate is where the elders or principal men sat in order to observe and control who comes into the city and to oversee conflicts, make rulings, etc.

In Psalm 1:1-2 we see a progression of a man moving toward sin, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;” Lot was giving counsel to the wicked, he was standing with sinners, and he was sitting at their city gate of those who would scoff at God.

Lot’s Increasing Callousness Toward Sin (vv. 1-3)

“The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth 2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” 3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.”

Lot went to Sodom with the wrong motives – to benefit from its ungodly way of life, not to convert it. How do we know that Lot did not go there to tell them about God? Is there ever a right man and a right motive to go to a city like Sodom (sure)?  God called Jonah to go to Ninenveh, preaching a message of impending destruction in order that the city might repent, seek God, and be spared.

But, Lot was not called by God to do that, and he is not known as a man of God; he has done his best to blend in and hide that he was a believer of the one true God. Eventually, when he finally does talk about God and judgement his sons-in-laws thinks he’s joking (Genesis 19:14). Lot’s two daughters are pledged to marry men of Sodom – instead of going to find spouses from among Haran (as Abraham would do for Isaac). Lot wants to be a citizen of Sodom, and that desire has caused him to compromise his values.

When Lot sees the angels, he is quick to get up from his position at the gate and try and get them inside his house and encourages them to leave early in the morning. Lot knows that this is a very evil city and doesn’t want the angels to be harmed (or attempt to be harmed).

Lot is also anxious for his “good thing” to not get messed up.  “To attempt to reprove the world’s ways, while we profit by association with it, is vanity; the world will attach very little weight to such reproof and such testimony.”[3] Lot is not going to agree with God’s judgement of fire and brimstone because he is living in a house where the it’s falling. When judgement falls upon Sodom it also falls upon Lot because he is too close. How do we teach God’s ways? Lot is way too close and benefits far too much to even want to discuss judgment and wrong doing.

Sodom’s Sin (vv. 4-7)

4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.

Sodom’s sin was sexual perversion, Jude 7 says, “just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” “To be sure, other sins plagued Sodom as they do every city. But we know of only one episode in history where God singled out a particular sin and destroyed two entire cities because of it.”[4]

The Bible clearly condemns homosexuality both here and in several other places.  In the Old Testament it is act that is deserving of death (Lev. 20:13), and cited in the New Testament as being evidence of a cultures’ well-advanced corruption (Rom. 1:26-32).[5] Some would say the sin of Sodom was poor hospitality, not homosexuality – but why would Lot later offer his daughters to the crowd, “do with them as you want,”? if the crowd wanted to see an ID; That makes no sense contextually, but complete sense if the sin were of a sexual nature.

Leviticus 18:22 “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

Leviticus 20:13 “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.”

Abomination defined – “Whatever is ritually or ethically loathsome and repugnant to God and men. . . .” “offensive violation of established order,” “foods prohibited as unclean,” “imperfect sacrifices,” “magic and divination,” “sexual irregularities,” “moral and ethical faults,” “reversal of the natural” “idolatrous practices” “idols.”[6] In a biblical sense, an abomination is anything that God finds offensive or repugnant, and the offense is based on his character (not our culture or our opinions). It is an act that God finds offensive because it violates a moral truth based on God’s character.

Genesis 1:31 after he had created the six days of creation, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” The created order was an extension of God’s character and it was very good. “Now the earth as a result of God’s “Spirit” and animated word is well-ordered, complete, and abounding in life-forms under the watch care of royal humanity.”[7]

In this creation is matchless wisdom (ex. consider the ant). All of creation, and it’s created order point to the character and person of God. Even the wrath of God is revealed through creation, Romans 1:18-20 “ . . . For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made . . .”

Romans 1:26-27 “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.” Why is homosexuality considered an abomination by God? Because it contradicts his character and His plan for the created order to point people to Him —He is to receive glory and honor from His creation.

Jesus says in, Matthew 19:4 “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” God joins men and women together in marriage for the purpose of giving him glory in the bringing of children into the world, and how they live within their community.

Later, on Mt. Sinai, when God gave the law, it was His Word (like the spoken word of creation “let there be light”) and it was good. The Word of God is good, complete,  2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” God’s Word (all of it) is an extension of His character. So, when God says, that a marriage (or relationship) is between a man and woman – to change that is to be an abomination because it violates the character of God. That is not how God has revealed the created order to us.[8]

So as long as I believe the right thing – then I am righteous? Lot, like Abraham believed God’s Word and it was “credited to him as righteousness.” “I can still be involved in a  homosexual relationship as long as I believe God’s word?” No, there is also repentance that has to take place. To repent is to turn from sin and agree with God’s Word that it is an abomination. Your mind changes in how you view sin. It once was not that big of a deal, but now your heart is repelled against it.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (you have changed how you view your original sin and have ceased to practice them “as such were some of you”).

1 Timothy 1:8-11 “Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” The law tells us what is sinful, so that we can repent and cry out for a Savior – who then transforms us.

How would you respond to this comment, “I am a follower of Jesus, but I do not see anything wrong with homosexuality. I do not find it to be offensive or an abomination.”

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[1] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 2 Peter & Jude (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Publishers, 2005) 90.

[2] James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary, Genesis, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books, 2002) 620.

[3] C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch, Genesis to Deuteronomy (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1972) 89.

[4] Kenneth O. Gangel & Stephen J. Bramer, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Genesis (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Publishers, 2002) 167.

[5] Boice, 622. See also Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:8-10

[6] George Arthur Buttrick, Dictionary Editor, The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, An illustrated Encyclopedia (Nashville, Tennessee; Abingdon Press, 1962) 13.

[7] Kenneth Matthews, The New American Commentary, Genesis 1-11:26 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996) 175.

[8] See also God’s teaching about himself, salvation, and the church as the bride of Christ. The marriage producing children who receive the fundamental teachings of God. This Christian godly family values moves from generation to generation.