Father Abraham

A Sermon Series

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

Angels Rescue Lot: Part Two”

Genesis 19:8-29

 Introduction

“If I had a brother who had been murdered, what would you think of me if I …daily consorted with the assassin who drove the dagger into my brother’s heart; surely I too must be an accomplice in the crime. Sin murdered Christ; will you be a friend to it? Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; can you love it?” C.H. Spurgeon.[1]

 Review

1. Lot’s Increasing Callousness Toward Sin (vv. 1-3)
2. Sodom’s Sin (vv. 4-7)

III. Lot Offers An Alternative (vv. 8-11)

8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.” 9 But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.

How could Lot offer his daughters to the crowd for them to “do what you like with them?” In order to correct the homosexuality of the act, he offers his daughters that would remove abomination part – but because Lot is so compromised that he has become blind to the violence, and even violence against his daughters. Lot is thinking, “God’s problem is with the homosexuality part of the sin, so he offers his daughters instead of them to solve that problem.”

This is a further step in Lot’s decline. Sin blinds the sinner from the harmful effects of his actions. We come up with crazy solutions to the situations we find ourselves in, because we don’t want to give up certain sins. The person doesn’t care how their actions affect others. This is the ultimate selfish act. Sin draws one into thinking more and more about yourself.

Christ teaches us to look less and less at ourselves and more and more at God.  Lot was focused on getting the angels out so that his lifestyle could continue.  He wanted to run back to the city gate and continue living as he had. Dawn came.  Judgment was about to fall, but Lot hesitated.  He was a righteous man in that he believed God. He believed what the angels had told him. But he loved the lifestyle of living in the city, his following God was way off track.

But the angels had to physically take the family’s hands and by force pull them out of the city to safety, saying “flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain!” All who sin will be punished, if they have not turned from sin and fled for safety to the cross of Christ.

If you are a believer living in Sodom, You may have, like Lot, thought he had it far enough away that you could control it, gained considerable recognition in the city.  Perhaps you have bartered away your faith, and the world has accepted you as endorsing its lifestyle.

But whenever it comes time to take stand your stand, you will soon discover that the people will turn on you like they did Lot.  If you are not taking a stand against the sin and are instead trying to blend in, then you are not winning Sodom, Sodom is winning you.

“so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.” – These men are so focused on trying to bring the men out of the house and they are so consumed with lust for these men that they can’t put together that they are blind, that everyone around them is also blind, and after attempt and attempt they are tired from “groping for the door.” Their sin had blinded them from the presence of God’s representatives in their city, and God blinded them in order to protect the righteous man Lot.

But also, their judgement was coming, God had already stopped and talked with Abram about how their sin was so opposed to His ways, that He came down to observe and see for himself, Genesis 18:20-21 “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.”

When we ask “why didn’t they stop groping around,?” “why didn’t they realize everyone around them was also blind?,” and “why didn’t they stop and realize something miraculous was going on?” Their obsession and lust had caused them to lose control of being rational – they are blind to reality because of their sinful focus. This blindness may have been God’s last and final act of grace for this city. God blinded them as one final act of mercy to a city who have sinned gravely.

 The men of Sodom are blind to the coming judgement of God, His presence within their city, their being consumed by their sin, and even the final offering of grace from God.  What does God have to do to get your attention?

Acts 9 “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus . . . God in a voice and bright light blinded Paul – he was breathing out murderous threats against the church – God strikes him with blindness and he comes to his senses.  . . . v. 17 after Paul had been with Ananias “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened.” Paul came to his senses and became the person God used to share the gospel to the Gentiles.

Later the man who understood spiritual blindness (Paul) wrote in Romans 11:7-10 “What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”

Also in Isaiah 6:8 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Blindness can cause you to stop and realize you need God,

or it can drive you into further darkness and judgement.

 It’s Time to Leave – Judgement Is Here (vv. 12-16)

12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, “Up! Get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

As the judgment of God is about to fall upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah , the angels tell him, “For we are about to destroy this place,” Lot is still trying to figure out how he can hold on, what can he grab and take with him – he can’t take anything with him and survive – so he lingers (he’s consumed with trying to salvage something from his life there). What can I take with me?

He was so caught up in trying to figure this out, “So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” So by force, the whole family now stands outside the city walls, and are given instructions to flee, don’t linger, don’t look back! There is a wave of destruction that is coming, and you don’t want to get caught up in it.

Still Trying to Hold On (vv. 17-26)

¹⁷ As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” ¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! ¹⁹ Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. ²⁰ Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it-it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” ²¹ He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. ²² But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar. ) ²³

 It seems incredible that Lot would argue with the angels who were going to destroy the city (even when the lives of his family members were at stake) but instead of going to the mountains as they had suggested Lot wanted to go to a smaller city instead.

He bases his plea on the fact that God has already been gracious in delivering him from Sodom “Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life.” In other words, since God has been good enough to spare his life, he should now also be good enough to allow him to go on sinning. God had been gracious enough to spare his life but then he doubts God’s ability to get him to the mountains.  Lot also argues on the basis of the smallness of the place he wanted to go. “Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it-it is very small, isn’t it?”

Even as a he is running from the consequences of sin; he is trying to see how he can continue to sin further. So why do the angels let him?  God never prevents us from sinning.

By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. ²⁴ Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah-from the LORD out of the heavens. ²⁵ Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities-and also the vegetation in the land. ²⁶ But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

 Our definition for righteous is not sinless perfection, but it is believing on God’s Word. What does He say that a person needs to do, be, what are His instructions – and then to follow them, to take Him at His Word. God specifically said, don’t look back if you want to be saved, “Lot’s wife looked back.” You cannot be saved from God’s judgement if you ignore His instructions on how to be saved?

Does Our Sin Affect our Family? 

 Lot’s Wife

There doesn’t seem to be any indication that Lot was married before he moved close and eventually into Sodom. So, it is my guess that he married a woman from Sodom. There also does not seem to be any indication that she was a believer in the one true God. She could not seem to tear her herself away from the city.  She seems to have lingered behind, looked back, and was overtaken in the destruction.

Lot’s wife was never persuaded by her husband’s faith. I wonder why? Was it because his life so blended into the cities that there was nothing different about him. Fathers, your sins will hurt your family.

 Lot’s Daughters

Just like their father they have grown up and learned by their father’s example to only focus on themselves.  Sin causes you to not worry about God’s Word, his ways or even the very laws of nature that he has established.

Gen. 30:30-38 describes that when Lot and his daughters had escaped the daughters were concerned that they would not have anyone to marry and have children so they got their father drunk and each in turn had sex with him.

The children went on to become the Moabites and the Ammonites who were enemies of the line of Abraham.  The daughters did not see a father who lived out a faith. If you want to raise children that will do awful evil things that you may not even be able to imagine, then say you are a Christian but let your children watch you live everyday as a worldly person.

Lot’s Son-In-Laws

Notice that earlier in the story, it says that “Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house.”  Lot’s sons-in-laws would have been apart of this crowd.  Lot’s daughters were offered “to the crowd,” they didn’t say anything to this.

Verse 14 says, “So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.”

Why did they think he was joking? Many of the men had just been struck with blindness, and couldn’t they see what was going on. Lot more than likely had never spoke with them about anything regarding God so now when he does, it’s a joke. How could Lot’s daughters have chosen men like this?  They followed their father’s example.

Conclusion

Are you trying to live like the world and yet follow the ways of the world?  1 Cor. 3:11-15 says, “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.”

One day the judgment of God will come for all people. For those who live in Sodom (still in their sin), they will be burned up, no further chances.  But the Christian who is in Sodom, he will be saved, but it will be as one “escaping through the flames.”

He will have nothing to present to God for all the years of life given to serve and worship Him. Don’t let that be you. Have arm loads, trucks loads, years, of service to present to God, to bring Him glory. This is a year to start, help be apart of the church family that is going to impact our world.

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[1] https://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/w/worldliness.htm

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.