Genesis 19B (2011) A family had twin bys whse nly resemblance t each ther was their lks. If ne felt it was t ht, the ther thught it was t cld. If ne said the TV was t lud, the ther claimed the vlume needed t be turned up. Oppsite in every way, ne was an eternal ptimist, the ther a dm and glm pessimist. Just t teach them a lessn, fr Christmas their father laded the pessimist sn s rm with every imaginable ty and game, while the ptimist sn s rm he laded with a pile f hrse manure. That night the father passed by the pessimist's rm and fund him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly. "Why are yu crying?" the father asked. "Because my friends will be jealus, I'll have t read all these instructins befre I can d anything with this stuff, I'll cnstantly need batteries, and my tys will eventually get brken." answered the pessimist twin. Passing the ptimist twin's rm, the father fund him dancing fr jy in the pile f manure. "What are yu s happy abut?" he asked. T which his ptimist twin replied, "There's gt t be a pny in here smewhere!" Befre rejining Lt as he stands between the hstile crwds and the visiting angels in his huse, we need t find ur pny in this stry Let s begin by remembering Abraham s prayer fr his nephew Abraham asked the Lrd t spare the city if ten righteus were fund The Lrd agreed, but we re left wndering what will happen t Lt and his family At first it seems likely that their wuld be at least ten in the entire city wh knew the Lrd Lt and his family are at least fur, perhaps as many as six if his daughters have taken husbands 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 2 But will there be ten? And if ten aren t fund, will Gd hld Abraham t the riginal bargain thereby destrying Lt with the city? If s, what kind f lessn will Gd be teaching Abraham abut Gd s character? Secndly, there s the questin f the pwer f prayer t influence Gd in the curse f these events Sdm and Gmrrah are certainly deserving judgment and the Lrd is already determined t judge them fr their sin But when Gd agreed t hnr Abraham s request, He seemed t leave the utcme f the cities in dubt Hw des Abram s prayer wrk side by side with Gd s svereignty? Is Abraham determining the utcme f Sdm and Gmrrah r is it Gd Finally, we shuld remember that this accunt f Lt and Abraham ffers a stunning picture f Gd s plan fr a future judgment As we bserved in earlier chapters, Abraham can be seen t represent Hebrews while his believing nephew Lt can represent the Gentile believer Lt is blessed by his assciatin with Abraham, as we will see Gen. 19:9 But they said, Stand aside. Furthermre, they said, This ne came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; nw we will treat yu wrse than them. S they pressed hard against Lt and came near t break the dr. Gen. 19:10 But the men reached ut their hands and brught Lt int the huse with them, and shut the dr. Gen. 19:11 They struck the men wh were at the drway f the huse with blindness, bth small and great, s that they wearied themselves trying t find the drway. Gen. 19:12 Then the tw men said t Lt, Whm else have yu here? A sn-in-law, and yur sns, and yur daughters, and whmever yu have in the city, bring them ut f the place; Gen. 19:13 fr we are abut t destry this place, because their utcry has becme s great befre the LORD that the LORD has sent us t destry it. 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 3 We ended in v.9 last week as Lt cnfrnted the crwd f men nly t have them call his an alien Then they threatened t accst him In fact, the tne f the their statements wuld seem t suggest that he has s far avided their mistreatment But tnight they intend t abuse Lt His time in this depraved city has run ut S the angels (Mses is still calling them men) pen the dr, reach ut and drag Lt back in, shutting the dr after him Finally in v.11 the supernatural pwer f these angels is revealed in the text They strike the crwd with blindness The wrd fr blindness is an unique Hebrew term used nly in relatinship t an angelic pwer It literally means t cause cnfusin, prbably a dazed mental state, cmbined with a lack f visin Ntice the men were still determined t find a way int the huse, even thugh they were blinded supernaturally Yu might think that just the sudden ccurrence f the blindness wuld have been enugh by itself t stp the attack Can we dubt hw utterly depraved these men had becme? At this pint in the accunt, the stry takes a sharp turn The angels clearly begin t fcus n destrying the city as judgment fr its wickedness They haven t taken a census r examined every persn Yet they are ready t begin the destructin In fact, they state plainly that the Lrd sent them t destry the city 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 4 We culd read this statement t suggest that the judgment was always t be the result fr the city S it wasn t necessary t seek fr ten righteus The angels seem t knw that there is n pint They tell Lt t get his family ready t leave the city befre the destructin We knw he has at least tw daughters and a wife But the daughters are betrthed t be married Their future spuses are called sns-in-law since they were betrthed S Lt was preparing t allw his daughters marry int the men f this city, despite what we all witnessed happening What kind f future awaited this family in Sdm? Lt s decisin t live in this city has dne s much damage already, and it wuld have nly been wrse Why d the angels make this request f Lt? In fact, why is Lt being given any warning at all? It s clear that there aren t ten righteus in this city, s we knw the Lrd will g frward with His plan t destry the city We re watching the Lrd at wrk thrugh His angels t bring grace t His children And He s wrking thrugh the angels as His ministers t the elect Heb. 1:14 Are they nt all ministering spirits, sent ut t render service fr the sake f thse wh will inherit salvatin? Nw we see why the angels were invlved at all 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 5 We wndered back in chapter 18 why the Lrd was engaged in this factfinding trip which we knew it wasn t necessary Gd already knew the cnditin f the city and He knew the city s final utcme wuld be destructin, as it shuld be We als knew that it was part f Gd s plan t teach Abraham abut Himself And it was an pprtunity fr Gd t invite Abraham int Gd s wrk thrugh prayer S Gd appears with His angels, already determined t bring judgment t Sdm and Gmrrah And the Lrd purpsely reveals His plan t Abraham Abraham recgnized the events unflding arund him, recgnized the urgency t get invlved, and prayed fr the Lrd t spare Lt But Abraham used imperfect wrds, praying fr the city t be saved rather than asking fr Lt t be saved Makes n difference, because the Lrd knws His heart And as Jesus Himself tld us cncerning ur prayers: Matt. 6:8 S d nt be like them; fr yur Father knws what yu need befre yu ask Him. And these angels are nw standing in Sdm even thugh they had n real reasn t visit in the frm f me And as we ll cme t understand in the next passage, their true functin is t minister t the righteus in the city Gen. 19:14 Lt went ut and spke t his sns-in-law, wh were t marry his daughters, and said, Up, get ut f this place, fr the LORD will destry the city. But he appeared t his sns-in-law t be jesting. Gen. 19:15 When mrning dawned, the angels urged Lt, saying, Up, take yur wife and yur tw daughters wh are here, r yu will be swept away in the punishment f the city. 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 6 Gen. 19:16 But he hesitated. S the men seized his hand and the hand f his wife and the hands f his tw daughters, fr the cmpassin f the LORD was upn him; and they brught him ut, and put him utside the city. Lt s received the warning frm the angels, and he was surely cnvinced as t their angelic identities having just witnessed the blindness f the crwd S he takes their warning seriusly and precedes t call upn his family members His wife and daughters are still living in his hme, since the weddings haven t taken place yet But his sns-in-law are living in their wn hmes S Lt calls upn each f them during the night When Lt delivers the truth, the sns-in-law assume he s jking Hw sad is this situatin fr Lt? Remember back in chapter 18, we cnsidered what it said abut Lt s testimny that his uncle Abraham needed t bargain Gd dwn t ten righteus We nted that Lt has been living in this city fr nearly 25 years as a representative f the living Gd As a man wh knws the living Gd and trusts in His prmises, we wuld have expected Lt t have been a mre pwerful influence in that city Peter tells us that Lt was cncerned by what he saw there 2Pet. 2:7 and if He rescued righteus Lt, ppressed by the sensual cnduct f unprincipled men 2Pet. 2:8 (fr by what he saw and heard that righteus man, while living amng them, felt his righteus sul trmented day after day by their lawless deeds), Nevertheless, Lt was unable t bring revival t the city But the the situatin turns ut t be even wrse than Abraham thught Lt hasn t even been able t influence his future sns-in-law int the fllwing the Lrd 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 7 What s mre, Lt s wn authrity in matters f Gd and Gd s wrd is s weak that when he brings an urgent warning late at night, the men laugh it ff What a sad cmmentary n Lt s testimny in this city As we said last week, t play with fire is t be burned And while this wrld will tlerate us living amng it, the price we pay fr getting t attached is severe While we have gd reasn t fault Lt fr his chices and the weakness f his testimny, we need t be careful We can t assign him the blame fr the unbelief f thse arund him The state f a persn s heart tward Gd is nt smething we cntrl We can t even set ur wn heart upn Gd and His wrd until and unless the Lrd permits us t hear and fllw S clearly Lt wasn t respnsible fr the unbelief f his sns-inlaw Yet we can t deny what we see Gd ding everyday arund us He delights t use ur witness and ur persistence in presenting the truth in lve t persuade hardened hearts t receive the truth We can t pretend that ur effrts are unimprtant r irrelevant in the cause f building the Kingdm Nr can we take credit when ur message finds a receptive heart Having failed t persuade his sns-in-law, Lt returns t his hme in the predawn hurs f the mrning Lt is cnflicted abut what t d next He believes that judgment is cming as prmised and he wants t bring his entire family with him But with his sns-in-law refusing t believe his warning, Lt is paralyzed 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 8 He seems willing t risk his wn destructin and the destructin f his family fr n particular reasn Then the angels urged Lt nce mre t leave the city befre judgment came In fact, the angels tell Lt that the judgment is s imminent, they must leave nw r they will be caught up in it The effrt taken by these angels t reach Lt tells us clearly that this was, in fact, the missin they were sent t accmplish They angels didn t need t parade thrugh the city as mrtal men in rder t make an evaluatin Their real missin was t save Lt, which was precisely what Abraham wanted, yet never asked fr specifically Nw we see them wrking hard as thse ministering spirits (as Hebrews calls them) trying t help this righteus man t make the right decisin Remarkably, we re tld Lt hesitated Hesitated? What in the wrld wuld cause a man t hesitate in light f what he knws is cming? If Gd sent yu an angel - and yu knew it was an angel - and the angel tld yu t escape a certain death Wuld yu hesitate? What if the cmmand t leave was s urgent that it necessitated leaving behind everything? That s the cnditin that s been placed befre Lt here He s lived in this city fr 25 years What if I gave yu that cmmand right nw? Get up frm where yu re sitting, dn t grab a thing, and begin walking ut f twn leaving everything behind Culd yu d it? 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 9 Jesus addressed this very issue n several ccasins in the Gspels First, Jesus taught that a willingness t leave the wrld behind was a legitimate test f faith Luke 18:18 A ruler questined Him, saying, Gd Teacher, what shall I d t inherit eternal life? Luke 18:19 And Jesus said t him, Why d yu call Me gd? N ne is gd except Gd alne. Luke 18:20 Yu knw the cmmandments, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER. Luke 18:21 And he said, All these things I have kept frm my yuth. Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said t him, One thing yu still lack; sell all that yu pssess and distribute it t the pr, and yu shall have treasure in heaven; and cme, fllw Me. Luke 18:23 But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, fr he was extremely rich. Luke 18:24 And Jesus lked at him and said, Hw hard it is fr thse wh are wealthy t enter the kingdm f Gd! Luke 18:25 Fr it is easier fr a camel t g thrugh the eye f a needle than fr a rich man t enter the kingdm f Gd. Luke 18:26 They wh heard it said, Then wh can be saved? Luke 18:27 But He said, The things that are impssible with peple are pssible with Gd. Luke 18:28 Peter said, Behld, we have left ur wn hmes and fllwed Yu. Luke 18:29 And He said t them, Truly I say t yu, there is n ne wh has left huse r wife r brthers r parents r children, fr the sake f the kingdm f Gd, Luke 18:30 wh will nt receive many times as much at this time and in the age t cme, eternal life. This ruler left Jesus sad - he hesitated - because he wasn t willing t believe that the riches f heaven are wrth trading everything in this life When Jesus then remarked that the allure f riches is a pwerful barrier t faith, the disciples ask hw anyne culd saved? They recgnized that everyne shares this same sin n matter hw much we pssess We all want what we have and then sme Jesus said nly by Gd s pwer is it pssible t save a man, but that thse wh fllw Christ will gain much mre than they lse 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 10 We knw Lt has always had an eye fr the finer things He sught fr the rich valley and later fr life in the city As a city leader, Lt must have amassed cnsiderable wealth Nw he s s attached t all he has that he s ready t die fr it Praise the Lrd that He will remain faithful t His prmises t us even as we are faithless t Him Wh has saved us Peter reminds us f this truth in recunting the stry f Lt 2Pet. 2:6 and if He cndemned the cities f Sdm and Gmrrah t destructin by reducing them t ashes, having made them an example t thse wh wuld live ungdly lives thereafter; 2Pet. 2:7 and if He rescued righteus Lt, ppressed by the sensual cnduct f unprincipled men 2Pet. 2:8 (fr by what he saw and heard that righteus man, while living amng them, felt his righteus sul trmented day after day by their lawless deeds), 2Pet. 2:9 then the Lrd knws hw t rescue the gdly frm temptatin, and t keep the unrighteus under punishment fr the day f judgment, The Lrd rescued Lt while destrying the cities as examples And in v.9 Peter says that this stry is prf that the Lrd knws hw t find a way t rescue the gdly while keeping the unrighteus under punishment But take nte f what the Lrd is ready t d fr us Peter says the Lrd rescues us frm temptatin Lt is hesitating because he is tempted He has been tempted by the wrld and he is tempted t stay ne minute lnger, hping t find sme ther slutin Sme cmprmise that allws him t keep everything while aviding the judgment that is cming But that bargain isn t pssible 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 11 It s never been pssible except in Lt s mind But nw is the mment f truth The angels see that Lt will nt save himself, s they are frced t take actin They take each f Lt s family by the hand and bring him utside the city The angels save Lt frm the city, remving him frm the temptatin that held him in place And this was their missin: t save the righteus in the city And that was Abraham s request thugh he didn t ask fr it Abraham wanted the Lrd t relent in His judgment ver Sdm and Gmrrah in rder t save Lt and his family But there weren t ten righteus, s the city will be destryed - yet Lt will be saved The angels were sent t save Lt and his family, because Gd already knew hw many wuld be saved and He planned a way t d it In fact, the angels each had tw hands (since they appeared as men) And there were exactly fur peple wh needed t be remved frm the city Tw angels means fur hands: just the number Gd needed t save thse He intended t save S when Abraham prayed t the Lrd, did he accmplish anything? He didn t change the Lrd s plan t destry the city Thugh the Lrd did agree t cnsider that plan if ten were fund On the ther hand, the Lrd did grant Abraham his desire Even thugh Abraham didn t ask fr it Think abut the wisdm and pwer f Gd t wrk thrugh prayer 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Genesis 19B 12 He knws what we want, is always already prepared t d the right thing, never changes His mind, yet allws us see ur prayers answered And the whle time the purpse in ur praying stays the same: t train us up in the character and nature and ways f the Lrd 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.