Genesis 19:17
And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life.Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” (Genesis 19:17)
Listen
Escape for your life –this is a sobering admonition that needs thoughtful consideration. It is a warning to a man living in the midst of corruption and sin. His name is Lot. But this warning is not only to Lot. It is a warning to every single human being to Escape for their LIfe”. Why this warning? Because of Sin, the Judgement of God and a way of escape. Who is this man to whom this warning was given? His name is Lot? Lot is the Nephew of Abraham whose father, Abraham’s brother, Haran died. Terah, Abraham’s Father took care of Lot his grandson and when Terah also died, Abraham adopted Lot (Genesis 11:27– 12:1-4) Fast forward to Genesis 13, both Abraham and Lot have grown in their cattle and their servants are fighting over land.
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord. And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.
Abraham stepped in to resolve the situation. A consensus was reached and Lot was offered the first right of choice to choose a land to relocate to. The Scripture tells us Lot chose the choicest land for himself; a place that is green with good vegetation for his animals.
Then Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord (Genesis 13:8-13)
Sodom The Land Of Sin.
The saying is true that all that glitters is not gold. Lot saw the good vegetation and made a choice. But his choice was a bad choice, a choice that brought him into a land of sin. This points to how important our choices in life are. We must weigh our every decision by the word of God and its consequences. A bad decision can land us into trouble and into sin. In every decision, we may pause to ask, will this be pleasing to God, will this lead me into sin? Lot’s choice of a good land, landed him into a land of sin: “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.” (Genesis 13:13). This is the verdict of God over Sodom. The inhabitants were great sinners against the Lord.
The narrative presents Sodom to us as a city of sin. And their sin has gone up to God and God has come down to see for himself whether those things are true (Genesis 18:20-21). This is not to say, God doesn’t know something and has to examine before he can know. This is anthropology using human characteristics or language to describe an activity of God. The text then points to God being a Just God. A God whose judgements and pronouncements are true. For example, a human judge will examine a case thoroughly, listening to both parties arguing their case out, before passing judgement. And that same language is used to describe God. That is to say, God doesn’t make wrong judgements of a situation. He is a Just God. God’s Judgements are not arbitrary (Genesis 18:25).
Now the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is clearly seen in the narrative. It is the sin of homosexuality. Lot got visitors and these visitors are no mere human beings (Genesis . They are angels and clearly identified as so. Lot housed them and the men of the city got information that some men have visited Lot. And how they wanted to receive these visitors points us to the sin of homosexuality: “And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” (Genesis 19:5). The phrase “know them” is a consistent biblical euphemism used in the Old Testament to describe sexual relationships.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived (Genesis 4:1)
Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch (Genesis 4:17)
The Hebrew word used for “knew” in these verses, Yadaw, is the same word used by the men of Sodom: “that we may know them”. Clearly, the sin we are looking at in Sodom and Gomorrah is the sin of homosexuality: men seeking to sleep with men. If this is not convincing, look at Lot’s response to the men.
Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 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 (Genesis 19:6-8).
Lot pleaded with them and made them a deal. He offered them his daughters; females, in exchange for males, men. Which in a sense is the natural order of things. This without doubt tells us the request of the men to know Lot’s visitors is of a sexual nature. Now I can’t fathom why Lot will offer his virgin daughters for the satisfaction of these wicked men. That offer to them is equally as wicked as the request of the men. And this tells us the extent of wickedness in the land of Sodom. Even Lot, who appears to be a good man has been affected. Now the wickedness of the people is clear in the narrative. It wasn’t only one or two men who approached Lot. It was the whole men of the city: “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.” (v.4). Here is a picture of the extent of their perversion, the whole city was perverse with homosexuality.
Now before you and I get fixated on homosexuality, and make this all about homosexuality, let’s be mindful that homosexuality is not the only sin in the world. In fact, the Bible condemns all under sin. So you and I will also have to own up to our sins and repent. Many people equally have pride in their sins. Many of us explain our sins away, especially character flaws by saying “this is how I am.” If you hear someone with anger or temper problems justifying themselves by saying this is how I am, that right there is a man with pride in his heart. If you hear a man with a mean and uncharitable character excuse themselves that is how I am, count that as pride. If you are a Christian and every of your criticism of others is done in a mean and uncharitable manner, that is not how you are. That is Pride. Indeed the Bible doesn’t only talk about homosexuality as sin. Other sins are spoken of (Galatians 5:19-21). Now, in the context of these events, there is something interesting about sinners. Perhaps it may even be true in our own lives. Sinners get angry when confronted with their sin. Rather than repenting, sinners see those who call them out as unloving and judgemental. And that’s what is going on in this narrative. They told Lot off.
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 (v.9)
Is that familiar language? “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge” All they are saying is that Lot is being judgemental. And this is the constant language of sinners. “You are being judgemental”. “You are judging us”. “No one is perfect.” Also you notice, they have now become violent towards Lot for calling them out: “Now we will deal worse with you than with them” Calling out sin is not being judgemental. Rather, calling out sin is being loving. It’s rather unloving not to warn people of sin because sin attracts God’s judgement. As a Just God, he punishes sin. Sin will not be spared or swept under the carpet as we say. A just God will act rightly and every sin will be dealt with.
The Judgement of God.
Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, a picture of future judgement, the human race is in danger. There is a looming disaster coming. The wrath of God will be rained down upon all unrighteousness. That is to say, God will punish all sins (Romans 1:18).
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth
A day of judgement is coming. The sins of humankind will be full one day, and God’s judgement will descend. Throughout Scripture, we see God punishing sin. Before we get to Genesis 19, we already see God judging sin. In Genesis 3, the death penalty was pronounced when Adam and Eve sinned. And they were driven out of Eden. Then we see God’s judgement over the world by flood from Chapter 6-8. So by the time we get to Genesis 19, we have a clear understanding of God’s dealings of sin. Sin will not be glossed over. Sin will not be spared. Sin will not be swept under the carpet. Sin will be punished (v.15). Therefore Escape for your life before you are caught in the punishment of God. And it is this punishment, this wrath of God and this judgement, that the angels warned Lot to escape from. To Escape For Your life therefore is to Escape from the sin of this world and it’s consequence, that is the judgement of God. To Escape for your life is to put your faith in Jesus Christ and repent from your sin.
Sadly, sinners never heed to the call of God to repent. Rather, sinners mock at the warnings of God. The angels asked Lot to escape with any relatives he has. He told his sons-in-law to be and what was their response? They mocked him: “But he seemed to his son-in-law to be jesting.” (v.14). This is a constant response of sinners to a call to repent. In 2Peter, we see a clear description of this. Sinners mock. 2 Peter 3:3-4
knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.
A Way Of Escape
Now in the midst of the display of God’s justice in bringing judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah, we see God providing a way of escape by his mercies. These two –-Justice and Mercy go together. God in his justice, also shows mercy to his people. He provides a way of escape. Note that Lot did nothing to merit being saved by God. It is all a work of mercy. In fact, Lot was even hesitant at first to escape. The Scripture makes us understand he was hesitant: “But he lingered.” (v.16a). He hesitated. He was reluctant to leave Sodom. This perhaps could be that his heart and love was still in Sodom.
Maybe there is a sin you have to deal with in your life. But you love this sin so much. You cherish it. You are afraid of letting go of that sin or even that sin has laid such a hold on you, you cant stop it. The charge is for you reading this article to Escape For Your Life. The King James calls this besetting sin “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1)
Now God will not allow you to continue forever in that sin. In fact, if Lot were left alone, perhaps he would not have left Sodom. But for the Mercy of God, no one will be saved. It was God who sent a warning to Lot. It was God who brought Lot and his family out of Sodom, the land of sin. God throughout Scriptures and redemptive history has been issuing a warning and calling people to repent. Jesus’ first message was “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14). But sinners will not believe. Just like Lot, sinners linger on and will not take the warning to flee for their lives. But God still displays his mercy. We are told “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.” (v.16). “The Lord being merciful to them.” This is self-explanatory. That action was God’s mercy. Lot lingered on! Lot resisted, but God will had his final way. This in Reformed theology is called Irresistible Grace.
God’s grace is so powerful that it has the capacity to overcome our natural resistance to it. —R.C. Sproul
We see God’s mercy all over the narrative (vv.19-22). Now for us believers, we see this Mercy clearly displayed in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the hill to run to. He died on Calvary to save us
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Jesus is our city of refuge. Just as the angels came warning Lot to Escape For His Life because of sin and judgement, God has provided a way of Escape in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners. Jesus is God’s way of Escape from his judgement to come. And we Escape for our lives by believing in him and repenting from our sins. Or an eternal judgement awaits us.
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