Missing Out

In Genesis 19 we keep reading about Lot’s harrowing escape from the evil city in which he and his family lived…

The angels have now grabbed him and told him to flee to the mountains, and Lot haggles with them…again.

He does thank them for sparing his life, but wants to run to a small town instead of to the mountains where they were told to go.  Fear gripped Lot’s heart, and he fled to the town of Zoar (which means small and insignificant). 

Again, God spared this small town because of Lot.

Aren’ t you just about ready to slap this man?  Obviously, if God said run to the mountain, that meant that atop the mountain would be safety.  But because of fear, Lot asked to obtain his safety in a small town instead.

I think Lot missed out on a lot of mountaintop experiences because he settled for the small stuff.

Have you done that?  I have.  Fear has held me back many times from just trusting God’s lead and going where he says go.  And yet in his mercy, I still remain safe and unharmed…but possibly unchallenged and missing out on so much more…

It’s something to think about.

Mercy Rescue

As we keep reading Genesis 19, we find that when Lot hesitated after being warned to leave the wicked city, the angels took his hand, the hands of his wife and daughters, and led them out of the city safely,

“for the Lord was merciful to them.”

Once they were safely out of the city, they were told again to flee, to not look back, and to not stop.  They were told to flee to the mountains to avoid being swept away.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty frustrated with this Lot character.  It was obvious that his city was full of evil – as evil men were at his door.  It was a bold act of God to send angels to his house to literally warn Lot and rescue him.  And it was downright crazy of Lot not to see and realize this…and yet he hesitated!

However, I can’t be frustrated with Lot, because I too have disobeyed, turned from God’s warning, and disregarded his urging. 

But notice how merciful our God is….he rescued Lot and his family anyway.

We did nothing right, to deserve God’s mercy.  But God does everything right, and offers us his grace.

Once you receive his mercy and forgiveness, take the next step of going forward, never looking back…

Hesitation

Genesis 19 continues the saga of Lot and his family, having been warned to leave, yet we find them still in the wicked city by verse 15…

The angels urged Lot again and told him to hurry, to take his family and leave, or “you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

Even with this urging, verse 16 says Lot hesitated.

In yesterday’s devo we saw that Lot’s future sons-in-law had no respect for Lot’s words.  And here we see that Lot has no respect for a warning from God himself.

Herein lies the problem in this home.  

The head of the home cannot decide between good and evil.  He wavers, hesitates, and balks when sternly warned to take  his family and go. God is about to punish this wicked city and he has offered a way out for Lot and his family.

God offers us a way out from the punishment of sin, and that way is through his son Jesus.  

God is not evil, and he does not tempt man with evil.  He is holy. And when he offers salvation and we hesitate, question, and keep our feet planted when we’re told to go…we just might be swept away.

Don’t hesitate.  Let go of whatever keeps your one foot planted in wrongdoing, mistrust and evil.  

Surrender to his call to take his hand and go….

A Joke?

After this scary ordeal in Genesis 19, where Lot is rescued from the wicked men outside his door, the angels warn Lot to flee the town because it’s going to be destroyed.

Lot then speaks to his family and instructs them to hurry away.  But the guys about to marry his daughters “thought he was joking.”

I wonder why these young men took Lot’s warning as a joke.  Could it be that these young men did not respect Lot at all?  Perhaps Lot stating that the Lord was about to destroy the city meant nothing to these guys, because the relationship between them and their future father-in-law was one of jest, merriment, and lawlessness. After all, Lot had just offered his own daughters to be abused by the men who came to the door.

Genesis 19 is such a hard story to read, but so rich with wisdom on how to run our homes.

We cannot lead our homes and expect respect and honor from our children, or the ones who are about to marry our children, if we have not lead well.

Yes, we will make mistakes.  We all do.  But this story isn’t about a few mistakes. It’s about an attitude of flirting with evil, not protecting one’s own family, and then pretending to be religious.

That’s a combo that’s explosive and deadly.

Shut the Door

Genesis 19 cont'd:

 “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.

Lot is entertaining angels in his home; some wicked men see them and want to have sex with them.  And instead of turning them away, Lot offers his own daughters.  What kind of dad is Lot? Not a protective one, and not a good one!

As the men outside pressure Lot to let them inside, even threatening to knock down the door, the angels inside pull Lot in, shut the door, and strike the men outside with blindness.

Note here, that the verses say "young and old" and the verse says they couldn't even find the door after being made blind.

What a story!

Lot was being foolish.  He was flirting with evil.  But at the same time he had angels in his home.  Sounds crazy to me.

But what's interesting here is that the angels saved Lot from his stupidity and carelessness, and even made sure the evil outside could not even approach the house again.

Why did the angels protect Lot?

I have no idea, but I am VERY thankful for the grace of God that has mercy on me in my moments of weakness, and rescues me even when I have no strength to resist....covering me and mine with protection and safety.

A Hard Read

I’ve been intrigued lately by the story of Lot’s wife. 

In case you don’t know it, the brief version is this:  God warned Lot and his wife to leave the wicked city in which they lived, and to not look back.  Lot’s wife looked back and she turned to a pillar of salt.

Genesis 19 is a hard read. 

Two angels arrive at Lot’s house, and Lot bowed his head to the ground and asked them to spend the night at his house.  In fact, he insisted that they do so.  

He fed them a nice meal, and later in the evening some wicked men surrounded Lot’s house, because they saw these angels (who looked like men) arrive and they wanted to have sex with them.  The men asked Lot to bring them out, and here is Lot’s response:

He called what the men wanted to do “wicked” but offered his daughters to them instead.

One reason this story is so sickening, right from the beginning is that Lot recognized the angels as being from God, invited them into his house, yet threw his daughters to the wolves.

My first thought is how many times we attend church, recognize the presence of God among us, yet when we’re back at home we throw our families out to be devoured?  Not a pretty picture.

Faith and recognition of God aren't enough. 

We must protect, provide for, and honor those with whom we live daily under one roof.

In His House

Psalm 23 cont’d and ended:

…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

If you never read another chapter in the Bible, there’s enough in this one psalm to sustain you…well…forever.

Not only has the Shepherd provided all we need, kept us from falling off a cliff, prepared a table with enemies all around, chased us down with his goodness and mercy, but now….

He tells us that we can live with him forever.

Forever is a long time.

God, the Good Shepherd, isn’t like any earthly person we’ve ever met or will meet.  He will not turn us away when we get home past curfew.  He won’t lock us out when the rent isn’t paid. And he will not shun us when we mess up. 

His son took upon himself all the shame, the pain, and the sin that ever was and will be, and took it all from us.

This is why we can dwell – live – thrive – in the house of the Lord.

And nothing can change that. 

Surely, it’s all so. 

Follow his lead…wherever he takes you…