Lot’s experience for us

Lot’s experience for us

Genesis 19

One of the evidence that the origin of Bible is divine it’s revealed in its impartial, fair description of life of the individual person and the entire nation.  Everything what they did – bad and well – is noted in the Bible. And we have to learn an adequate lesson from that. Good manifestations are useful for imitation; bad are given that they will not be tolerated in our life.

In this theme we will analyze Lot’s life experience. What was his life?

What did he leave positive and negative, and what was the result of what he committed in his life?

We’ll start from his arrival to the city of Sodom.  You, of course, remember that Abraham offered him the place where he wished to stay.  Where did he draw his attention? He drew his attention to the beautiful fertile fields where were riches of plants, home of palm.  He paid his attention to that abundance which was present there but he didn’t pay his attention to the nation that lived there. And the nation became lazy because that it was easy to work and it was easy to gain the food. The laziness is a mother of all iniquities. Lot chose a place for him but he didn’t choose those with whom he’ll have to live. This was the first and the most serious mistake.  There is a proverb: “ Choosing a house, choose neighbours”, in other words when you choose a house for yourself, you choose your neighbours as well. Won’t these neighbours harm you later? You will not be happy of your good house because your neighbours will spoil your life. It means that choosing a house, you also choose your neighbour.  Lot selected a house for him but he wasn’t choosing neighbours.  The results of the mistake soon come into reality. We see that when the depravities of Sodom come to the divine boundary and the nation was so depraved that it didn’t regard any morality and honour at all.  The Lord decided to destroy the city. But firstly he sent angels. They personally decided to convince themselves if the city was so deprived as people’s screams were coming to the heaven? Angels had appearance of pilgrims and come to the city. As usually, Lot was sitting near the gates. When he saw these pilgrims, he immediately invited them into his house. That is positive Lot’s side.  E. White writes that if Lot didn’t show his hospitality, he would possibly die will all godless people who lived in Sodom.  He straightaway met pilgrims, persistently asked them to come into his house. At first they rejected, at the same time they were trying his sincerity.  And later when they saw his sincerity, they agreed and come into his house.

While Lot was persuading pilgrims, residents of the city noticed them. The usual iniquity, which nested in their hearts and life, also appeared in this occasion. They surrounded Lot’s house and required to give pilgrims to them. Lot refused. Draw attention that his hospitality was so great that he was even prepared to donate his life, well being of his daughters that these pilgrims would be saved. This was Lot’s very good and positive side.  Angels blinded a crowd when it persistently tried to get into the house; angels took Lot back and shut the door.  Here is very interesting moral. If angels were able to blind a crowd, so they could kill them. Everything was in their power. Despite of the powerful force that they possessed, they closed the door behind themselves.  Why was it? Why did they have to shut the door? They showed us an example that we in our everyday life having difficulties and dangers would use human tools which are possible to use – locks, lattice on windows, door bolts, gates, fences, and etc. It showed that in similar situations we can and we must use human tools, skills that harm would be prevented.

Let us take a look at the next Lot’s experience.  We will learn a lesson in it.  Let’s read Genesis 19:12-14. “The two man said to Lot, “if you have anyone else here –sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives living in the city –get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The Lord has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom”. Then Lot went to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Hurry up and get out of here; the Lord is going to destroy this place.” But they thought he was joking.

Brothers, you can excuse jokes or not, but the Saint Scripture quite clearly says that son-in-laws thought that Lot is joking. E.G. White explains that joking was Lot’s habit and for this reason they didn’t believe. Frankly speaking for serious people who are concentrated on any particular and noble (good) truth the excessive jokes are not appropriate. It doesn’t matter how the joke is said, it’s a joke i.e. a certain kind of deception. And we see sad consequences: relatives didn’t believe Lot because that they thought that it’s a joke. It means that if we have fewer jokes in our life, it will certainly be better. Because that our life is not created for jokes.

Read Genesis 19:15: “At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry! “Quick!” they said. “Take your wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed”. Why was Lot slow? Do you know why? His heart was attached to what was in the city. He couldn’t bear to be parted from his property and for that reason he was slow. We can say that angels took him out by force. It was God’s mercy (verse 16). “Then one of the angels said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop in the alley. Run to the hills, so that you won’t be killed” (verse 17). Only one place was indicated – the hills. Besides it was a warning that saving his life he wouldn’t stop and will not look back at the city. Lot persuaded angel do not run to the hills but to the nearer place, to the small town. He was afraid that he would not have time to reach the hills. If Lot was running to the hills, the Lord could slow a little bit His punishment and he would reach the hills. But he decided not to run to the hills but stay in the valley in a little town. Let’s reflect what the consequences were for Lot and his descendants and what lesson we should take from this.

The town, in which Lot stayed, was depraved almost in the same way as Sodom with its surroundings. These ungodly people affected Lot’s daughters at some stage. Subsequently Lot spotted that city Zoar (in which he stayed) is also depraved as destroyed city of Sodom. Lot was afraid that God would come and punish city of  Zoar, so he ran away and hid himself and daughters in the caves. Has he hidden himself from iniquities, which sneaked, into his family through daughters? No, he hasn’t. What are consequences? Who did arise from Lot?  -Moab, Ammon. Who were they? They were the first enemies of God nation, idolaters. Were Lot’s descendants blessed? – No. Why? The reason is that he didn’t run to the hills to save his life. He stayed in a lower place and it was a reason why were his daughters, descendents cursed. It’s being done not only for our blessings of our life; it brings blessings in the life of our descendents. Here exists genetic transmission. Good and bad traits of character are transmitted to our descendents. In such way when we worry about our moral growth, moral development, we in fact worry not just about ourselves but about our descendents as well. We shouldn’t forget about this.  What did Lot’s daughters give to their descendents? We see what kind of people they were; they were disobedient, violent and idolaters. They were among the first God’s nation enemies. Lot’s mistake was that when he left the city, its surroundings, he didn’t go to the mountain. Don’t forget that not only the city and its surroundings but also the cities around were the subject to be destroyed. The only one salvation was on the mountain. What does it teach us? First of all we have to note that Sodom with its surroundings represents wicked world. We have to leave it and go to the mountain, Lord’s heights, where salvation is – in the church of God. Let’s remember Christ’s warning to His disciples: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that she will soon be destroyed. Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills; those who are in the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not go into the city” (Luke 21:20-21).  Disasters touched not only the city but also the Judea that surrounded the city. They had to run to the mountains. It was an escape from the wicked, separation from them, escape for sake of the life. From the one side, Jerusalem represents, in this case, the world before the coming of Christ, but from the other side we see the prototype of depraved religious world.  People had to run not just from Sodom but also from Jerusalem as well not stopping and not looking back that they would not die.

Take a look, what is happening in the contemporary Christian world? Babylon belongs to the depraved, corrupted city. Catholic church belongs to this Babylon too and the message sounded to the people who lived in Babylon: “Come out, my people! Come out from her!” (Revelation 18:4).  The movement of Luther was established in accordance to his message. It was the strongest movement in Christianity, movement for reformation of Christianity doctrines and ideas.

Did the Lutheran church leave the Catholic Church? Yes, it left the city, it doesn’t agree with the city, but it didn’t go to the mountain. Reformation come to the end in the surroundings of the city and froze. How do you think if the Lord would mercy those who stayed to live in the surroundings of the depraved city? It’s unlikely. The only one salvation for Lutheran church was to go further to the mountain, not stopping, not looking around.

Another lesson is for those who have reached the mountain. They have to go up, they don’t have to look back. Will we be able to move forward if we tell ourselves: “Now I know the truth, I know everything, I don’t need further development in knowledge!” “Also I don’t need development of morality because I reached perfectness”. You should know that we come to a stop but it was written: “Don’t look back and don’t stop”. We need to go and don’t stop. Maybe somebody would say that they have already reached the peak of the mountain but it’s doubtful that it could be. Salvation was on the mountain, not  “on the peal of the mountain” but on the mountain. “Run to the mountain”. It was enough for Lot to reach the mountain and climb up – it was already salvation. Lot didn’t climb. It was very serious mistake. Even if we reach the mountain, we don’t have completely to calm down. We don’t have to stop. We have to try to climb higher in our knowledge and practical life. If we climb higher, we are more secure.

And also about another quite interesting warning: “Don’t look back”. Can you go forward and at the same time to look back?  What does it mean to look back? It means to regret about what we left. We renounced this world; we gave many privileges up, which we would have, if we lived in this world. We gave it up for the bigger, for the better. But if we are in Christianity and look back regretting what we left, you should know that we could also die, the same way as died wife of Lot.  Wife was behind Lot and looked back. What is the lesson for us? We can also lag behind from the common message, from the common progress and look back with regret and die. By the way, now there are pillars of salt in that place near the Dead Sea. According to the description of travellers, one of them looks like the shape of running woman. We won’t assert if this pillar is Lot’s wife or not, it’s not important for us now. It’s important that she looked back and died. Why? Despite that her body was here in a valley but her heart remained there, in Sodom.

If we have such position in our life (as our body is here-in the truth, and the heart is there –in this sinful world), we would die. Such sad lessons are for us.

Christ said: “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use of the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Lot’s wife considered that God unfairly punished Sodom. She regarded that this city didn’t deserve it. We can also sometimes consider that the God is too cruel. But no, the God is too merciful because that the nation was terribly depraved and the God was so long enduring.

Contemporary world has also depraved morality. However the God is still enduring. But we see that in the period of that time, when the God decided to punish Sodom, people were falling asleep calmly in the evening, they were thinking about nothing. They were wishing to have only that entertainment, which they had before, they were wishing those unruliness (lawlessness), which they did. In the morning they were waking up and thinking to continue day in the same way as earlier did. Again entertainment, again debauchery. But the Lord went and punished them unexpectedly.  The same is in contemporary time. The world becomes morally corrupt but the Lord is enduring until the certain moment, time. And it will be one moment when the Lord comes and punishes for the lawless deeds (anomie), which were committed.  Lord Himself before the second coming will separate his nation from the world.

For the sake of our salvation we have constantly to move forward.  By the way, God’s work requires quick actions. You remember that place when according to prophet’s Elisha order one of the young prophets went to pour olive oil on Jehu’s head. (2 Kings 9: 1-13). Adolescent come, poured the oil, left the room and fled. He did that under the prophet’s command; and people who were surrounding him spoke: “ What did that crazy fellow want with you?” Why did they call him so? Did he deserve to be called so? He carried Elisha’s order into effect. He was crazy in their eyes, he was right in God’s eyes because that he got a command from the prophet: “ Pour this oil on his head…then leave there”. Besides: “  “leave there as fast as you can”. In other place  (2 Kings, Chapter 4) when was send Elisha’s servant Gehazi to hold stich over the dead boy; Elisah ordered: “Don’t stop to greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, don’t take time to answer”.  He had to do delegated workcwithout delay.  God’s work needs speed, otherwise you will not perform what is needed to be performed  for God’s sake. We see in Luke 10:4 something similar and in Christ’s teachings for his disciples who were going to missions.

If we move quickly and have a lot of energy in God’s work, we will be always justified. Although there could be separate mistakes. E.G.White writes that those who work very quickly, sometimes make mistakes but these mistakes are less dangerous than mistakes of those who delay. Let’s remember the work of the first Christians; it should be a lesson for us.  We find  сonfession of the one Christianity’s enemy named Lucian who lived in the  2nd age. He wrote: “Christians demonstrate incredible speed when there are any happenings related to their community; they are frinedly. We have to do quickly not only what is related to work (God’s work) but also to our personal life. But if we delay in this world, if  we think that there is time for our salvation (and maybe we think that we’ll prepare), we will get into the same situation as Lot. Because when we have to leave, we’ll delay; and later when we run there will not be time to reach the mountain and we will die.

So what the lesson we can get from Lot’s experiences? From the one hand they teaches us to show sincere, wholehearted, selfless hospitality. It saved Lot’s life.  From the other hand we don’t have to delay as Lot because that similar delay is fraught with negative consequences.

Let the Lord help us that in God’s work we will be full of energy, quick and active. Let the Lord help us that our heart would not be attached to the temporal things, what we have, but that we would be prepared (when will be necessity) to leave it, do not to look back and do not stop  and go further  to that way where the Lord takes us.

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By Vladimir Shelkov