Focus Chapters:
- Genesis 18-20
- Genesis 21:1-7
Standout Verse(s):
THE ACTION
Genesis 19:12-13 NLT
Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”
THE REACTION
Genesis 19:15-16, 23-26 NLT
So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!” When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon.Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
Observation (s):
- Lot’s son-in-laws did not believe him when he told them of the pending danger. Not everyone will believe in your revelations or be willing to partake in the journey it requires, not even when they are close to you.
So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
- Despite the instructions given by God’s angelic representatives, Lot lingered and hesitated to leave. In taking the first steps to departure, he had to be supported and urged by the angels. Even when the situation is dangerous for us, sometimes our attachments stall our departure and we have to be hastened by God who is cognizant of the dangers if we remain and is intent on getting us to safety.
When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.”
- Despite God taking them to safety, Lot’s wife chose to look back, ignoring the warnings of the perils of doing so. For this, she paid with her life, turned into a pillar of salt, her gaze frozen backwards. Oftentimes, we are instructed to move forward from the past and its dangers, however our inability to let go results in our doom and extinguish our futures.
When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
Application:
The attractions of the past can be very alluring. We must be very alert and refrain from being dragged back into or holding on to the unhealthy situations from which we have been guided and extracted from by God. As Lot’s wife demonstrated, returning or holding on to the pass can extinguish our futures, even from a point of safety.
As Lot proved, the first steps from the known into the unknown are always the hardest. More so, when we are forced to leave behind all we are familiar with and the people we love, who refused to heed our warnings and be a part of our new journey. Still we should not hesitate or delay because we have the assurance that God will lead us to safety.
