Genesis
18:16-33 – Abraham Pleads for Sodom
We saw in our last lesson that two men
and the Lord visited Abraham. When the
men were ready to leave, the Lord revealed another purpose for the visit. Abraham was God’s covenant friend so He
announced His plan of judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Sin was so grievous there and had been for a
long time that God would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen 18:20) He gave Abraham
the opportunity to plead for the righteous people who lived there.
Lot and his family lived in Sodom. Abraham had risked himself and rescued Lot in
the past and even though Lot had returned to Sodom, Abraham still wanted to
spare him. So Abraham pleaded with the
Lord to spare the righteous people of Sodom.
He asked, “Will you sweep away the righteous
with the wicked? What if there are fifty
righteous people in the city?...... The Lord said, ‘If I find fifty righteous
people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their
sake.’”. – Gen. 18:25-26. Then Abraham
spoke up again boldly asking if there are 45 righteous men, then 40, then 30,
then 20. Each time God said He would not
destroy Sodom if righteous men were found until Abraham was down to 10. (Gen. 18:27-33)
Abraham was humble, but persistent and
bold. He was open to God as he talked
with Him. He knew God was just and
righteous and had all authority. God
listened patiently to Abraham as He does when we pray. The passage doesn’t say that Abraham stopped
pleading with God, but that God left. “When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left,
and Abraham returned home.” – Gen. 18:33.
Does this mean we can
change God’s mind? If not, why pray? God does not change His mind. He might improve upon His plans, but God does
not change. His plans are already
perfect. Prayer does change our
circumstances in response to our prayers.
I think it is a lesson to Abraham and to us that prayer is important and
we should never give up. God allows us
to intercede in order to reveal His mercy.
It shows that God takes no pleasure in destroying the wicked. It also shows the power of righteous people
can have and it teaches us the value of intercession. Prayer gives God the opportunity to mess with
your heart and to align it with His.
Abraham’s prayer was effective because it
was specific. We often pray in broad,
general terms instead of praying for what we really want. God wants us to care for people and intercede
on their behalf. There are many people
that you probably know that has no one praying for them and their concerns.
Principle: Walking intimately with God by trusting His Word
will align our heart’s desire with His.
How will you describe
your relationship with God, as friend or acquaintance? The enemy doesn’t want you to take the time
to pray, because it changes your heart.
Are you available for
God to change your heart?
Does your prayer life
involve only those around you?
How might you pray
concerning the lost?
Gen. 19:1-29
– The Destruction of Sodom
The two angels arrived in Sodom in the
evening and Lot met them. The Lord did
not come with them. He would not be
welcomed there. Lot seemed to know they
were divine guests and offered for them to wash their feet and spend the night
at his house instead of them staying in the square. After they ate and before they had gone to
bed, all of the men (young and old) from all over the city surrounded the
house. They wanted the two men visitors to
come out and have sex with them. This
sounds like rampant homosexuality. They
came to gang rape the visitors. Lot
pleaded with them not to do this wicked thing and offered his two daughters
instead. They didn’t want his daughters
and tried to break down the door. Lot
was not a man of character and was focused on himself. Hospitality was more sacred than sexual
morality to him.
God condemns homosexuality. “If a man lies with a
man as one lies with a woman, both of them have don what is detestable…” –
Lev. 20:13. “Do not be deceived; neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1
Cor. 6:9b-10. . Our attitude toward homosexuals should be
that they are sinners in need of a savior, just like any sinful person.
“God gave them over in the
sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their
bodies with one another. They exchanged
the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than
the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even the women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for
one another. Men committed indecent acts
with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion…..God
have them over to a depraved mind to do what ought not to be done……… they not
only continued to do these very things but also approve of those who practice
them.” – Rom. 1:24-32. This was the story of Sodom.
The men outside wanted to break down
Lot’s door. The two angels pulled Lot
back and struck the men blind so they could not find the door. The two angels told Lot of the coming
punishment of the city and told him and his family to leave the city. Lot spoke to his sons-in-law to convince them
to flee with him, but they thought he was joking. Lot had no credibility with them and was not
a good witness for God. Lot hesitated
and was literally dragged from the city by the angels, because his heart was in
Sodom. The angels told them to flee for
their lives and not to look back.
Do you have credibility
with those around you?
What kind of witness are
you in times of crisis?
God destroyed Sodom as an example of that
happens to the ungodly.
“if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to
ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and
if he rescued lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of
lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was
tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) – if
this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold
the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.”
– 2 Peter 2:6-9. God saved Lot, but he lost his friends, his
property, his character and his life’s work.
Lot was saved because of Abraham interceded for him. We are saved because of the One Who
intercedes for us, Jesus Christ. Lot did
not deserve to be saved. Neither do we.
Sodom was a city of great sin. Homosexuality was their way of life. God showed great mercy to Lot and his family
and let them live because of Abraham’s prayer.
This shows that God can save others when we pray. Lot was told to go to the mountains, but he
wanted to go the city of Zoar. Lot was
selfish when he asked God to save Zoar thinking it would be a better place to
live. He wanted things his own way. Lot’s wife didn’t obey the Lord. She liked Sodom and didn’t want to leave so
she looked back and was turned to salt. (Gen
19:18-26)
We learn from these events that God
doesn’t need our help and we should not try to manipulate people and events of
the world. There are similarities
between Sodom and the world today.
Immorality, perversion and homosexuality are rampant. Homosexuality is always considered sin the
Bible – not an alternative lifestyle as people like to refer to it today.
God will judge all the earth. Faith is the only way to escape eternal
death. Abraham interceded for Lot and
his prayers made a difference.
Who needs you to pray
for them?
Are you willing to pray
for them knowing your prayers matter?
Do you have an affair
with the world?
Of what sin will God
convict you?
Do you negotiate with
Him?
There was a steady progression of
comprise in Lot’s life. He went from
looking toward Sodom, to pitching his tent toward Sodom, to living in Sodom and
losing everything. Despite the pull of Sodom, Lot was a righteous man who was
grieved by the sin around him, but gave in to compromise. 2
Peter 2:7 tells us that Lot was a righteous man, but he is an example of
one who looks like he has accepted Jesus as Savior, but never makes Him Lord. There was evil all around him and he made a
fatal mistake by living in worldly standards.
Many Christians today live in conformity
to our corrupt world. We need to
recognize the signs of corruption and need to keep our minds on the things of
God. We should not approve of the evil
things going on in the world. If we do,
we are just as guilty as the sinner. “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do
such things deserve death, they not only continue to these very things but also
approve of those who practice them.” – Rom. 1:32
Are you respected by
others for your beliefs?
Are you more concerned
for your status than for your family?
Are you continually
living a moral life?
Are you living for the
same goals as the world?
Are you keeping a little
bit of sin in your life?
It’s not time to negotiate, but to
recognize how much God loves you enough to warn you. Lot missed out on fellowship with God and
with others. He had no influence on
others. He had many chances, but chose
the world. He wasted his life. Comprise destroyed Lot’s testimony.
What will you do so you
don’t waist the life you have been given?
Do you read this story
and think you can’t be in it? You can
go to church weekly, but choose not to be in fellowship with God. You can call yourself a believer, but do
you condone sinful behaviors? Redemption
does not cure our sinful nature. We need
to stay close to God. He reveals Himself
in His Word.
Principles:
When believers live in conformity to this
corrupt world, tragic consequences result.
We need to heed God’s warnings because
judgment is coming.
Genesis
19:30-38 – Lot and Daughters
God let Lot live in Zoar, but Lot soon
left Zoar even though God had promised to keep him safe there. He did not trust God so he went to live in a
cave with his daughters. He lived the
rest of his life scared to death.
Lot’s daughters were not familiar with
praying. They probably thought because
Sodom was destroyed the whole world was destroyed and they were responsible to
repopulate the earth. They may have just
wanted to preserve the family line.
Whatever their reasoning they got him drunk and lay with him. Both became pregnant by their father. They knew their actions were wrong. They lacked trust and respect for their
father. Sex between close members in a
family is wrong. Their descendants
became enemies and obstacles for Israel.
God did not punish Lot’s descendants because of this. They became important nations, the Moabites
and the Ammonites of today. Jesus was a
descendant of Ruth who was a Moabite. God’s grace triumphs over sin.
Here we see again how alcohol can play a
part in sexual immorality. Lot was not a
good father. He was passive father and
let his family spiritual life go by the way side. He had lost all his possession in the
destruction of Sodom and now he was wallowing in self-pity and fear. He could have returned to Abraham, but that
would mean he would have to confess his sin, humble his pride and face up to
his choices. He would have to ask for Abraham’s
help; instead we would rather live in a cave.
We see that today concerning
salvation. People are so full of pride
that they cannot humble themselves and confess their sin and ask God for help. Instead they seem to be comfortable in their
sin.
Lot’s daughters could have prayed and
waited on God to provide them with the husband they desired. They had never seen their father seek the
Lord so this didn’t occur to them. They
saw their father’s fear and it spread to them.
Principle: God’s grace triumphs over sin.
Join me here next week for the next
chapter in Genesis. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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