Page 16 - Florida Sentinel 8-30-19

Faithful During Distress GENESIS 19:1-9, 15, 23-26, 29 (KJV)
Scriptures
1 And there came two
angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed him- self with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your ser- vant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4 But before they lay
down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and doyetothemasisgood in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they
under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
15 And when the morn- ing arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be con- sumed in the iniquity of the city.
23 The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.
24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brim- stone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabi- tants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abra- ham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the over- throw, when he over-
threw the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
Background
This quarter focuses on faith in God and how we re- spond to it both personally and communally. The studies illuminate how God’s grace impacts the lives of all believ- ers, as demonstrated by their obedience, gratitude and holy living.
This Week’s Lesson
In this lesson, the Lord was on the verge of destroying the cities of Sodom and Gomor- rah, but God wanted to spare Lot and his family who lived in Sodom.
Two angels and the Lord had visited with Abraham and told him of their concerns about the depravity of the cities (Genesis 18:20). The Lord remained with Abraham for a while as the two angels proceeded to Sodom (Gene- sis 18:22).
Lot (Abraham's nephew) was at the gate of the city when the two angels arrived. He convinced them to spend the night in his house. There is no indication that Lot knew at this moment these were an- gels. We can speculate that he wanted them to stay in his house that night for fear of what might happen to them in this depraved city if they stayed elsewhere.
Later that evening, a mob of men from all over the city came to Lot's house and de-
manded he turn the two visi- tors over to them so they could fulfill their sinful carnal de- sires with them (Genesis 19:5). When Lot went outside his house to try to reason with them, they proceeded to at- tempt to force their way into the house where the two men were.
This is when the two men revealed their angelic status by striking the men with blind- ness and pulling Lot back in- side the house (Genesis 19:10-11). They then told him they had been sent by the Lord to destroy the city (Genesis 19:13).
The next morning they told Lot he and his family had to hurry and leave or be con- sumed in the destruction of the city (Genesis 19:17). Lot hesitated and they had to physically grab hold to his hand and the hands of his wife and daughters and rushed them out of the city (Genesis 19:16).
No doubt, when he left the city in such a rush he and his family were surrendering much of their worldly posses- sions. They were also leaving behind any friends they had made and their status in the community.
Surely, Lot already knew of the great sins of Sodom, but yet he stayed in the midst of the moral corruption. Like- wise, many of us knowingly live in and around sin, but have a real and powerful hesi- tation to leave it all behind us for the sake of the Lord. We hang onto the sinful aspects of our present life because Satan has infested our moral con- sciousness. We have become used to illicit affairs, gossip, and using our money for per- sonal benefit instead of for the benefit of the church.
One day, all of the worldly existence will be destroyed. If we ignore the urging of the Lord to leave it all behind, we may end up being destroyed along with it.
Lot's wife "looked back" at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. This is symbolic for her longing for her old ex- istence and life as well as her possessions which had to be all left behind. We must leave our sinful ways behind and not long for that part of our past.
God is gracious and faith- ful even when we deserve pun- ishment more than love and mercy.
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