Bulletin Articles
But he hesitated
The story of Lot is a fascinating story of a good man who made poor choices, got caught up in a bad situation, and whose legacy was forever tarnished by those choices. It is a story of the allure of sin and the difficulty of extricating oneself once you get deeply entrenched in sinful surroundings.
Lot was the nephew of Abraham whose story is told in the book of Genesis. He travelled with his grandfather, Terah and his uncle, Abraham from their hometown of Ur and settled for a while in Haran (Gen 11). Then, after Terah died Lot went with Abraham to the land of Canaan (Gen 12). After their material possessions became too great to live together, Abraham gave Lot the first choice of where to settle. Lot made his first bad choice by choosing to live in the plain of Jordan, near Sodom (Gen 13:8-13).
Several years pass (at least 13) and Lot is now living in Sodom. The people of Sodom are described as "exceedingly wicked and sinful" (Gen 13:13) Several years later, Abraham is told by God's messengers that "the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave" (Gen 18:20).
So God's messengers go to Sodom and guess who the find sitting in the gate of the city? Why, it's Lot! (Gen 19:1). You are familiar with the rest of the story as set forth in Genesis 19. Lot has to protect the angels from the men of Sodom, and even has to offer his virgin daughters to satisfy the Sodomites sexual desires, but only a miracle from God protects Lot and the angels from the men of Sodom.
The angels warn Lot of the imminent destruction of Sodom by God and warn him and his family to leave. In the morning, the angels urged Lot to hurry and then comes the amazing statement 'but he hesitated". Some versions say "while he lingered" (Gen 19:16) What is stunning about this statement trying to understand the rationale of Lot. Why would he hesitate? Why would he linger? He had first hand knowledge of the destruction to come. He saw the wickedness of the people, he even had to "offer" his virgin daughters to the mob. The apostle Peter even describes him as "righteous" Lot, "who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked" ( 2 Peter 2:7) and further describes Lot as being "tormented" from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds". (2 Pet 2:8).
Yet he hesitated. One can only conclude that Lot had become so entrenched with the people of Sodom, that it was difficult for him to leave it all behind. All of his material possessions, all of the memories, all of the life he had built for many years. That is what happens when we linger in sinful situations, among sinful people. It is hard to get out! "Do not love the world or things of the world" (1 John 2:15).
Yet, God in His mercy, had the angels take hold of Lot's hands as well as the hands of his Wife and daughters and "brought them out of the city "(Gen 19:16).
So Lot and his family was temporarily saved by the grace of God. However, it was only temporary. His wife looked back and lost her life, turning into pillar of salt.
His daughters, influenced by the depraved behavior of the Sodomites that had grown up around, had children by their own father. Can you see the "influence" of these immoral people on them? "Do not be deceived, evil companionship corrupts good morals" (I Cor 15:33).
Abraham's legacy was the be the father of the Israelite people. Lot's legacy was to be the father of the Ammonites and the Moabites.
Did one bad decision doom Lot and his Family? No. But, Lots failure to correct the situation, his failure to recognize the evil influence affecting his family ultimately lead to his tragic ending. We all make mistakes. Our failure is in not recognizing and correcting those mistakes as quickly as possible. The deceitfulness of sin causes us to hesitate, to rationalize, to downplay the seriousness of sin, all to our potential destruction.
Thanks be to God for His mercy and His furnishing us the way of escape from the consequences of sin through Christ Jesus.
