Two fools in two cities

Subject: How can Christians find hope in times of blessing?

Complement: By hoping in the God of blessings instead of the blessings of God.

Preaching idea: Hope in the God of blessings, not the blessings of God.

Introduction

This morning, we observe the first week of Advent. For those of us unfamiliar with the term, advent is a season where the Christians around the world prepare for Christmas. Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which meaning ‘Coming.’ And it does not only refer to the first coming of Christ, but also to His return as the second coming Lord.

It has been the practice of the church to devote itself to one of four aspects of the gospel for each week of Advent, namely, hope, love, joy, and peace. And as so this morning we look at hope. Hope, not as in abstract wishful thinking, but hope that comes from a concrete promise. See, the gospels do not begin with ‘once upon a time,’ but with a genealogy of the Messiah rooted in history. This means that the Gospel is good news, not good advice. The Messiah has come, He has fulfilled most of the covenantal promises of God, and He is coming back to finish the last one.

But there are many who mock us. There are people who think of us as fools, and the church as an institutionalized coping mechanism for the mentally fragile. In the words of Gen Z speech, it’s copium. It’s a waste of time. Imagine what you’d do with your Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings! It’s a waste of effort. And what a waste of money! You give a whole ten percent of your salary each month? Imagine the things you could buy! On the other hand, they devote their time, effort, and money toward the things they can see, touch, and feel. They look to that which is tangible and immediate, since life on this earth is finite and temporary. And I’m not saying that such things are bad. I’m saying that there’s an order in every human mind, from top to bottom, of things to which we devote the most love and affection. Consequently, it is the things which we love the most which receive the most of what we can give. St. Augustine called this the Ordo Amoris, the order of affections. It is the ladder of things which we love, ranked in order of priority. And at the very top of the ladder is a throne, and whatever sits upon that throne governs our lives and makes decisions for us. And in order to keep its place, it’s going to demand sacrifices. For example,

If your career sits on the throne, then it’s going to demand you sacrifice your family time. It’s going to demand that you work overtime for that promotion, and then work even harder for the next.

If your family sits on the throne, then it’s going to demand you sacrifice anything that gets between you and them.

And it’s not just these things which govern our lives. They’re also our focus and hope. Whatever sits up there demands that you think about it, look at it, and anchor your life upon it. And here’s the crucial point: if that thing seated up there is of this world, it’s going to be a cruel governor over your life. And you are going to jump from one hope to the next, desperately seeking for an anchor that will hold. I think all of us already know what I’m talking about.

We all went through school, how we looked forward to finishing the exams so that we could enjoy the holidays. I used to study so hard for my exams so I could play computer games during the holidays. Then I looked forward to Uni, and then to marriage, and on and on it goes. And before we know it, we’ve given everything we had chasing after our hopes, and in the end, on our deathbeds, we’re left with nothing.

Temporary hopes make for cruel governors.

This morning, as we think about our ladder of loves, let us reflect on what sits on the throne of our hearts. We have a case in point in our scripture passage today in Genesis 13.

A tale of two fools

There’s Abraham, and there’s Lot, his nephew. Now, Abraham and Lot have gone through thick and thin together. When God called Abraham to abandon his father’s house for the land of promise, Lot followed. And the Bible doesn’t tell us precisely why Lot followed, only that he did. Perhaps he really did believe in God’s promise. Perhaps he, like many others, got excited about the prospect of following Jesus, and so they make a huge commitment at the start. Perhaps he, like many others, was excited about the blessings that God promised. But then the promised land fails to meet his expectations. They arrive in Gen. 12:4. They’re excited. But all of a sudden the harvest fails and the supermarket prices skyrocket, and they’re just dismayed. “God, didn’t you promise to bless me and to make me into a great nation? What is this?” And then in verse 10 they look at Egypt. They see the abundance of Egypt with all its luxuries and comforts, and just like that, God’s promise loses its place on their ladder of loves, and Egypt sits atop the throne. And as the new, cruel governor over their hearts, Egypt demands a sacrifice. And Abraham sacrifices his wife. He says to her, ‘Tell them you’re my sister.’ And when Pharaoh takes her for himself, he remains silent and receives the abundant gifts of Egypt: sheep, oxen, male donkeys, camels, and servants. That’s all in Gen. 12:11-16.

And at this point in the story, Abraham and Lot have departed from Egypt in what we might call a geographical repentance. They have now returned to the promised land as wealthy nomads, each having an abundance of livestock, silver and gold. But then comes another plot twist. God’s promised land which had failed them once before, now fails them again. It failed to support them when they had nothing; now it fails to support them when they have everything.

Genesis 13:6 ESV

so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,

In the midst of their parallel prosperity, there’s some kind of conflict between the two factions. And so Abraham gives Lot the first choice, even though the first choice belonged to him as the elder of the two. And in giving Lot the first choice, Abraham was giving the first choice to God. He had completely repented for abandoning God’s promise, and resolved to fully trust in whatever God had in store for him. And so he was basically saying, ‘God, whatever it is You want me to have, I will accept it.’

Genesis 13:9 ESV

Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

He says to Lot, ‘if you take the left, I’ll take the right. If you take the right, I’ll take the left.’

Genesis 13:9 ESV

Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.”

If you were to open Google maps on your phone and search for Israel, you will find that it’s very tall, but very skinny. As he spoke to Lot, Abraham would have been facing the sun toward the East, and so in actuality he was saying, ‘If you go to the north, I’ll go to the south,’ and so on.

But what does Lot do?

Genesis 13:10 ESV

And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zoar. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

Lot does what any normal person would do. He scales to the highest vantage point, looks for the most opportune place, and chooses it for himself. And it isn’t sin to grab a good opportunity. That’s not the point of this message, nor is it biblical to surrender every opportunity you get. In fact, Lot chose an area which was still within the boundary of the promised land. So we could say that he wasn’t breaking God’s promise either. So what’s the problem? The problem is that Lot saw the boundary of God’s promise, and Lot sprinted right up to the edge.

Our youths know I always use this story when talking with them about dating boundaries. You know the boundaries. You know where you can touch and where you cannot touch. But that doesn’t mean you should do anything and everything you can get away with. That’s not the point. The point is to date in such a way as to glorify God as a couple. God, not your girlfriend, not your lust, must govern your actions from your heart’s throneroom.

But as for Lot, the problem is that there was a new governor seated on the throne of his heart, directing his steps. Lot had enthroned the blessings of God rather than the God of blessings. And so he moves eastward. In the Bible, movement to the East has an ominous spiritual meaning. The entrance of the Tabernacle was on the east, and so to move eastward was to depart from the Tabernacle and from the Lord’s presence. For example, Cain departed from the Lord and journeyed east (Gen. 4:16). The builders of the Tower of Babel also journeyed to the east (Gen. 11:2). So Lot’s journey eastward indicates not only the physical movement of his body, but the spiritual movement of his soul. And this is made plain in the descriptions of Lot’s area of choice.

A Jewish scholar by the name of Robert Alter wrote a commentary on the book of Genesis, and on this passage this is what he says. He says that what we’re getting here in Gen. 13:10 is not the voice of the narrator. Grammatically speaking, what we’re getting is the way Lot’s heart interprets what he sees. Here God gives us a glimpse of the inner workings of Lot’s heart.

Descriptions of the City of Man

“Like the garden of the Lord”

First, it was like the garden of the Lord. This reveals to us that Lot doesn’t just want to get rich and wealthy. See, when we read ‘garden of the Lord,’ we need to remember what happened with Adam and Eve. After they sinned, they hid from the Lord in the garden. Did Lot have sin? What about us? Do we sin? What happens when we sinners try to recreate the garden of the Lord? It means we want to enjoy the garden of the Lord without its Gardener, without its Owner. Lot the ambitious power-fool was probably getting sick of Abraham at this point, this holy man who only cares about worship. This is suggested by the fact that Lot moves his tents to as far as Sodom, where the people had no regard for the Lord.

Genesis 13:12–13 ESV

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.

And we see later just how wicked these people were. Abraham in Gen. 18 bargained for the salvation of Sodom. Will you not spare the city if there are 50 righteous? How about 45? 40? In the end there were not even ten righteous people in the city. It was totally wicked. And Lot chose to stay there.

See, God knows our hearts, even when we might not. We might tell ourselves, ‘I’m living a good Christian life. I go to church on Sundays, and I still show up for services. I tithe, and I even volunteer a little here and there.’ But the Bible clearly warns us not to deceive ourselves. God knows when He’s been seated at the second highest step of the ladder.

Galatians 6:7–8 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Are we sowing our time, effort, and resources for the Lord, or for the Lord’s garden? We must heed this warning from the Apostle Paul. Any other garden of the Lord without the Lord is an idol, a temporary and cruel governor who will fail us in a matter of time. We must hope in the Lord of the garden, not the garden of Lord.

“Like the land of Egypt”

Next, it was like the land of Egypt. Remember Abraham and Lot had just come back from Egypt, and they knew its comforts and pleasures. But even though Lot had left Egypt, Egypt had not left Lot. Remember the way the Israelites grumbled and complained in the wilderness? What did they say?

Numbers 11:4–5 ESV

Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.

People, they even dreamed about cucumbers! How desperate must you be to dream about cucumbers?

The Israelites were outwardly following God’s promise, but the allure of Egypt still had its grip on their hearts. They still looked back fondly on the days when they didn’t need to live according to God’s Word. And this applies to us today as well. See, Egypt here represents our life before repentance. Now, I’m sure many of us repent for our sins. But how many of those times are we repeat the same sin over and over, and repent again and again?

This is what we mean when we say that Egypt has not left. It means that there’s still a “reserved” sign on the ladder of your heart for the temptations of the past. We must not give the enemy a foothold in our heart. If we reserve a place on the ladder for the enemy, then he’s going to climb higher and higher until he takes the throne. We must not welcome the worldly things onto our ladder, as we would a friend.

James 4:4 ESV

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

“This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah”

Now this third description doesn’t tell us about Lot’s heart, but it does tell us about what happens when we enthrone the things of this world. See, it’s not bad to own expensive cars or nice bicycles. These are all good things which come from the Lord. But when they take God’s place in our hearts, we must remember the warning in Deut. 6:14-15.

Deuteronomy 6:14–15 ESV

You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

The Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because He is jealous for the hearts of his people. And when we enthrone something else in God’s place, God’s going to destroy it for the sake of our salvation. It’s only a matter of time. That’s why Jesus tells us in Matt. 6:33 to ‘seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,’ and what? And ‘all these things will be added to you.’

Genesis 19:13 ESV

For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

Now, do you think Lot had a good time? There was a big battle between the 5 kings of the north and the 4 kings of the south, and Lot got swept up in it and he was kidnapped along with his possessions. When does this take place? It’s in the very next chapter.

Genesis 14:12 ESV

They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.

See, by Gen. 14, Lot was already dwelling in Sodom. And Abraham rescues him, and guess what? Lot returns back to Sodom. In fact, by Gen. 19, what we see is that Lot is now seated at the city gate. That means he’s on the city board. What’s more, his two daughters are engaged with two men from Sodom. Lot had by this time completely abandoned God’s promise. God had fallen off the ladder of loves. And Lot enjoys his life in the city for how long? Only six chapters pass by before the city is destroyed by sulfur and fire (Gen. 19:24).

Church, we must realize the brevity of the things of this world. Six chapters feels like a long time when we’re reading the Bible at 11pm, but for Lot, he was just getting started. And all of this for what? In the blink of an eye, Lot lost everything.

Our jobs and companies aren’t going to take care of us. In the blink of an eye, Elon Musk laid off almost 5000 employees from Twitter. The cryptocurrency exchange FTX hit a million investors in 2021, and filed for bankrupcy this month. Only one person cares for our souls, even if we’ve abandoned His promises. And that person cared enough to save Lot from the City of Man right before its destruction.

We must not place our hopes

It is with great suddenness that the City of Man will be destroyed, and only the citizens of the City of God will be called out.

God’s saving call

This same Augustine who talked about the Ordo Amoris, the order of affections, wrote a book entitled, The City of God. In it he talks about two cities: the City of God, and the City of Man.

The book of James warns us against such an attitude.

James 4:13–14 ESV

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

We must remember that we ourselves are mist, here today and gone tomorrow.

The heart of the faith-fool

But what does God say? In Gen. 13:14, God says, ‘How about you take north, south, east and west? The whole land is yours.’

Conclusion: Citizen of the City of God living in the city of Man

Matthew 24:37–39 ESV

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

What we must realize is that Sodom isn’t a physical city anymore. There’s a spiritual meaning to it.

The Bible warns us of the suddenness with which the flood swept away the people of Noah’s time. And the Bible warns us that the same will happen in the last days, at the Lord’s return.

Matthew 24:37–39 ESV

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Revelation 11:8 ESV

and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

Revelation 18:4–5 ESV

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Lot chose to put his hope in the things of this world.

When we start to compromise with our faith, we will soon compromise our faith.

It doesn’t matter how heavy the anchor may be if it doesn’t go deep enough to touch the floor.

God cares more about the depth of your obedience, than the breadth of your success.

God cares more about the depth of your

The truth is, there is no ocean floor. And so nothing in this world can serve as an anchor for your life.

I pray that God blesses all of us with strength if we are ever put in a situation where the blessings contest the constraints of the promise.

When that which is material contests against that which is spiritual

When that which is visible contests against that which is invisible

When that which is temporary contests against that which is eternal

They say that eyes are windows into the soul, but the health of one’s soul is revealed by that which one’s eyes behold. Lot’s eyes betrayed his spiritual condition. What about our eyes? Our lips might say, ‘Jesus Christ is King,’ but our eyes might be glued to our grades, our ambitions, or our entertainment.

James 4:4 ESV

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Revelation 11:8 ESV

and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

Galatians 6:7–8 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

In C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, an elder demon writes to a lesser demon, giving him advice on how to make Christians stumble.

We live in an age of mass distraction.

We must be the faith-fools who sow in tears.

Psalm 126:5 ESV

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

2 Timothy 4:7–8 ESV

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 ESV

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

St. Augustine, writing in the 5th century, put it this way. As Christians, we live in the overlap between two cities: the city of God, and the city of Man. We are citizens of the city of God, but, for the time being until the second coming Lord returns, we are living in the city of Man. So wrote the Apostle Paul in Phil. 3:20

Philippians 3:20 NASB95

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

All human beings have an order of loves. And certain loves must take priority, such as the love for God, followed by love for one’s nation, one’s family, and so on.

Has the allure of Egypt got a stronger gravitational force than the promises of God? It’s a battle between two kingdoms over the hearts of God’s people. And this ancient battle is still ongoing even until today.

As Christians awaiting the second coming,

Lot distracted himself from hope. Lot only looked eastward. Abraham looked north, south, east, and west.

The poor man Lazarus died and went to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man died and found himself in the burning city of fire.

Friends, the fire and brimstone is already falling upon the City of Man. We must flee.

What the genealogy of Jesus teaches us is that the Gospel is good news, not good advice. It doesn’t start with ‘Once upon a time,’ but rather, a genealogy. The Gospel is rooted in history and historical fact.

Genealogy was like a resume. You’d brag about your ancestors, and omit or ignore the people who weren’t presentable or respectable. Jesus was not ashamed to include shameful people in His genealogy. There is no sin so small that it doesn’t deserve condemnation, but there is no sin so great that it can bring condemnation on those who truly repent. For those of us thinking about being baptized this Christmas, hear the message of the Lord for you this morning: the one who bends the knee will be forgiven and accepted.

God promises Abraham two things: that this land would be given to him and his descendants, and that he would have descendants as the dust of the earth.

This land is the city whose designer and builder is God (Heb. 11:8-10)

Revelation 11:8 ESV

and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.

So writes the Apostle Paul to the church in Colossae (Col. 3:1-2)

Philippians 4:8 ESV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

When God sits at the throne of our lives, our bodies are not only buried; they are sown. And on the day of our Lord’s return, we shall be harvested.

Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal-a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.

James Clear: “Every action you take is a vote for the type of persion you wish to become... Small habits can make a meaningful difference by providing evidence of a new identity.”