The Days of Lot

- The Breath of God

As we continue our walk through the life of the first Patriarch, Abraham, we discover that Abraham and Sarah had just recieved their new names.

With the addition of the breath of God to their names, in similar fashion when Jesus breathed on the apostles just before He ascended into heaven to anoint them for their mission, found in the gospel of John (chapter 20 vs. 22)

Which is the exact same thing that happens to you and I today when we receive Jesus , we receive the spirit of God

Like the breath of life that comes to live in each one of us.

But, at this point in history, we find Abraham sitting at the opening of his tent on a hot day, probably contemplating all that he and Sarah had gone through up til now.

When all of the sudden, he looks up and sees three men “Standing” there.

These three men who seemed through the text, to have just appeared there, turn out to be God in human form, and two angels with him, also in the form of humans.

Now, whether or not Abraham knew that he was speaking with God is a matter of debate to this day,

this is another one of those instances, of “We just don’t know”

Regardless of whether or not he knew, the scripture makes it clear that it was the Angel of the Lord.

Any time God makes an appearance to a human, that event is called a, “Theophany”

- Theophany?

Slide #2

Genesis 18:1–3 (CSB)

1 The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. 2 He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them, bowed to the ground, 3 and said, “My lord, if I have found favor with you, please do not go on past your servant.

Slide #3 Theme

It that bedouin culture, bowing was a sign of giving honor and respect to the person being bowed too.

Abraham was filthy rich, he and his house, had been known conquer kings, and their armies.

But this was a sign of showing humble hospitality to guest, as were these three men who appeared before him, or just sort of snuck up on him as he didn’t see them coming as he sat there looking out.

We do get the idea that Abraham knew something special was going on here however, through several hints that are uncovered in the text.

He rushes into the tent and tells his wife Sarah to make some choice foods for the visitors, like butter, and cakes, etc. but he also says to prepare some meat.

Meat wasn’t part of their daily diet, nor did all the visitors expect meat, but for these guest, they cleaned off the bbq grill so-to-speak.

2. They had the audacity to ask him where his wife was.

Normally, guest don’t pry into your personal business, it would be considered rude even today.

Unless they have the authority to ask such questions.

Slide #4

Genesis 18:9–15 (CSB)

9 “Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him. “There, in the tent,” he answered.

10 The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?”

13 But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? At the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”

15 Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid. But he replied, “No, you did laugh.”

Slide #5 Theme

It says that Sarah was passed the age of child bearing. She actually says of her self, “she’s worn out.”

But then God knows her heart and what she laughed to herself.

- Is Anything Impossible for God?

And He puts her on the spot, “Why did you laugh? Is anything impossible for God?”

The Hebrew word translated Impossible is pěʹ·lě = which means Too Difficult.

So, God is asking this very important question to Sarah.

Is anything too difficult for God?

I ask this very question to you here and those watching.

Now, before you answer this question, think about it.

Think about where you have placed your faith up to this point.

Think about where you are in life and every aspect of your life.

Is there anything too difficult for God, going on in your life right now this very moment?

Was there ever anything too difficult for God to handle in your life?

How about this question, Do you think there will ever be anything too difficult for God to do in your life?

A boy asked the father: How Big is God? Then the father looked up to the sky and seeing an airplane asked the son: "What's the size of that airplane?" The boy answered: "It's very small. I can barely see it." So the father took him to the airport and as they approached an airplane he asked: "And now, what is the size of this one?"  The boy answered: "Wow daddy, this is huge!"  Then the father told him: "God, is like this, His size depends on the distance between you and  Him. The closer you are to Him, the greater He will be in your life!"

How close are you to Him?

(https://www.dailytenminutes.com/2018/09/story-how-big-is-god.html)

If your life is somewhat distorted, or our of focus?

Then its because your view of God distorted or out of focus?

Maybe you should get closer to Him, spend more time with Him.

So, here in Genesis, God is asked the question, if She thinks anything is impossible for Him

But when God is explaining to Mary, the soon to be mother of Jesus, that she too was going to give birth to a son

- Nothing Is Impossible for God!

He affirmed,

Slide #7

Luke 1:35–37 (CSB)

35 The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Slide #8 Theme

Brothers and sisters, and those of you watching, there may be something big going on in your life right now,

And it may be so big, you just can’t see a way out of this,

Let me tell you right here, right now, Your God is big enough to handle your issues in life.

Your God is big enough to see you through what ever it is.

Health problems,

Money problems,

family problems,

Emotional problems,

Addiction problems, etc.

Nothing is impossible with God.

(Repeat) Nothing is impossible with God

- The Angel of The Lord

From here, the conversation between the Angel f the Lord, and Abraham shifts from the glory of the birth of a promised child to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

The Angel of the Lord, the two angels, and Abraham look out at Sodom and Gomorrah in the distance, and the Angel of the Lord says this,

Slide #9

Genesis 18:20–21 (CSB)

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go down to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to me. If not, I will find out.”

Slide #10 Theme

I find it interesting that instinctively, Abraham knows whats coming,

The Angel of the Lord said, He’s going to find out it these things are true,

Abraham doesn’t try to defend them, he goes right to trying to save them, because he knew those wicked things were going on down there. He knew what they were going to find.

- Destruction of Sodom

They were guilty of all those cries that came up to the Lord.

Slide #11

Genesis 18:22–26 (CSB)

22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of the whole earth do what is just?”

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Slide #12 Theme

It went on like this back and forth between Abraham and the Angel of the Lord, until they reached down to just ten people.

To which the Angel of the Lord, said, “If I find ten righteous people, I will not destroy it.”

History tells us in the coming chapters that, the Lord utterly destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Meaning, He could not find even ten righteous people in all of Sodom and Gomorrah.

I wonder, If Jesus were to come back right now, how many righteous people would be found in America?

How many in Anna, IL.?

But before the destruction, the two angels went into Sodom and found Lot, who was also sitting at the city gate.

Now to be clear, in these times, those who sat at the city gates were usually city officials.

Meaning, Lot must have been a town official or something similar.

Anyway, as was the custom, Lot saw these two fellows and offered them hospitality, to which they accept.

They go into Lot’s house and receive the common gesture of welcome, by offering of food and foot washing, etc.

But then things go bad for Lot and his guest.

- Lot, His Wife and Two Daughters

Slide #13

Genesis 19:4–5 (CSB)

4 Before they went to bed, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house. 5 They called out to Lot and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

Slide #14 Theme

The world today desperately tries to conjure up reasons why the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah weren’t sexual, or that it wasn’t dealing with sodomy etc.

Well, the word translated “Sex” is the Hebrew word “ya-da” and it means to know, this is how we get the translation of Adam knew his wife, and Cain knew his wife and so on.

For those who try to espouse a different meaning to this word, are just ignoring the authors intentions.

The Whole population of the town, from the young and the old, demanded the men be brought out for the sole purpose of raping them.

Plain and simple.

For this reason, Lot goes out to meet them and closes the door behind him.

He pleads with the people of the town, the young and the old, “Don’t do this, If you are that agitated sexually, Ill bring my two virgin daughters, and you can do to them whatever you want.

This didn’t work, they wanted the men.

The angels have enough of this mess, they pull Lot back into the house, and strike the people outside with blindness,

- The Young & The Old?

Both the young and the old.

You know, for years I struggled with this passage because I couldn’t understand it.

Why did the author go out of his way to mention that the young as well as the old were of part of this debauchery?

I couldn’t wrap my head around the young being involved so intimately

Then shortly after the beginning of the twenty first century, the 2000’s I started to understand it better,

But today, in the year, 2024, I totally understand why God mentioned it.

Today, even our children as young as five and six are being conditioned to question their sexual identity.

Today, any news report will demonstrate that along with the older more mature mentors, stand the young confused adolescents holding up their banners of pride in protest to the natural order by birth.

So, now I don’t struggle with that notion anymore. I fully understand why there were also young people banging on Lot’s door after those men.

- Don’t Hesitate

Slide #15

Genesis 19:15–17 (CSB)

15 At daybreak the angels urged Lot on: “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. Because of the Lord’s compassion for him, the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters. They brought him out and left him outside the city.

17 As soon as the angels got them outside, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere on the plain! Run to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

Slide #16 Theme

When I was in my teens, I lived with my Grandma Juanita, who went to be with the Lord a couple of years ago,

We lived in a south Chicago slum.

We were very poor, and lived above a dry cleaning store.

One night, I was awakened the shrill cry of my grandma Juanita echoing through the apartment and she banged on walls and doors.

I took me a minute to understand what she as screaming because there was panic in her voice.

She was screaming, “Fire, Fire!”

As I came to my senses, the first thing that hit me was the heavy black smoke as it hung suspended halfway up to the ceiling.

Immediately we all grabbed our shoes and ran down the flight of stairs

Can you imagine yourselves in such a panic?

If you were in that situation, would you hesitate?

Thats what Lot did. He hesitated when the angels told him to get out of town

He didn’t want to leave. He second guessed it.

Many times in life, we find ourselves at a crossroad in life.

Do we stay, or do we go? Which way should I go, What should I do? etc.

But many times, when God so clearly shows us the answer, we hesitate.

We second guess it.

- Don’t Look Back

Why, because we don’t really want to leave.

Lot didn’t want to go, he was forced by the hand of an angel to be specific,

Lot wasn’t the only one, his wife didn’t want to leave either.

The angels commanded them run and not look back as the destruction came down on Sodom,

Lot’s wife turned back and became a pillar of salt.

Slide #17

Genesis 19:26 (CSB)

26 But Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt.

Slide #18 Theme

The Lord destroyed those cities just as He said He would by raining down fire and brimstone.

Some scientist speculate that there was an eruption of sorts, or a massive earth quake, in that region around the time of Abraham.

This would explain how God rained down fire and brimstone from heaven.

an eruption or earth quake could have shot fiery debris into the sky and fallen like rain onto the cities of the plains.

As per Lot’s wife, some speculate that she not only turned to look back but actually went back and was caught up in the debris

Others contend that she may have stopped when she turned or that she and stood on a ledge and watched the destruction of her city.

Regardless, it appears she got hit with a sulfur bomb, and was consumed.

If my self, my brother, or my grandma Juanita were to hesitate leaving the apartment when we did, we too, would have been consumed.

Brother or sister, If God is leading you by the hand, as he did Lot, dragging you out from a situation,

Don’t go back, lest you be consumed.

Did the Lord deliver you from

pornography?

bad relationship

delivered you from a health scare?

from alcohol addiction,

Drug addiction,

Gambling addiction, etc.

What ever you do, don’t go back, lest you be consumed.

The rest of this chapter tell us that Lot escaped along with those two daughters he offered the sex crazed town mob.

When the daughters figured out that they were all that was left, they decided to get their father Lot drunk with wine,

and had sex with him so that they could have children.

They both got pregnant and their incestuous offspring were Moab the father of the Moabites, and Ben-Ammi the father of the Ammonites,

The Moabites are the ones that sacrificed their children to the god Molech through passing them into the fire.

So we can see that spirit of evil debauchery of Sodom was still alive through Moabites.

But before we judge the two daughters too harshly, let’s remember where it was they came from.

To them, it was probably not that frowned upon.

They didn’t seem to struggle with the idea of sleeping with their father.

In sodom and Gomorrah, everything was permitted

Sounds like we are pretty close ourselves here in the America, doesn’t it?

Homosexual marriage is legal now,

Its ok for children to have sex, they hand out contraception in schools,

They think its ok to teach five year olds about sodomy

And now its ok to publically have more than one sex partner living in the same house.

How long before it’s ok to have relations with a brother or sister, mother, father, etc?

I don’t think we are too far off if the Lord don’t judge us before hand.

The wife of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham, said once, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

In Closing:

- Watch Out, Jesus Is Coming Back

We as Christians believe that Jesus will be coming back soon.

He has given us in scripture clues, hints, and markings, not to know with exact certainty when, but so we would know what to look out for when the time of His coming would be drawing near.

If you are a believer in Jesus, then you know those signs are happening and being revealed with great frequency.

One of the markings he mentioned was about the days of Lot.

When asked about His coming, he said that the world would be similar to the days of Lot.

Slide #19

Luke 17:28–30 (CSB)

28 It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot: People went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. 29 But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Slide #20 Theme

We just went through the world in the days of Lot.

Does our present world remind you of anything?

It reminds me of the days of Lot, which means, the day of the coming of the Lord is closer than we think,

Let this be a wake up call for all of us who are so involved in this world, that it is time to come out of it and be separated for God,

Let the fact that you are either sitting in this service or watching online, as the angels pulling you by the hand and showing you the way to escape!