Sermon Tone Analysis

Drill and Marching

When I first joined the Air Force, I was sent, like everyone who joins the US Armed Forces, to Basic Training, what many outside the military call “Boot Camp.”

They teach you a lot there: how to make a bed, how to clean, how to organize, how to fire a weapon, how to save your injured comrade, how to fold your laundry, press your laundry, shine your shoes and boots, how to dress, and how to walk.

You may laugh, but it is true: you are taught how to dress, fold your laundry, and how to walk.

In fact, how many people here know how to fold a T-Shirt into a perfect 6-inch square?

Want to know a fun fact?

Most of everything we had been issued was made by blind people, which is why we were always so frustrated trying to fold things perfectly, usually getting in trouble because it’s imperfect, not realizing until our last night when our Training Instructor told us that usually it was nearly impossible.

Imagine how funny we all thought that was…

But of all the things we are taught in Basic Training, probably the most interesting and most practiced was the art of drill and ceremony.

Let me demonstrate: First, the group would already be assembled in formation behind our element leaders, 4 of those, at the head of the formation, and in columns behind them.

The leader of the group, usually the Training Instructor, or possibly the Dorm Chief, would call us to attention, with: FLIGHT!

ATTEN…SHUN!

We would then arrange ourselves in order from tallest to shortest by tapping the shoulder of the person in front of us, until there was someone taller in front of us.

Then the leader of the group would tell the group: RIGHT…FACE!

We would all, then turn 90 degrees to our right.

We would repeat the tap and move procedure.

Then, the leader would call LEFT…FACE!

We would turn 90 degrees to our left.

Rinse, repeat on the tap and move.

At this point, we would be in the best order, as defined by the United States Air Force.

In this manner, we would go from point A to point B on base.

There were no busses, cars, or the like, unless we were going off to do our field training, or leaving the base for technical school.

They would call a marching formation the “Air Force Cadillac,” as this is how we would move around.

And we learned all of this to get to the point where we would pass for review at the graduation ceremony.

Our Training Instructor would be the leader.

When we got to the point where we were passing the Stage, our T.I. would call out, EYES…RIGHT!

Then, with the exception of the 4th element (the one on the furthest right as you look at them from behind), all would continue to march forward, but immediately turn their eyes to the right, while the leader would salute the stage, where all of the distinguished visitors would be, usually including a few generals, sometimes the Secretary of the Airforce or his/her Vice Secretary when he or she could make it.

To end that, and to keep us from running into something, the leader of the formation would then call EYES…FRONT!

What does drill and marching have to do with our Scripture reading today?

Like a military formation, we, as believers in Jesus, are (or at least should) all be heading in the same direction: towards Jesus and eternal life.

Occasionally, during our walk, we are told to look at different things, like, our standing with Him, the administration of a church, Bible study, or other such ministry.

Other times, our focus and attention are on other things, like our sins and vices, our families, our jobs, and our hobbies.

Worse still, is when our focus stays on the things behind us, our past, to include our failures and triumphs.

It is this looking backwards that I want to address this morning.

“Remember when...”

Let me ask you a question: how many people here can remember when this congregation, although the location may currently be different, was much much bigger?

How do we often talk about that time?

With nostalgia, right?

Like, “Oh, remember when you had to get to church early to make sure you had a place to sit?” or “Remember when we had so many children here?”

or some other iteration of “Remember when…” It’s okay to reminisce about the “good old days” of the church, and I would also go as far to say that we should remember those days, but my question this morning is this: “Should we focus on it so much?”

15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up!

Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.”

16 But he lingered.

So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life.

Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley.

Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”

23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.

25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.

26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

What is the Context of These Passages?

For those of you who join our group for the monthly Bible Studies, what is the key to understanding and interpreting Scripture?

Context!

So, let’s look at the context here, shall we?

We know that in chapter 13, the only reason Lot was in Sodom at this time was because he and Abram’s groups were just too big for the area they were inhabiting, so they agreed to split up and Lot took the plains of the Jordan, but ended up living in Sodom, which caused more than a few problems, to include Lot’s rescue by Abram in Chapter 14 (of course, this was all before God changed Abram’s name to Abraham).

Then, in the second half of Chapter 18, we see Abraham hanging out with the “three men” that came to him and Sarah, when they were renamed.

Chapter 18 begins by saying that the LORD appeared to Abraham.

From context, it is clear that one is God (the Son, before His Incarnation), and the other two are angels.

In any case, Abraham is hanging out with them, going for a walk, where God speaks to the angels, in the presence of Abraham, of whether or not to tell Abraham what He is about to do to Sodom and Gomorrah.

As many of you know, I love looking at these conversations from a human perspective.

Imagine being Abraham in this conversation.

The LORD of all creation is standing with you, hanging out, because hey, that’s your relationship with Him, but still has the understanding that this is the Author of Creation, and two of his angels.

Neat.

And the Creator, turns to His heavenly companions and says, basically, “Guys, should I tell him what I’m going to do?”

If I were Abraham, I would be more than a bit confused, like “tell me what?” God continues talking to the angels, as if Abraham isn’t there.

Ever been that person in a group conversation, where people are talking about you as if you aren’t there?

Yeah, imagine that, but the one talking is God.

I know that I would be more than a bit concerned.

So, God keeps going on, saying (and I’m using my own paraphrase here), “I mean, I did pick him, so he’ll be faithful to me, and as such, lead his family and descendants to follow me, which is cool, all for the purpose of fulfilling my divine plan to save the world through him.”

Again, imagine Abraham here for a minute: “I’m sorry…you want to do what through me?” Then God, turning His attention back to Abraham, this herdsman from Ur, and says, “So, Sodom and Gomorrah have gotten out of hand, and frankly, everyone is tired of it.

They aren’t going to change.

I’m going to hit the reset button on them, Noah style, but just on them.

It’ll be okay, I promise.”

Then, Abraham remembers…Lot lives there.

Uh-oh.

“Uhm, God, hey, yeah, I get it.

Bad places, and all that, but, if you’d excuse me, and far be it from me to, uh, question the doings of the Most High, but…what if they aren’t all bad.

You are a good God, of course.

But, you wouldn’t want to take out the good with the bad, right?

So, what if there’s oh…” and Abraham thinks quickly on Lot’s group, “let’s say, 50 good people there.

Would you take out the city then?”

And God, you can imagine Him trying to hide a chuckle, knowing exactly how this conversation is going to end, and what the state of the hearts of Sodom and Gomorrah are, says “Yeah, okay, sure, for the 50, I’d spare the whole city.”

“Okay, okay, LORD, cool.

And, again, far be it for me to question the One who created everything, but what if there’s…like, 45? What then?”

And they go back and forth like this until Abraham has gotten God to agree to spare the city if just 10 people were righteous.

Now think on this for a moment: Lot and his group had to split from Abraham and his group because of the size of each group.

Lot’s group lived in and/or near Sodom.

Of that whole group, which would have numbered at least a few hundred, Abraham thought he could identify at least 10-50 people who would be worth saving.

That final number likely consisted of Lot, his wife, and his children and in-laws.

Because we see that Lot lived at home with his wife and two daughters, who were pledged to marry a couple of fellas in town.

That brings us to 6, and Abraham was likely thinking of a few of the other folks that followed Lot that seemed okay.

But, I digress...

Interestingly, we see how earlier, after God asks the angels with him about telling Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah, the two angels head off.

We see where they went at the beginning of Chapter 19 when they arrive in the city , by way of the gate of which Lot was in charge of.

This was no small position, and sitting in the gateway was a position of status.

In any case, the angels were readily identified by Lot, who invited them in.

After the incident with the mob, the angels let Lot in on God’s plan: get out of Doge, because God is about to hit the reset button.

Well, he goes to the fiances of his daughters, who laugh off his warning.

Still concerned, whether it be for his wealth (which was significant), or his status (which was prestigious), or for the people who followed him into this area, Lot hesitated to leave, and had to actually be drug out of the city, by the hand, by the angels, who tell him and his wife and daughters to run for their lives, and under no circumstances, look back.