Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.

Script:

… if [God] condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, …; and if he rescued Lot, … that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard;...

2 Peter, Chapter 2, verses 6 through 8, New International Version

VK: Hi! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. We’re so happy that you are able to join us today on Anchored by Truth. This is the 8th episode in a series we are calling “The Seriousness of Sin.” As the name of the series implies we are in the midst of taking a detailed look at sin and the impact it has had on our world and the impact that it has on our lives and futures. So far we have talked about both the current and eternal consequences of sin and the reality and nature of hell. And a couple of episodes we began talking about how seriously God treats sin. We started that process by examining the enormous consequences of the first sin in the Garden of Eden and moved on the looking at the worldwide flood where God destroyed almost all life on earth because of sin. As he has been throughout this series, to help us continue to think through hard truths that accompany sin’s existence, we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, a lot of people in our day and age want to pretend that sin doesn’t exist or at least that God doesn’t really care about our sin or judge us for it. But neither one of those ideas is true are they?

RD: Not only are those ideas not true they are dangerous. When people stop thinking that sin really is serious, when they stop treating sin seriously, they become like someone who goes on guard duty who falls asleep. A sleeping guard poses a danger not only to the guard but to the entire camp. The same thing is true of sin. If we don’t think that sin is serious, we won’t guard against it – and that not only is dangerous in the here and now it puts immortal souls in peril. And, as we have seen in our last few episodes, we should know sin is serious because of how seriously God treats sin. Death entered creation and man lost paradise because of one sin. And when God could only find one righteous man on the earth he removed all the rest of the people, the land animals, and the birds to start over.

VK: We know that the flood of Noah was caused by sin because in Genesis, chapter 6, verses 5 through 8 we hear “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

RD: The flood of Noah is a graphic example of just how seriously the Lord treats sin but it is by no means the only example.

VK: And you said that today you want to move on to another one of the clearest examples of how seriously God treats sin – the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In Sodom and Gomorrah God once again found a huge group of people that just refused to give up their sin. So, God stepped in and gave us an object lesson through their destruction.

RD: Right. And we find that later Biblical writers used Sodom and Gomorrah to warn the audience of their day of the seriousness of sin. And the general story of Sodom and Gomorrah is so well known that I don’t think that we need to spend too much time on it. But there is one aspect of the story that I think is rarely discussed and that’s what I want to focus on today.

VK: And what aspect is that?

RD: The story of Lot. Lot was the patriarch Abraham’s nephew and in many ways Lot was the central human figure of the story. But I frankly think that Lot’s story raises more questions than it answers. So, I want to spend some time today on those questions. To start with let’s note that Lot is mentioned several times between chapters 11 and 19 of Genesis. We find out that Lot accompanied Abraham and Abraham’s father, Terah, when they left Ur of the Chaldeans and began the journey to Canaan. Lot traveled with Abraham for next several years including the sojourn into Egypt when they went there to escape a famine. And as they went along both Abraham and Lot became wealthy.

VK: Genesis, chapter 13, verses 5 and 6 say, “Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together.”

RD: Right. So, because tension was growing between Abraham and Lot’s servants Abraham made the suggestion that they separate and he gave Lot of the choice of whether Lot wanted to go to the east or west. Well, when Lot looked east he saw the Jordan River valley which was lush and green so he decided to go east rather than to the far more rugged country to the west. Well, the next mention that we have of Lot in scripture we find out that rather than continue to tend his flocks and herds on the plain near the Jordan River Lot has decided to settle in Sodom.

VK: Genesis chapter 14 tells us that a confederation of kings attacked Sodom and some other nearby cities, captured them, and carried off plunder and captives. Lot was one of the captives. Abraham heard about Lot’s capture and mounted a successful rescues mission. So, at that point Lot was definitely settled in Sodom.

RD: And Sodom was undoubtedly already a very wicked place by that time. But Lot, for some reason, had decided to settle there. We know it was wicked because of what we heard in our opening scripture. The Apostle Peter tells us “that righteous man [Lot], living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.”

VK: And of course, we all know it ended. In Genesis, chapter 19, verses 23 through 26 we hear, “By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” That’s the New International Version.

RD: Right. So, the story of Sodom, and Gomorrah is, as we said, a graphic example of how seriously God treats sin. But, as in Noah’s case, God did not rain destruction down without first sending a warning. In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah God sent two angels to warn Lot and tell him to get his family out. Sadly, most of Lot’s family didn’t listen and were destroyed along with all the rest of the town. Even Lot’s wife, who initially heeded the warning, looked back and lost her life.

VK: So, in Sodom and Gomorrah we have the same pattern continued that we saw in Eden and in the flood. God warns people against sinning and then the people ignore the warning and commit the sin. Then, God judges the sin and consequences ensue. Paradise is lost, the people are sent into exile, and if the sin continues to grow the consequences get worse. But, God always continues with His plan of redemption and God is always able to rescue the righteous.

RD: Yes. And, in the case of Lot, it is a bit amazing that he is still referred to in scripture as being “righteous.” But he is. Lot, in many ways, is a puzzling figure but his life does provide us with some very clear lessons.

VK: What is puzzling about Lot?

RD: Well, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Peter refers to Lot as being righteous. Now, that doesn’t mean that Lot was sinless. When the scripture labels someone as righteous it certainly doesn’t mean they’re perfect. It does mean that they have a genuine concern for the things of God and that they are aware of God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness.

VK: Jesus’ half-brother James let us know that being righteous does not being sinless. In James, chapter 5, verse 16, James says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” That’s also from the New International Version. In the same verse James tells us to confess our sins – which means we know we have them – and he goes on to say that the prayers of a righteous person are “powerful and effective.” There would be no point in telling us to pray if being righteous meant being sinless.

RD: Exactly. So, the scripture calling Lot righteous does not mean Lot was sinless. Far from it. But it does mean that Lot knew that there was a God in heaven, who is sovereign, had established standards for human behavior, rewards obedience, and punishes disobedience. Lot at least knew those things. In fact, Lot probably knew much more. Lot had spent decades in Abraham’s company and Abraham is called the father of the faithful.

VK: Romans, chapter 4, verse 11 says, in part that Abraham “is the spiritual father of those who have faith.”

RD: So, Lot had the benefit of years or decades of being in presence of one of the true spiritual giants of history and scripture. Lot knew, or should have known, more about faith in God than just about anybody of his world but after he became wealthy Lot began making a series of decisions that can only be labeled “poor” or even “disastrous.” For instance, look at his change in circumstances.

VK: In Chapter 13 of Genesis Lot has so much wealth that he has to separate his flocks and herds from Abraham’s. Lot apparently has a sizeable company of servants and animal tenders. Quite likely Lot’s wife had handmaidens and other domestic servants. Lot is wealthy in his own right before he moves into the vicinity of Sodom. When he first moves onto the plain he was likely still living in tents while supervising his flocks and herds. But, at some point, Lot decided to move into a house in Sodom.

RD: And that is a good illustration of how dangerous sin is. We are not told why Lot decided to actually begin living in Sodom but we can engage in some holy speculation. Initially, Lot is living near Sodom so he probably began trading with merchants from the town. He’s probably selling them milk, cheese, and meat and he and his followers may be buying food that comes from a settled agricultural community – oil, nuts, olives, raisins.

VK: But Sodom probably had merchants selling other goods as well. While this is long before Israel existed as a nation that area was an important trade route between Egypt, Syria, and other countries to the north. Sodom was a goodly-sized town for the day. They probably had people selling tools and utensils as well as luxuries – cloth, spices, wine. It would have been easy for Lot and his crew to start to believe that it was easier to make a living from trading than from the physical labor of managing sheep, goats, and cattle. And life in town was undoubtedly easier than life on the plain in the tent. Lot wouldn’t be the first person to trade the farm for the city. I’m reminded of the famous song from World War I – “How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree?).”

RD: So, at some point Lot did trade life on the farm for a sad, wicked version of “Paree.” If he had still been living in tents there’s a good chance he could have moved his household out of the way when he learned there was a confederation of kings intent on capturing the cities of the plain. At any rate, by the time chapter 19 of Genesis arrives Lot has been in Sodom for some time. Lot is sitting in the gate of the city when the two angels approach Sodom. Sitting in the gate is a sign that Lot has become a town elder. When he first came to town Lot was wealthy. His wealth helped him become an influential person in town – so much so that by now he sits in the city gate with other elders.

VK: But even though he is sitting with the other elders he is not like the other elders. However he does it Lot recognizes that the angels are different from other visitors that come to Sodom. We don’t know whether he knew they were angels by seeing them or whether the Holy Spirit gave him a nudge. But Lot knows that the arrival of these two is a danger to the town. He tries to get them out of sight and out of the way of the other people in town. In many Biblical descriptions of encounters with angels the angels are described as appearing like younger human men, likely attractive.

RD: And that appearance would have made the angels exceptionally attractive to a city given over to homosexuality – which we hear about in verses 4 and 5 of chapter 19. But Lot knew that exposing these visitors to the town’s people would bring judgment down. I can’t be sure but I think Lot was hoping to keep the angels away from the crowd hoping that the next morning they would just leave and things could return to the normal wickedness.

VK: But Lot soon learned that wasn’t going to happen, didn’t he?

RD: Just as Abraham had discovered the prior day Lot found out that God had already determined to bring destructive judgment onto Sodom. Remember that in chapter 18 of Genesis Abraham had had an extended negotiation with God. Abraham had gotten God to agree that if God could find just 10 righteous people in Sodom he would spare the whole city. Again, My guess is that Abraham was thinking to himself – “I know Lot is righteous. That’s one. And his wife is probably righteous. And his children. And maybe some of his children have married and influenced their spouses to know God.” Abraham was probably counting people in his head even as he was talking to God before God left Abraham’s camp.

VK: And, of course, God could agree to spare Sodom if he could find 10 righteous people because God already knew that there weren’t 10 righteous people in Sodom. In fact, as the story unfolded it’s likely the only righteous person in Sodom was Lot. And God rescued Lot as well as two of his daughters. Lot’s wife sealed her own fate when she turned back to look at Sodom after the angels warned her not to.

RD: And that may be an indication that one of the big reasons Lot had left the plain and moved into the city – and stayed in the city – was because his family had wanted it that way. We know from the account that some of Lot’s daughters had already found husbands from among the Sodom men. Verse 14 of chapter 19 refers to Lot’s “sons-in-law.” That’s from the New International Version. The New Living Translation calls them the daughters’ fiancés. That clearly shows that Lot’s daughters were prepared to marry wicked men to continue to enjoy the comforts they had gotten used to.

VK: I see what you meant when you said that Lot is a puzzling figure. We know from 2 Peter that Lot was righteous. But if Lot was righteous - which he was because the Bible says he was - why would he remain in the midst of so much wickedness. As the verse from 2 Peter says Lot was “tormented” by the lawlessness, the wickedness, going on around him. I suppose it’s possible that his family may have been the source of his willingness to remain in Sodom despite the evil he saw around him. His wife looked back even as she knew the city was being destroyed. Lot’s daughters refused to leave even after Lot begged them to. This is a great lesson for all of us. We have to be strong enough to resist the temptation to engage in sin even when it’s our family members who presenting the temptation.

RD: That’s one of the very clear lessons from the story. The populations of Sodom and Gomorrah had become like the people of the world during Noah’s day. Their actions were wicked continually. And even people who should have known better like Lot’s family members were swept up into the wickedness and it resulted in their destruction. But the foundation for that destruction had been laid years earlier when Lot let the temptation of his eyes sway his decision about where he would settle. Lot chose what he perceived to be the easier path. And that first poor choice was followed by a succession of poor choices. That’s how sin proceeds. At first, poor choices seem to be unimportant ones. I’ll go down to the valley rather than remaining in the hills. But one poor choice leads to another and the final end for many is the loss of everything.

VK: But, as we have said before, sin’s effects aren’t limited to just the person making the poor choice. After they had left Sodom eventually Lot and his two unmarried daughters wound up back in the mountains anyway – living in a cave. Then, when the daughters realized that they were now outcasts from the people they had been living among – they made even more bad choices. They began to fear that they would never be able to get married and have kids, which was considered a curse in that time. So, they got their father drunk and had an incestuous relationship with him. They were successful in their intention because they both got pregnant. But the boys they gave birth to became the founding fathers of the nations of Moab and Ammon that would plague Israel hundreds of years later.

RD: Yes. But the incest raises another puzzling question and makes another important teaching point. Lot knew that his uncle Abraham was still in the general vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible tells us that Abraham was close enough to see the dense clouds of smoke rising from the cities after God had rained fire and brimstone down. Lot knew that he and his two daughters are now homeless. Why didn’t Lot just ask the angels for permission to return to Abraham instead of asking to be allowed to another nearby town?

VK: That is a good question.

RD: Thank you.

VK: I guess the immediate answer that comes to mind is that Lot was too embarrassed to return to his uncle’s camp. Years earlier Lot had parted from Abraham as a wealthy man with a good reputation. After Sodom’s destruction he is now homeless, penniless, and disgraced. He’s lost his wealth, most of his family, and his judgment is now seen to be questionable. What we don’t know is whether Abraham warned Lot about the dangers of being near such wicked cities when they parted and Lot chose to go to the Jordan River plain. If Abraham had given Lot that kind of warning, which is something a wise, concerned uncle would do, then Lot would have had double the reason for embarrassment.

RD: And that’s the point. After leaving the town of Zoar (they were likely forced out by the town’s residents who would have thought them cursed) Lot’s daughters became desperate. They’re tired, hungry, discouraged and now facing a grim future. They are particularly desperate thinking that there is no way they will ever be able to get married, have kids, and lead a fulfilling life. So, in their desperation they come up with a drastic solution. It worked – sort of. They have children who grow up to give rise to two future nations. But both of those nations will become enemies of the future Israel and would contain their own share of wickedness. It’s impossible to know whether if Lot had chosen to flee to his uncle’s camp whether his daughters might have had a better future among their own relatives. It’s yet another sad element of this sequence of poor decisions that started when Lot let the lust of his eyes begin his descent into sojourning with sin.

VK: I like that phrase – sojourning with sin. Lot’s tale set within the broader setting of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is both cautionary and encouraging. It’s encouraging because, as the Apostle Peter pointed out, God knows how to rescue his children even when they are found among those practicing gross sin. God knows His children and He will help us even when we make poor choices – a lot of them. That’s encouraging. But Lot’s tale is also a cautionary one. Sodom and Gomorrah were desperately wicked but Lot could have remained safely outside them. Said plainly, the more distance we put between ourselves and sin the better off we will be. Lot had everything he needed to live a joyful, successful life but he exchanged it for what he thought would be an easier life. Maybe his family was part of the temptation but the decision to sojourn with sin was his own. This is a great lesson for Christians. God can protect us but why should we put ourselves in positions where we need rescue. Lot barely escaped destruction and his poor decision making led his daughters to make desperation driven decisions that would plague a future Israel. Our goal should be to emulate Abraham not Lot. Abraham developed the maturity of his faith throughout his life in the mountains and is listed in the faith “hall of heroes” in Hebrews, chapter 11. Lot drowned his faith in the pleasures of this world and his entire family paid the price. Sin is too serious and dangerous for us to move in next to it. We’re better off in the rugged mountains where our faith can grow than in the lush valleys where sin presents constant temptation. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer for our school age children who are facing their own challenges with test taking. We hope they will avoid the temptation to seek the wrong type of help as they prepare and take tests. Part of our role is to ensure our kids that the right kind of help is always available and they never need be embarrassed by asking for it.

---- PRAYER FOR TAKING TESTS (RANNI)

VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.”

If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!”

(Opening Bible Quote from the New International Version)

2 Peter, Chapter 2, verses 6 through 8, New International Version