Genesis 19:27-29. 27And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Genesis 19 is one of the saddest chapters in all the Bible. In Genesis 18, Abraham prayed that God would spare Sodom from destruction if there were ten righteous people there. Today’s verses tell us that God DID destroy Sodom. Why? Because their wickedness was so terrible that the world would be better off without these evil people living in this evil city.
Also, God destroyed it because there weren’t ten righteous people there. This included Lot’s own family. Lot likely had at least ten people from his family living in Sodom. The Bible mentions him, his wife, his sons (at least 2), his sons-in-law (at least 2) married to his older daughters (at least 2), and then his younger, unmarried daughters (2). What does that add up to? Ten. That’s why when Abraham was talking to Jesus about Sodom, their conversation ended when Abraham got God to agree to save the city for ten people.
Genesis 18:32-33. 32Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Sadly, when the angels get to Sodom and warn Lot of the coming destruction, they won’t find ten righteous people. Most of Lot’s family won’t trust God or Lot, and sadly they will die in the city. In the end, only Lot and his two younger daughters will escape. I told you it was a sad chapter.
Abraham thought there would be at least ten righteous people in Sodom. Ten people of faith. Remember, God calls us righteous, not because we always do what is right, but because we believe God. In Genesis 15, it says that Abraham believed God and God counted him as righteous. Lot was not a good person. Twice he left Abraham behind. He moved into a wicked city and apparently didn’t try to stop their evil at all. And when the wicked men of Sodom tried to attack the angels, Lot tried to get them to attack his daughters instead. But even though Lot was a bad nephew, dad, husband, and leader, the Bible still calls him righteous. This is what the Apostle Peter said:
2 Peter 2:7. 7and if [God] rescued righteous Lot…
Righteous Lot? I thought righteous people do what is right and good. Lot did very little good in his life. True. But he did believe God. When the angels came and said God was going to destroy the city, Lot believed the warning. When everyone else laughed at the idea, Lot ran away with the angels.
God saved Lot for the same reason he saves us. Faith. Thankfully, God doesn’t save us because we are doing everything right. Lot sure wasn’t and neither are you. God saves us when we choose to trust in his mercy and grace. God saves us when we choose to trust in Jesus. Jesus sent the angels to rescue Lot. Two thousand years later, God the Father will send Jesus to rescue us. Not from Sodom, but from our sinful selfishness that separates us from God unless we run toward Jesus and his forgiveness.
The truth is that Lot was both righteous and sinful at the same time. He was righteous because of his faith but he still did lots of bad things. And that’s how every Christian is. Even with Jesus, we are both righteous and sinful. Why? Because we are righteous by faith in Jesus, not by doing good. If you are trusting in Jesus to save you, then God has counted you as righteous. Will you still sin? Yes! All the time. But you’re still righteous in God’s eyes, because you have Jesus’ righteousness, his goodness, not your own.
So God saved Lot because he was righteous by faith. But there’s another reason that God saved Lot. Look at today’s scripture again. It says that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out.
When it says that God remembered Abraham, it does not mean that God had forgotten about Abraham and his prayer to save Lot. God never forgets anything. God remembered means that God is going to act upon his love and kindness to Abraham. Why? Because they are friends. They are in a covenant together. So God will answer Abraham’s prayers, especially when his prayers ask God to be what God already is – kind and merciful.
Just like Abraham prayed for Lot and God saved Lot, Jesus is praying for you. Jesus is our intercessor (do you remember what that word means?). That means that Jesus is praying for us so that when we sin (and we will sin) we don’t have to go through the punishment of God like Sodom did.
With Jesus we know that we will be safe no matter what. How do we know? Because on the night Jesus died on the cross, he was NOT rescued by God’s angels like Lot was. His prayer was NOT answered like Abraham’s was. Jesus prayed and asked God if it was possible for him to not die on the cross, but God said no, Jesus had to die. And Jesus did die for us because he loves us so much.
Jesus died on the cross for us so that we will never have to be punished by God if we trust in him. We will always be rescued from God’s anger at sin, because now, with Jesus, we are counted as righteous.
You: Why do you think we still do bad things even though we are Christians?
You with Jesus: How do you know that God will save you from his punishment of sin one day? Hint: Have you asked Jesus to save you from sin and make you righteous?
Prayer: Father, I know I still sin every day even though you say I am righteous. But I also know that I am righteous because I believe in Jesus, not because of what I do. But still help me to run away from sin like Lot did on that terrible day. Amen.
TLICfamily 