Losing His Testimony

Having seen the level of wickedness in Sodom, that the people not only were rejecting God’s plan but were trying to get others involved as well, even to the point of destroying their lives if they didn’t go along, it was obvious to the two angels that Sodom would have to be destroyed.  Genesis 19:12-13 tells us, “And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.”

The warned that if Lot had any family members or friends that lived elsewhere in the city, he should get them to leave Sodom, and Lot acted on the warning, in Genesis 19:14.  “And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.”   Unfortunately, after twenty years of living in Sodom without taking a stand against homosexuality and other sin, he had completely lost his testimony.  His sons in law thought he was just kidding around and didn’t take his warning seriously, and why should they?  After all, he lived the same way as the other people, laughing at their jokes and participating in their activities, and even adopting some of their moral standards, as shown by his offering his daughters to be gang raped.    

Even Lot and his family did not take the angel’s warning very seriously, as we see in Genesis 19:15-16.  “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.  And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”  They just kept dithering around stalling  and doing one more thing until finally the angels forcibly drug them out of the city. 

Even after being forcibly drug from the city, Lot and his family had no sense of urgency, as is clear from Genesis 19:17-20.  “And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.” 

Lot had lived in the city, with all its conveniences so long he dreaded  having to fend for himself without all the others around to come to his aid if something went wrong.  He thanked God for saving him and begged him to allow him to stop in the little town of Zoar, rather than going into the mountains where God had said for him to go.  The angels had more important things to do than to drag Lotinto the mountains, so they allowed him to go to Zoar, as Genesis 19:21-23 tells us.  “And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.  Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.  The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.” 

Many refer to this as being in the permissive will of God.  Lot was refusing to obey God, and rather than waste time arguing over it, God allowed him to go to Zoar, but it was not his will.   God gives us a great deal of freedom as Christians, often allowing us to choose which job or car or home we want.  When he has not told us specifically what he wants, we have his permission to make those choices.  When he has told us what he wants, and we insist on doing something else instead, we are in deliberate disobedience, even though he may allow us to get by with what we are doing because it simply isn’t important enough for him to deal with at the moment.  It is like a teenager insisting on wearing an inappropriate tee shirt to an important meeting at the last moment.  Sometimes it is more important to get to the meeting on time than to waste the time making them change.  It does not mean they have their parent’s approval. 

Lot is typical of many Christians.  He had been raised by Abraham’s father, almost like Abraham’s brother.  He had been closely associated with Abraham, accompanying him on his journey to Canaan, but when the opportunity arose he focused on his own desires rather than what was good for everyone.  He chose to take the most productive land for himself and let Abraham have the desert.  Although he knew Sodom was a wicked place, he gradually moved closer, finally getting fully involved in the city to the point of taking a place of prominence.  In order to do so, he had deliberately ignored his own conscience in order to fit in, though he was vexed by the sin around him.  Eventually even his own moral standards were compromised and he lost his testimony as a believer in God so completely even his own family didn’t believe him.    Finally God intervened on his behalf, forcing him out of the city, and still he did not surrender to God, insisting on doing what he wanted rather than what God wanted.  He was no longer a light to the world, or even to his own family, as we see in the rest of this chapter.