Listen to Genesis 19 read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.
Genesis 19 starts with the account of how Sodom was destroyed, and ends with the origin story of two national groups, the Moabites and the Ammonites. Both of these are stories which leave us shaking our heads for different reasons, but at the same time they do provide us with historical background to things to come in the Bible, and spiritual lessons as well.
Sodom is destroyed because its sin is grievous and in its destruction God is glorified. He did what was right and demonstrated justice, which will one day come to all people. The real issue at Sodom not homosexuality although that was probably a big issue too, but its deliberate and cruel inhospitality. Other Jewish accounts give a sense of why there was an outcry against these cities.
In the end despite Abraham’s intercession there weren't enough good people, not even five were found. In truth this is always the case, because nobody is good outside of Christ. So those who were willing had to be taken out of the city, that being Lot, his wife and two daughters. This is a picture of Christ rescuing us from sin. However Lot’s wife looked back, her heart was back in the city. She was instructed not to look, but at the same time, Abraham whose heart was not in the city, saw the destruction from a great distance and his concern was for his relatives.
As believers we are not to have a heart for the world, like Lot's wife, but a heart for the lost, like Abraham. We are to leave the world behind, like Lot left Sodom and set our hearts on a new life in Christ.
Jan 20, 2021 | Message by David Alley