A secure future

“And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.”

No one wants to see their child die so Hagar left the child in the shade and then she went away so that she couldn’t see his agony. Hagar was in a difficult position. She was a slave and had no personal rights. Her owner, Sarah, had forced her to have Abraham’s child because Sarah had been unable to have a child. This child was her only hope for the future and she had to make sure that the child survived and grew to adulthood. After all, Sarah was an old woman and she would soon die, surely, Ishmael would look after his biological mother when she was old. However, Sarah now had her own child and she had to fight much harder to ensure the survival of her child to secure her own future. Now, the child, her hope for the future, was close to death and she had nothing to live for; no wonder she was weeping. At this stage, God called out to her from heaven, she was so distraught that she couldn’t see the well that was close by. Not only that, God promised her a secure future because God told her that her son would become the father of a great nation. God is faithful and He rewards those who trust in Him. No one can actually impress God, after all, He created the heavens and the earth but if we cry out to Him and accept that He is the Lord then He will give us all the benefits of His goodness even though we don’t deserve them. On top of this, God has also ensured that all the legal issues of sin have been dealt with by giving His Son as a sacrifice to pay the penalty of our sin. We have everlasting life and we haven’t done anything at all, just believed in the Only Begotten Son.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

She cast the child under one of the shrubs

“And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.”

Everyone who wants to obey God will find a wilderness experience at some time in their life. Even the Lord Jesus Christ spent forty days in the wilderness before He began His ministry. During that time He was tempted for forty days. However, it is interesting to note that Beersheba is was named because it was the place of seven wells. Later in this chapter we find that abraham argued with Abimelech’s and Phichol because Abimelech’s servants had violently taken a well away from Abraham. Even though Hagar was in the desert and she could see no hope, she was in a place known for water. Thousands of year later Beersheba is still a well known place because of the water. Even though we may be in a wilderness place there is always a well nearby and God is letting us reach the stage where we cry out to him and then He will show us the well. In this case Hagar reached the end of her resources and put the child in some shade so she wouldn’t have to watch him die. But God intervened and child didn’t die.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Love, Grace and Mercy

“And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.”

In Matthew 7: 6 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” There are some things that are precious to the Christian or, in this case, to the Lord’s chosen people. These precious things must always be treated as sacred and never treated with contempt. In this case the son born after both Abraham and Sarah suffered a crisis in hope was mocking the special son, specifically promised by God in order to keep the promise of the deliverer. Sarah was quite right in insisting that the promised son be treated with due respect for there was the possibility that the other son would usurp the position that rightly belonged to Isaac. She dealt speedily to ensure that the foreign son didn’t do damage to the promised son. However, the Lord remained faithful to Abraham and to His promise, the promise He made on the day that sin entered into the world. There are many times when God is the only One who can balance all the promises and still bring good without any compromise. Praise God for His great wisdom that is always tempered with love, grace and mercy.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The miraculous and the mundane

“And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.”

The vast majority of our lives consist of ordinary daily occurrences. It is important for us to be faithful in those times even though nothing spectacular is happening. If we are faithful in those times then the Lord will trust us to be faithful in the big things (see Matt 25: 23 “His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”) Abraham Sarah remained faithful to the Lord over many years even though it was just in the day to day tedium of life (see 1 Peter 3: 6). However the Lord intervened in their lives with a spectacular miracle. However after the miracle was over they had to get on with the ordinary day to day events as they had before. Sarah had great joy that she was able to feed her baby but before long she had to get on with her life, even though it would never be the same again, and wean the child. We can all expect to have spectacular mountain top experiences in our lives but we must always be ready to keep going with the mundane and remain faithful in those times as well.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Living by faith

“For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him.”

If a person wants to show that they love the Lord then they will keep His commandments (John 14: 15). This was true of Abraham; after many years of waiting until they had lost all hope and believed that it was impossible for the Lord to keep this promise, the Lord kept His promise and they had a son. Abraham had debated with the Lord about this promise and was willing to accept something less than the Lord had promised but the Lord didn’t give him second best. Sarah, his true wife, finally had her son when both she and her husband were very old. Abraham still remember that God was his friend and he loved God especially now that the impossible son had been born. Abraham showed his love for God by doing what God had commanded him and circumcising his son. There is no such thing as salvation by works and for those who have been saved by faith there is no such thing as living by works. We are saved by faith and we live by faith but, if we love God, then we do what He had told us to do.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

As He had said

“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.”

When God speaks it is as good as done. However, God knows that it is important for us to get to know more about Him as we mature in our faith. If a person wants to get to know another person better it is important that they spend time together and God delays answering our prayers so that we will spend more time praying and we will, increasingly get to understand all that there is to know about Him from our human stand point. When God wanted us to know about Himself He sent His only begotten Son to this earth so that people on this earth could make contact with Him and know more about Him (see John 1: 18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”) God, in His infinite grace chose to follow this same strategy with Sarah. Even though Sarah struggled with a crisis in hope over  many years she didn’t lose her faith (see Heb 11: 11 “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.”) The same circumstances apply to the Lord’s promise of His coming. 2 Peter 3 : 3-7 reminds us “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Faith tells us that He will certainly come back while enlightened unbelief tells us that He isn’t coming back or that He has already come back. Imagine how ashamed those people will be when He does come back, especially the ones who have written books to say that it won’t happen.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

God healed Abimelech

“And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved. So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.”

Abimelech felt that he hadn’t done anything wrong because Abraham told him that Sarah wasn’t his wife and he took her to be another one of his wives. However, in the beginning, God had established the principle that one man should be joined to one woman and no more. This is because when a man is joined to a woman they are connected in their souls (1 Cor 6: 18). If someone tries to break this connection they will damage themselves. This damage includes damaging our ability to have meaningful relationships, including a meaningful relationship with God. If we damage that relationship then we become self indulgent instead of self denying in our relationships. This is the reason that Abimelech suffered so much. He already had wives but he lusted after another wife and so the Lord brought judgment on him. After all, Sarah was the women who God was using to preserve the godly line that would, one day, produce the promised deliverer. Notice too, that Abimelech’s restoration from the curse engendered by his own selfishness was entirely dependent on Abraham. Abraham had to pray to God before Abimelech was delivered from the curse that he had chosen for himself (compare Matt 5: 44). This is an important lesson for every Christian and is supported by the Lord’s word when He told us to pray for our enemies and those who hurt us.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The less is blessed of the better

“Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.””

Sometimes people talk about putting the fear of God into someone. This is not a bad thing for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). This is an example someone having the fear of the Lord. This fear can be a good thing or a bad thing. All of the great heroes of the Bible had a deep and healthy respect for the greatness and majesty of the Lord. It was this fear that led them to understand that there is no such thing as a great man or a great woman of God, there are only men or women of the great God. The Lord said “my glory will I not give to another” (Isaiah 42: 8) and this is the basic condition of any relationship a person can have with the Lord. It is quite popular today to suggest that one person can bless another but “the less is blessed of the better” (Heb 7: 6). No one should arrogate to themselves the honour of being greater than another for we are all sinners before God.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

God came to Abimelech

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

Even though Abraham had developed some bad habits, he was counted as a righteous man because he was a man of faith. Under these circumstances the Lord protected him through the trials and tribulations of life. On the other hand, Abimelech was caught in a situation that was not of his own making. In this case he was caught out because Abraham manufactured a lie and Abimelech believed him. In this case, God was gracious to Abimelech as well and gave him an opportunity to understand that the Lord is the true, and only, God of creation. God always works for good but we have the chance to choose to enjoy that good or not to enjoy that good. Abraham believed God and he enjoyed all the good things that God had to offer him.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

A bad habit

“And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.”

Lot had just been through the most terrible experience in his life. In fact, the experience destroyed Lot and his family. However, life continued as though nothing had happened for the rest of the world. Even Abraham, who had worked hard to save him from destruction, had to keep his life going as well. This is one of the hard consequences of sin in the world. Everyone is primarily focussed on themselves. Even when other people suffer extreme circumstances and excruciating pain, emotional, physical or spiritual, the rest of the world are focussed on their own lives and don’t have the time to share our pain with us. Abraham had developed a bad habit and he continued with that even though Lot was experiencing severe problems. In Gen 12: 13 we saw that Abram asked Sarai to pretend she was his sister because he was afraid. He did the same thing again even though his previous experience should have taught. In the end, however, Abraham was remembered as a great hero of faith because he believed in the Lord (Gen 15: 6). The same is true today. If we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ we have everlasting life even though we may have some bad habits. However, bad habits have bad consequences and have a ripple effect on our community causing pain to ourselves and those we love.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Part of a community

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.”

Lot was now so isolated that his daughters despaired of any future at all. They were concerned that they would never have any children and they were afraid to have any contact with other people. It is easy for people to feel desperate when they suffer from a severe crisis in hope. These girls were suffering this severe crisis in hope and they acted out of this desperation. However, there were serious consequences to the choices that they made. Even though Lot was innocent in this event, he still had to suffer the consequences of the choices that other people had made and they affected him. However, the descendants of these two children became the sworn enemies of Israel as the years went by. It is important for each one of us to remember that we will suffer consequences when we make choices. We may say that we haven’t chosen those consequences but the truth is that we have chosen them even though we didn’t think about them at the time. The other sad issue is that we may make choices but others may suffer the consequences, even those whom we love. A good example of this is Caleb: he wanted to go into the Land but had to wait for forty years in the Wilderness because the others didn’t want to go in. We are all part of a community and our choices can affect the whole of our community.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

He feared to dwell

“And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.”

The angels told Lot to escape to the mountains so that he wouldn’t be destroyed along with Sodom. He didn’t really want to go because his heart was still in Sodom, never the less, he left the city and hoped to be able to go to another small city nearby. Lot was used to living in the city and he didn’t want to return to the nomadic ways that he gave up when he moved in to Sodom. Lot went to the small city but he was afraid to live there. The people in Zoar knew that Lot was from Sodom, after all, he was an important man from Sodom. No doubt, some of the people from Zoar had seen Lot when they went down to that city to do business because Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. All the people in Zoar would have known that Lot had escaped Sodom, in fact, he was the only person, along with his daughters, who had escaped from that city. It would not have taken long before the people in Zoar would have wondered why Lot was the only one who had escaped. They would also remember that Lot’s uncle, Abraham, had previously saved the cities of the Plain from their enemies. The questions would, surely, have been similar to those that were asked of the Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in John 11: 37 “And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?” or Matthew 27: 42, 43 “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.” If Lot’s uncle was able to defeat the four kings from Mesopotamia why didn’t his uncle do something to save the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? Before long Lot was afraid for his life and he lived in a cave in the mountains. Lot ended up in the mountains, where he didn’t want to go, but he didn’t have the options that were available to him at first. We don’t even have evidence to suggest that Lot made contact with Abraham again.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Asking and receiving

“And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.”

This was a massive event in the area at that time. The well watered plains of Sodom was now the Dead Sea area and the cities had disappeared. Abraham had debated with God about saving Sodom from this destruction but God understood his real motive and saved Lot from the destruction. There are many people today who tell us that God will give us whatever we ask for but that is not true. In James 4: 1-3, we read, “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” We must ask in keeping with God’s will and not just ask for anything that we feel is good for me just now. In this case God understood Abraham’s real motive in asking for the salvation of Sodom and God gave Abraham his true desire. So often God will ask us to wait when we pray because the major emphasis with prayer is the actual process of communication. The more we pray the more our relationship with the True God of Creation develops. In the end that is the best thing that can happen to us.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

A pillar of salt

“But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

Lot’s wife didn’t just glance back at Sodom, her heart was still there and see stood and looked back with longing because she still wanted to be in that city. While she stood and gazed longingly at the place she loved she was caught up in the fire and brimstone raining down on Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt. Too often we long to be where our heart is rather than following the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ encouraged us to to deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily and follow Him (Luke 9: 23). However, our desire, as fallen sinners, is to indulge ourselves as often as we can. If we long to indulge ourselves we can become a spiritual pillar of salt and be useless when it comes to working for eternity. We have a choice to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and do it His way or to follow our own desires and seek to work for our salvation.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Without remedy

“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

Proverbs 29: 1 reminds us, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” This is an illustration taken from the use of bullocks in a yoke. Every bullock is a herbivore that can eat grass without bending its neck. However is bullock has only two uses: one is for a beast of burden and the other is for eating. If a bullock is to be used as a beast of burden it has to be able to relax its neck and take the weight of a yoke on its shoulders. This means that the bullock can put its great strength to the yoke and pull heavy loads. However if a bullock hardens its neck the yoke won’t go down onto its shoulders and it is useless as a beast of burden. Under these circumstances the bullock will just use feed and give no return so the bullock is only useful as meat. If a person is not willing to accept the yoke that Christ wants to place on our shoulders then we are useless to Him for service (see Matt 11: 28-30). The people in Sodom were stubborn and refused God’s grace even though He gave them opportunities to repent and submit to His yoke. After a while they had become so debased that they were debasing the world around them as well. It was at this stage that God chose to act and destroy them, that is, to cut them off without remedy. Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ is available to accept His yoke but if they don’t do that then they are useless in His service. If a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ they have everlasting life but they are not always useful in the Lord’s service particularly if they seek to promote salvation by works. Lot was in this condition when he lived in Sodom but God saved him from destruction. However the people of Sodom didn’t believe and they had no remedy at all.

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Look not behind thee

“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 shewed 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. 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.”

When the Lord calls us t0 move we should be ready to move straight away. In this case they had to go or die. This kind of urgency is sometimes demanded by God but we should be ready just in case we are in urgent times. The Lord told Lot and his family not to look back. In this case the backward look represents that fact that they wanted to be back in Sodom rather than free from the wrath of God. This is similar to the parable that the Lord Jesus Christ told in Matthew 22: 1-15. In that case a person came to the wedding dressed in the wrong garment. Garments have to do with our holy life as we can see in Rev 19: 8. However the wrong garment represents salvation by works while the fine linen garment represents the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fact that we come to God in His name alone. Lot and his family were warned to long for the things that were soon to be destroyed. Any backward look would represent a longing for those things. The same is true for any Christian. Every sinner wants to be accepted in their won right but every Christian is accepted in the beloved (Eph 1: 6).

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

The Lord being merciful

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“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.”

The Lord is slow to anger and plenteous in mercy (Psalm 103: 8). He will not judge anyone quickly but always gives us time to repent and confess our sin. This was the case with Lot and his family as well. They didn’t realise the urgency of the situation. God was determined to judge Sodom and they had to leave so that they would not perish along with them. However, the people of Sodom had had their chances but they had refused to accept the grace that God offered them. In John 14: 6 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the way the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is only One way to escape God’s wrath and that is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Any other way may seem to be right but will lead to death (see Prov 14: 12).

No man is an island

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“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. 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.”

The angels were interested in saving Lot and his entire family. They could just have saved Lot but anyone who was associated with him were brought under the same system of care as Lot. The Lord knows that everyone has families and loved ones and that we care for them as well. The English poet John Donne No man is an island, entire of itself...”. No one comes into the world entirely alone even though some may leave it alone. Thus the Lord gave Lot the opportunity to save his entire family with him. Every person who is born into a Christian home has some advantages as well because they hear about the gospel message from a very early age, however, as we shall see later, everyone has to make the choice for themselves in the end.

Sitting in the seat of the scornful

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.”

The first verse of Psalm 1 tells us: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Lot didn’t follow this advice. He began by looking down and seeing the fruitful Plains of Sodom but before long he walked towards Sodom and then stood in Sodom when he finally moved in to the city then he was sitting in the gate. The last four verses  of the same Psalm reminds us “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  herefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The city of Sodom was on their way to destruction but they didn’t care. They wanted to keep doing what they had done for many years and assault the visitors. The only reason Lot was involved was because he had joined the people of that city. He was so concerned about his duty of hospitality that he was willing to sacrifice his daughters but the angels saved them. If we remember the words of Psalm 1 we won’t get into this kind of situation.

Rise up

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.”

Lot came from the same culture as Abraham, even though he was living in the city of Sodom at this stage. In fact, we know that Lot was one of the leading men of that city but that time because he was sitting in the gate with the other leaders of the city. It was getting late in the day and the two angels came to the city. Lot didn’t know that they were angels but he offered them hospitality as he had been taught to do from a young age. They said that they would stay in the street. One would assume that there was a caravanserai in the city where they could stay with other travellers but Lot insisted that they stay with him. He, like Abraham, offered the angels the best that he could offer. However, he had to use unleavened bread because he didn’t have time to let leavened bread rise before feeding the men. This passage is also important because it defines the word rise for the Bible. The two angels were going to sleep the night and then rise up and go on their way the next morning. Rising involves lying down and then getting up and continuing with the business that they were doing before. In John 11: 24, 25 we read “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”) Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ can easily believe that they will rise again. One day all, except those who are alive at the Rapture (see 1 Thes 4: 13-18), those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will rise again. We will lie down in death and then, when the Lord calls us we will get up again and continue with the everlasting and abundant life that He has given us at great cost to Himself. The only difference will be that there will be no more sin or its consequences.

Working for good

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake. And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.”

The Lord told Abraham about His plans and showed that Abraham was His friend. At that stage, Abraham felt confident enough to ask the Lord to do something for him. Abraham knew that his nephew Lot lived in Sodom and he wanted to save Lot from the judgement that the Lord was bringing on Sodom. He had already saved Lot from the war between the kings of the Plain and the kings of the east. Abraham began to negotiate with God to see if God would spare the city and, hence, spare Lot from destruction. The Lord already knew that there was only one righteous man in Sodom, that is, Lot. But God is gracious and He gave Abraham the opportunity to ask for Lot’s life. God was not showing any lack of integrity here. Even though He knew that He was going to save Lot, He treated Abraham like a friend so that Abraham could spend time talking to God and, finally, understand that God is in control and is always working for good in the lives of His friends (see Rom 8: 28). After this experience Abraham had an even greater confidence in God and in God’s majesty so the experience was worthwhile in every way. God always treats people who love him  and are called according to His purpose as friends and He is always working for good in our lives. Sometimes it is much better for us not to get our way now.

God’s friend

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;  Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.”

This passage is reminiscent of John 15: 15 where the Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” The Lord Jesus Christ told His friends what He was going to do. In this case God told Abraham what He was going to do James 2: 23 tells us, “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” God used the same test for friendship in the Old Testament as He did in the New Testament. In the beginning God spoke to Adam and consulted with him when it came to naming all the animals (see Gen 2: 19, 20). However, after Adam sinned they didn’t consult like this again because sin intervened. However, Abraham believed God and this was imputed to him as righteousness, meaning that God had dealt with the problem of Abraham’s sin. In Is 46: 10 the Lord tells us that He knows the end from the beginning. This means that God knew that the Lord Jesus Christ would be the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world so He knew that all the legal issues concerning sin would be dealt with in the fulness of time. The Lord Jesus Christ, Who is Almighty God, also knew about the work that He was going to complete on the cross and was able to treat His disciples as friends as well. The Lord treats us as friends as well because He has given us as much of His plan as we can understand with our sinful wisdom all we have to do is read the Bible from cover to cover.