Genesis (Part 21)
Bible Study Time 11-2-08
(From James Roberts 1-12-97)
Bible Study Time 11-2-08
(From James Roberts 1-12-97)
Last week in our Journey Through the Scripture, we saw that a quarrel developed between the herdsmen of Abraham and his nephew, Lot. Abraham felt uneasy about this quarreling and wanted to prevent a scandal in the eyes of the other tribes and families of the region, so he went to Lot and suggested that they go their separate ways. Abraham said, if you go to the left, I’ll go to the right, but if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left. Abraham left the choice with Lot. Genesis, Chapter 13, says that as Abraham presented his proposal:
Genesis 13:10 NKJV
10 . . . Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere . . . like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
From Lot’s viewpoint, the plains of Jordan looked like the garden of God, but they were also said to be like that Egypt.
Now, to Lot, Egypt must have seemed very attractive, but in the Bible, Egypt is a picture of the world. When the Bible talks about people who are going to Egypt, it always presents them as going down into Egypt, not only geographically but also spiritually. It never speaks of people going up into Egypt. Why? Because there’s no spiritual growth in Egypt, there is no spiritual growth in the world. In the world, one can only expect a degeneration of one’s spiritual life and testimony.
Lot lifted up his eyes, and he saw. He based his choice on the things that he saw with his fleshly eyes and his natural mind. He saw the beautiful, well watered plains of Jordan. He thought that if he went in that direction, his cattle would never go hungry. And, we see that Lot chose for himself. Notice this in verse 11:
Genesis 13:11 NKJV
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
Abraham was willing to leave the matter in God’s hands as he gave the choice to Lot. Years before, God has told Abraham to leave the land in which he was living, and Abraham acted simply on the basis of the word of God, so that even then, he left the choice with God as to where he would go. He was willing to trust the Lord to lead him into the place where God wanted him to be.
Lot, on the other hand, chose for himself, and it may be that today you are listening to this program this morning, and you have chosen for yourself what you are going to do with your life. You have said in your heart that your life is your own and you can do with it as you wish.
Some time ago, my wife and I were given a plaque by a dear friend of ours and this little plaque says, the Lord always gives the best to those who leave the choice with Him. Abraham received the best because he left the choice with God, and God led Abraham into the very place that He wanted Abraham to be.
We are going to see in this lesson today, and in the next, the destructiveness of Lot’s choice as he walked by sight and not by faith. The Bible tells us in the book of II Corinthians that we are not like those who walk by sight, but rather, we walk by faith.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. When we walk by sight, we are walking like everyone else in the world. But Christians have two resources that make it possible for them to walk in a different way from all other men. We do not have to walk according to the natural perspective.
First, Christians have the word of God so that, as we read God’s word, we grow in our faith. We see God’s viewpoint and by faith we accept His viewpoint. Second, Christians also have the Holy Spirit who is able to take the word of God and apply it to our hearts so that we can begin to understand the will and the purpose of God for our lives.
As we look into God’s word, and study God’s word, and rightly divide God’s word, and hide God’s word in our hearts, the Holy Spirit uses the word to give us God’s divine perspective. In this way, we do not end up choosing for ourselves a life that leads to destruction.
It is very interesting that at this point Lot chose not only to live in the well watered plains of Jordon, but Lot went to dwell in the cities of the plains of Jordan. This represents another step downward in Lot’s spiritual life. It wasn’t long before Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, itself. Step by step, Lot was spiraling downward in his spiritual life.
You see, before we go all the way down into Sodom and start indulging in the things of Sodom, we have to pitch our tent toward Sodom. First, we set our minds on the things of this world, and then we become entrapped in the things of this world with all of its destructiveness.
At first, we don’t see the things of Sodom as destructive. Satan cleverly disguises the things of the world so that they do not appear to be destructive. Satan wants to lure people into this destruction. Lot saw the well watered plains of Jordan as paradise restored, but in reality they were just like the destructive things of Egypt.
Now, in the very next chapter in the book of Genesis, we find that Lot was actually living in Sodom when a federation of five kinds came up against Sodom. These five kings captured the king of Sodom and many of the citizens of Sodom, including Lot and his family. As soon as Abraham heard about this, he gathered up some of his young men and went out to rescue Lot. In the strength and power of the Lord, Abraham rescued Lot, but do you know what Lot did? Lot went right back to Sodom.
Undoubtedly, Lot had things in Sodom that he loved so much that he could not bear to part with them. But it is not until we get to Genesis, Chapter 19, that we see the terrible destructiveness of Lot’s choice. Lot went down into the well watered plains of the Jordan. Then he went to dwell in the cities of that area. Then Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, and it wasn’t long before he was living in Sodom itself. He then got so wrapped up in the things of Sodom that he could no longer bear to leave.
In Genesis, Chapter 18, God tells Abraham that He is going to destroy Sodom. Abraham pleads with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah, and he bargains with the Lord. It may be that Abraham bargained with the Lord so aggressively in order to save Lot and Lot’s family.
In Genesis, Chapter 19, we read that when God did decide to destroy Sodom, He sent two messengers to warn Lot of the coming judgment. These messengers told Lot to get out of Sodom to avoid the destruction. But in spite of this divine warning from God, Lot was hesitant to leave Sodom .
In the first verse of Chapter 19, we find Lot sitting in the gates of the city of Sodom. This indicates that Lot had a place of leadership in Sodom. Lot had not only pitched his tent toward Sodom, but he had moved into Sodom and had become a leader in Sodom. We also find that Lot’s daughters had married men from Sodom so that Lot was more and more entangled in the affairs of Sodom.
May I say this to you. When you become a Christian, you have the option; you have the choice as to how you are going to live your life. If you decide to walk by sight and do the things that you want to do, then you will wind up like Lot in Sodom. On the other hand, if you decide to let the Lord lead you and guide you and direct you, then the Holy Spirit dwelling within you will take the word of God as you read and study and feast upon it, so that the word of God comes to live within you. Then, you will be able to see life from the divine perspective.
Every Christian has this choice, but I want you to notice that if you decide to live for yourself, you don’t just automatically find yourself immediately occupying a place of leadership in Sodom. There will be a progression that leads downward in your life just like there were many steps in Lot’s downward path to Sodom.
There are many Christians today who have left the place of blessing and fellowship with God because at some point they decided to pitch their tent toward Sodom. Then as they inched their way toward Sodom, they became enmeshed in the activities of Sodom, and finally the things of Sodom got such a hold on them that they would now have a hard time breaking away from the things of Sodom.
Now it’s interesting to note that when the angels came to warn Lot of the judgment that was about to fall upon Sodom, Lot told his sons-in-law about the warning, and the Bible says that Lot’s sons-in-law laughed at him and mocked him. You see, when Christians live their lives recklessly enmeshed in the things of the world and then they try to bear a testimony for the Lord, the world simply laughs.
Finally, the angels warned Lot to quickly leave the city because the judgment of God was near, but they told Lot that they could not destroy the city until he left. Well, why was that? In the book of II Peter, we are told that the Lord knows how to rescue the righteous when they find themselves in the midst of an ungodly world. Peter first points to Noah, and then he mentions “righteous Lot.”
Obviously, Lot knew the Lord. He had become righteous in God’s sight even though he still had the world in his heart. So Lot was what we might call a worldly Christian, but in spite of Lot’s worldly condition, it was God’s plan to save Lot from the destruction that was about to fall upon Sodom. Even though Lot was dwelling there in Sodom, he was not considered by God to be a part of the evil of that city. God saw Lot as separate and apart from the wickedness of the city of Sodom because Lot had come to know and believe in the Lord.
Next week, we are going to see the consequences that Lot had to face as a result of his attraction to and his association with the city of Sodom. I trust that if you know the Lord as your Savior today that you will look at Lot’s life and take note of the utter destructiveness of making the wrong choices in life.
Well, I see our time is gone. The Lord willing, we will take up here again next week. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
Genesis 13:10 NKJV
10 . . . Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere . . . like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
From Lot’s viewpoint, the plains of Jordan looked like the garden of God, but they were also said to be like that Egypt.
Now, to Lot, Egypt must have seemed very attractive, but in the Bible, Egypt is a picture of the world. When the Bible talks about people who are going to Egypt, it always presents them as going down into Egypt, not only geographically but also spiritually. It never speaks of people going up into Egypt. Why? Because there’s no spiritual growth in Egypt, there is no spiritual growth in the world. In the world, one can only expect a degeneration of one’s spiritual life and testimony.
Lot lifted up his eyes, and he saw. He based his choice on the things that he saw with his fleshly eyes and his natural mind. He saw the beautiful, well watered plains of Jordan. He thought that if he went in that direction, his cattle would never go hungry. And, we see that Lot chose for himself. Notice this in verse 11:
Genesis 13:11 NKJV
11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other.
Abraham was willing to leave the matter in God’s hands as he gave the choice to Lot. Years before, God has told Abraham to leave the land in which he was living, and Abraham acted simply on the basis of the word of God, so that even then, he left the choice with God as to where he would go. He was willing to trust the Lord to lead him into the place where God wanted him to be.
Lot, on the other hand, chose for himself, and it may be that today you are listening to this program this morning, and you have chosen for yourself what you are going to do with your life. You have said in your heart that your life is your own and you can do with it as you wish.
Some time ago, my wife and I were given a plaque by a dear friend of ours and this little plaque says, the Lord always gives the best to those who leave the choice with Him. Abraham received the best because he left the choice with God, and God led Abraham into the very place that He wanted Abraham to be.
We are going to see in this lesson today, and in the next, the destructiveness of Lot’s choice as he walked by sight and not by faith. The Bible tells us in the book of II Corinthians that we are not like those who walk by sight, but rather, we walk by faith.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. When we walk by sight, we are walking like everyone else in the world. But Christians have two resources that make it possible for them to walk in a different way from all other men. We do not have to walk according to the natural perspective.
First, Christians have the word of God so that, as we read God’s word, we grow in our faith. We see God’s viewpoint and by faith we accept His viewpoint. Second, Christians also have the Holy Spirit who is able to take the word of God and apply it to our hearts so that we can begin to understand the will and the purpose of God for our lives.
As we look into God’s word, and study God’s word, and rightly divide God’s word, and hide God’s word in our hearts, the Holy Spirit uses the word to give us God’s divine perspective. In this way, we do not end up choosing for ourselves a life that leads to destruction.
It is very interesting that at this point Lot chose not only to live in the well watered plains of Jordon, but Lot went to dwell in the cities of the plains of Jordan. This represents another step downward in Lot’s spiritual life. It wasn’t long before Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, itself. Step by step, Lot was spiraling downward in his spiritual life.
You see, before we go all the way down into Sodom and start indulging in the things of Sodom, we have to pitch our tent toward Sodom. First, we set our minds on the things of this world, and then we become entrapped in the things of this world with all of its destructiveness.
At first, we don’t see the things of Sodom as destructive. Satan cleverly disguises the things of the world so that they do not appear to be destructive. Satan wants to lure people into this destruction. Lot saw the well watered plains of Jordan as paradise restored, but in reality they were just like the destructive things of Egypt.
Now, in the very next chapter in the book of Genesis, we find that Lot was actually living in Sodom when a federation of five kinds came up against Sodom. These five kings captured the king of Sodom and many of the citizens of Sodom, including Lot and his family. As soon as Abraham heard about this, he gathered up some of his young men and went out to rescue Lot. In the strength and power of the Lord, Abraham rescued Lot, but do you know what Lot did? Lot went right back to Sodom.
Undoubtedly, Lot had things in Sodom that he loved so much that he could not bear to part with them. But it is not until we get to Genesis, Chapter 19, that we see the terrible destructiveness of Lot’s choice. Lot went down into the well watered plains of the Jordan. Then he went to dwell in the cities of that area. Then Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, and it wasn’t long before he was living in Sodom itself. He then got so wrapped up in the things of Sodom that he could no longer bear to leave.
In Genesis, Chapter 18, God tells Abraham that He is going to destroy Sodom. Abraham pleads with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah, and he bargains with the Lord. It may be that Abraham bargained with the Lord so aggressively in order to save Lot and Lot’s family.
In Genesis, Chapter 19, we read that when God did decide to destroy Sodom, He sent two messengers to warn Lot of the coming judgment. These messengers told Lot to get out of Sodom to avoid the destruction. But in spite of this divine warning from God, Lot was hesitant to leave Sodom .
In the first verse of Chapter 19, we find Lot sitting in the gates of the city of Sodom. This indicates that Lot had a place of leadership in Sodom. Lot had not only pitched his tent toward Sodom, but he had moved into Sodom and had become a leader in Sodom. We also find that Lot’s daughters had married men from Sodom so that Lot was more and more entangled in the affairs of Sodom.
May I say this to you. When you become a Christian, you have the option; you have the choice as to how you are going to live your life. If you decide to walk by sight and do the things that you want to do, then you will wind up like Lot in Sodom. On the other hand, if you decide to let the Lord lead you and guide you and direct you, then the Holy Spirit dwelling within you will take the word of God as you read and study and feast upon it, so that the word of God comes to live within you. Then, you will be able to see life from the divine perspective.
Every Christian has this choice, but I want you to notice that if you decide to live for yourself, you don’t just automatically find yourself immediately occupying a place of leadership in Sodom. There will be a progression that leads downward in your life just like there were many steps in Lot’s downward path to Sodom.
There are many Christians today who have left the place of blessing and fellowship with God because at some point they decided to pitch their tent toward Sodom. Then as they inched their way toward Sodom, they became enmeshed in the activities of Sodom, and finally the things of Sodom got such a hold on them that they would now have a hard time breaking away from the things of Sodom.
Now it’s interesting to note that when the angels came to warn Lot of the judgment that was about to fall upon Sodom, Lot told his sons-in-law about the warning, and the Bible says that Lot’s sons-in-law laughed at him and mocked him. You see, when Christians live their lives recklessly enmeshed in the things of the world and then they try to bear a testimony for the Lord, the world simply laughs.
Finally, the angels warned Lot to quickly leave the city because the judgment of God was near, but they told Lot that they could not destroy the city until he left. Well, why was that? In the book of II Peter, we are told that the Lord knows how to rescue the righteous when they find themselves in the midst of an ungodly world. Peter first points to Noah, and then he mentions “righteous Lot.”
Obviously, Lot knew the Lord. He had become righteous in God’s sight even though he still had the world in his heart. So Lot was what we might call a worldly Christian, but in spite of Lot’s worldly condition, it was God’s plan to save Lot from the destruction that was about to fall upon Sodom. Even though Lot was dwelling there in Sodom, he was not considered by God to be a part of the evil of that city. God saw Lot as separate and apart from the wickedness of the city of Sodom because Lot had come to know and believe in the Lord.
Next week, we are going to see the consequences that Lot had to face as a result of his attraction to and his association with the city of Sodom. I trust that if you know the Lord as your Savior today that you will look at Lot’s life and take note of the utter destructiveness of making the wrong choices in life.
Well, I see our time is gone. The Lord willing, we will take up here again next week. Until that time, we bid you goodbye.
Church links:
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