Jan.7 - Genesis 19-21

Have you ever had dealings with an angel - unknowingly? Well, that's what happens here to Lot in Genesis 19! This event is probably one of the many reasons Hebrew 13:2 says - "Dont' forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!"

Power Points:

"Show me your friends and I'll show you your future!" That's what a friend of mine, Rick Stanley (step-brother to Elvis Presley) said on a recent interview with Mike Huckabee. And, we all know it's true. You are who you hang with! Well, as despicable as it sounds, Lot calls these maniacal and wicked Sodomites "friends." And look what happens to this once Godly man:
- He wildly offers his 2 virgin daughters as sacrifice to these sex-craved men!
- He is a madman and joker to his future son-in-laws when he tells them of God's impending wrath on Sodom.
- He needed to be continuously prodded by the angels to leave the city!
- He finally needed to be dragged out of the city by the 2 angels!
- He doesn't want to go far from his beloved Sodom, so he flees to a nearby village!
- He loses his wife (who looks back and becomes a pillar of salt) because she too fell in love with her beloved Sodom! Remember, Jesus referred to her calamity as a powerful illustration in Luke 17:32, when He said, "Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his shall lose it, and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it."
- The nearby villagers don't like him so he flees to the caves in the mountains where his daughters have sex with him to preserve their father's seed. Is there something wrong with this picture? Lot's spiritually, moral, and personal life is destroyed!

We never really take God very seriously, do we? In spite of the angels offering repeated warnings to quickly flee the city, Lot's desire to obey just wasn't there! The angels had to literally take him by the hand! But, do you know what really saved Lot and his family? It says in 19:16 - "the Lord was merciful." How often have you disobeyed God or let Him down, yet He was merciful? When he tells you to do something, do you go out and do it quickly or get right to it? Or...do you find excuses to linger right where you are and do nothing about it? Will God need to send an "angel" to grab you by the hand before you get going?

Lot's grandchildren end up fighting their cousins most of their lives! Lot's grandchildren become the leaders of the Moabites and Ammonites who were frequently at war with Israel in later years. They lived mostly in the mountainous regions just east of the Dead Sea. Although they were generally idolaters, not all of them were evil. Ruth, for example, was a Moabite, who eventually become the grandmother of King David. Naamah, was a woman Ammonite, who was one of Solomon's wife (gave birth to Rehoboam), and is in the ancestrial lineage of Jesus Christ.

God fulfills His promise in His Own Time! Finally, several years later, Abraham and Sarah have a child (Isaac) and see the long-awaited promise of God. It took nearly 25 years!! Even the apostle Paul speaks of how remarkable was Abraham's faith to believe God. In Romans 4:22 - "And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And, therefore, it was imputed unto him (Abraham) for righteousness."

Are you still waiting on a promise from God? God will work in HIS OWN TIME, not necessarily in yours. With Abraham, he waited until it was an absolute, physical impossibility before granting them a child. I'm sure there were other reasons why God waited as well. Nevertheless, He gets all the glory!! As with Abraham, believe God! He always pays on His promises!