The Angels Visit Sodom (Part 2)

Welcome to Built on God's Word, the preaching and teaching ministry of Highland Park Baptist Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.! Willard Lyons teaches on the life of Abraham.

! Remember, Abraham had seen three men approach him as he sat at his tent door.

He stands and approaches them, welcomes them, and these are Jehovah and two of his messengers. Remember that Abraham now speaks with God and in the process learns from him that he's heard a cry from the people of Sodom and Gomorrah and has come to see if it's just as the cry of it showed.

And so he and the two messengers have come for that idea. Remember now that as they finish the feast and the meal and has been refreshed as Abraham provided for them, that they now arise and the two set their face towards Sodom.

Abraham, remember, stood before God. And as he stood before God, the two messengers go ahead and leave towards Sodom. Abraham intercedes for the people of Sodom.

If you find 50, 40, 30, 25, 20 righteous people, will you spare the city?

God said, I would. And so God goes and departs from Abraham. Now, as the gentlemen, the two messengers come into Sodom, remember, the people of the cities no doubt see them come to Lot who was sitting at the city gate.

And as they approach him, Lot invites them to come spend the night with them, with he and his family in their house.

And he will provide a meal for them and so forth. That's his desire to do that. But remember, the messengers said, no, we need to spend the night in the streets.

But Lot continued to impress them and encourage them to come to the house. And so they acquiesce and they go to Lot's house to see what takes place.

And remember what happens now. As they come into the city. The men of the city, from every quarter of the city, young and old and in between, surround Lot's house.

And they bang on the door and said, where are the men that came into you to come stay with you? Bring them out so that we may know them, literally, that we may have homosexual practices with them.

And Lot steps out on the front porch, closes the door behind him and said, don't do this. These men came under the safety of my roof to stay safely here, be refreshed before they leave tomorrow.

That's my paraphrase, by the way. And so the men get angry and accuse Lot of being what he is, truly a sojourner. He's not originally from Sodom.

He's been there 24 years. But hey, he's still a sojourner. And yet he claims to be a judge over us. They sense the righteousness and they've known of the righteousness of Lot from previous encounter with him.

So what happens? Remember that Lot now has suggested to them that he take his two virgin daughters, who are, by the way, engaged to two men of Sodom, instead of being ungodly toward the messengers that have come under his roof.

Of course, that's sin being multiplied by sin. And God deals with that later, no doubt. But as a result, the men open the door.

They press against the door to try to get those men. And they say to Lot, we'll deal worse with you than we would have with these men.

And so they came and press him against the door. The messengers inside Lot's house opened the door, grab him and pull him in and shut the door behind him. All right. So that's where we left it last week.

So picking up, if you will, verses 10 and 11, where we left off. Again, this is what we just reiterated here a minute ago. Verses 10 and 11.

But the men put forth their hand, pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut 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.

Now, again, brutality here of the ungodly. They're banging on the door, determined to get these two messengers to come out. But these two messengers, these two men of God, messengers of God, strike these men that are at the door with blindness.

They're looking for the door, but they can't see the door. They're just stumbling around trying to find it. Also, as we see this and read further, recognize the fact that no doubt, because of what happens here with the blindness, and all the rest of the people that are around the house recognized that these men maybe even thought they had become crazy because they're stumbling around, still seeing, but stumbling around trying to find something.

So that, no doubt, disperses the crowd, because in just a moment, the messengers tell Lot to go talk to anyone else.

And this time it will be the brothers-in-law, or the men that will become the brothers-in-law. So you kind of get the idea that the crowd now has dispersed. All right? So, verse number 12.

The men said unto Lot, that's the messengers, 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 waxed great before the face of the Lord. Now, that is before the face of Jehovah. And Jehovah hath sent us to destroy it.

All right? So catch the notification here. Up to this point, Lot really didn't know who these men were. But now he does. Two things have been revealed here.

First of all, the outward indication of the ungodliness and wickedness of the people of Sodom has been revealed to the two messengers.

All right? Remember? God had told Abraham, I've heard the cry of the people of Sodom to be wicked. Vile. I've come to check to see if it really is that.

And so now that has been exposed to these two messengers of God. Secondly, as we just noticed, that messengers of God have been revealed to Lot as to who they are.

So he says, anybody else you have in your family, get them together. You're going to get out quickly. Sons-in-laws, sons, daughters, so forth.

All right? Now, don't have any indication of any kind that Lot has sons. Son-in-laws, future son-in-laws, but no sons of his own.

Does have two daughters, as we just noticed. All right? So, verse 14, we see what he does here. So, no doubt, the way is clear for Lot to go out.

Lot went out, in verse 14, and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughter. And that's King James rendering. They're not yet married. And said, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city.

All right? Now, again, we talked last week about the righteousness of Lot. And how righteous he must be at this point.

Having faced the ungodliness and wickedness of the people. And now he goes to his sons-in-law. Got to believe that they have had interaction with Lot.

All right? They know his character. They know his nature. But they're still men of Sodom. Kind of a sad case that they are engaged to his daughters.

Now, so, but look at the last phrase of verse 14. As he goes and warns them to leave and flee with them.

It says, he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law. Now, when Lot discovered that these were the messengers of God.

And they had the message that God was going to destroy the city. Remember that Lot has already experienced the fact.

We mentioned this last week. That God is a God of deliverance. All right? And that was through Abraham. When the kings came against the kings of Sodom.

King of Gomorrah did battle. King of Sodom and Gomorrah lost. They died. The other kings captured the people and ravaged the city.

Took Lot with them. Abraham went and rescued Lot. Meets Melchizedek on the way home. Melchizedek said, You're the servant of the Most High God.

El Elyon. The highest of the high ones. All right? He is the one that has delivered him with you. All right? So Abraham knows that God is a God of deliverance.

And that that came through Abraham. But it was God that did that 21 years ago. So, he mentions this coming judgment to his son-in-laws.

But they mocked at him. All right? He spoke to them as one that was crazy, if you will. All right? Now, recognize something here.

Anybody that doesn't know the Lord usually has some sense of self-security. All right? Now, I'm not talking about social security. All right? But feel secure in themselves.

Has there ever been a time in your life? Go back as far as your mind can remember. When you felt, I can handle anything that comes along.

And so, you couple that with the reality of where they come from. They're sodomites. Don't know what they were engaged in as being from Sodom.

I'd like to think they were halfway decent since Lot no doubt gave approval of their marriage to his daughters. But nonetheless, self-sufficient people here.

All right? So, Lot seemed like one that was full of folly here. Not believing in the judgment of God that's going to come.

Now, you remember in the Gospel of Luke, over in chapter 17. If you want to turn there, you can. In chapter 17 of the Gospel of Luke.

Jesus is speaking about his return at the end of the tribulation period. In that time we call the coming of the revelation.

And remember what he says here. Back to verse 25 of Luke 17. I'm going to read this out of the Amplified. Well, I'm going to start at verse 24.

For like the lightning that flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his own day. But first he must suffer many things, be disapproved and repudiated, and rejected by this age and generation.

And just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the time of the Son of Man. People ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, right up to the day when Noah went into the ark.

And the flood came and destroyed them all. So also it was the same as it was in the days of a lot. People ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built.

But on the very day that the lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. So that is the way it will be on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

So he remembers Lot and says it's going to be that way. So he gives us a picture of the characteristic of the day of Lot that we're seeing here, or the day of Lot being in Sodom and Gomorrah and being about to be destroyed.

Now verses 15 and 16 of Genesis 19. And when the morning arose, then the angels hasted 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.

Now, picture this in mind here. The messengers have already told Lot, judgment's going to come upon the place.

Okay? So the next morning as the sun begins to rise, they're there with him, and said, Come on, let's go.

It's time to get out of here. But notice the messengers hastened Lot along, it says. They were lingering.

The men just literally grab a hold of their hands and pull them out to take them with them. All right? Now, it's kind of the idea here.

God's judgment is coming. But it's not going to wait for Lot. Amen? The timetable of the judgment of God, it's not necessarily governed by what Lot does here.

That's why they grab a hold of their hands and usher them out. Because God's not going to wait on His judgment. Now, if you know the judgment of God is coming, don't know for sure how it's going to happen or what's going to happen, but it's coming and it's imminent.

You would think that if you know that, you'd be in a hurry to get out of there. Verse 17. And it came to pass when they, and that's they, the messengers, had brought them forth abroad that He said, and some of your translations will say, and one of them said, escape for thy life.

Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. Now, every word here is very emphatic.

Escape for your life. You're in the most imminent danger. Everything about you is at stake. Your whole life, your soul, everything's at stake.

Get out. Now, is the idea. Now, these are the messengers of God saying this to Lot. Now, take note if you will.

He said, escape for thy life, look not behind thee. Alright? The idea here is, you've barely got enough time to get out of here, to escape the judgment.

You've got to get to the mountain. Alright? Don't look back. No more lingering. It'll just prove fatal to you.

Now, God here is requiring something of Lot. Simply, all it is, is an immediate response of obedience to what God's saying to him here.

Alright? An immediate response. So, what do we recognize? an immediate response to God's mercy, His grace, His love for us, is an imperative for our life.

Now, what would looking back indicate other than the fact that it could slow him down a little bit?

What else could it indicate here? You ever thought about maybe Lot, maybe even his wife in particular, thinking, is this the right decision for us?

Should we really be legal? Where are we going to go? He said, go to the mountain. What's up there? No electricity.

Yeah? Can't use the hair dryer. No cell phone service. Yeah. What's up there? Just the mountain.

Alright? None of the niceties of home. Have we made the right decision here? Now, remember what people of Israel said to Moses after they've been away from Egypt?

Would to God we had stayed in Egypt. Amen? Yeah. Where there's meat to eat, bread to eat. Yeah. Nothing like good old-fashioned human nature, right?

Now, notice what he says. Escape for your life. Don't look behind you. Don't stay in the plain, but escape to the mountain or else you'll be consumed.

So, God's going to destroy the plain as well. You go to the mountain. And it kind of gives the idea here, this mountain was a place appointed by God as a place of refuge for Lot.

Alright? You go there. Stay there. That's where you will be safe. If not, you will be consumed. Now, not ordinary judgment here.

It's not simply a good lightning storm. Alright? It's fire from heaven that comes and consumes everything, even the ground. Alright?

Everything that's addressed in this deals with, no doubt, Lot's personal feelings. Look at Job chapter 2.

Go back to Job chapter 2. Interesting thing here. Job chapter 2. Good principle here. Begin at verse 1. Again, read it out of the Amplified.

Again, there was a day when the sons of God, that's the angels, came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? Satan answered the Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking up and down on it.

And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job that there is none like him on the earth? A blameless and upright man, one who reverently fears God and abstains from and shuns all evil?

And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him to destroy him without a cause. Now notice verse 4. Then Satan answered the Lord, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.

Now, skin for skin, notice what he's saying here. All that a man has, he'll give up. Piece by piece, he'll give up everything he's got until it's all gone.

He has nothing else on the earth, nothing but himself. Alright? But even in that, he's still glad and happy and thankful that his life has been spared.

Yeah. Skin for skin, willing to give up everything, especially if we know the Lord and if the sacrifice we make here is because of what we are in Christ and it's for his glory.

Amen? Just be grateful. We're still alive. Still above ground. Alright? Now, verses 18 and 19.

So the messengers tell us, escape for your life. Get out of here quickly. Run to the mountains. That's where you'll go and stay. But look at verses 18 and 19.

I find this fascinating here. 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 mountains lest some evil take me and I die.

Now, figure that one out. Amen? Now, it's already recognized. You know, behold, now thy servant hath found grace.

It's not if I find grace. No. I've already found it. You've already showed me your grace and bestowed that upon me in this. all right. Likewise, you've already magnified your mercy and showed that to me in saving my life.

Yeah. Interesting. I don't know how the other translations read it. But King James says, and I cannot escape to the mountains.

It's not, but, I don't know if I could really go to the mountains. No. It's just part of it. You know, as if it's a normal, everyday thing.

And I cannot go to the mountains. Yeah. And why? Because if I go up there, something's liable to get me. And I'm going to die. There's going to be some danger up there, and I'll probably die.

Now, what's wrong with that picture? It's a real contradiction here, isn't it? He contradicts himself.

And he shows, really shows the degree and depth of his true faith in God. All right? You've already shown me your grace. You've already shown me your mercy.

You've shown me all of that by sending these messengers to drag me out of Sodom and help me escape so I can be spared the judgment. But even though, here's my prayer phrase, even though you've told me to go up to the mountains, stay there, as if to say that's not going to be destroyed, so you'll be safe there, I still can't go.

Because something's going to get me. All right? Something's going to happen to me. do we really think that we can outsmart and outthink God?

Can we? Yeah. How many times have we bargained with him? Yeah? All right, Lord, I know what you're showing me here, but how about this?

How about this? Now, what does God say? Isaiah 55. Look at that with me, if you will. Isaiah 55.

In verse number 6 and following, Seek ye the Lord, that's Jehovah, seek ye Jehovah, while he may be found, call you upon him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord, that's Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, my ways, says Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth.

It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereinto I said it.

Yeah. Everything that God says, he has a purpose in it. Alright?

Why even try to bargain with him? Yeah. Why bargain with him? As if we think we know at least as much as God does.

What usually happens? Usually you leave out at least one step, right? And come up with the wrong answer. God says, when I speak, there's a purpose in what I say.

And when I say it, whatever I say, whatever it was intended to do, it will come to pass.

Amen? So, if there's nothing else in the Word of God that we can hang our hat on, that ought to be it. Yeah. I can trust him in everything he says, much less whatever he does.

And it's all because of who he is. He is God. Holy, righteous, sovereign God.

Too wise to err and too good to make any mistakes. Amen? So, we trust him. Now, verse 20, he simply says, Behold, now this city is near to flee unto and it's a little one.

Oh, let me escape thither. There's that word. Is it not a little one and my soul shall live? All right? Now, when you think of that, it's a small little town.

As if to say, perhaps God, because I want to go there, will spare that town. All right, let's pray together. Father, again, we thank you and praise you for your love and grace today.

Lord, we thank you for the things that you show us in your word as we study through it together. And, Lord, we thank you for your protection of our lives and our mind and our hearts in the midst of ungodliness that we're surrounded by you like you did a lot.

Lord, we also recognize that we, as well as Lot, are still in the flesh. So, we ask God that you enable us to remember that and keep that in mind so we can be constantly seeking you, surrendering to you and your spirit to do his work in our lives.

And thank you, Father, for your redemptive purposes, your redemptive work that enables us to live a life that is yielded to the spirit of God, surrendered to you and your will, so that you can be glorified through our lives.

Thank you for those that are here tonight and for, again, their love for you and your word. And ask that you continue to speak to us about that throughout the week. We thank you and praise you for what you do now.

In Jesus' name we ask you. Amen. To learn more, visit us in person or see the website at highlandparkbaptist.net.