Title Lot (Genesis 11:27-28)
Contents
If you believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, salvation will come. However, in some ways, salvation is simple, but life after salvation is not so simple. The Apostle Paul confesses that God chose me before the foundation of the world and confesses that no one can separate us from the love of God. Nevertheless, he confesses, "I die daily," for fear of falling behind after bringing many to Christ. A vague salvation is incomplete when life does not support it.
Looking at Abraham and Lot appearing in the text now, we can see that there are people who believe and live like Abraham, and there are people who believe and live like Lot. Today, I want to tell you that life is not irrelevant if you are saved and how you live the rest. Those who go to heaven must live like those who go to heaven.
Today, we would like to learn several lessons from Lot's life.
1. Lot is not a good starter.
His grandfather was an idolater, and his father had Lot and two younger sisters earlier than his brothers. In the Bible, the names of Abraham's wife and Nahor's wife are mentioned, but there is no mention of his father, Haran's wife, or Lot's mother.
2. I will meet my uncle Abraham well and fulfill the blessing.
If you are not blessed, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will receive blessings even if you attach them.
3. The blessings you receive are rather controversial.
Genesis 13:5-6 'Lot, Abram's companions, also had sheep, cattle, and tents, so the land did not allow them to live together, because they had so much that they could not live together.' Partnering is difficult.
4. You will realize the difference in your attitude and personality.
Genesis 13:8-9 "Abram said to Lot, "We are one flesh and blood, neither you nor my shepherd nor your shepherds quarrel with one another. Here we see the difference between the personality of the great father who first yields the option, and the personality of Lot, who accepts it.
5. Lot goes to the world.
Abraham sees the Promised Land of Canaan with the eyes of faith. But Ruth sees Sodom, Gomorrah, and the land of sin through the eyes of the world. Why did Lot look good in this sinful land? This is the level of faith.
6. Lot's blessing is a fleeting blessing.
Lot even broke up with Abraham to protect his property, but lost it all during the war. As Psalm 127 says, unless God protects us, our efforts are in vain. Genesis 14:14-16 "When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he took three hundred and eighty men who had been raised and trained at home, and pursued them as far as Dan, dividing their vassals, and defeated them by night, and pursued them all the way to Hoba, on the left side of Damascus. He came to find the stolen goods, his nephew Lot, his wealth, and the women and the people.” This is the prepared skill. That is the difference between prayer, preparation, faith, and courage.
7. The way the angels are treated is different.
Genesis 19:3 "Lot begged, and then he turned and came into the house. Lot set a table for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate." We had to treat the angels, but all the family members went out and did not work together. Family members should be in a relationship of organic help. That is the assumption of faith. Abraham did.
8. This is the attitude of the sons-in-law.
Eventually, the angels decide the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and tell them to “leave”. But the sons-in-law consider it a joke. How long would Lot be joking? The children had no influence at all.
9. Lot's behavior toward his daughters is strange.
What does Lot say when the townspeople say send out the angels? Verse 8 says, “I have two daughters who have not come close to men. I beg you, I bring them down to you, and do to them whatever is good in your eyes, and do nothing to these men, since they have come into my house. .
10. The Lord tells Lot to stay away from the judgment seat.
But what kind of regret is there in the place of judgment, and Lot has regrets in a world that will be destroyed by fire. What Jesus, Paul, Moses, and the people of faith had in common was the hope of heaven and no regrets about the earth. I hope that someday, when we leave the world and go to heaven, we hope to live a life of faith that we can leave without regrets.
11. The Lord tells him to go far away, so Lot goes to the nearby Zoar.
Genesis 19:18-20 "Lot said to them, "No, my lord. Your servant has found favor with you, and you have shown me great kindness to save my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains. I am afraid, but I am faced with calamity." I'm afraid I'll die. Behold, that west is close to fleeing, and it's too small. Let me flee there. Is this not a small city, and my life will be preserved?' God tells us to leave the land of iniquity. But Lot says he likes it. However, we have to realize that the final judgment is utterly horrific and cruel beyond human imagining.
12. A wife looking back.
Genesis 19:26 'Lot's wife became a pillar of salt because she looked back' Lot had little faith, but his wife had no faith at all. She is truly a pitiful woman.
13. Sleeping with my daughters.
Genesis 19:36 'The two daughters of Lot conceived by their father' How did the daughters of Lot come up with this idea? Just as there was alcohol in the place of Job's children when they died from disaster, and alcohol in the place where Lot slept with his daughters, you must realize that there is alcohol in the place of corruption today. Do not the children born at this time become enemies of Israel in the future? The children that Lot had while drinking and having relationships with his daughters did not end there.
14. Then, what is Lot's salvation?
2 Peter 2:7 'He rescued righteous Lot from suffering because of the lewd conduct of the outlaw' Genesis 19:29 'When God destroyed the cities of the field, when he overthrew the city where Lot lived, he remembered Abraham, He sent him out while he fell.” Peter said that righteous Lot was saved from suffering, but Moses said that God was heartbroken because God thought of Abraham that he would surely die like Lot. We must look at us in this day and age through Lot. Lot was saved by faith. However, I was unable to properly control myself, had no influence on others, and just lived a life of suffering and being swept away by myself. We have to think about whether that is not what we are in this era. It is not only important to receive salvation, but to use that salvation to exert the influence of change in the world. Everyone! It is not only important to be saved, but also to realize a changed life after salvation. So, wherever we go, I pray in the name of the Lord that we can become the light and salt that causes the work of change.
(Rev. Jang Kyung-dong)