Remember Lot’s Wife!

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So many questions.

And as you will hear in this PODCAST, so many stunning answers.

Just to whet your appetite, just a few of the questions (that will indeed be answered in this podcast):

Did God engage in genocide—the wholesale slaughter of innocent men, women, and children?
What does the Bible actually say about homosexuality?
What is the real reason that God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah?

To discover the answers to these questions and more, and to learn how to read the Bible with discernment, we begin by reading 1 Peter 2:11,

Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you.

Now, as we previously discussed, Abraham did not surrender to his worldly desires that warred against his very soul, but his nephew Lot did. The stories of these two individuals were at the forefront of Peter’s mind when he wrote his epistles, particularly in regards to “foreigners and strangers on this earth”.

Let’s start with Abraham’s story from Genesis 18:

The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

3 “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4 Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. 5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”

“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures[a] of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees…

16 …Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way.

17 “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. 18 “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19 I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”

20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”

22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. 23 Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? 24 Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? 25 Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”

26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.”

29 Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”

30 “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”

And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”

31 Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?”

And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent. (Genesis 18:1-8, 16-33)

Now, we do not know what the population of Sodom nor Gomorrah were, but we do know exactly how many righteous people were living within those two cities: four. Lot, his wife, and their two daughters. That’s all.

Twenty years after Abraham and Lot separated from one another, Lot had so assimilated to the culture of Sodom that he became one of the town elders. Instead of Lot influencing Sodom, Sodom had changed Lot.

That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”

“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”

3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. (Genesis 19:1-3)

Now, if you allow me to get ahead of the story a bit. Homosexuality is a sin. As is heterosexual sin (infidelity, fornication, sex outside of marriage between one man and one woman). As is divorce. If God destroyed every community due to its rebellion against God’s will for the family, there would be no cities left on the face of the earth.

Then, if God had destroyed Sodom because its residents treated the angels inhospitably, then once again, there would be no one left on the planet since we all have inhospitable moments in our lives!

No, what we see in Genesis 19 was city wide, universal, consisting of every man in town – young and old – violent rape.

4 But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

6 So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7 “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 8 Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”

9 “Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door. (Genesis 19:4-9)

Now, before we continue, ask yourself, “What would the world look like if God allowed this type of societal cancer to thrive and spread across the globe?”

God had to surgically remove this cultural cancer for the sake of mankind.

10 But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. 11 Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

12 Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.

15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”

16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”

24 …Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:10-17, 24-26)

Abraham wanted to change the world. Lot was changed by the world. Lot lost everything – his position, his family, his reputation. Abraham is forever the father of God’s people. Lot is recalled by Jesus, Himself, when he said in Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife.”

So, keep this story in mind, along with Peter’s plea:

Dear friends, you are foreigners and strangers on this earth. So I beg you not to surrender to those desires that fight against you. (1 Peter 2:11)

(This podcast is by Dewey Bertolini. discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)