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Genesis Chapter
Nineteen
Genesis 19
Chapter Contents
The destruction of Sodom, and the deliverance of Lot.
(1-29) The sin and disgrace of Lot. (30-38)
Commentary on Genesis 19:1-29
Lot was good, but there was not one more of the same
character in the city. All the people of Sodom were very wicked and vile. Care
was therefore taken for saving Lot and his family. Lot lingered; he trifled.
Thus many who are under convictions about their spiritual state, and the
necessity of a change, defer that needful work. The salvation of the most
righteous men is of God's mercy, not by their own merit. We are saved by grace.
God's power also must be acknowledged in bringing souls out of a sinful state
If God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin. Lot must
flee for his life. He must not hanker after Sodom. Such commands as these are
given to those who, through grace, are delivered out of a sinful state and
condition. Return not to sin and Satan. Rest not in self and the world. Reach
toward Christ and heaven, for that is escaping to the mountain, short of which
we must not stop. Concerning this destruction, observe that it is a revelation
of the wrath of God against sin and sinners of all ages. Let us learn from
hence the evil of sin, and its hurtful nature; it leads to ruin.
Commentary on Genesis 19:30-38
See the peril of security. Lot, who kept chaste in Sodom,
and was a mourner for the wickedness of the place, and a witness against it,
when in the mountain, alone, and, as he thought, out of the way of temptation,
is shamefully overtaken. Let him that thinks he stands high, and stands firm,
take heed lest he fall. See the peril of drunkenness; it is not only a great
sin itself, but lets in many sins, which bring a lasting wound and dishonour.
Many a man does that, when he is drunk, which, when he is sober, he could not
think of without horror. See also the peril of temptation, even from relations
and friends, whom we love and esteem, and expect kindness from. We must dread a
snare, wherever we are, and be always upon our guard. No excuse can be made for
the daughters, nor for Lot. Scarcely any account can be given of the affair but
this, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can
know it? From the silence of the Scripture concerning Lot henceforward, learn
that drunkenness, as it makes men forgetful, so it makes them to be forgotten.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Genesis》
Genesis 19
Verse 1
[1] And
there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and
Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward
the ground;
And there came two —
Probably two of the three that had just before been with Abraham, the two
created angels who were sent to execute God's purpose concerning Sodom.
Verse 3
[3] And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered
into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and
they did eat.
And he pressed upon them greatly — Partly because he would by no means have them to expose themselves to
the perils of lodging in the streets of Sodom, and partly because he was
desirous of their converse.
Verse 4
[4] But
before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the
house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
Here were old and young all from every
quarter - The old were not past it, and the young were soon come up to it.
Either they had no magistrates to protect the peaceable, or their magistrates
were themselves aiding and abetting.
Verse 8
[8]
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you,
bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto
these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
I have two daughters — This was unadvisedly and unjustifiably offered. It is true, of two evils
we must chose the less, but of two sins we must chose neither, nor ever do evil
that good may come of it.
Verse 11
[11] 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.
And they smote the men with blindness — This was designed to put an end to their attempt, and to be an earnest
of their utter ruin the next day.
Verse 13
[13] For
we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the
face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
We will destroy this place — The holy angels are ministers of God's wrath for the destruction of
sinners, as well as of his mercy for the preservation and deliverance of his
people.
Verse 14
[14] And
Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and
said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But
he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
Up, get you out this place — The manner of expression is startling. It was not time to trifle, when
the destruction was just at the door. But he seemed to them as one that mocked
- They thought perhaps that the assault which the Sodomites had just now made
upon his house had disturbed his head, and put him into such a fright that be
knew not what he said. They that made a jest of every thing, made a jest of
that, and so perished in the overthrow. Thus many who are warned of the danger
they are in by sin, make a light matter of it; such will perish with their
blood upon their heads.
Verse 16
[16] 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.
Tho' Lot did not make a jest of the warning
as his sons-in-law, yet he lingered, he did not make so much haste as the case
required. And it might have been fatal to him, if the angels had not laid hold
on his hand, and brought him forth. Herein the Lord was merciful to him,
otherwise he might justly have left him to perish, since he was loath to
depart. If God had not been merciful to us, our lingering had been our ruin.
Verse 17
[17] And
it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape
for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape
to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
Look not behind thee — He must not loiter by the way; stay not in all the plain - For it would
all be made one dead sea: he must not take up short of the place of refuge
appointed him; escape to the mountain - Such as these are the commands given to
those who through grace are delivered out of a sinful state. 1. Return not to
sin and Satan, for that's looking back to Sodom. 2. Rest not in the world, for
that's staying in the plain. And, 3. Reach toward Christ and heaven, for that
is escaping to the mountain, short of which we must not take up.
Verse 22
[22]
Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
I cannot do any thing till thou be come
thither — The very presence of good men in a place
helps to keep off judgments. See what care God takes for the preservation of
his people!
Verse 24
[24] Then
the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD
out of heaven;
Then the Lord rained — from the Lord - God the Son, from God the Father, for the Father has
committed all judgment to the Son. He that is the Saviour will be the destroyer
of those that reject the salvation.
Verse 25
[25] And
he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and that which grew upon the ground.
And he overthrew the cities, and all the
inhabitants of them, the plain, and all that grew upon the ground - It was an
utter ruin, and irreparable; that fruitful valley remains to this day a great
lake, or dead sea. Travelers say it is about thirty miles long, and ten miles
broad. It has no living creature in it: it is not moved by the wind: the smell
of it is offensive: things do not easily sink in it. The Greeks call it
Asphaltis, from a sort of pitch which it casts up. Jordan falls into it, and is
lost there. It was a punishment that answered their sin. Burning lusts against
nature were justly punished with this preternatural burning.
Verse 26
[26] But
his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
But his wife looked back from behind him — Herein she disobeyed an express command. Probably she hankered after her
house and goods in Sodom, and was loath to leave them. Christ intimates this to
be her sin, Luke 17:31,32, she too much regarded her stuff.
And her looking back spoke an inclination to go back; and therefore our Saviour
uses it as a warning against apostasy from our Christian profession.
And she became a pillar of salt — She was struck dead in the place, yet her body did not fall down, but
stood fixed and erect like a pillar or monument, not liable to waste or decay,
as human bodies exposed to the air are, but metamorphosed into a metallic
substance, which would last perpetually. Our communion with God consists in our
gracious regard to him, and his gracious regard to us. We have here therefore
the communion that was between God and Abraham in the event concerning Sodom,
as before in the consultation concerning It; for communion with God is to be
kept up in providences as well as in ordinances.
Verse 27
[27] And
Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the
LORD:
And Abraham gat up early — And to see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place
were he had stood before the Lord.
Verse 28
[28] And
he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and
beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.
And he looked toward Sodom — Not as Lot's wife did, tacitly reflecting upon the divine severity, but
humbly adoring it, and acquiescing in it. Here is God's favourable regard to
Abraham, Genesis 19:29. As before when Abraham prayed for
Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac, so now when he prayed for Sodom, he heard for
Lot.
Verse 29
[29] And
it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God
remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he
overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.
God remembered Abraham, and for his sake sent
Lot out of the overthrow - God will certainly give an answer of peace to the
prayer of faith in his own way and time.
Verse 30
[30] And
Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with
him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar: and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two
daughters.
He feared to dwell in Zoar — Here is the great trouble and distress that Lot was brought into after
his deliverance, Genesis 19:29. He was frightened out of Zoar,
durst not dwell there, either because he was conscious to himself that it was a
refuge of his own chusing, and that therein he had foolishly prescribed to God,
and therefore could not but distrust his safety in it. Probably he found it as
wicked as Sodom; and therefore concluded it could not long survive it; or
perhaps he observed the rise and increase of those waters, which, after the
conflagration, began to overflow the plain, and which, mixing with the ruins,
by degrees made the dead sea; in those waters he concluded Zoar must needs
perish, (though it had escaped the fire) because it stood upon the same flat.
He was now glad to go to the mountain, the place which God had appointed for
his shelter. See in Lot what those bring themselves to at last, that forsake
the communion of saints for secular advantages.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on
Genesis》
19 Chapter 19
Verses 1-3
And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the
gate of Sodom
The eve of judgment to the righteous
I.
THE
RIGHTEOUS MAN IS FOUND IN THE WAY OF DUTY.
1. The duty of his calling.
2. The duty arising from the relations of human life.
II. THE RIGHTEOUS
MAN IS SEPARATE FROM SINNERS. In the world, but living above it. This
separateness, which is necessarily the mark of the righteous character,
involves:--
1. Sorrow for the spiritual state of men alienated from God.
2. A principle which regulates choice of companionship. A good man
will avoid the contagion of evil example, and be attracted to that which is
most Godlike. (T. H. Leale.)
Angel work in a bad town
I. THE REASONS
WHICH JUSTIFIED THIS SUPREME ACT OF DESTRUCTING.
1. It was a merciful warning to the rest of mankind.
2. Moreover, in this terrible act, the Almighty simply hastened the
result of their own actions.
3. Besides, this overthrow only happened after careful
investigation.
4. There is this consideration also--that, during the delay, many a
warning was sent.
5. It is worthy of notice that God saved all whom He could.
II. THE MOTIVES OF
THE ANGELS’ VISIT.
1. The proximate or nearest cause was their own love to man.
2. The efficient cause was Abraham’s prayer.
3. The ultimate cause was God’s mercy.
III. THE ANGELS
WENT TO WHERE LOT WAS--to Sodom. As a ray of light may pass through the foetid
atmosphere of some squalid court, and emerge without a stain on its pure
texture, so may angels spend a night in Sodom, surrounded by crowds of sinners,
and yet be untainted angels still. If you go to Sodom for your gains, as Lot
did, you will soon show signs of moral pollution. But if you go to save men, as
these angels did, you may go into a very hell of evil, where the air is laden
with impurity and blasphemy, but you will not be befouled. No grain of mud
shall stick.
IV. THEY WERE
CONTENT TO WORK FOR VERY FEW. It has been said that the true method of
soul-winning is to set the heart on some one soul; and to pursue it, until it has
either definitely accepted, or finally rejected, the Gospel of the grace of
God. We should not hear so many cries for larger spheres, if Christians only
realized the possibilities of the humblest life. Christ found work enough in a
village to keep Him there for thirty years. Philip was torn from the great
revival in Samaria to go into the desert to win one seeker after God.
V. THEY HASTENED
HIM. Let us hasten sinners. Let us say to each one: “Escape for thy life;
better lose all than lose your soul. Look not behind to past attainments or
failures. Linger nowhere outside the City of Refuge, which is Jesus Christ
Himself. Haste ye; habits of indecision strengthen; opportunities are closing
in; the arrow of destruction has already left the bow of justice; now is the
accepted time, now is the day of salvation.” (F. B.Meyer, B. A.)
I. THE WARNING.
1. How given. The messenger an angel! The deliverance of one man
from a temporary calamity worthy of an angel’s powers. The great privilege of
those who are permitted to save souls from eternal death. We have had many
warnings. Prophets, apostles, &c., &c. “If the word spoken by angels
was steadfast,” &c.
2. To whom given. Lot. Even he, an imperfect man, shall be saved.
“Not one of these little ones shall perish.” “None shall by any means pluck you
out of My Father’s hand.”
3. Its nature. Unprecedented. Startling. Life and death. Several
cities to be destroyed.
4. When given. On the eve of the event predicted. No time for saving
property. Life the only thing to be carried away. Presently the time will come
when we can carry nothing away with us. Are we now prepared? We may have but a
short warning, or none at all.
II. THE ESCAPE.
1. Lot receives the warning. Informs his sons-in-law. They ridiculed
it. Scoffers. Many make a mock at sin. Still worse to make a mock of religion.
Many do even this. Their “day is coming.” Was there any cause in Lot for their
scoffs? Had they not sufficient reason, in his known character, to believe him?
Imperfect piety has little influence. Probably his influence in Sodom was not
very great.
2. He lingered.
3. Compulsion was needful. The angels had to lead him forth. Strange
that men need to be coerced into accepting a great deliverance. Yet this brand
was plucked from the burning. Men have to be compelled to come in, &c.
4. Even then Lot did not wish to go as far as he could from
destruction, but to remain as near as possible.
III. THE JUDGMENT.
1. The people were employed, as usual, in their pleasures, labours,
or sins. Did not think their end was so near. So will it be at the judgment of
the world. Death may overtake us unawares.
2. Lot being at a safe distance, the fearful tempest commenced. Fire
destroyed the city, and water soon flowed over and submerged the smoking ruins.
3. Lot’s wife, looking back, was changed into a pillar of salt. None
who are on the way to heaven can look back longing on the world they leave
without injury. Old attachments are thereby strengthened, and new occupations,
&c., are made distasteful. Such declension displeasing to God.
1. The wonderful mercy of God for even imperfect Christians.
2. The duty of thankfully receiving the warning He sends.
3. The duty that lays upon us of warning men “to flee from the wrath
to come.”
4. God’s great love in providing a deliverer for us. (J. C. Gray.)
Angels’ word to Lot
1. Their humanity.
2. Their power.
I. THAT THEY HAVE
A NATURE SUPERIOR TO HUMAN INFIRMITIES.
II. THAT THEY
REGARD PARENTS AS ESPECIALLY BOUND TO SEEK THE WELFARE OF THEIR FAMILIES.
III. THAT THEY
REGARD SIN AS TOUCHING THE HEART OF THE GREAT GOD.
1. God being omniscient is cognisant of every sin.
2. God being holy must be pained by every sin.
IV. THAT THEY
REGARD THEMSELVES AS DIVINELY COMMISSIONED TO INFLICT CALAMITIES WHERE THERE IS
SIN. Conclusion:
1. Life is solemn.
2. God is great.
3. Sin is ruinous. (Homilist.)
The character of Lot
Lot’s character is a singularly mixed one. With all his
selfishness he was hospitable and public-spirited. Lover of good living, as
undoubtedly he was, his courage and strength of character are yet unmistakable.
His sitting at the gate in the evening to offer hospitality may fairly be taken
as an indication of his desire to screen the wickedness of his townsmen, and
also to shield the stranger from their brutality. From the style in which the
mob addressed him it is obvious that he had made himself offensive by
interfering to prevent wrongdoing. He was nick-named “the Censor,” and his eye
was felt to carry condemnation. It is true there is no evidence that his
opposition had been of the slightest avail. How could it avail with men who
knew perfectly well that, with all his denunciation of their wicked ways, he
preferred their money-making company to the desolation of the hills, where he
would be vexed with no filthy conversation, but would also find no markets?
Still it is to Lot’s credit that in such a city, with none to observe, none to
applaud, and none to second him, he should have been able to preserve his own
purity of life and steadily to resist wrong-doing. It would be cynical to say
that he cultivated austerity and renounced popular vices as a salve to a
conscience wounded by his own greed. That he had the courage which lies at the
root of strength of character became apparent as the last dark night of Sodom
wore on. To go out among a profligate, lawless mob, wild with passion and
infuriated by opposition--to go out and shut the door behind him--was an act of
true courage. His confidence in the influence he had gained in the town cannot
have blinded him to the temper of the raging crowd at his door. To defend his
unknown guests he put himself in a position in which men have frequently lost
life. In the first few hours of his last night in Sodom there is much that is
admirable and pathetic in Lot’s conduct. But when we have said that he was bold
and that he hated other men’s sins, we have exhausted the more attractive side
of his character. The inhuman collectedness of mind with which, in the midst of
a tremendous public calamity, he could scheme for his own private wen-being is
the key to his whole character. He had no feeling, lie was cold-blooded,
calculating, keenly alive to his own interest, with all his wits about him to
reap some gain to himself out of every disaster; the kind of man out of whom wreckers
are made, who can with gusto strip gold rings off the fingers of doomed
corpses; out of whom are made the villains who can rifle the pockets of their
dead comrades on a battle-field, or the politicians who can still ride on the
top of the wave that hurls their country on the rocks. (M. Dods, D. D.)
Lot’s hospitality
Lot would fain have been as hospitable as Abraham. Deeper in his
nature than any other consideration was the traditional habit of hospitality.
To this he would have sacrificed everything; the rights of strangers were to
him truly inviolable. Lot was a man who could as little see strangers without
inviting them to his house as Abraham could. He would have treated them
handsomely as his uncle; and what he could do he did. But Lot had by his choice
of a dwelling made it impossible he should afford safe and agreeable lodging to
any visitor, lie did his best, and it was not his reception of the angels that
sealed Sodom’s doom, and yet what shame he must have felt that he had put
himself in circumstances in which his chief virtue could not be practised. So
do men tie their own hands and cripple themselves so that even the good they
would take pleasure in doing is either wholly impossible or turns to evil. (M.
Dods, D. D.)
Verses 4-11
But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to
them, and shut to the door
The eve of judgment to sinners
I.
THEIR
WICKEDNESS IS UNABATED.
1. It extends to all classes of the community.
2. It includes the most shameful lusts.
3. It opposes the righteous to the last.
II. THEY EXPOSE
THEMSELVES TO INFLICTIONS WHICH FORESHADOW FUTURE JUDGMENTS. Blindness-moral as
well as physical.
III. THEIR CONDUCT
OFTEN BECOMES A SOURCE OF DANGEROUS PERPLEXITY TO THE RIGHTEOUS (see Genesis 19:5; Genesis 19:8). Lot was prepared to violate
one duty in order to maintain another. Let a man do right, and put his trust in
God. (T. H. Leale.)
Shamelessness of sinners
Their shameless speech to have the men brought out that they might
know them, very notably discovereth unto us the impudency that sin effecteth in
time, when it once getteth rule. Surely it taketh all modesty, and shame, and
honesty away, and proveth the saying to be most true: Consuctudo peccandi
tollit sensum peccati. The custom of sin taketh away all sense and feeling
of sin. At the beginning men shame to have it known what they do, though they
fear not to do it, and they will use all cloaks and covers that possible they
can to hide their wickedness. But at last they grow bold and, impudent, as
these men did, even to say what care we. And why? Certainly because this is the
course of sin in God’s judgment, that it shall benumb and harden the heart
wherein it is suffered, and so sear up the conscience, and conceit in time,
that there shall be no shame left, but such a thick vizard pulled over the
face, that it can blush at nothing, either to say it or do it. Behold these
brazen-brewed wretches here, who, after long use of sin (no doubt at first more
secret), are now come to require these men openly and to tell the cause, that
they might know them without all shame or spark of shame, in, and at so
horrible abomination. Marvel not then any more, that the adulterer blusheth
not, the drunkard shameth not, nor the blaspheming swearer hideth not his face.
You see the reason; custom to do evil in that kind hath utterly bereaved him of
feeling and shame as it did these Sodomites. A heavy and fearful case for God’s
plague is even at the door of such people, as you see it was here for these
Sodomites. It was well said of him that said it, if God take from a man his
bodily eye that he cannot see, or his bodily ear that he cannot hear, every man
seeth the judgment and perceiveth the loss; but when God in wrath taketh away
the inward eye and ear of the mind and heart, that what sin soever he committeth,
he neither seeth, nor heareth, nor feeleth, no man thinketh this a plague, or
any rod of God. But O fearful plague! etc. (Bishop Babington.)
Mild speech to pacify
In Lot’s going out to them, shutting the door after him, and
calling them brethren, we may note a godly discretion and wisdom in dealing to
pacify outrageous beasts. Fire quencheth not fire, but milder and softer
speeches many times, and most times appeaseth disorder, though here it could
not, for the strength of sin that had so mightily possessed them. To brute
beasts are overcome with fair speeches, and become tame; a soft answer breaketh
anger, when a cutting tongue stirreth up wrath. Full of grace is that man and
woman that can be mild and sweet to effect goodness. (Bishop Babington.)
Blindness.
1. Physical. They lost the power of distinct vision.
2. Mental. They were the subjects of illusions. The imagination was
diseased, so that they were deceived by false appearances. They acted as
distracted persons.
3. Moral. They madly persisted in their designs, though an act of
Providence had rendered it impossible of accomplishment.
Judgment at hand
The Scriptural signs that the judgment is near are:--
1. That God abandons men or communities to out-breaking and
presumptuous sins.
2. That warnings and chastisements fail to produce their effect, and
especially when the person grows harder under them.
3. That God removes the good from any community--so, before the
flood, so before the destruction of Jerusalem.
4. The deep, undisturbed security of those over whom it is
suspended. (Gosman.)
God’s time to strike
Many a one is hardened by the good word of God, and, instead of
receiving the counsel, rages at the messenger; when men are grown to that pass,
that they are no whir better by afflictions, and worse with admonitions, God
finds it time to strike. (Bishop Hall.)
Verse 12
Hast thou here any besides?
--
A solemn inquiry concerning our families
I. Such a question
as this APPEALS TO OUR NATURAL AFFECTION. Surely, unless we have lost manhood,
we love our kindred and desire their good. We have not yet become like the
ostriches in the wilderness, which care not for their young. Our flesh has not
congealed into marble, nor are our hearts become like millstones; we have a
very tender concern for those united to us by ties of nature, and esteem them
as parts of ourselves. What parent is not glad to see his children in good
health? We will watch them all through the weary night when they are ill, and
can we not pray for them when they are sick with sin? Parents, be parents
indeed. Brothers, act a true fraternal part. Sisters, let your tender love find
a fitting channel. Husbands and wives, let your conjugal union awaken you to
tenderest emotions. Let every fond relationship stir us to care for others,
while the inquiry is made: “Hast thou here any besides?”
II. The question
is one which AROUSES HOLY SOLICITUDE. To provoke you to earnest solicitude this
morning, let me remind you of times when we should be anxious about our friends
and children.
1. When first we ourselves look to Christ, we should care for
others. We would not eat our morsel alone, lest it grow stale through our
selfishness. This wood drops with honey; we cannot eat it all, let us call
others to taste its sweetness.
2. Then there are times of Christian enjoyment.
3. Me-thinks when we are downcast, when our soul is filled with
bitter trouble, then also is an appropriate season to pray for others. God turned
the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, and he may turn our
captivity when we do the same.
4. It may also help to stimulate this holy solicitude, to think of
how we shall feel in regard to our children and friends when they come to lie
sick.
Can we gaze upon their pallid countenances without bitter
reproaches for our past supineness?
5. Think, again, how you would care for your friends if you were
yourself this morning very nigh unto death. You cannot come back from heaven;
if you have neglected a duty, you cannot leave heaven to perform it.
III. Such a
question as this is calculated to EXCITE US TO ANXIOUS EFFORT for mere
solicitude without effort is not genuine. A man must not pretend that he cares
for the souls of others so long as he leaves one stone unturned which might be
the means of blessing them.
1. It seems to me, then, that if we are in a right state of heart
this morning, one of the first things we shall do will be to tell those dear to
us of their danger. Let not thy friend perish through ignorance. Tell him that
whosoever cometh unto Christ He will in no wise cast out; that there is life in
a look at the crucified Saviour; that whosoever believeth that Jesus is the
Christ, is born of God. Preach no salvation by works; but preach faith, and
works only as the fruit of faith; and let the doctrine that Christ came to seek
and to save that which was lost be clearly set before thy friend’s face.
2. Remember it is not enough coldly to warn them of danger and
doctrinally to teach the remedy. There are many who will go so far; but I hold,
my brethren and sisters, that we are bound to use a constraint with our
friends. Do not misunderstand me--only a loving and a tender constraint, such
as these angels used with Lot. Press them, plead with them, take them by the
hand. I remember an old man who was a nursing-father to all the young men in
the parish where he lived. This one thing he used to do; there was scarcely a
lad whom he would not know and speak to, and there was a time with most of the
lads when he specially sought to see them decided. Suppose one of them was
going away to London, he would be sure to ask him to have a cup of tea with
him. “You are going away, John,” he would say; “I should not like you to go
without spending an evening with me.” If it was a fine sunshiny evening, he
would say, “You know I have often talked to you about the things of God, and I
am afraid that as yet there has been no impression produced. You are going to
London, and will meet with many temptations, and I fear you may fall into them,
but I should like to pray with you once before you go. Let us walk down the
field together.” There was a tree, an old oak tree, in a solitary place, where
he would say, “To help you to recollect my words better, we will pray under
this tree.” The young and the old knelt together, and the old man poured out
his soul before God; and when he had wrestled with
God, and talked with his young friend, he would say, “Now, when I
am dead and gone, you will perhaps come back to the place where you lived when
a youth; let that tree be a witness between God and your soul, that here I
wrestled with you; and if you forget God, and do not give your heart to Christ,
let that tree stand to accuse your conscience till it yields to the entreaties
of Divine love.” Now here was a using of what I have styled constraint; but it
is not a constraint, as physical force; of course that is never to be used; but
the constraint of spiritual force, Divine love, and earnestness. May I ask
whether we have all done our duty in this matter?
IV. Our text
FOSTERS A VERY CHEERING HOPE. It says, “Hast thou here any besides?” as much as
if it would say, “Hope for them all. Why should they not all be brought out of
Sodom? Why should one be left behind?”
V. The text
SUGGESTS A VERY SOLEMN FEAR, namely, that there may be some in our households
who will not be saved. Ah! young men and women; ah! you who are fathers of
Christian children, but not converted yourselves; you who are godless daughters
and unregenerate sons of Christian people, you are lost now, you may be lost
for ever l Lot’s sons-in-law were consumed, and why not you? Saved shall the
patriarch be, but not saved the patriarch’s son, except he shall flee out of
Sodom. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Lessons
1. While God blinds the wicked, He maketh way for His servants to
escape.
2. Sweet is the providence, and solicitous is the care of God by His
angel over His saints to save them.
3. Sons and daughters fare the better with God for being related to
holy parents.
4. God calleth His, and all that are near and dear to Him, out of
the place upon which vengeance is determined (Revelation 18:4).
5. Approaching vengeance discovered should make saints quit themselves
from among the wicked (Genesis 19:12).
6. When the cry of sins groweth great against God’s face, it is time
for saints to haste from thence.
7. Jehovah commissions destroyers to blot out the wicked in the
earth. 8, Good angels are sometimes commissioned to destroy the wicked as well
as to save the righteous. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Verse 14
He seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law
Danger despised
I.
LET
US ATTEND TO THE EXHORTATION ADDRESSED BY LOT TO HIS SONS-IN-LAW. THERE IS A
CLOSE PARALLEL BETWEEN THEIR SITUATION AND OUR OWN.
1. We are living, like them, amongst wicked men.
2. We are exposed, like them, to Divine judgment.
3. We are plied, like them, with overtures of mercy.
II. LET US ATTEND
TO THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SONS-IN-LAW OF LOT RECEIVED HIS EXHORTATION. THERE
IS A CLOSE PARALLEL BETWEEN THEIR CONDUCT AND THAT OF MANY OF OURSELVES.
1. Like them, we reject as mockery the demonstration of our danger.
2. Like them, we reject as mockery the offer of a method of escape.
3. Like them, we reject as mockery all earnestness in pressing on
our attention the means of deliverance.
III. LET US ATTEND
TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SONS-IN-LAW OF LOT RECEIVED HIS
EXHORTATION. THERE IS A CLOSE PARALLEL BETWEEN THEIR DOOM AND OURS IF WE DIE IN
A STATE OF UNBELIEF. Here we may appeal--
1. To the declarations of the Almighty.
2. To the facts of history. The old world. The cities of the plain.
3. To the dictates of reason.
4. To the attributes of God. His truth and holiness. (G. Brooks.)
Lot’s message to his sons-in-law: an illustration of the
preacher’s message to the ungodly world
The context strikes several things forcibly on our attention.
1. The incongruity between the material and moral departments of
existence in this world. In Sodom we find natural beauty and harmony in
conjunction with moral deformity and discord.
2. The amazing power which prayer has with the Governor of the Genesis 18:23-33).
3. The existence of a moral government in connection with the
conduct of man.
4. The deep interest of angelic intelligences in human history.
I. LOT’S MESSAGE
TO HIS SONS-IN-LAW WAS ALARMING IN ITS NATURE. “The Lord will destroy the
city.”
1. Their peril was great.
2. Their peril was the result of sin.
3. Their peril was just at hand.
4. Their peril at this moment was unavoidable.
II. HIS MESSAGE TO
HIS SONS-IN-LAW WAS FOUNDED ON THE DIVINE AUTHORITY.
1. The danger of which the gospel preacher warns the unconverted is
not a dream of his own; it is a fact of Divine revelation.
2. The proclamation of this danger to the unconverted is not
optional on the preacher’s part; he is bound by heaven to do it
III. His MESSAGE TO
HIS SONS-IN-LAW WAS SCEPTICALLY RECEIVED.
1. The appearance of things remaining unchanged. “Since the fathers
fell asleep,” &c.
2. The force of old associations.
3. A false trust in the mercy of God. (Homilist.)
Disregard of religion and its consequences
Lot’s sons-in-law were probably void of faith and of the fear of
God, minding only the things of this world, and resolved not to leave the
possessions and conveniences which they enjoyed in that wicked country. And if
so, they might easily frame to themselves objections to their father’s counsel,
and a plea for their own conduct. But they learned, when it was too late, that
his advice was sober and true.
I. NOTHING IS
MORE IMPORTANT AND SERIOUS, AS NOTHING IS MORE CERTAIN, THAN ARE THE TRUTHS
WHICH RELIGION PRESENTS TO OUR CONSIDERATION.
II. And yet,
secondly, THERE ARE MANY WHO TREAT RELIGION WITH DISDAIN AND DISREGARD. In
worldly affairs persons are seen to act usually with attention and earnestness;
they made a due use of their reason, and consider what they are about. Thus
they act, not only in things of great consequence, relating to their life,
their health, their liberty, their fortunes, their family, their honour and
credit, but even in slighter matters, to obtain a small profit, or to escape a
small inconvenience. Nothing is neglected, nothing is put off to an uncertain
day; instruction is attentively received and put in execution. But as to
religion, there is not this zeal and activity; it is not carefully weighed,
scarcely can it obtain a fair hearing; favourable opportunities are neglected,
opportunities which slip away, and are never to be recalled, and everything
that should be done is left undone.
III. Let us
consider, thirdly, WHENCE PROCEEDS THIS STRANGE INDIFFERENCE AND NEGLECT. It
proceeds in a great measure from want of faith, which is an evil more common
than is imagined. Some men there are who have received good natural abilities,
which they employ to bad purposes. Of these talents God giveth them the use,
and the devil teacheth them the application. They argue themselves out of their
religion, and then apply themselves to debauch the minds of others, and to
treat serious and sacred things with levity, licentiousness, and ridicule.
Pernicious books and corrupt conversation spread the contagious disease. (J.
Jortin, D. D.)
On the guilt and the consequences of despising the Divine
threatenings
I. Let us, in the
first place, ATTEND TO THE EXHORTATION ADDRESSED BY LOT TO HIS SONS-IN-LAW.
“Up; get you out of this place: for the Lord will destroy this city.” Consider
what was the situation of these men. They dwelt in a city subject to the
dominion of sin. They dwelt in a city which, in consequence of its sinfulness,
deserved immediate destruction; in a city which, when time and opportunity
abundantly sufficient for trial and repentance had been afforded, was devoted
to immediate destruction. The Divine mercy still extended to them one respite,
one opportunity, one warning more. Such, then, is your situation. Such is the
situation of every one who hears the sound of the gospel. Contagion surrounds
you; destruction lies before you. You are defiled, miserable, and helpless. Yet
still there is a call of mercy; still there is a way to escape. The God whom
you have offended places deliverance within your reach. The Son of God becomes
man, and gives His life to purchase your salvation.
II. Consider, in
the next place, THE MANNER IN WHICH THE SONS-IN-LAW OF LOT RECEIVED HIS AWFUL
ADMONITION. He seemed unto them as one that mocked. Their conduct discloses to
us their character. They had evidently set their hearts on the worldly
advantages which, in their apprehension, attended the place where they resided;
and they made little account of its wickedness. In many respects the conduct of
a large portion of the world bears at this day a close resemblance to that of
the sons-in-laws of Lot, and arises from the same principles. When the great
doctrines of the gospel are proposed as comprehending and disclosing the
appointed method of salvation; what numbers disregard or despise them! When the
holy commandments of God are explained and enforced as indispensably and in
every particular binding upon every man, what numbers withhold their assent
from the strictness of such interpretations of the Scriptures! When the terrors
of the world to come are displayed, when the wrath and vengeance of God are
revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, what numbers
refuse to credit the tremendous truth! The minister of the gospel seemeth unto
them as one that mocketh.
III. Consider, in
the third place, THE CONSEQUENCES OF TREATING AS AN IDLE TALE, AS THE WORDS OF
ONE THAT MOCKETH, THE DECLARATIONS OF ALMIGHTY GOD. They brought ruin upon
themselves and their posterity. (T. Gisborne, D. D.)
Lessons
1. Good fathers make haste in midst of dangers to keep their
children from destruction, being fore-warned of God’s judgments.
2. Gracious parents are earnest with children to press on counsels
for their good and safety.
3. Near relations in the flesh, though wicked, yet are dear unto
gracious souls to save them.
4. Faith concerning God’s judgments revealed will put gracious
hearts upon hastening others out of them.
5. Places of habitation when they be places of vengeance, as well as
of sin, must be abhorred and forsaken by God’s saints.
6. Cities though ever so strong and stately cannot secure sinners
from ruin. It and they shall perish.
7. Jehovah is the author of destruction upon places of wickedness,
who cannot be resisted.
8. God sends messengers of salvation sometimes to the vilest of men,
to Lot’s sons, &c.
9. God, His messengers, and His messages of vengeance, are all but
scorns and derisions to wicked men.
10. Secure scorning of destruction from God is the immediate
forerunner of it, as here. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The last night in Sodom
If you had been in Sodom on that solemn, awful evening you would
never have suspected it. There was nothing outwardly to show that terrible
scenes were at hand, even at the door. No weird omens were observed that night;
no strange sounds disturbed the superstitious. No fiery sword was seen hanging
over the city, in token that the sword of the Almighty’s wrath was at last
unsheathed. No signs appeared in the sun as he sank peacefully to rest. The
cattle came lowing home from the fields, and the sheep-dogs barked, and the
voices of children at play were heard. And then darkness fell; and the chirping
of a myriad insects rose on the stillness of the Eastern night; and the stars
looked down upon the quiet scene; and the moon shone, for the last time, on the
great doomed city. But within Lot’s dwelling a solemn conference was being
held, and Lot’s heart was heavy and disturbed. Full of sadness was he for the
heedless, unrepenting people; full of anxiety for those dear to him in that
place. And then he hurried out in the darkness to warn his relatives, and to
urge on them immediate flight; and they--how true to life it all is!--laughed
at him! They treated the matter as a fine joke, and the more earnest his
entreaties, the more boisterous grew their mirth. And so the night wore on, and
then the day began to break, and the angels hurried, nay, forced Lot out of the
city. But with the morning light the scoffer waxed bolder still. “What of thy
coward fears of the night, O righteous Lot?” he mockingly begins, but the words
die away on his lips. Ah! what means this strange, unearthly gloom--this lurid,
awful flame, in which earth and heaven seem joined in one? What this terrible
sense of suffocation--this scorching, choking downpour? The lightning plays,
and the thunder rolls--shock upon shock is felt--shriek rises upon
shriek--confusion, horror, uproar! Woe! woe! woe! . . . A few hours later, and
a silence still more awful . . . And the sun, as he rides high in the heavens,
looks down upon a smoking mass of desolation--“And the smoke of the city went
up as the smoke of a furnace!” (J. B. C. Murphy, B. A.)
Warnings disregarded by sinners
What a chance (which never came again) the sons of Lot missed that
evening! But do you know what they said? They said he was an alarmist! “The old
man is in his dotage,” laughed one,” and some one has been frightening him.”
“Never heed him,” cried another, “he is ever thus, croaking about the
wickedness of the place, and telling us we are all going to be destroyed. He
has been saying it for years--and nothing has ever happened yet!” Ah, that’s
just where it is! “Nothing has ever happened yet!” And so, when the preacher
warns the open sinner of his danger, and urges him to escape from his sin--to
escape for his life--he is laughed at, and he is called an alarmist. But every
one who has ever tried to press home a truth that has been unwelcome--to warn
people of a danger that they would rather believe to be impossible--has been
called an Alarmist. Noah was an “Alarmist.” Lot was an “Alarmist.” The prophets
who foretold the destruction of Jerusalem were “Alarmists,” and many a
one who foresaw and foretold the Indian Mutiny of 1857 was called an
“Alarmist.” And so, at the risk of being called an “Alarmist” I would take up
and echo this cry. Art thou living in a Sodom of wilful sin--a Sodom of
uncleanness, or drunkenness, or not?--then “Escape for thy life!” (J. B. C.
Murphy, B. A.)
As one that mocked
Look at Lot going through the streets of Sodom at midnight to warn
his sons of the approaching destruction of the city, only to be reviled and
mocked by them. Mr. Moody once said that he remembered being in an American
city a few years ago, and there came unto the after-meeting an old grey-headed
man, who for years had been wandering from God. In early life that old man had
walked with God, and had found fellowship with Him; but for a number of years
past he had been wandering in the darkness and agony of sin. He (Mr. Moody)
said to him, “God is very merciful, and He will forgive you,” and gave him a
number of passages of Scripture, and sat up with him until midnight. About that
hour the light broke in upon the old man, and the Lord restored to him the joy
of his salvation, and the old man went on his way rejoicing. The next night the
old man came into the meeting looking the very picture of despair; he did not
think he had ever seen a sadder countenance, and he asked him what his trouble
was. The old man replied that he had spent the most wretched day of his life.
His family had grown up and lived in that city. He had that day wandered from
house to house, and had not seen a child who did not mock him. The old man
added that he now realized what he had done; he had taken his children into the
world, and could not get them out again.
Verse 15
When the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot
Hastening Lot
I.
THE
RIGHTEOUS NEED TO BE HASTENED.
1. In what?
2. Why?
3. By what means?
II. THE SINNERS
NEED TO BE HASTENED.
1. Sinners are very slow, and apt to linger.
2. Our business is to hasten them.
3. We have many arguments with which to hasten them. May the Holy
Spirit make them see--
The lingerer
I. WHY IS IT,
THAT IN THE ESCAPE OF THE SOUL, MEN SO LINGER?
1. The first cause is the entanglement of their affections with
worldly things.
2. Another cause of Lot’s irresoluteness would be the refusal of his
sons-in-law and of their wives, his daughters, to escape with him.
3. Other causes of lingering there may be peculiar to yourselves.
II. Need I point
out to YOU THE PERIL OF LINGERING? It is strikingly illustrated by the
narrowness of Lot’s escape. How nigh he was to the fate that overtook his wife!
How closely his reluctance, which the angels had to force, must have approached
to her disobedience, which they had to punish! And how affecting this separation!
She who left Sodom with him was not to enter Zoar with him. (H. Allon.)
A reason for haste
A Christian tradesmen bethought him that he had never spoken to a
certain regular customer about his soul, though the man had called at his shop
for years. He determined to plead earnestly with him the next time he came in
his way. There was no next time; his customer died suddenly, so that he saw him
no more. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Spiritual concerns first
When a young man made an open profession of the gospel, his father,
greatly offended, gave him this advice: “James, you should first get yourself
established in a good trade, and then think of the matter of religion.”
“Father,” said the son, “Jesus Christ advises me differently; He says, ‘Seek ye
first the kingdom of God.’” (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Urgency needed
“Brother,” said a dying man, “why have you not been more pressing
with me about my soul?” “Dear James,” replied the brother, “I have spoken to
you several times.” “Yes,” was the answer, “you are not to blame; but you were
always so quiet over it; I wish you had gone on your knees to me, or had taken
me by the neck and shaken me, for I have been careless, and have nearly slept
myself into hell.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
No time to lose
The poor needle-woman with her inch of candle has work to finish.
See how her fingers fly, for she fears lest she should be left in darkness, and
her work undone. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Inducement to hasten
Do not some professors cause sinners to loiter by their own
loitering? A man taking a seat at the Tabernacle came to the minister and said,
“Sir, do I understand that if I became a seat-holder I shall be expected to be
converted?” “Yes,” was the reply, “I hope you will, and I pray that it may be
so. Do you object?” The answer was, “Oh, sir, I desire it above everything.”
Was not the man hastened by the general feeling of hopefulness which pervaded
the Church? Assuredly there is much in the atmosphere which surrounds a man.
Among warm-hearted Christians it is hard for the careless to remain indifferent.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 16
He lingered
Perilous procrastination
I.
I
MUST BEGIN BY SPEAKING TO THE PERSON WHO IS LINGERING HIMSELF. I should like to
ask you, my beloved friend, if this matter about which you are still hesitating
is not of vital importance to you? Do you think you ought to put off all
preparation for the future that awaits you? If I knew that some one was about
to defraud you of your estate, and that unless you were diligent about it you
would lose all your property, I think I should say to you, “Bestir yourself.”
If I knew that some deadly disease had begun to prey upon your constitution,
and that if neglected it would soon gain an ascendancy with which ‘twere hard
to grapple, I think I should say, “Go to the physician. Do not delay; for
bodily health is a boon to be prized.” I can scarcely recall the details of a
little incident in Russian history which might illustrate the emergency: but
the fact, as far as my memory serves, was this. The Czar had died suddenly, and
in the dead of the night one of the counsellors of the empire came to the
Princess Elizabeth and said to her, “You must come at once and take possession
of the crown.” She hesitated, for there were difficulties in the way, and she
did not desire the position; but he said, “Now, sit down, Princess, for a
minute.” Then he drew her two pictures. One was the picture of herself and the
Count thrown into prison, racked with tortures, and presently both brought out
to die beneath the axe. “That,” he said, “you can have if you like.” The other
picture was of herself with the imperial crown of all the Russias on her brow,
and all the princes bowing before her, and all the nation doing her homage. “That,”
said he, “is the other side of the question. But, to-night, your Majesty must
choose which it shall be.” With the two pictures vividly depicted before her
mind’s eye she did not hesitate long, but cast in her choice for the crown. If
you decide for Christ, and trust in Him, you shall enter into the bliss of
those who for ever and for ever, without admixture of grief, enjoy felicity
before the throne of God. To my mind, there ought to be no halting as to the
choice.
II. LET ME REMIND
THE LINGERER THAT WHILE HE LINGERS HE ENDANGERS THE SOULS OF OTHER PEOPLE. When
Lot lingered--he was defeating his own purpose, and doing the worst imaginable
thing, if he wanted to convince his sons-in-law that he spake the truth; for
while he lingered, they would say, “The old fool does not believe it himself,
for if he did believe it, he would pack up and haste away; nay, he would take
his daughters by the hand and lead them out of the city at once.” But, hark ye,
man, with what face dost thou reprove others whilst thou art not decided
thyself? Where is thy consistency? Let me venture to make one other observation
here. I should not wonder if the death of Lot’s wife might not partly be
attributed to Lot himself. If you think that this is a severe reflection, I
would remind you that she must have seen her husband hesitate. Oh, undecided
father! I should dread to have thee think, in years to come, “The loss of my
children’s souls was due to my procrastination.” Alas, it may be so--it may be
so!
III. THE MEANS BY
WHICH GOD IS PLEASED AT TIMES TO ROUSE THE LINGERERS. Let us pray for them,
that they may by some means be hastened. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Lingerers hastened
I. First, I have
to speak TO GOD’S MESSENGERS. I hope they are very numerous in this church.
Every believer should be an ambassador from heaven.
1. I speak solemnly to you who have wept over Jerusalem, and who are
proving your true love to souls by your exertions for them, and I remind you,
in the first place, that it is a glorious work to seek to save men, and that for
its sake you should be willing to put up with the greatest possible
inconveniences. The angels never hesitated when they were bidden to go to
Sodom. They descended without demur and went about their work without delay.
2. Note again--I still speak to those who are messengers of God to
men’s souls--when you go to lost souls, you must, as these angels did, tell
them plainly their condition and their danger. “Up,” said they, “for God will
destroy this place.” If you really long to save men’s souls, you must tell them
a great deal of disagreeable truth.
3. When we have affectionately and plainly told the sinner that the
wages of his sin will be death, and that woe will come upon him because of his
unbelief, we must go farther, and must, in the name of our Lord Jesus, exhort
the guilty one to escape from the deserved destruction. Observe, that these
angels, though they understood that God had elected Lot to be saved, did not
omit a single exhortation or leave the work to itself, as though it were to be
done by predestination apart from instrumentality. How impressive is each
admonition! What force and eagerness of love gleams in each entreaty!
4. Learn, still further, from the case before us, where words
suffice not, as they frequently will not, you must adopt other modes of
pressure. The angel took them by the hand. I have much faith under God in close
dealings with men; personal entreaties, by the power of the Holy Spirit, do
wonders.
5. I thought, as I read my text, that it gave us a striking example
of doing all we can. Lot and his wife, and the two daughters--well, that was
four--the angels had only four hands, so that they did all that they
could--there was a hand for each. You notice the text expressly says, they took
hold of the hand of Lot, and the hand of his wife, and the hand of his two
daughters. There were no more persons, and no more helping hands, so that there
was just enough instrumentality, but there was not a hand to spare. I wish
there were in this church no idle hands, but that each believer had both hands
occupied in leading souls to Jesus Christ.
6. Observe, also, that as those angels set us an example in using
all their power, so they also encourage us to perseverance, for they ceased not
to exhort till they had brought Lot out of danger. We must never pause in our
efforts for any man till he is either saved or the funeral bell has tolled for
him.
7. I will say no more to these messengers of God except this, that
we ought to remember that we are the messengers of God’s mercy to the sons of
men. The text tells us, “The Lord being merciful unto him.” The angels
had not come to Lot themselves; they were the embodiment and outward embodiment
and outward display of God’s mercy. Christians in the world should view
themselves as manifestations of God’s mercy to sinners, instruments of grace,
servants of the Holy Spirit. Now, mercy is a nimble attribute. Justice lingers;
it is shod with lead, but the feet of mercy are winged. Mercy delights to
perform its office. So should it be with us a delight to do good to men.
II. To You, O
LINGERERS, I NOW SPEAK, hoping to be the means, by God’s grace, of driving you
out of this lingering.
1. I shall begin--O you that are baiting between two opinions--by
asking you, Wherefore do you linger? Lot, I think, loitered because he had much
property in and around the city. As to Lot’s daughters, I know not why they
lingered, but, peradventure, there were some very dear to them in the city. Do
you reply that you do not believe in the danger? Then am I indeed sorry for
you, for the danger is none the less sure. Do you linger because you doubt the
way of escape? Or, perhaps, you think you do not need it. It is possible that
the reason why you linger is, that you indulge some favourite sin. Yet,
perhaps, I have not touched the right reason for your lingering. You, perhaps,
are subject to an idleness of spirit, a natural inaction and lethargy. I think
in most cases this is the root of the matter. You are not bestirred about soul
affairs, you are too idle to come to decision. But you must come to it or die.
I fear me, that in some cases, though I know not of many in this place, I fear
me that this whole matter is despised. If religion be a lie, do not pretend to
believe it; say so, and be honest, and take the consequences; but, if it be
true, act upon it.
2. Well, I have put the question, Wherefore do you linger? but now I
want to say two or three words to you, and they shall be to this
effect--Wherewith shall we hasten you? These few considerations, hurriedly
offered, I hope will not be forgotten.
Lot: a beacon
I. WHAT LOT WAS
HIMSELF.
1. Lot was a true believer--a converted person--a real child of
God--a justified soul--a righteous man. Is any one of my readers a traveller in
the narrow way which leads unto life? So also was Lot.
2. Before we pass on, let us remember that a true Christian may have
many a blemish, many a defect, many an infirmity, and yet be a true Christian
nevertheless. We do not despise gold because it is mixed with much dross. We
must not undervalue grace because it is accompanied by much corruption.
II. WHAT THE TEXT
TELLS US ABOUT LOT’S BEHAVIOUR. “He lingered.” Now, there are many Christian
men and Christian women in this day very like Lot. There are many real children
of God who appear to know far more than they live up to, and see far more than
they practise, and yet continue in this state for many years. Wonderful that
they go as far as they do, and yet go no further I They hold the Head, even
Christ, and love the truth. They like sound preaching, and assent to every
article of Gospel doctrine, when they hear it. But still there is an
indescribable something which is not satisfactory about them. They believe in
heaven, and yet seem faintly to long for it; and in hell, and yet seem little
to fear it. They love the Lord Jesus; but the work they do for Him is small.
They hate the devil; but they often appear to tempt him to come to them. They
know the time is short; but they live as if it were long. They know they have a
battle to fight; yet a man might think they were at peace. They know they have
a race to run; yet they often look like people sitting still. They know the
Judge is at the door, and there is wrath to come; and yet they appear half
asleep. Astonishing they should be what they are, and yet be nothing more! And
what shall we say of these people? They often puzzle godly friends and
relations. They often cause great anxiety. They often give rise to great doubts
and searchings of heart. But they may be classed under one sweeping
description--they are all brethren and sisters of Lot. They linger.
III. THE REASONS
THAT MAY ACCOUNT FOR LOT’S LINGERING.
1. He made a wrong choice in early life.
2. He mixed with sinners when there was no occasion for his doing
so.
IV. WHAT KIND OF
FRUIT LOT’S LINGERING SPIRIT BORE AT LAST.
1. He did no good among the inhabitants of Sodom.
2. He helped none of his family, relatives, or connections towards
heaven.
3. He left no evidences behind him when he died. (Bishop Ryle.)
Lessons
1. Saints by infirmity may delay their own salvation, when hastened
by the messengers of God. Flesh may hinder and delay.
2. Providence orders His angels to take hold of hands to deliver,
when they cannot persuade hearts. Works shall do what words did not.
3. God’s angels leave not the conduct of His saints until they set
them without danger.
4. God’s free grace and mercy to His servants is the only cause of
all their deliverance by angels (Genesis 19:16). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Folly of procrastination
The Spanish proverb says, “That which the fool does in the end,
the wise man does in the beginning.” The wise with a good grace what the fool
with an ill; the one to much profit, what the other to little or none. A word
worth laying to heart; for, indeed, that purchase of the sybilline books by the
Roman king, what significant symbol it is of that which at one time or another,
or, it may be, at many times, is finding place in almost every man’s life; the
same thing to be done in the end, the same price to be paid at the last, with
only the difference that much of the advantage, as well as grace, of an earlier
compliance, has passed away. (Archbishop Trench.)
Impious lives contagious
The impious lives of the wicked are as contagious as the most
fearful plague that infects the air. When the doves of Christ lie among such
pots, their yellow feathers are sullied. You may observe that in the oven the
fine bread frequently hangs upon the coarse, but the coarse very seldom adheres
to the fine. If you mix an equal portion of sour vinegar and sweet wine
together, you will find that the vinegar will sooner sour the wine than the
wine sweeten the vinegar. That is a sound body that continues healthful in a
pest-house. It is a far greater wonder to see a saint maintain his purity among
sinners than it is to behold a sinner becoming pure among saints. Christians
are not always like fish which retain their freshness in a salt sea; or like
the rose which preserves its sweetness among the most noisome weeds; or like
the fire which burns the hottest when the season is coldest. The Lord’s people,
by keeping evil company, are like persons who are much exposed to the
sun--insensibly tanned. (J. Secker.)
Golden moments
In the life of every individual there are moments of such
transcendent interest that they may be called golden. Several years ago the
writer heard an aged minister state that, while Dr. Dwight was president of
Yale College, two young men who listened to those masterly discourses which
have since been published, were deeply impressed with a sense of their
sinfulness and peril. One proposed to the other that they should call on the
Doctor, and talk with him. They started arm-in-arm. When they reached the
doctor’s house, one refused to enter. The other went in. He who remained out of
doors returned to his room, but from that time ceased to manifest any interest.
“He who entered,” said the speaker, “became a Christian and a minister, and is
now addressing you.” He improved the golden moments, while his bosom-friend
permitted them to roll by unheeded, little imagining they exerted upon his
destiny an influence undying. In the great revival of 1831, a gentleman of my
acquaintance, who had been a sea-captain, and could use more profane language
in an hour than any other man I ever knew, became impressed with a sense of his
sinfulness. He felt that the time had come when he must decide whether the
prayers of his wife should be answered, or not. He was doing an extensive
mercantile business, but he sent a note to his partner, stating that he should
be detained at home, and should not be at the store, and did not wish to be
disturbed. He shut himself in his room, determined not to leave it till he had
settled the all-important question to his own satisfaction. Golden moments were
passing through his hour-glass, while in one room his wife was pouring out her
earnest supplications, and in another he thought on his ways and turned his
feet to the testimonies of God, and made haste to keep His commandments. When
he left that chamber the question was settled aright, and settled for ever. His
face shone like that of Moses. He had been in communion with the Most High. In
that same year a lawyer was convicted of his sinfulness, and was anxious to be
a Christian. On a certain evening he attended a cottage prayer-meeting, and
took a seat by the side of the writer. He had been in the meeting but a few
moments, when he became exceedingly agitated, and very soon took his hat and
left the house. Towards the close of the meeting he returned. He soon arose and
said: “I wish to be a Christian. I am determined to be one. After I entered
this room, a transaction which occurred several years ago came to my mind, in
which I wronged a man. My conscience, stirred by the Spirit of God, would not
let me rest till the matter was settled. I have been and arranged the matter to
the entire satisfaction of both parties, and I am now at peace with God and
man.” How golden were the moments he spent in being reconciled to the man whom
he had injured! During those few moments his destiny was sealed. Had he not
improved them aright, he would not have known the pleasure of having a
conscience void of offence, nor the comforting assurance of God’s favour. In
that same year a young man who had been halting between two opinions for a
length of time attended a religious meeting in Albany, and heard one of the
impassioned discourses of Dr. Kirk. He left the church in company with an
earnest Christian friend. They walked along in silence till they reached a
street corner, where they were to separate. On parting the friend asked, “What
is your decision?” The answer was, “I will serve the Lord.” That young man
became a Christian, and at length a minister of the gospel, Never did he regret
the decision he made on that street corner while the golden moments were
rolling along. Were not the moments golden which were spent by Queen Esther
while pondering the question whether to go in unto the king at the risk of her
life? Who can estimate the influence and the importance of that decision! Had
she not employed those moments aright, her life and the lives of her nation
would have been sacrificed. (American Sunday School Times.)
Benefits of discipline
But, O what followeth in the next words: As he prolonged the time,
they caught him by the hand and brought him out. So, so, it is a thousand times
needful that we should be drawn violently, when we will not come willingly. And
then see here a secret, and lay it to your heart. Your riches, your honours,
your friends, pleasures, wife, children, and such like, are taken from you in
part or in all. You marvel at it, and think, peradventure, you are quite out of
the Lord’s favour, for else this great change in your estate would not be. But
fear not--rather remember what you read here: Lot prolonged to do what he
should, as his case was, and the Lord caught him by the hand and brought him
out. Haply as your case hath been, you have prolonged to do what the Lord
willed you, and these things that you have lost were some let unto you to hold
you back; the Lord, careful that you should not perish, has in this your
change, done no other to you than He did to Lot when He caught him by the hand.
Verily He hath even so caught you to bring you by this means, from what and whence
He would have you come, because whilst you enjoyed these, you forgot yourself,
prolonged and trifled the time, and danger grew on; that it must be otherwise
with you, or else the Lord’s judgment light upon you, amongst others whom His
justice would punish, and that God would not, and therefore hath rid you thus
away--even thus I say, draw you more forcibly by the want of these benefits,
because as long as you enjoyed them, words would not work with you. Be not
afraid, then, of adversity, but be schooled by it, to get you out of Sodom, and
to obey the Lord’s will and bidding: for to this end hath He caught you by the
hand, effectually, though not bodily, if you be His. And when once you are out,
you shall find Him slack His force again most certainly, and comfort you as
shall be good, with riches, honours, friends, pleasures, wife, children, and
every needful blessing. Then shall you find it true, what the prophet Daniel
assureth you, No good thing verily shall be withheld from them that live a
godly life. (Bp. Babington.)
The Lord being merciful
unto him
Lot’s escape from Sodom
I. It is natural
to speak, first, of THE NEED LOT HAD TO ESCAPE OR, OF THE JUDGMENT BY WHICH THE
CITY WAS OVERTAKEN. It is God’s way to be long-suffering. Judgment is a work He
does not love. His will is that none should perish. But the cup of Sodom was
now overflowing; nor was there any longer hope of its repentance. It was fully
time that God’s abhorrence of iniquity should be made to appear. Mercy to
surrounding tribes and succeeding generations in danger of falling into like
depths demanded this. When nations, cities, families, or individuals become
hopeless in their impiety and corruption, when remedial agencies no longer
promise good, what, then, shall a just, righteous, and good ruler do? Is it not
a startling warning of the just judgment sure to overtake all sin unpardoned,
because unconfessed and unforsaken?
II. But we must
pass to consider, next, WHY IT WAS THAT OF ALL THE INHABITANTS OF THAT WICKED
CITY, LOT SHOULD BE PERMITTED TO ESCAPE. “‘The Lord being merciful to him.”
“Thou hast magnified Thy mercy, which Thou hast showed unto me in saving my
life.” Poor as was the quality of Lot’s religion, he had some measure of that
which is real. He did not lose all faith in the true God.
III. Thus we are
brought to speak of some things which appear with respect to THE MANNER OF
LOT’S ESCAPE.
1. With very great difficulty. To the very last God’s messengers
must use urgency and compulsion! So He must, and does, with many an irresolute
believer. Often He graciously applies the rod.
2. But Lot’s escape was not only with great difficulty, it was also
with much bitter sorrow and painful loss.
IV. The narrative
thus briefly considered abounds in LESSONS of the greatest practical importance.
1. The long-suffering of God may be worn out. Judgment is then sure.
2. None whom mercy can rescue will be suffered to perish. Lot, the
most imperfect of believers, was saved.
3. To subordinate religious fidelity to worldly advantage or
pleasure is always a costly and often a fatal mistake.
4. In rescuing others, one may sometimes have to use a sort of
loving violence; “pulling them out of the fire.”
5. It is possible to be “almost saved, but lost.” (H. M. Grout,
D. D.)
The deliverance of the righteous in the time of judgment
I. GOD MAKES
KNOWN TO THEM THE WAY OF DELIVERANCE.
1. God’s way of deliverance is often against our will.
2. God’s way of deliverance does not destroy the necessity for our
own exertion.
3. God’s way of deliverance is only effective through His mercy.
II. GOD IS READY
TO DELIVER OTHERS FOR THEIR SAKES.
1. Hence the righteous can offer salvation to the last.
2. Our efforts may be unavailing.
III. IN THE MIDST
OF ABOUNDING CORRUPTION ONLY THE FEW ESCAPE.
1. The tremendous power of evil.
2. God’s great judgments upon mankind.
IV. THE RIGHTEOUS
CAN ONLY BE SAVED OUT OF THE SCENES OF INIQUITY, NOT IN THEM. (T. H. Leale.)
Lot’s escape from Sodom
I. THE
FORBEARANCE OF GOD. This is seen--
1. In the patience of God with the Sodomites, in sparing them so
long.
2. In the willingness to save these wicked cities for even ten
righteous persons.
3. In the question (Genesis 19:12).
4. In the loving compulsion by which Lot and his family were urged
to escape.
5. In the condescension manifested in granting Lot’s request.
6. Such forbearance is very noticeable in view of the terrible doom
with which it was connected.
II. THE PERVERSITY
OF MAN. This is seen--
1. In the continued hardness of the Sodomites.
2. In the mocking unbelief of Lot’s sons-in-law.
3. In the hesitancy of both Lot and his family to leave the doomed
city.
4. In Lot’s lack of faith in God’s power to keep him in the mountain
as well as in Zoar.
III. THE CONDITION
OF SALVATION. The answers to the following questions will reveal it:
1. Why were not Lot’s sons-in-law saved from the doom of
Sodom?
2. Why was not Lot’s wife caught in the destruction of Sodom?
3. How did Lot and his daughters ultimately escape the fate of the
Sodomites?
Lessons:
1. Lot, in the choice of Sodom for a residence, furnishes an example
of the folly of worldly wisdom.
2. Lot’s sons-in-law furnish an example of the inevitable doom that
awaits all who scorn the warnings of God’s messengers.
3. Lot’s wife is an example of the inevitable fate of those who
outwardly, but reluctantly, conform to the requirements of the gospel, but
whose heart is in the world.
4. The destruction of Sodom is an illustration of the doom that awaits
this world and every impenitent soul.
5. The urgency to flee to the Divine refuge is graphically portrayed
in the impassioned words of the angels (Genesis 19:17). (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
Three stages in Lot’s life
I. LOT GOING IN
THE DIRECTION OF SODOM. People generally go in the direction of that which is
wrong before they thoroughly go into it.
II. LOT DWELLING
IN SODOM.
III. The omnipotent
mercy of God Almighty, DELIVERING HIM OUT OF SODOM. (M. Rainsford, B. A.)
Lot’s flight from Sodom
I. WE ARE HERE
TAUGHT THE REALITY AND MAGNITUDE OF THE DANGER TO WHICH THE SINNER IS EXPOSED.
The reality of the sinner’s danger is proved by the express statements of the
Word of God, and by the struggles of conscience, as the Almighty’s vicegerent,
even in the unregenerated heart.
II. THE MEANS
EMPLOYED BY GOD TO AWAKEN THE SINNER TO A TRUE SENSE OF THE REALITY AND
MAGNITUDE OF HIS DANGER. Holy Spirit is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning
and the ending, the first and the last in the work of arousing from their
death-like lethargy the prison-bound thralls or slaves of Satan. At one time He
comes upon the sinner as an armed man, and attacks directly the stronghold of
infidelity in the heart, and throws down every barrier by which it was guarded.
At another time--and this is the more usual mode of His operation--the
Sanctifier executes His office of bringing transgressors out of darkness into
His marvellous light through the instrumentality of the dispensations of God’s
providence, and of the faithful preaching of the Word by his called, tried, and
appointed messengers.
III. THE STATE OF
THE SINNER’S MIND WHEN HE HAS BEEN AWAKENED, IN THE MANNER ALREADY POINTED OUT,
TO A RIGHT SENSE OF HIS LOST AND DESPERATE CONDITION (see 2 Corinthians 7:11).
IV. THE
ENLIGHTENING AND QUICKENING SPIRIT HAYING BEGUN THE GOOD WORK, IS PLEDGED TO
CARRY IT ON AND COMPLETE IT. (R. Jeffrey.)
I. THE
PRELIMINARIES OF THE DELIVERANCE.
Lot’s deliverance
II. THE MANNER OF
THE DELIVERANCE.
III. THE SEQUEL TO
THE DELIVERANCE. (R. S. Candlish, D. D.)
The folly of lingering
When a man hath to go over a river, though he ride once and again
into the water and come out, saying, I fear it is too deep for me, yet,
considering that there is no other way for him, he resolves to venture, for,
saith he, the longer I stay the higher the waters will rise, and there is no
other way for me--I must go through at the last, why not at the first? And so
he ventures through. Thus it is with you. You say, “Oh, but my heart is not
humbled; oh, but I am a great sinner; and should I venture upon Jesus Christ?”
Will this heart be more humbled by keeping from Jesus Christ, and wilt thou be
less a sinner by keeping from Him? No, certainly, for the longer you stay from
Christ, the harder it will be to venture on Him at the last. (W. Bridge.)
The danger of delay
“Serious things to-morrow,” said a distinguished individual against
whose life a plot was laid. One of the confederates, relenting, had sent a
notice of the plot by a messenger who had particular instructions to deliver it
personally, and to state that the letter must be read immediately, as it was on
a very serious matter. The messenger, however, found the person against whose
life the plot was laid in the midst of a convivial feast. The letter and
message were both faithfully delivered; but the man of mirth and wine laid it
aside, saying, “Serious things so-morrow!” The morrow he never saw, for that
night the assassin plunged the deadly weapon into his heart. So many put away
from them the serious warnings of the gospel, and perish in their sins.
Verse 17
Escape for thy life; look not behind thee
Delays are dangerous
I.
AN
ALARM. “Escape for thy life.”
1. Lot’s life was in imminent danger. So is the life of every
unconverted man.
2. But Lot had timely warning to escape from the impending storm,
and so has every sinner.
3. Lot’s escape was to be effected in haste; and if he had not left
the place at that time, he would have been destroyed with the wicked.
II. A CAUTION.
1. “Look not behind thee.”
2. “Neither stay in all the plain.”
III. AN
EXHORTATION. “Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.”
1. Those who flee to Christ find a place of safety.
2. Those who escape to Jesus Christ shall find rest.
3. Those who escape to Christ are blessed with peace. (Benson
Bailey.)
Delay in religion
I. THE GREAT
CRISIS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SOUL.
1. We illustrate this by the case of Lot, as here described.
2. We apply this to the ease of undecided persons.
II. THE CAUSE OF
THIS LINGERING IN RESPECT TO RELIGION.
1. The cause of Lot’s lingering is evident.
2. The reason why some linger on the subject of religion.
III. THE SIN AND
DANGER OF LINGERING, AS IT RESPECTS RELIGION.
1. The sin committed against God.
2. The dangerous consequences of this halting in religion. (The
Evangelical Preacher.)
The awakened sinner
I. I wish to
speak of the MEANS by which a sinner is awakened from his spiritual
slumber--from that deathly lethargy in which every human being lies by nature.
The means, I hesitate not to consider, is the Word of God. Other things may
assist in giving entrance to the Word, but it is by the Word, as a rule, that
God’s Holy Spirit works in convincing the sinner of his sin. It matters not how
the sinner gets the Word, so that he do get it.
II. Having spoken
of the means employed to awaken the sinner’s conscience, we proceed to consider
the ANXIETY which is the result. A sense of sin is produced; and sin is felt to
be as a heavy burden pressing upon the soul.
III. How important
that such an anxious soul should receive proper INSTRUCTION! HOW precious,
then, the opportunity of meeting with a Christian friend! I have said that it
is by means of the Word of God that the sinner is awakened, that the Holy
Spirit proceeds in commencing that process whereby we are brought “out of
darkness into marvellous light”; let me add, that there is a connection between
the Bible and human agency. God’s plan of converting the sinner is by the
preaching of the Word; and it is in this way generally that conversions are
effected.
IV. We suppose the
awakened sinner, thus instructed, to make his ESCAPE. Be has many temptations
to remain. But one thought, one anxiety, overpowers all; life, eternal life, is
his motive and his object. (W. M.Whittemore.)
Run for your life
1. My text, in the first place, suggests urgency on the part of all
those who would induce people out of their sins. Why was not the angel more
polite? Why did he not coolly and formally invite Lot and his wife to leave
that city? The angel was in earnest.
2. My subject also suggests that the mere starting gives no
security. Lot had started out of the city, but he might have perished half-way
before he got to the mountains. Men start for heaven, but do not always get
there. If my house be burning, and I take a bucket of water and put out the flames
in this, and that, and yonder room, while I leave the flames in another room, I
might as well have wasted no strength and brought no buckets of water at all.
And if a man is only half saved, he is not saved at all.
3. The text suggests further, that a man, after being persuaded out
of sin, sometimes looks back.
4. My text suggests that some men, having started, loiter by the
way. They tarry in the plain. They are too lazy to get on. You know that men,
in order to get on in this world, must deny themselves, and work hard; must go
through drudgery, that after awhile they may have luxuries. If we get to heaven
it will be by gathering up all the energies of our souls and hurling them ahead
in one persistent direction. In mid-ocean, on the China going out at
midnight, the “screw” stopped. “What’s the matter?” everybody cried. People
rushed out to see why the “screw” had stopped in mid-ocean. Something wrong, or
it would not stop in the middle of the Atlantic. So it is a bad sign when men
voyaging towards heaven stop half-way. It is a sign of infinite peril. (Dr.
Talmage.)
The angels’ admonition to Lot
I. “Escape for
thy life.” This was the general admonition. It was not a small matter which was
at stake. It was his life.
II. “Escape for
thy life.” Are you aware of the guilt and danger of a sinful, worldly life?
Remember the treasure which you have at stake; even your life; not the life
merely of your body, but the life of your soul; the everlasting happiness of
your immortal spirit. Be in earnest in this great work of saving your precious,
your immortal soul. Be active, be diligent. Let nothing turn you from your
purpose. Lay hold on eternal life. Attend especially to the three directions
attached to the general admonition.
1. “Look not behind thee.” Renounce for ever all thoughts of
returning to that state of sin and death from which you are beginning to
escape. Suffer not your mind, even for a moment, to reflect with complacency on
those pursuits, pleasures, or companions, from which you must for ever separate.
Having once set your face toward heaven, O! look not back on Sodom. “Remember
Lot’s wife.”
2. “Neither stay thou in all the plain.” Think it not enough to have
escaped from Sodom, but remove to the greatest possible distance from
everything connected with that devoted place. Think it not enough to have
renounced old habits of sin, to have broken off from the commission of gross
offences, from openly profane and irreligious practices: but have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness. Allow not yourself to remain within the
forbidden regions of self-indulgence and worldly gratification.
3. “Escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” If there were no
place of safety to which you could flee, and be at peace, then indeed would
your efforts to escape be in vain, and my endeavours to assist you fruitless.
But, blessed be God I there is a place of safety, a refuge provided for you,
where you may be secure from the impending ruin, and may delight yourself in
the abundance of peace. Lot was directed to a mountain whither he might escape
and be in safety. You are directed not to a mountain, but to Jesus Christ: He
is a hiding-place from the storm, a covert from the tempest. Would Lot be safe
if he should flee to the mountain? Whosoever flees to Jesus Christ shall be
delivered from the wrath to come. He shall be delivered from all the
consequences of sin, from the punishment which it has incurred, from the power
which it has obtained in the heart. Do you ask how you are to flee to Christ?
You are to flee to Him in your mind, with your heart, with all the desires and
affections of your soul. You are to flee to Him in faith, believing His word
and promises, and casting yourselves upon His mercy and power. (E. Cooper,
M. A.)
The last night of Sodom
“Tarry all night”: “Escape for thy life.” The words of man and the
words of angels. The man, a master of courtesy and hospitality; the angels,
ministers of mercy and of vengeance. The man speaks of house and home and
feasting and rest; the angels speak of impending wrath and swift destruction.
The man persuades to the enjoyment of a quiet evening in a luxurious clime, and
promises the return of a beautiful day; the angels would hasten an escape from
a scene of enchantment and delight, at the sacrifice of all earthly
possessions. The man speaks from mere feeling and a vivid impression of things
as they are passing before his eyes; the angels speak of things as they
are--and behind the calm and peaceful aspect of the closing day, they see the
fiery tempest of the coming morn. Such is the contrast between feeling and
fact, shadow and substance, appearance and reality. So unlike and allied to
each other are the sensual and the spiritual; the earthly and the heavenly; the
aspect of peace and safety, and the near approach of danger and destruction.
Such is the difference between the judgment of man, who is all involved in the
cares and toils and pleasures of the passing day, and the judgment of beings
who stand outside the range of our mistakes and temptations, and who see the
affairs of time in the light of eternity This awful lesson in sacred history
may be all summed up in two words. The one is from man and the world; the other
is from heaven and God. One says to the careless and the worldly, “Tarry, he at
ease, enjoy yourself while you can”; the other says, “Escape for thy life.” One
says, “Wait, be not alarmed; make yourself comfortable where you are”; the
other says, “Haste, look not behind thee; flee to the mountain, lest thou be
consumed.” One says, “Soul, take thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry”; the
other says, “Thou fool! this night thy soul may be required of thee.” The
question which every one must answer for himself is always this, Which of these
two voices shall I obey? To many it seems like mockery to talk of danger to the
young and the gay, the healthful and the happy. But who was the mocker on the
peaceful night when the cities of the plain rioted in pleasure for the last
time? All the seductions and falsehoods of temptation, and all the dangers and
sorrows of perdition, are bound up in that one word--wait. The voice of love
speaks to the careless in terms of terror and alarm. God’s patience will not
always last. The day of grace must have an end. And with many it is much
shorter than they expect. (D. Marsh, D. D.)
Illustration of the sinner’s state, duty, and prospects
I. THE DANGER TO
WHICH THE SINNER IS EXPOSED.
1. It is real. Not imaginary.
2. It is imminent. Not distant. Nearer and nearer every day.
3. It is tremendous. Not slight.
II. THE POSSIBILITY
OF ESCAPE FROM THE DANGER TO WHICH THE SINNER IS EXPOSED.
1. It is proved by the invitations addressed to him in the Bible.
Numerous, earnest, pathetic.
2. It is proved by the revelation of the work of Christ, on which
these invitations are founded. That work is a mountain, if that be the proper
emblem of strength, stability, immutability.
3. It is proved by the experience of all believers. Fire-escape.
Life-boat.
III. THE NECESSITY
OF PROMPT AND DECISIVE ACTION ON THE PART OF THE SINNER, IF HE WOULD ESCAPE
FROM THE DANGER TO WHICH HE IS EXPOSED.
1. His flight must be instantaneous. Without procrastination.
2. His flight must be rapid. No delay.
3. His flight must be persevering. The city of refuge.
IV. THE URGENCY OF
THE MOTIVES BY WHICH THE SINNER SHOULD BE INDUCED TO ESCAPE FROM THE DANGER TO
WHICH HE IS EXPOSED.
1. The magnitude of the interests at stake. “Life! life! eternal
life!”
2. The exclusiveness of the gospel method of salvation. No other
name.
3. The happiness of escape. Beneficial results to ourselves and
others. Address
Escape for thy life
I. You must
escape for your life--THE LIFE NOT OF THE BODY BUT OF THE SOUL.
1. The everlasting welfare of your soul is in danger.
2. To effect your deliverance you must escape yourselves.
3. You must be in earnest.
4. You must sacrifice everything that stands in your way.
II. Look NOT
BEHIND.
1. He who has once left this sinful world ought to give up all
thoughts of return.
2. Look not behind you for the sake of your former companions.
3. Look not back to relieve yourself of the sense of guilt which
weighs upon you.
4. Look not behind lest you should never advance beyond your present
position.
III. STAY NOT IN
ALL THE PLAIN. Delay not--
1. In hope of a better opportunity.
2. In reliance upon your good intentions.
3. Because you have begun to attend to religion.
4. Though you have been brought to reel deeply about religion.
5. For a more thorough conviction of sin.
6. Through discouragement and despondency.
7. Because you hope you are a Christian. (J. Day, D. D.)
Saved as by fire
There is such a fate as being saved, yet so as by fire, going into
the brightness with the smell of fire on your garments. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Escape for thy life
When danger is behind us we should strain all our powers to escape
from it as Indians or settlers do to escape from the prairie fires in America.
A tribe of Indians, who were swift of foot, once gave a white man they intended
to kill a chance to escape by running whilst they all pursued him. He ran with
such mad haste that he managed, though with great difficulty, to escape. Look
not behind thee,. . . lest thou be consumed Genesis 19:17).
Look not behind
The ancients told a fable about Orpheus who, they said, could move
men and beasts, birds and fishes, and even trees and rocks by his wonderful
music; that when his wife Eurydice was bitten by a serpent and had died, then
Orpheus followed her into the infernal regions and there played his music with
such exquisite skill that even Pluto (who was said to be the stern and
inexorable king of hell) and his grave wife Proserpina were moved to such pity
that they gave Orpheus leave to take his wife back to the world again on
condition that he did not look around whilst they ascended. As, however, they
were rising, the fable says he looked round, either from love, or doubt, or
forgetfulness. The result was he saw his much-loved wife for a moment, but then
she vanished from his sight for ever. If we look and turn back to the world or
sin, we shall lose God’s favour and blessings, and we may lose our souls for
ever.
No time for delay
A man was once shut up in prison, loaded with chains, and
condemned to be hung. He had been taken a prisoner in war by a cruel tyrant,
and knew that there was no hope for him if he could not in some way make his
escape. In the dead hour of night, when all his guards were sound asleep, and
not a footstep was to be heard around his prison, the door of his dungeon was opened,
his general entered and took off his chains, and said to him, “Haste thee,
escape from this place. I have, at immense expense and terrible exposure of my
life, entered this prison to save you. Follow me, and I will guide you safely.
But you have not a moment to lose. An hour’s delay may prove for ever too
late.” What will you think when I tell you that the prisoner said, “Let me
think about it--wait a little while”; and then actually refused to go with him?
Who was to blame for that man’s death, but himself? This is precisely the way
that sinners, condemned and bound by Satan to be shut up in the dark prison of
despair, act when Jesus, the great Captain of our salvation, comes to set them
free. A great warrior was once persuaded by his enemies to put on a beautiful
robe which they presented him. Not suspecting their design, he wrapped himself
tightly in it, but in a few moments found that it was coated on the inside with
a deadly poison. It stuck to his flesh as if it had been glued. The poison entered
into his flesh so that in trying to throw off the cloak he was left torn and
bleeding. But did he for that reason hesitate about taking it off? Did he stop
to think whether it was painful or not? Did he say, “Let me wait and think
about it awhile”? No, he had more sense than that. He tore it off at once, and
threw it from him, and hastened away from it to the physician. Sinner, this is
the way you must treat your sins if you would be saved. And do it now. “Now is
the accepted time; now is the day of salvation.” A sprightly boy, who was the
pride of his master, who was loved by all his fellow-servants, once came to me
to talk about his soul’s salvation. He had heard that to live in sin was to
live in rebellion against God and in great danger. He felt that he was a
sinner. He knew that he ought to forsake his sins. He talked freely with me
about himself. Before we parted he promised to begin the service of God the
next day. He went off to his business. I saw no more of him for about three
months. As I was riding along one day his master met me and asked me to go in
and see William, for that was his name, who was very sick. I found him very
ill, and about to die. Surely, said I to myself, he is prepared and willing to
go, for I remember his promises and good resolutions to begin the next day. I
said to him, “William, I hope Christ is precious to you now?” “Oh! sir,” said
he, “I have no hope in Christ! I fear I am lost. I resolved when I saw you last
to repent and be a Christian the next day. But the next day brought something
that prevented me, and caused me to put it off till the next day still, and so
I thought at the end of every day that I would begin the next day. But every
day passed on and closed in the same way, And here I am yet, a hardened sinner,
and in the arms of death.” I tried to tell him about Jesus as his Saviour. I
prayed for him. And while I was repeating some precious promises from the Word
of God, he turned to me and said, “Oh! sir, it is too late; I am lost. I cannot
be saved now. Tell my fellow-servants not to put off another day making their
peace with God.” Scarcely had he given this testimony of the danger of delay,
when he was overcome by stupor and delirium, and thus died in darkness and
impenitence. (Bp. Meade.)
Escape for thy life!
“For thy life!” Ah, brethren, were it only the life of your body
that you knew to be in jeopardy, you would not hesitate, you would not tarry.
You would escape from a burning house, you would leap from a sinking ship, and
leave all you have in the world behind you. “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man
hath will he give for his life.” One instance of the truth of these words. A
young officer doing duty with an Indian cavalry regiment when tiger shooting
one day, “missed his mark,” and soon found himself in the tiger’s clutches. It
was an anxious moment--few of his friends being at hand. As a sportsman of
experience the young man knew well that his best course was to lie quietly and
sham death. The tiger surveyed his prey, looked around, and thinking all was
safe, set to work to make its meal. Taking the young officer’s hand in his
mouth he deliberately devoured it, and the arm was eaten to the elbow before
help arrived. Had the victim moved, or uttered even a groan, the tiger would
have put an end to his existence before going on with his repast. Of course the
shattered arm had to be removed from the shoulder, but that brave officer
lives, and holds at this present moment a post of honour under the Government.
Now imagine the suffering endured by him whilst lying, quite conscious, in the
power of a voracious “man-eater”! Why do I tell you this? To ask you what it
was that strengthened him to such an act of heroism. It was love of life--it
was “for his life”! (J. B. C. Murphy, B. A.)
Escape
It is a rather popular word with young people. At the head of a
newspaper paragraph or of a chapter in a story it instantly commands attention.
We at once think of a convict’s escape from prison, or a backwoodsman’s escape
from Indians, or a mail-steamer’s escape from icebergs. But observe--what are
all these escapes from? The convict escapes from weary confinement; the
backwoodsman from hated foes; the mail-steamer from dreaded peril. No necessity
to urge escape from these. (E. Stock.)
Look not behind thee
This demand seems somewhat strange to us; for we would rather
expect that the angels would summon them to look at the cities while God was
executing judgment on their wicked inhabitants, in order to show them His
power. But the words of the angels to Lot rest on a certain idea found among
many ancient nations. To witness with human and profane eyes God’s holy acts
was regarded as fatal to the beholder. We find this fact as it existed among
the old Hebrews expressed in many passages of the Old Testament. Moses, as soon
as he hears the voice, “I am the God of thy father,” out of the burning bush,
hides his face, being afraid to look upon Eloheem. When the Lord revealed
Himself in fire and smoke on Mount Sinai, the children of Israel were forbidden
to break through the bounds to gaze on the Lord, lest they perish. Gideon (Judges 6:22) andManoah (Judges 13:22) feared that they might die
because they had seen the angel of the Lord. Even Isaiah, when about to be
consecrated by Jehovah for his prophetical office, exclaims, in the aspect of
the throne and of the all-covering magnificent garment of God: “Woe is me! for
I am undone, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Indeed, the
Divine holiness is a devouring fire to men regarded as sinners (Isaiah 33:14). Even the seraphim,
according to the immense contrast between the Creator and His creatures, cannot
stand the holy God and cover their face Isaiah 6:2). Similar to the Jewish is
this conception among heathen nations. The Greeks and Romans were not
accustomed to look back while performing certain sacred rites; and the
classical legends are full of examples in which this ceremony is observed.
Tiresias, the famous diviner of Thebes, consulted by Alcmena, daughter of
Electryon, king of Mycenae (now partly re-excavated), ordered her to burn the
two dreadful dragons which her son, a boy of only ten months, had killed, and
to send the ashes over the river. There the servant should spread them in the
clefts of the rocks, and after that come back without turning his back. Thus
Theocritus tells us in the twenty-fourth book of his idylls. Another case is
recorded by Ovid. When Deucalion and Pyrrha, the only two persons who were
saved out of the deluge according to the Greek tradition, consulted the ancient
oracle of Themis regarding the restoration of mankind, they received the
answer: “Depart from the fane, veil your heads, loosen your girded vestments,
and east behind you the great bones of your parent” (that is, the stones of the
earth). And in one of the most beautiful of the old myths the turning back of
the person in question was not less fatal than in the case of Lot’s wife.
Orpheus, who struck the lyre so wonderfully as to move the very rocks and
trees, mollified even the rulers of the lower regions, and obtained permission
to take back to the world of light his beloved wife, the nymph Eurydice, who
had died from the bite of a serpent, on the condition that he was not to look
back before reaching the tontines of the Hades. But curious, like the wife of
Lot, Orpheus broke this condition shortly before his wish was fulfilled, and
Eurydice vanished from his sight to return to the kingdom of darkness. (H.
V. Hilprecht, D. D.)
Escape from destruction
It is related that once the city of Pleurs stood in a quiet valley
of the Alps, beneath the shadow of the snow-covered mountains, a pleasant and
prosperous town. Above it hung the avalanche threatening destruction. One night
a wakeful man heard the ominous sound breaking on the still air, which heralds
the descending mass of ice. Starting from his repose, he awoke his daughter,
and with her hastened towards the city gate. There she recollected that her
casket of jewelry had been left in the house, and turned back to secure the
treasure. In another moment the overwhelming deluge of the avalanche fell with
the voice of thunder between father and daughter, burying the city beneath it,
When the morning dawned, the spires of the churches alone rose above the cold,
white grave of the just before busy town. The maiden perished with her idol,
while he who sought to save her escaped. (Tract Journal.)
Verses 18-22
And Lot said unto them, Oh! not so, my Lord
The infirmities of the heirs of salvation
I.
THESE
INFIRMITIES ARE SEEN DURING THE PROGRESS OF THEIR DELIVERANCE.
1. The infirmity of fear (Genesis 19:19).
2. Wilfulness (Genesis 19:20).
3. Forgetfulness of past mercies.
4. A lingering selfishness.
II. GOD IS
GRACIOUS TOWARDS SUCH INFIRMITIES (Genesis 19:21).
III. THERE ARE
CERTAIN CONDITIONS WHICH FIT THEM FOR SUCH MERCIFUL INDULGENCE.
1. When they have already commenced the flight from danger.
2. When, though they have not reached it, they are still seeking a
sure refuge.
3. When they are satisfied not to rest in anything short of God’s
command. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
1. Gracious souls in their weaknesses will acknowledge the freeness
and greatness of God’s mercy to them.
2. Infirmity yet turns such confession aside, to a wrong use, even
to desire things against God’s will.
3. Saving souls alive in the midst of destructions is a free and
great mercy.
4. Weakness of faith and strength of sense may make God’s Word seem
impossible unto His servants.
5. Infirmity of faith creates many fears of evil even against God’s
promise.
6. Saints through infirmity apprehend death where God clearly
promiseth and giveth life. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lot’s prayer as contrasted with that of Abraham
Abraham had never prayed for himself with a tithe of the
persistent earnestness with which he prayed for Sodom--a town which was much
indebted to him, but towards which, for more reasons than one, a smaller man
would have borne a grudge. Lot, on the other hand, much indebted to Sodom,
identified indeed with it, one of its leading citizens, connected by marriage
with its inhabitants, is in no agony about its destruction, and has indeed but
one prayer to offer, and that is, that when all his fellow-townsmen are
destroyed, he may be comfortably provided for. While the men he has bargained
and feasted with, the men he has made money out of and married his daughters
to, are in the agonies of an appalling catastrophe and so near that the smoke
of their torment sweeps across his retreat, he is so disengaged from regrets
and compassion that he can nicely weigh the comparative comfort and advantage
of city and rural life. One would have thought better of the man if he had
declined the angelic rescue and resolved to stand by those in death whose
society he had so coveted in life. And it is significant that while the
generous, large-hearted, devout pleading of Abraham is in vain, the miserable,
timorous, selfish petition of Lot is heard and answered. It would seem as if
sometimes God were hopeless of men, and threw to them in contempt the gifts they
crave, giving them the poor stations in this life their ambition is set upon,
because He sees they have made themselves incapable of enduring hardness, and
so quelling their lower nature. An answered prayer is not always a blessing,
sometimes it is a doom: “He sent them meat to the full: but while their meat
was yet in their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest
of them.” Probably had Lot felt any inclination to pray for his townsmen he
would have seen that for him to do so would be unseemly. His circumstances, his
long association with the Sodomites, and his accommodation of himself to their
ways, had both eaten the soul out of him and set him on quite a different
footing towards God from that occupied by Abraham. A man cannot on a sudden
emergency lift himself out of the circumstances in which he has been rooted,
nor peel off his character as if it were only skin deep. Abraham had been
living an unworldly life, in which intercourse with God was a familiar
employment. His prayer was but the seasonable flower of his life, nourished to
all its beauty by the habitual nutriment of past years. Lot in his need could
only utter a peevish, pitiful, childish cry. He had aimed all his life at being
comfortable, he could not now wish anything more than to be comfortable. “Stand
out of my sunshine” was all he could say when he held by the hand the
plenipotentiary of heaven, and when the roar of the conflict of moral good and
evil was filling his ears--a decent man, a righteous man, but the world had
eaten out his heart till he had nothing to keep him in sympathy with heaven.
Such is the state to which men in our society, as in Sodom, are brought by
risking their spiritual life to make the most of this world. (M. Dods, D. D.)
Verse 20
Is it not a little one?
--
Is it not a little one?
God warns us to flee from the low level life of sin to the
mountain of purity and peace. A word spoken by a friend, something read in a
letter or book, joy, sorrow, anything God can use as His angel or messenger to
call us away from the land of sin. And we are willing to do so on condition
that we may keep that one little sin that doth so easily beset us. There is one
habit which conscience tells us is not quite right, but which could only be
broken by a painful struggle. Oh, let me keep this sin (is it not a little
one?), and all other sins I shall put away! But this sort of compromise is
impossible. The contagion of any one conscious sin, however small, will poison
the whole soul. God will have all of a man’s heart, or none of it. Let us think
of some of the reasons why we should try by God’s grace to put away those
little sins which we have been comparing to the little Zoar for which Lot
pleaded.
1. The first reason is because in God’s sight there is no such thing
as a little sin. He is of purer eyes than to behold with tolerance any evil.
Then we ought to reflect that doing conspicuous good actions and abstaining
from great sins cannot prove our love to God as much as doing small duties and
abstaining from little sins. The test, therefore, of a fine character is
attention to what are called the small matters of conduct.
2. Another reason why we should be afraid to harbour little sins is
because they lead to great ones. The very absence of crime and great sin which,
it present, might have shocked us into repentance, may lull us into a sleep of
fatal security and self-righteousness. To prevent this, let us adopt a high
standard of Christian excellence, and endeavour to reach it by attention to
small things. Every one who is at all in the habit of self-examination must be
conscious of such within him--indolence, vanity, ill-temper, weakness, yielding
to the opinion and ridicule of the world, the temptation of bad passions, of
which we are ashamed, but by which we are overcome. Let each of us consider
what his peculiar infirmity is, and though the Zoar be a little one, and though
it be hard to part with, resolutely determine to give it up to destruction. Let
us remember, that if ever we are to have a character capable of enjoying the
mountain of holiness, we must not now despise the day of small things.
Character is built, like the walls of an edifice, by laying one stone upon
another. A mountain is ascended by setting one footstep after another up its
steep face; if there be an occasional backward slip, a lesson of caution is
learned, and the lost path is regained with determination. Holiness is not a
rapture; it is a steady living to God, one step at a time, and every one higher
up. (E. J. Hardy, M. A.)
Little sins
The most lamentable consequences in a Christian’s life often date
their origin from some small act which is suffered to grow into a principle;
from some incidental occurrence which ministered temptations that were
heedlessly encouraged; or from a failure in habitual watchfulness in something
which was considered unimportant in its influence.
I. THIS
INATTENTION TO LITTLE THINGS WILL BE DISCOVERED IN THE FREQUENT EXCITEMENTS OF
A NATURALLY IRRITABLE TEMPER. That ardour of temperament which gives the
ability for great achievements, opens also the source of great sorrows. Our
trials of temper are usually found in small incidents; chiefly in the little
and private concerns of domestic life.
II. THIS DISREGARD
OF LITTLE THINGS WILL BE EXHIBITED IN THE MANY SMALL AND UNNECESSARY
INDULGENCES WHICH CHRISTIANS TOO OFTEN ALLOW THEMSELVES FOR APPETITE OR EASE.
How often are such indulgences made the substance of a permanent and unchangeable
habit?
III. THIS
INATTENTION TO SMALLER THINGS WILL BE DETECTED IN THE LIGHT AND UNIMPROVING
RECREATIONS AND AMUSEMENTS, WHICH ARE OFTEN ALLOWED,
IV. YOU MAY
DISCOVER THIS INATTENTION TO SMALLER MATTERS IN RELIGION, IN AN INCREASING
SPIRIT OF IDLENESS AND SLOTH. The Zoar of indolence will be no refuge. It may
be made the prison of bondage. It can never be the abode of peace. (S. H.
Tyng, D. D.)
Little things
This is the question which we are always asking with regard to the
events of our lives. Something crosses the stream of our existence and diverts
its current into another channel, a trifle we call it, in our blindness; but it
is no such thing, there are no such things as trifles; little things make up
the history of mankind and the history of individuals, but they are not
trifles; the vast machinery of the universe turns upon very little wheels, but
they are none the less important for all that. A little message flashed along
the telegraph wire plunges two great nations into war, and dislocates half Europe;
a little word spoken in anger makes a man a murderer, or loses a prodigal an
inheritance; a little look of penitence, a single tear from remorseful eyes,
heals the breach between two friends and make them one again; a little
plaything or a little trouble alters the whole current of a child’s thoughts,
so a little larger plaything or a little deeper trouble sweetens or embitters
the life of men who are but children of a larger growth, Never, then, underrate
the importance of little things; they are to your lives and fortunes what the
acorn is to the forest oak, what the little spring in the Cotswold Hills is to
the great river at your doors. Look at the little troubles of life; they cause
more of the grumbling in the world than its great trials. It is marvellous how
wretched and discontented a little change of weather makes us, a shift of wind,
a change of temperature paralyzes one, and makes another ill-tempered. God’s
hand is concerned in the little things, remember, as well as in the great. He
makes the grain of sand as well as the mountain, the same hand lets the sparrow
fall to the ground, and destroys the armies in the war. Little sins are the
most dangerous of all sins, just as some tropical reptiles are the most deadly
because difficult to detect from their smallness. Let me try to bring some of
these little sins under the microscope, that you may see how dangerous and ugly
they look. Grumbling we have spoken of; next look at thoughtlessness, and
little sins of commission and omission constantly excused with the words, “is
it not a little one?” or “I never thought of it.” Again, there is
procrastination--some duty is to be done, a little one, some small debt is to
be paid, seine small memorandum to be put down, some visit to be made, and we
put it off till to-morrow, till the to-morrow which never comes, and when some
calamity or loss arises from the neglect our pitiful plaint is “I never thought
of it.” So with little unkindness; it is not often, I believe, that we wound
and injure people of deliberate malice, but many a fair fame is tarnished, many
a happy home broken up, many a life-long quarrel caused by thoughtlessly
uttered words about our neighbours. We cannot be too careful in judging or
giving an opinion of the qualities of others. Let us bring another sin beneath
the microscope--bad temper. I know not if I may safely call it a little one, it
has an ugly aspect and is capable of an endless amount of mischief. In many a
household there is this little bitter drop of bad temper spoiling all the
meals, blackening all the social pleasures, fading all the flowers of joy and
happiness. It is easy to call it an infirmity of temper, or to say it is only a
manner, but it is an infirmity which, if neglected, grows to great lengths, and
a manner is all by which we can judge most people; it is the outward man which
is presented to us, and although a man’s heart may be very kindly disposed to
us, it is scarcely likely for us to know it or appreciate it if his manner be
unkind. This manner is one of the little things which is of vast importance.
Another of the little sins which affect the home circle greatly is want of
forbearance; bear and forbear is the best maxim for home; “let them first learn
to show piety at home” is the best text. Close akin to this last sin is that of
censoriousness, of finding fault perpetually with the details of your home
life. There is yet another so-called little sin, of which I must speak--the
breaking and re-forming of good resolutions. This is no little sin, believe me,
it is the sin which has ruined millions, the sin of trusting in ourselves
instead of in God’s constant help. But I pass on to say a word, in conclusion,
on the exceeding danger of little sins as regards our spiritual life. They sap
and undermine it, just as the constant fretting of a tiny stream of water will
wear away stone and wooden piers; just as tiny insects will eat through a
ship’s timbers and destroy her. If a man procrastinates, habitually defers any
duty, how will he prepare for the great day, when will he begin to set his
house in order? If we indulge in unkindly judgments and remarks about our
neighbours, how can we approach the Holy Communion when we are told to be in
love and charity with our neighbour; how, if we continually break our good
resolutions, can we be said “ to intend to lead a new life”? How can we come to
Church in a proper frame of mind, how can we hope to get any good from the
services, if we have just left a scene of ill-temper, harsh language, and
bitter thoughts at home? No, such things cannot be. (H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M.
A.)
Little sins
1. With regard, then, to this temptation of Satan concerning the
littleness of sin, I would make this first answer: the best of men have always
been afraid of little sins. Yea may have read of that noble warrior for Christ,
Martin Arethusa, the bishop. He had led the people to pull down the idol temple
in the city over which he presided; and when the apostate emperor Julian came
to power, he commanded the people to rebuild the temple. They were bound to
obey on pain of death. But Arethusa all the while lifted up his voice against
the evil they were doing, until the wrath of the king fell upon him of a
sudden. He was, however, offered his life on condition that he would subscribe
so much as a single halfpenny towards the building of the temple; nay, less
than that, if he would cast one grain of incense into the censer of the false
God he might escape. But he would not do it. He feared God, and he would not do
the most tiny little sin to save his life. They therefore exposed his body, and
gave him up to the children to prick him with knives; then they smeared him
with honey, and he was exposed to wasps and stung to death. But all the while
the grain of incense he would not give. He could give his body to wasps, and
die in the most terrible pains, but he could not, he would not, he dared not
sin against God. A noble example I Now, brethren, if men have been able to
perceive so much of sin in little transgressions, that they would bear
inconceivable tortures rather than commit them, must there not be something
dreadful after all in the thing of which Satan says, “Is it not a little one?”
Men, with their eyes well opened by Divine grace, have seen a whole hell
slumbering in the most minute sin.
2. We all see in nature how easily we may prove this--that little
things lead to greater things. If it be desired to bridge a gulf, it is often
the custom to shoot an arrow, and cross it with a line almost as thin as film.
That line passes over and a string is drawn after it, and after that some small
rope, and after that a cable, and after that the swinging suspension bridge,
that makes a way for thousands. So it is ofttimes with Satan.
3. Another argument may be used to respond to this little temptation
of the devil. He says, “Is it not a little one?”, “Yes,” we reply, “but little
sins multiply very fast.” Like all other little things, there is a marvellous
power of multiplication in little sins. Years ago there was not a single
thistle in the whole of Australia. Some Scotchman who very much admired
thistles--rather more than I do--thought it was a pity that a great island like
Australia should be without that marvellous and glorious symbol of his great
nation. He therefore collected a packet of thistle-seeds, and sent it over to
one of his friends in Australia. Well, when it was landed, the officers might
have said, “Oh, let it in; ‘is it not a little one?’ Here is but a handful of
thistle-down, oh, let it come in; it will be but sown in a garden--the Scotch
will grow it in their gardens; they think it a fine flower, nodoubt--let them
have it, it is but meant for their amusement.” Ah, yes, it was but a little
one; but now whole districts of country are covered with it, and it has become
the farmer’s pest and plague. It was a little one; but, all the worse for that,
it multiplied and grew. If it had been a great evil, all men would have set to
work to crush it. This little evil is not to be eradicated, and of that country
it may be said till doomsday--“Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth.” Happy
would it have been if the ship that brought that seed had been wrecked. No boon
is it to those of our countrymen there on the other side of the earth, but a
vast curse. Take heed of the thistle-seed; little sins are like it.
4. Once again; little sins, after all, if you look at them in
another aspect, are great. A little sin involves a great principle. Suppose
that to-morrow the Austrians should send a body of men into Sardinia. If they
only send a dozen it would be equal to a declaration of war. It may be said “Is
it not a little one?--a very small band of soldiers that we have sent?” “Yes,”
it would be replied, “but it is the principle of the thing. You cannot be
allowed with impunity to send your soldiers across the border. War must be
proclaimed, because you have violated the frontier, and invaded the land.” It
is not necessary to send a hundred thousand troops into a country to break a
treaty. It is true the breach of the treaty may appear to be small; but if the
slightest breach be allowed, the principle is gone. The principle of obedience
is compromised in thy smallest transgression, and, therefore, is it great. Now
I am about to speak to the child of God only, and I say to him, “Brother, if
Satan tempts thee to say, ‘Is it not a little one?’” reply to him, “Ah, Satan,
but little though it be, it may mar my fellowship with Christ.” Is it a little
one, Satan? But a little stone in the shoe will make a traveller limp. A little
thorn may breed a fester. A little cloud may hide the sun. A cloud the size of
a man’s hand may bring a deluge of rain. Avaunt Satan! I can have nought to do
with thee; for since I know that Jesus bled for little sins, I cannot wound His
heart by indulging in them afresh. Ah, my friends, those men that say little
sins can have no vice in them whatever, they do but give indications of their
own character; they show which way the stream runs. A straw may let you know
which way the wind blows, or even a floating feather; and so may some little
sin be an indication of the prevailing tendency of the heart. An eternity of
woe is prepared for what men call little sins. It is not alone the murderer,
the drunkard, the whoremonger, that shall be sent to hell. The wicked, it is
true, shall be sent there, but the little sinner, with all the nations that
forget God, shall have his portion there also. Tremble, therefore, on account
of little sins. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The danger of little sins
I. LITTLE SINS
LEAD ON TO GREAT ONES. Some years ago the Bradfield reservoir sprang a tiny
leak. It was so small that it was disregarded. Neglected, it grew larger, until
one night the bank was swept away, and a mighty torrent let loose that
destroyed houses and mills, an immense amount of property and many lives,
flooded the town of Sheffield, and has left a burden of debt on that town to
this day. Not long ago a gentleman, hurrying along one of the streets of
Manchester, slipped and fell, slightly grazing one of his fingers. He saw the
wound, but thought it too slight for care. The blood was poisoned by contact
with some rubbish on which he had fallen, and in a few weeks his whole system
became charged with it, and he expired in terrible agony. Little sins indulged,
spared, neglected, have shown equal power of growth. A little leaven has leavened
the whole lump. Learn the story of the inmates of our jails, workhouses,
lunatic asylums, and you will see how little sins end in great sins; in
poverty, crime, insanity and utter ruin.
II. LITTLE SINS
DESTROY OUR PEACE AND HINDER OUR GROWTH IN GRACE. A little splinter of wood, a
tiny thorn buried in the flesh and neglected will produce intense agony. The
story is told of a whole train being stopped on the railway between Perth and
Aberdeen by the loss of one little pin. And equally sad results are produced in
us by little sins.
III. LITTLE SINS
DESTROY OUR INFLUENCE. We are Christ’s “living epistles,” known and read of all
men. Many a man has lost all influence for good, undone his own efforts,
through little slips and want of care about the minor moralities. It was not
the Philistines but Delilah that robbed Samson of his power.
IV. LITTLE SINS
NEED MORE EFFORT AND WATCHFULNESS TO OVERCOME THAN GREAT ONES. (J. Ogle.)
Lot’s false reasoning
The natural conclusion from God’s mercy, which he acknowledges,
would have been trust and obedience. “Therefore I can escape,” not “but I
cannot escape,” would have been the logic of faith. The latter is irrationality
of fear. When a man who has been cleaving to this fleeting life of earthly good
wakes up to believe his danger, he is ever apt to plunge into an abyss of
terror, in which God’s commands seem impossible, and His will to save becomes
dim. The world first lies to us by “You are quite safe where you are. Don’t be
in a hurry to go.” Then it lies, “You never can get away now.” Reverse Lot’s
whimpering fears, and we get the truth. Are not God’s directions how to escape
promises that we shall escape? Will He begin to build, and not be able to
finish? Will the judgments of His hand overrun their commission, like a
bloodhound which, in his master’s absence, may rend his friend? “We have all of
us one human heart,” and this swift leap from unreasoning carelessness to as
unreasoning dread, this failure to draw the true conclusion from God’s past
mercy, and this despairing recoil from the path pointed for us, and craving for
easier ways, belong to us. “A strange servant of God was this,” say we. Yes,
and we are often quite as strange. How many people awakened to see their danger
are so absorbed by the sight that they cannot see the cross, or think they can
never reach it? God answered the cry, whatever its fault, and that may well
make us pause in our condemnation. He hears even a very imperfect petition, and
can see the tiniest germ of faith buried under thick clods of doubt and fear.
This stooping readiness to meet Lot’s weakness comes in wonderful contrast with
the terrible revelation of judgment which follows. What an idea of God, which
had room for this more than human patience with weakness, and also for the flashing,
lurid glories of destructive retribution! Zoar is spared, not for the unworthy
reason which Lot suggested,--because its minuteness might buy impunity, as some
noxious insect too small to be worth crushing; but in accordance with the
principle which was illustrated in Abraham’s intercession, and even in Lot’s
safety; namely, that the righteous are shields for others, as Paul had the
lives of all that sailed with him given to him. God’s “cannot” answers Lot’s
“cannot.” His power is limited by His own solemn purpose to save His faltering
servant. The latter had feared that, before he could reach the mountain, “the
evil” would overtake him. God shows him that his safety was a condition
precedent to its outburst. Lot barred the way. God could not “let slip the dogs
of” judgment, but held them in the leash until Lot was in Zoar. Very awful is
the command to make haste, based on this impossibility, as if God were weary of
delay, and more than ready to smite. However we may find anthropomorphism in
these early narratives, let us not forget that, when the world has long been
groaning under some giant evil, and the bitter seed is grown up into a waving
forest of poison, there is something in the passionless righteousness of God
which brooks no longer delay, but seeks to make “a short work” on the earth. (A.
Maclaren, D. D.)
Wedges
“When a man cleaves a block he first pierces it with small wedges,
and then with greater; and so doth the devil make entrance into the soul by
degrees. Judas first purloineth and stealeth out of the bag; then censureth
Christ as profusely lavishing. What needs this waste? This was not only a check
to the woman, but to Christ Himself. Lastly, upon Christ’s rebuke, he hates
Him, and then betrays Him to His enemies.” There is no dealing with the devil
except at arm’s length. Those little wedges of his are terribly insinuating
because they are so little. Keep them out or worse will follow. Occasional
glasses lead on to drunken orgies; occasional theatre-going grows into
wantonness and chambering; trifling pilfering soon grows to downright theft;
secret back-slidings end in public abominations. The egg of all mischief is as
small as a mustard-seed. It is with the transgressor as with the falling
stone--the further he falls the faster he falls. Again we say beware of the
little wedges, for they are in crafty hands, and our utter destruction may be
compassed by them. Even iron safes have been forced when little wedges have
made room for the burglar’s lever. Take heed of the plea, “Is it not a little
one?” O my Saviour, let me net fall little by little, or think myself able to
bear the indulgence of any known sin because it seems so insignificant. Keep me
from sinful beginnings, lest they lead me on to sorrowful endings. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Dangerous to remain in the neighbourhood of old sins
Camping down upon the edges of a sin from which a man has just
escaped, is dangerous work. A person in such a position is like one who, upon
finding himself in the running current of a river which is rising, swollen by
heavy rains, struggles desperately until he reaches its banks, and there
settles himself in false security. In the morning the waters of the freshet are
booming about him, and he flies to the meadow, a little higher. But the floods
are out, and they rise and rise, faster than he can run, and the man who, by
fleeing at once to the mountains when he came up from the river, would have
been saved, by tarrying upon the lowlands, perished. (H. W. Beecher.)
Verse 23
The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar
The lessons of a day
I.
THE
ABSURDITY OF LETTING SECULAR MOTIVES GOVERN MEN’S CONDUCT. Lot went to Sodom
because he thought it a secularly desirable place. (Genesis 13:10.) He went there, and there
his own piety was injured, his own children contaminated, and the partner of
his own bosom became a victim of Divine judgment. The beauty of his home was
his curse. The spirit of Lot is still common.
II. THE
INCONGRUITY BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL AND MORAL SCENERY OF THE WORLD.
1. The abnormal state of human society.
2. The necessity of a retributive period.
3. A man’s external circumstances are no true signs of character.
III. THE TREMENDOUS
FORCE OF OLD ASSOCIATIONS.
1. The local.
2. The social.
3. The secular.
IV. THE FUTILITY
OF HUMAN REASONING CONCERNING THE WAYS OF GOD.
1. God may deviate from the laws of nature; lie cannot from His
word.
2. God has deviated from the laws of nature; He has never from His
word.
V. THE DETERMINED
ANTAGONIST OF THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT TO SIN. (Homilist.)
The forbearance of God
1. Sunshine and midnight are alike great opportunities of God. They
are as the pillar of fire and pillar of cloud to the whole race of man. By
their dumb mouths God speaks to us, and their silent movement, without a sound,
warns us of His presence, His love, and His providence. It was when God’s
servant, weak, failing, and infirm, shattered and broken, in deep sorrow, led
by an angel, had placed his trembling foot-steps on the rock; it was then, when
he had come safely out of the blazing city, and the lurid fires glared in the
sky; when at last, though oh! how long, how lingeringly, the aged patriarch had
emerged from his deep trouble; then the sun arose upon the earth.
2. Few characters in the Bible are more full of comfort than Lot’s.
Weak in disposition, faulty in his general life, erring after repeated
warnings, irresolute even when he stood on the verge of ruin, God was yet
willing to save him.
3. In the beginning he showed tendency, distinct and clear. He loved
ease, comfort, wealth, worldly possessions, and beauty. He followed
disposition. That disposition was not sinful--it was weak. It erred on the side
of what multitudes (and those the good) admire--kindness, easiness, gentleness,
affability, lack of severity. It was exactly the reverse of the disposition of
Abraham. All doubt as to the end of Lot, and his position in eternity, is
removed by the verse which declares, on the warrant and in the words of St.
Peter, that “God delivered just Lot,” who was “a righteous man.” His escape is
called a deliverance, and the act of God is spoken of as a means used to remove
Lot from the sinful examples of Sodom and Gomorrha. (E. Monte, M. A.)
The righteous delivered
Thus, in times of public calamity, there is often some
little Zoar provided for them that love God, where they are wonderfully
preserved from the judgments that fall on their country and their kindred. The
Roman armies which surrounded Jerusalem, to execute on it the vengeance
predicted, drew off, in an unaccountable manner, as if their design had been to
give the Christians contained within its walls an opportunity of withdrawing to
a little adjoining city, called Pella, which proved a Zoar to them, from whence
they beheld the Roman eagles fly again to the destined prey, to be left no more
till they had devoured it. And what is the church upon earth, but a Zoar, a
little city (is it not a little one?) spared at the intercession of its Lord?
Here the penitent, not yet strong enough to escape to the heavenly mountain,
findeth rest and refreshment, and is invigorated to pursue his journey. Hither
let him escape, and his soul shall live. But let him bear in mind, that in
making his escape, perseverence alone can secure him. “He that endureth to the
end,” and he only, “shall be saved.” (Bishop Horne.)
Verse 24-25
Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and
fire from the Lord out of heaven--
The destruction of Sodom
I.
DIVINE
JUDGMENT IS DISCRIMINATIVE.
The Scripture will not have us fall into the belief that there is
no radical difference between the good and the evil. It would have us know that
they are as unlike as the wheat and the chaff. Divine judgments are a
winnowing-fan to separate the two. If the sifting and winnowing process which
goes on in this world is only partially accomplished, yet it is carried far
enough to let us know that some time it will be completed.
II. DIVINE
JUDGMENT, THOUGH LONG DELAYED, IS AT LAST PRECIPITATED BY PRESUMPTUOUS SINS.
The men of Sodom, lusting after God’s messengers, launched upon themselves the
fire and brimstone. They hastened and fixed the city’s doom. No doubt, God’s
judgments are exactly timed. The hour and minute of visitation are determined.
But the timing has been done by One who foreknows the moral history of men. He
has set a bound for human iniquity. It cannot be passed. He knows at what hour
it will be reached. Until that hour judgment impends; then it falls. Let Joab
escape punishment for the murder of Abner, and, so far from coming to
repentance, he will be found reddening his hand with the blood of Amasa. Yet
his second crime hastens on the time when the horns of the altar will not be
for him a sanctuary of refuge. Let Napoleon
III. succeed in his
transcendent crime of founding the Second Empire in France, and thereafter he
will despise the will of the people, in destroying the freedom of the press,
and will hasten the hour of doom by all the surprising splendours and follies
of the Imperial court at Compiegne. The Bible reiterates the lesson for all
rulers, all governments, all individuals: that a limit of transgression has
been fixed, beyond which judgment waits. Presumptuous sins, therefore, hasten
the hour of judgment.
III. AMONG
PRESUMPTUOUS SINS WE MUST NUMBER DISOBEDIENCE TO THE LORD’S DIRECT COMMAND.
This was the sin of Lot’s wife. No doubt she loved Sodom.
IV. DIVINE
JUDGMENT, WHICH IS PRECIPITATED BY ACTS OF PRESUMPTUOUS SIN, IS SOMETIMES
AVERTED FOR THE SAKE OF THE RIGHTEOUS. What would have been realized in Sodom,
had ten righteous men dwelt there, was done in Zoar when Lot and his two
daughters made it a place of refuge. The little city of Zoar was saved
for-their-sake. A leaven of goodness saved it.
V. THE DIVINE
JUDGMENTS OF THIS WORLD ARE NOT FINAL. We might be inclined to say, in the case
of Sodom and Gomorrah, that their wickedness was sufficiently punished. The
sweeping tempest of fire did its strange work throughly, but our Lord has left
some sobering words (Matthew 10:15) to teach that this sudden,
awful event was not the day of judgment for Sodom. In that day it shall be
“more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for some who, despising
the sin of the Sodomites, have yet sinned against greater light.” (W. G.
Sperry.)
The destruction of the cities of the plain
I. IT WAS SUDDEN.
1. AS regards the object of it.
2. Not as regards the Author of it.
II. IT WAS THE
DIRECT ACT OF GOD.
1. The destruction was predicted.
2. The destruction was, in its nature, extraordinary.
III. IT WAS
COMPLETE. Utter ruin, and absolutely without remedy. Learn:
1. That God’s judgments, though deserved, tarry long.
2. That without timely repentance, His judgments are sure to fall. (T.
H.Leale.)
The overthrow of Sodom
The “brimstone” of the Authorized Version is probably rather some
form of bituminous matter which could be carried into the air by such an escape
of gas, and a thick saline mud would accompany the eruption, encrusting
anything it reached. Subsidence would follow the ejection of quantities of such
matter; and hence the word “overthrew,” which seems inappropriate to a mere
conflagration, would be explained. But, however this may be, we have to
recognize a supernatural element in the starting of the train of natural causes
as well as in the timing of the catastrophe, and a Divine purpose of
retribution, which turns the catastrophe, however effected, into a judgment. So
regarded, the event has a double meaning.
1. In the first place, it is a revelation of an element in the
Divine character and of a feature in the Divine Government. To the men of that
time, it might be a warning. To Abraham, and through him to his descendants,
and through them to us, it preaches a truth very unwelcome to many in this
day--that there is in God that which constrains Him to hate, fight against,
andpunish evil. The temper of this generation turns away from such thoughts,
and, in the name of the truth that “God is love,” would fain obliterate the
truth that He does and will punish. But if the punitive element be suppressed,
and that in God which makes it necessary ignored or weakened, the end will be a
God who has not force enough to love, but only weakly to indulge. If He does
not hate and punish, He does not pardon. For the sake of the love of God, we must
hold firm by the belief in the judgments of God. The God who destroyed Sodom is
not merely the God of an earlier antiquated creed. “Is He the God of the Jews
only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also.” Again this
event is a prophecy. So our Lord has employed it; and much of the imagery in
which the last judgment is represented is directly drawn from this narrative.
So far from this story showing to us only the superstitions of a form of belief
which we have long outgrown, its deepest meaning lies far ahead, and closes the
history of man on the earth. We know from the lips which cannot lie, that the
appalling suddenness of that destruction foreshadows the swiftness of the
coming of that last “day of the Lord.” We know that in literality some of the
physical features shall be reproduced; for the fire which shall burn up the
world and all its works is no figure, nor is it proclaimed only by such
non-authoritative voices as those of Jesus and His apostles, but also by the
modern possessors of infallible certitude--the men of science. We know that
that day shall be a day of retribution. We know, too, that the crime of Sodom,
foul and unnatural as it was, is not the darkest, but that its inhabitants (who
have to face that judgment too) will find their doom more tolerable, and their
sins lighter than some who have had high places in the church, than the
Pharisees and wise men who have not taken Christ for their Saviour. (A.
Maclaren, D. D.)
Lessons from the destruction of Sodom
I. WHAT AN EVIL
IS SENSUAL AND SEXUAL POLLUTION. It is remarkable that God has severely
punished the cities most chargeable with these sins. Lucknow is said to be the
Sodom of India, and it has of late been terribly punished, although through the
instrumentality of hands many of them unclean themselves. Some of the cities in
the West Indies and South America, which have been destroyed by earthquake,
were peculiarly stained by such pollutions; and if accounts be true, Cuba, on
this principle, may well stand in awe of the judgments of God. Of all the
cities on the continent, the two which have suffered most in war have been its
two most licentious cities, namely, Vienna and Paris.
II. How MUCH STILL
DEPENDS UPON A FEW IN A LARGE CITY, AS WELL AS IN A COUNTRY. “Ye are the salt
of the earth.” Even Omnipotence pauses, in its path of just vengeance, till the
righteous are out of its way (Genesis 19:22). Let the thought that
there are still so few righteous in the earth exert a humbling influence on our
minds. We know not what is God’s required proportion now, it was in Sodom’s day
tens to tens of thousands; perhaps it is so still, and how serious the
question. Is it because the required proportion of righteous is found, or is it
out of mere forbearance that God does not arise terribly to punish the world,
and how long, if it be mere forbearance, may this forbearance last?
III. LET US FLEE TO
THE ZOAR OF CHRIST. (G. Gilfillan.)
Destruction a moral necessity
To find out whether the judgment is right we must find out the
moral conditions which called it forth. And first, it is important to observe
that this judgment was preceded by an inquiry of the most unquestionable
completeness and authority. Hear this Genesis 18:20-21). You see, therefore,
that we are only following the Lord’s own example, in asking for information as
to moral conditions. It is, then, deeply satisfactory to know that the judgment
was preceded by inquiry. In the next place, the revelation made respecting the
moral condition of Sodom is appalling and revolting, beyond the power of words
to describe. Let us put the case before ourselves in this way: Given a city
that is full of corruption, which may not be so much as named; every home a den
of unclean beasts; every imagination debauched and drunk with iniquity; every
tongue an empoisoned instrument; purity, love, honour, peace, forgotten or
detested words; judgment deposed, righteousness banished, the sanctuary
abandoned, the altar destroyed; every child taught the tricks and speech of
imps; prizes offered for the discovery of some deeper depth of iniquity or new
way of serving the devil;--given such a city, to know what is best to be done
with it? Remonstrate with it? Absurd! Threaten it? Feeble! What then? Rain fire
and brimstone upon it? Yes! Conscience says Yes; Justice says Yes; concern for
other cities says Yes; nothing but fire will disinfect so foul an air, nothing but
burning brimstone should succeed the cup of devils. Just as we grasp the moral
condition with which God had to deal do we see that fire alone could meet
wickedness so wicked or insanity so mad. This view is important not only
historically as regards Sodom, but prospectively as regards a still greater
judgment. This is no local tragedy. The fire and brimstone are still in the
power of God; not a spark has been lost; it is true to-day and for ever that
“our God is a consuming fire”! (J. Parker, D. D.)
The probable physical causes of the destruction of the cities of
the plain
With reference to the causes of the destruction of the cities,
these are soclearly stated in a perfectly unconscious and incidental manner in Genesis 19:1-38., that I think no
geologist, on comparing the narrative with the structure of the district, can
hesitate as to the nature of the phenomena which were presented to the
observation of the narrator, Nor is there any reason to suppose that the
history is compounded of two narratives giving different views as to the cause
of the catastrophe. On the contrary, the story has all the internal evidence of
being a record of the observations of intelligent eye-witnesses, who reported
the appearances observed without concerning themselves as to their proximate
causes or natural probability. We learn from the narrative that the destruction
was sudden and unexpected, that it was caused by “ brimstone and fire,” that
these were rained down from the sky, that a dense column of smoke ascended to a
great height like the smoke of a furnace or lime-kiln, and that along with, or
immediately after the fire, there was an emission of brine or saline mud,
capable of encrusting bodies (as that of Lot’s wife), so that they appeared as
mounds (not pillars) of salt. The only point in the statements in regard to
which there can be doubt, is the substance intended by the Hebrew word
translated “brimstone.” It may mean sulphur, of which there is abundance in
some of the Dead Sea depths; but there is reason to suspect that, as used here,
it may rather denote pitch, since it is derived from the same root with Gopher,
the Hebrew name, apparently, of the cypress and other resinous woods. It is scarcely
necessary to say that the circumstances above referred to are not those of a
volcanic eruption, and there is no mention of any earthquake, which, if it
occurred, must in the judgment of the narrator have been altogether a
subordinate feature. Nor is an earthquake necessarily implied in the expression
“overthrown,” used in Deuteronomy 29:1-29. Still, as we shall
see, more or less tremor of the ground very probably occurred, and might have
impressed itself on traditions of the event, especially as the district is
subject to earthquakes, though it is not mentioned in theological narrative.
The description is that of a bitumen or petroleum eruption, similar to those
which, on a small scale, have been so destructive in the regions of Canada and
the United States of America. They arise from the existence of reservoirs of
compressed inflammable gas, along with petroleum and water, existing at
considerable depths below the surface. When these are penetrated, as by a well
or borehole, the gas escapes with explosive force, carrying petroleum with it,
and when both have been ignited the petroleum rains down in burning showers and
floats in flames over the ejected water, while a dense smoke towers high into
the air, and the in-rushing draft may produce a vortex, carrying it upward to a
still greater height, and distributing still more widely the burning material,
which is almost inextinguishable and most destructive to life and to buildings.
We have thus only to suppose that, at the time in question, reservoirs of
condensed gas and petroleum existed under the plain of Siddim, and that these
were suddenly discharged, either by their own accumulated pressure, or by an
earthquake shock fracturing the overlying beds, when the phenomena described by
the writer in Genesis would occur, and after the eruption the site would be
covered with saline and sulphurous deposit, while many of the sources of
petroleum previously existing might be permanently dried up. In connection with
this there might be subsidence of the ground over the now exhausted reservoirs,
and this might give rise to the idea of the submergence of the cities. It is to
be observed, however, that the parenthetic statement in Genesis 14:1-24, “which is the Salt Sea,”
does not certainly mean under the sea, and that it relates not to the cities
themselves but to the plain where the battle recorded in the chapter was fought
at a time previous to to the eruption. It is also to be noted that this
particular locality is precisely the one which, as previously stated, may on
other grounds be supposed to have subsided, and that this subsidence having
occurred subsequently may have rendered less intelligible the march of the
invading army to later readers, and this may have required to be mentioned. It
seems difficult to imagine that anything except the real occurrence of such an
event could have given origin to the narrative. No one unacquainted with the
structure of the district and the probability of the bitumen eruptions in
connection with this structure, would be likely to imagine the raining of
burning pitch from the sky, with the attendant phenomena stated so simply and
without any appearance of exaggeration, and with the evident intention to dwell
on the spiritual and moral significance of the event, while giving just as much
of the physical features as was essential to this purpose. It may be added here
that in Isaiah 34:9-10, there is a graphic
description of a bitumen eruption, which may possibly be based on the history
now under consideration, though used figuratively to illustrate the doom of
Idumea. In thus directing attention to the physical phenomena attendant on the
destruction of the cities of the plain, I do not desire to detract from the
providential character of the catastrophe, or from the lessons which it
teaches, and which have pervaded the religion and literature of the world ever
since it occurred. I merely wish to show that there is nothing in the narrative
comparable with the wild myths and fanciful conjectures sometimes associated
with it, and that its author has described it in an intelligent manner,
appearances which he must have seen or which were described to him by competent
witnesses. I wish also to indicate that the statements made are m accordance
with the structure and possibilities of the district as now understood after its
scientific exploration. From a scientific point of view it is an almost vague
description of a natural phenomena of much interest and very rare occurrence.
Nor do I desire to he understood as asserting that Sodom and its companion
cities were unique in the facilities of destruction afforded by their
situation. They were no doubt so placed as to be specially subject to one
particular kind of overthrow. But it may be safely said that there is no city
in the world which is not equally, though perhaps by other agencies, within the
reach of Divine power exercised through the energies of nature, should it be
found to be destitute of “ten righteous men.” So that the conclusion still
holds--“except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.” (Sir J. William
Dawson.)
The destruction of Sodom by God through natural agencies
A man goes now to the scene of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah, and tries to establish the fact that it was nothing but a natural
volcanic eruption; and by getting rid of the supernatural agency he thinks he
has got rid of God Himself. Another goes to the same place, and in his zeal for
the supernatural wishes to make out that the veracity of the Bible depends on
this kind of occurrence never having happened before. Do we mean, then, that
only the marvellous incidents of nature--the fall of a Sodom and Gomorrah
taking place at an appointed time--only the positive miracles, are God’s doing,
and not the common-place events of every-day life? Nay, God holds all the
powers of nature in His hand; small events may be so directed by Him that we
shall think them accident; but for all this it is no less certain that the most
trifling act of every-day life is directed by Him. What we have to say is this:
we agree with the supernaturalist in saying that God did it; we agree with the
rationalist in saying that it was done by natural means. The natural is the
work of God. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Site of the cities of the plain
The question of the site of the cities of the plain is one that
cannot be decided with certainty. The prevalent view is, that they were at the
southern end of the sea. The correspondence of the names Usdum, Amra, and
Zoghal to Sodom, Gomorrah, and Zoar, adds weight to this view. Then there is
the existence of the salt mountain above alluded to. On the other hand the
passage in Genesis 13:10-12, tends to the conclusion
that the plain was to the north of the Dead Sea. Mr. Grove, in the “Bible
Dictionary,” points out that the mention of the Jordan confirms this: “for the
Jordan ceases where it enters the Dead Sea, and can have no existence south of
that point”; and on a review of the whole argument he says: “It thus appears
that on the situation of Sodom no satisfactory conclusion can at present be
come to. On the one hand the narrative of Genesis seems to state positively
that it lay at the northern end of the Dead Sea. On the other hand the long
continued tradition and the names of existing spots seem to pronounce with almost
equal positiveness that it was at its southern end.” Canon Tristram, in his
“Natural History of the Bible,” speaks of “the great Jordan valley and Dead Sea
basin” as “the most remarkable geological part of the Holy Land.” He holds with
M. Lartet that the Dead Sea “is the basin of an old inland sea, larger, indeed,
than the present lake, but which has had no connection with the Red Sea since
the continent assumed its present form.” He mentions that “bitumen is sometimes
found in large masses floating on the surface of the Dead Sea, especially after
earthquakes”; and that “there are many hot springs and sulphur springs both on
the shores of the Dead Sea and also in its basin, some of which deposit sulphur
largely on the rocks around. Most of these hot springs are strongly mineral.”
With reference to the site of the cities, he thinks it evident on geological
grounds that “the catastrophe which overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah can no more be
ascribed to an ordinary volcanic eruption than can the fire and blackness of
Mount Sinai. Those cities were not situated where the Dead Sea now is, nor were
they swallowed up by it; but standing in the ciccar, i.e., the plain of
Jordan, and probably somewhere between Jericho and the north end of the lake,
they were destroyed by brimstone and fire rained down upon them by a special
interposition of Divine power. The materials for the fire were at hand in the
sulphur abounding near and the bitumen with which, dug from the pits of the
plain, the houses were probably constructed, or cemented.” (W. S. Smith, B.
D.)
Verse 26
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar
Of salt
The cause and danger of backsliding
I.
THE
CAUSE OF BACKSLIDING. Unbelief, leading to
II. THE DANGER OF
BACKSLIDING.
1. There is the danger of forfeiting our salvation.
2. The danger of punishment. (T. H. Leale.)
Lot’s wife
I. SHE PERISHED
AFTER SOLEMN WARNING.
II. SHE PERISHED
BY A LOOK.
III. SHE PERISHED
AFTER SHE HAD STOOD LONG, AND HAD ENJOYED GREAT ADVANTAGES.
IV. SHE
ILLUSTRATES THE ENORMOUS INFLUENCE OF WORLDLY INTERESTS AND AFFECTIONS. (T.
H. Leale.)
Lot’s wife
I. A CHARACTER
HIGHLY BLESSED.
1. Association with good people.
2. Remarkable interpositions of Providence on her behalf.
3. Divine aid afforded to escape the danger.
II. A CHARACTER
INEXCUSABLY WRONG.
1. Inasmuch as sin in its most detestable forms had been presented
to her view.
2. Inasmuch as a special commandment was disregarded.
3. Inasmuch as there was no reasonable inducement to disobey,
III. A CHARACTER
SADLY PUNISHED.
1. Separated from the objects of her hope.
2. Held forth as a warning to others throughout the ages.
3. Lost almost within reach of safety. (Homilist.)
The danger of looking back
“Remember Lot’s wife”--
1. In the hour of conviction of sin. “Up! flee for your life!” is
the voice of the Holy Spirit. Delay, hesitation, casting longing looks back on
a life of sin, then, may be fatal.
2. In the hour of fiery temptation. The only safety is in
precipitate flight.
3. When any question of duty is pressed upon you.
4. Amid the assaults of unbelief.
5. Note what Christ says in Luke 9:62 : “No man, having put his hand
to the plough,” etc.
Lot’s wife
I. She was made A
NOTARIZE AND CONSPICUOUS EXAMPLE OF JUDICIAL INFLICTION SO as to “justify the
ways of God to men.” Why was she overtaken by so signal a doom? She was
probably not different from others, her fellow-townswomen--the votaries of
fashion and the slaves of custom. We possess some intimation of the habits
which then existed, and the tastes which then prevailed. “The iniquity of Sodom
“ was “ pride, fulness of bread; and abundance of idleness was in her and in
her daughters” (Ezekiel 16:49). No encomium is pronounced
on her; but how differently is her partner regarded! (2 Peter 2:4; 2 Peter 2:7-8.) Probably she was
frivolous, light, and careless in her conduct; her character made up of
negations, rather than of positive vices; and her faults probably originated in
the unfavourable influence of the society in which she mingled. “She that
liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Timothy 5:6). We see a judicial
infliction overtaking her conduct, which was marked by the following features.
1. Disobedience. It is the business of principle to obey the right
and the rule. It does not matter what the law prescribes, for the majesty which
invests the government of God descends on all the acts of His legislation; and
it is not for us to question their greater or less magnitude, or their superior
or subordinate authority. He shows us what He wills, and it is our part to
obey. In the case before us there was to be no idolatry of home--no favourite
objects to preserve and bring away. They were to come out quickly and
unburdened. The general command was to disregard all; and even the particular
precept could not be more distinct: “Escape for thy life! Look not behind thee,
neither stay thou in all the plain! Escape thou to the mountain, lest thou be
consumed” (Genesis 19:17)! Then commenced a struggle
in her mind. Here was her disobedience. Only obey the voice of God, and it
shall be well; but if thou disobey, ruin will be the result.
2. Ingratitude. It was not ordinary kindness, but particular and
pre-eminent that was shown to her husband, herself, and her household. “Haste
thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither” Genesis 19:22). As if His fury were
stayed till the complete deliverance of these, His favourite charge.
3. Reluctance. Hers was an averted countenance. Are we surprised at
this? Think of the awe--the panic--the agitation! Think of the natural instinct
which attached her to home. Was it that her heart grudged to leave behind some
favourite whose misery excited her pity and commiseration? None of these
feelings are manifested. But there is a wistful and hankering look. Her eye
seems enamoured of what she must abandon; the objects of vanity--her
companionships--whatever she coveted--her pursuits--herfriends--her abode--her
flocks--all that she was leaving; and though she saved what was of greater
value, her heart went after her covetousness Ezekiel 33:31); and it was all
concentrated in that look.
4. Distrust. Might it not be a false alarm? Might it not be well to
pause and examine?
5. Indecision. This paralyzes all, and is unaccountable in such a
case as hers. See how the waves threaten to surround her! Yet she wavers,
instead of hastening her retreat.
II. Why are we to
“Remember Lot’s wife,” but that there was SOMETHING IN HER CONDUCT TO REBUKE
AND INSTRUCT US?
1. How small a thing may prevent our salvation! Lot’s wife may have
been gay and volatile--nothing more.
2. The increased misery of perishing within the reach of recovering
mercy. Lot’s wife was in the track of safety. All was promise and hope.
3. The evil of a careless state of mind. Lot’s wife was not fully
possessed of the fear proper to her situation. Led by the example of those
among whom she dwelt, she had no just view of the evil of sin. Left by her
companions, she thought to return; but the resolve was too late! Advance was as
helpless as retreat!
4. The misery of apostasy. Many have a disposition to what is right;
but there is nothing fixed--no true change. How many have been thus hindered in
their course! They were almost persuaded to be Christians Acts 26:28), but they “looked back”; and
our Lord indicates that this disposition leads to condemnation (Luke 9:62).
5. The fearful state of mind when God leaves the sinner and abandons
him to his own will. In the case of Lot’s wife, God could do no more, and the
angels went on. The last desire for deliverance left her. She “looked
back”--stopped--and stood still for ever! (R. W. Hamilton, D. D.)
Lot’s wife
I. THE TEXT SHOWS
THAT ACTIONS MAY BECOME PUNISHABLE, WHICH TO US MAY SEEM MOST HARMLESS AND EXCUSABLE.
No doubt there are some things which have happened in each of our lives which
stand out more prominently than others, and we can remember these with ease,
and with a constant recurring memory. They are the mountains and hills (so to
speak) in our mind-scenery which come before us ever so plainly; but the little
rivulet, or the humble stone, or the half-hidden bush is passed over and seldom
thought of. And such is the case with human life, we overlook or forget the
smaller things of every-day existence, while we lay a great emphasis upon what
we consider more deserving of our attention. But it is the little transactions
of the day which make up the character, which form it, and give to it its
destiny. It is the oft-repeated habit which grows into strength, and stamps its
image upon our hearts and minds, whether good or bad. It is the word of anger
which, like a spark, kindles into flame our fiercest passions, while the word
of kindness will soothe the feelings of ill temper and carry comfort into the most
troubled bosom. A look, a simple pressure of the hand, and even sometimes a
well-known footstep, will do much to change the history of a life. Yet, after
all, God looks deeper into our doings than what meets the eye or falls upon the
ear of sense. He is a Searcher of the heart, of its intents and motives; and
according to its principles, which lie beneath the disturbed and restless
surface of human actions, so does He acquit or condemn us, commend or
disapprove. Thus with regard to Lot’s wife, it was not the mere turning back of
her body, or the look of her eye, which He condemned, but the motives which
prompted these actions, and made them the instruments of her own evil wishes,
and of the wrongful feelings which stirred within her soul. Hence, if the eye
should become the instrument of sin, pluck it out; or, if the arm should lead
us to offend, cut it off.
II. We observe
here THAT THE SIN OF LOT’S WIFE FOUND HER OUT WHATEVER THAT SIN MIGHT HAVE
BEEN. Did her heart long to remain with the people of the cities whom God had
cursed? She became a fixture to the spot where such a wish was encouraged. Did
she depreciate or condemn the judgment which wrapt the cities in flames? She is
made to share their fate, only in another form. Would she rather return to the
place from which she was commanded to flee, and so brave the curse which God
had declared against it? Then let her steps be arrested in death, and her folly
become a monument of warning to others who would follow her example. Did she,
by looking back in direct opposition to the orders not to do so, care nothing
about the interposition of angels, nought of the Divine goodness and mercy in
providing for her and her household a refuge and a place of rest and security?
Then let her insensibility and ingratitude become marked by turning her into a
lifeless and insensible pillar of salt. And thus we often find that there is a
correspondence between the act of disobedience and the judgment which follows
it.
III. THE FATE OF
LOT’S WIFE WAS SUDDEN, QUITE UNEXPECTED. It came upon her in an instant. In the
very act of turning she was struck by the hand of death. There came to her no
note of warning of the calamity, and the momentary change allowed no time for
thought, for reflection, or for shrinking fear. But it is not the suddenness of
death we have most to dread, it is the being unprepared for such a change. It
is this we have most to fear.
The manner and form of the death of Lot’s wife may be regarded
comparatively of little consequence, but the state of mind in which the
destroyer found her is of the utmost importance.
IV. WE LEARN FROM
OUR SUBJECT THE EVIL OF TURNING BACK IN THE PATH OF DUTY.
V. The body of
Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt seems to point to the COMPARATIVE
INSIGNIFICANCE OF THE HUMAN BODY, AND TO CAST A SORT OF CONTEMPT UPON IT. But
suppose its rigid fixture to the ground may be considered a symbol of the
fixity of the human character in death! (W. D.Horwood.)
Lost near safety
In an October day a treacherous calm on the northern coast is suddenly
followed by one of the fiercest storms within the memory of man. Without
warning signs a squall comes sweeping down the main, and the ocean leaps in its
fury like a thing of life. The heavens seem to bow themselves, and form a veil
of mirk and gloom; and above the voices of the storm is heard the cry of those
on shore, “O God of mercy, send us those we love!” But, alas! there are those
for whom that prayer cannot now avail; for floating spars and bodies washed
ashore from which all life is sucked tell too plainly that some home is
desolate, some spirit crushed. And now a mighty shout is heard, and all eyes
again turn towards the sea, for through the darkness of the storm a boat is
seen struggling towards the shore, now lost to sight, and again borne on the
crest of the wave, nearer and yet nearer the harbour’s mouth. The climax now
approaches in this wild race for life; and hearts are high with hope or chilled
with fear, for the next wave must either bear them into safety or send them to
their doom. See! there it comes, threatening in its vastness and twisting in
its progress like some hideous thing of night. A cold sweat breaks out on those
on shore, for the boat is lifted on its boiling crest and dashed with
resistless fury against the stonework of the pier; and as a mighty cry of
anguish rises, the men clinging to the wreck wave to their friends a last
adieu, who, close at hand, stand agonized spectators of the scene! Yes, they
have surmounted all the dangers which have proved fatal to their fellows, only
to miss the friendly hands stretched out to save, and perish before the eyes,
and be washed up lifeless at the very feet, of those they love. In all such
cases the grief of onlookers, and of all who mourn their loss, is augmented by
the thought that though so near to safety they yet were lost. Remember that to
be near the harbour-mouth is not to be safe in its shelter--that though near to
the kingdom of heaven you may never enter therein; and that, in so far as your
final salvation is concerned, being near to Christ is no better than being far
away, if it never lead to a complete surrender of your heart to Him. (W.
Landels, D. D.)
Lot’s wife: a warning
All which bewray and show that they were never in heart soundly
reformed, how glorious soever their outward show was for a time. Fear we, then,
ever to look back with Lot’s wife I Fear we to return to those old vices and
sinful corruptions wherewith we have been stayed! Fear we to frequent that
company, to lust or long for those poisoned pleasures which heretofore have
given us a fall, or at least endangered us, for as the Lord liveth that smote
this woman (Lot’s wife) we shall be smitten first or last, and stand as
spectacles of His wrath for evermore. Now, as you have heard what she did, so
hear, I pray you, what she suffered. She looked back, and the Lord turned her
into a pillar of salt. That which respecteth the punishment itself is that it
was just and most due to her. For, first, she was delivered with her husband
and daughters out of Sodom, and brought forth by the angels’ own hands. Then
she was warned that she should not look back, nor abide in all the plain, lest
she perished, which was a fair warning. Thirdly, even hard by, as it were,
there was appointed a city to them whither they might easily go, and should be
most safe. Fourthly, she had going with her husband and children, whom, both
for wife’s affection and mother’s, she should joyfully have accompanied. But
all this she neglecteth, and therefore justly perisheth. This biddeth us to-day
to beware, and, hearing the word of the Lord, not to harden our hearts. Without
doubt, if we perish, we perish justly, and it is not the Lord’s blame, but our
own fault that it is so. “Remember Lot’s wife,” saith our Saviour Christ, in
Luke, “and let him that is in the field not turn back to that he has left
behind”; and remember Lot’s wife say I to you, to continue in safety without
revolting, and the Lord grant that her salt may season our lives for ever. (Bishop
Babington.)
Lessons from the history of Lot’s wife
I. First,
RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES DO NOT CONSTITUTE SALVATION. Never forget that. Some of us
rest too much on our religious privileges. I read of Pharaoh being nine times
brought under conviction, and yet he perished. I read of Judas being associated
with the Christ of God for more than three years, listening to words that
angels came down to listen to, and contemplating the model of human and Divine
perfection, witnessing Him opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears
of the deaf, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, and yet he perished. And
here I read of Lot’s wife, for thirty years associated with the people of God,
almost pressed by angels to the very gates of Zoar, and yet she perished; and
God made her a pillar of salt, to be an everlasting monument of the fact that
religious privileges and associations cannot save.
II. Religious
privileges, when they are not made a blessing to us, WHEN THEY DO NOT EFFECT
THE END INTENDED BY THEM, INCREASE OUR CONDEMNATION AND AGGRAVATE OUR RUIN.
That is a solemn passage in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16. I would far
rather stand before the judgment-seat of God by-and-by a poor African from the
barren waste of Africa, where the gospel message was never known, and the story
of the blood of Christ never told, and throw myself upon His mercy, than I
would take the stand of one of you professing Christians! who, in that day,
will have nothing to answer when the King shall say, “Friend, how camest thou
in hither, not having a wedding garment?”
III. TO LOOK BACK
FROM THIS POSITION OF KNOWLEDGE IS TO GO BACK, and so the Lord interprets it.
To he outside Sodom is not enough, to he disentangled from the world is not
enough, you must be in Christ, or you are Hot saved. Mechanical obedience,
bodily exercise is not salvation; her body was near to Zoar, but her affections
were in Sodom, and she perished--“Remember Lot’s wife.” (M. Rainsford, B. A.)
Lessons
1. The time of vengeance on the wicked may be that of severe
judgment upon the righteous who haste not from it.
2. Nearest relations may be sometimes the greatest crosses to God’s
saints.
3. Rebellion against God’s express commands and threatenings is a
provoking evil.
4. It is very evil to have withdrawing hearts from God’s salvation
and inclining to the wicked’s destruction.
5. God sometimes meets with rebellion and apostasy in the very act,
and judgeth it.
6. Eminent sins are answered sometimes with eminent judgments.
7. God can turn flesh into salt and stones, and He alone.
8. God maketh some of His severe acts of punishment to be perpetual
examples against sin in all ages. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The sin and punishment of Lot’s wife; or, the sinner under
conviction still in danger
Here let me tell you that conviction for sin and conversion to God
are two very different things. A sinner under conviction is a sinner waked up
to his guilt and danger. A sinner converted is a sinner who has hasted away to
Christ for pardon and mercy, who is made safe in the strong mountain of God’s
love and grace.
I. LOT’S WIFE SAW
HER DANGER, AND SET OUT TO ESCAPE FROM IT. So the Holy Spirit of God makes many
a man see his danger as a sinner, and strives with him, and urges him to flee
away from his sins. Many a man, under the warnings of the spirit, sets off in a
way to the mount of God, and yet, like Lot’s wife, perishes in the way.
Pharaoh; Herod; Felix; Agrippa. I called to see a faithful servant once who was
lying and trembling on the verge of death. He was greatly alarmed at the
thought of dying unprepared to meet God. He said that the thought of his sins
gave him the deepest distress, and that all he wanted was to be a Christian.
Before I left him he solemnly promised that if ever he was raised up from that
bed of sickness, he would be a Christian the rest of his days. Had he died
then, his master and all of us who were there would have said that he died a
Christian, and was saved in heaven. But he recovered; and, as he had always
been a good and faithful servant, we expected to see the light of a good
Christian shining in his life. And he did not altogether forget his promises. I
went often to the house of his master, and would sometimes talk with him as he
would light me to my room at night. As often as the books were brought out, and
the bell rang for prayers, James would be there to join with us in family
worship. This practice he kept up for several months. His master told me that
during all that time he had been faithful to his promises. He seemed to be a
Christian indeed, and all of us thought he would soon join the church. But at
last he gradually gave up coming in to prayer. As I had not seen him for a good
while, I asked one of the other servants what had become of James. He told me
that, but a few days before, he was talking to him about his promises, and that
James had said ha did not see the use of so much religion--so much praying--and
so much reading the Bible--and so much going to church--and so much hearing
sermons read. In fact, James had given up all pretensions to religion. He was
just the same wicked man he was before he was sick. Now, this man was like
Lot’s wife. He set out in the way to heaven, but he “looked back.” He turned
back. He did not, indeed, become a pillar of salt; but he became (what is just
as bad) hardened in sin. Two years passed away, and James was taken dangerously
ill again. As soon as I heard of it I went to see him. I read the Bible to him;
I prayed for him; I talked to him. I did not distress him by reminding him of
his old promises. I told him of Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. I begged him to
remember that He was able and willing to forgive all sins. I read and explained
the parable of the prodigal son. I entreated him to give up his heart to that
Saviour, and put all his trust in Him. But his heart seemed to be turned to
stone. “No, no,” said he, “I have most wickedly broken my promises to God; I
have sinned away my day of grace; He will not now have mercy on me; I have no
hope; I do not and cannot feel as I did before; my mind is so dark, and my
heart is so hard!” I shall never forget that scene. His fellow-servants stood
round the room in silent and solemn fear. They heard his short, heavy
breathing, and watched his ghastly countenance until he gave up in the death
struggle, saying, with his last breath, “There is no mercy for me.” He had once
been keenly sensible of his guilt as a sinner; he had mourned and wept as a
sinner; he had promised before God to give up his sins. Like Lot’s wife, he had
set off in the way to heaven. He had put his hand to the plough, but looked
back. He was hardened in sin, and perished in impenitence. Then let every
sinner under conviction take warning, and not rest in his fears or sorrows.
II. Now LET ME
WARN YOU AGAINST THIS FALLING AWAY--THIS BACK-SLIDING FROM CONVICTION.
“Remember Lot’s wife.”
1. Do not linger in sin, as they did in Sodom. If you are anxious
about religion, why should you remain any longer in sin? Why not rise up now,
and with firm resolution escape from it? If you will not do this, you can never
reach the mountain of salvation.
2. When once you have set out in religion, do not look back. Our
Saviour Himself has said, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Bp. Meade.)
Looking back
Could God, in showing so much love, not expect faith and reliance?
The trial of obedience was small and easy indeed; but it involved the proof
whether the rescued family believed the angel, or required personal certainty,
before they would follow his guidance; and it was a trial deemed sufficient by
ancient nations under similar circumstances. When Orpheus had descended into
the lower world in order to ask back his beloved wife Eurydice, Pluto, moved by
the magic of his harmonies, gave him the promise that she would be restored to
him under condition that he did not turn round to her till he had passed the
Avernian valley; and when he disobeyed, she fell back into the regions of hell.
Sacred actions, performed in reliance on the omnipotent assistance of the gods,
were done with the face averted, as if symbolically to express that the
believing mind requires no ocular evidence. We have, therefore, to explain the
command here given to Lot from the same notions; it was a proof of faith. (M.
M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
The fate of Lot’s wife
There was a great difference between the feelings of the elder and
the younger branches of Lot’s family on leaving their home. His sons and
daughters left it in apparent obedience, but with the spirit of the inhabitants
of the plain; it was not so with Lot’s wife. It is not the character of age to
accommodate itself readily to fresh circumstances. The old man does not feel
inclined to launch himself afresh on the great ocean of the universe to seek
new fortunes. He does not easily make fresh acquaintances, or transplant
himself quickly from old haunts and homes. To youth there is a future; to old
age there remains nothing but the present and the past. Therefore, while youth
went on with its usual elastic step of buoyancy and hope, Lot’s wife lingered;
she regretted the home of her vanity and luxury, and the lava flood overwhelmed
her, encrusted her with salt, and left her as a monument. The moral we are to
draw from that is not left us to choose. Christ says, “Remember Lot’s wife.” It
is worse to turn back, when once on the safe path, than never to have served
God at all. They who have once tasted of the power of the world to come, let
them beware lest they turn again. Sin is dangerous, but relapse is fatal. That
is the reason why God so marvellously smooths the way for youth. Early joy
enables the young man to make his first steps surely, with confidence in his
Maker; love, gratitude, and all his best emotions are thus called forth. But if
afterwards he falls, if he sinks back again into the world of evil, think you
that his feelings will spur him on again in God’s cause? Nay, because at the
first time there was hope, the next all the hope is washed out; the stimulus of
feeling is weaker because experience has broken down hope; he knows now what
those resolves were worth! There is great difficulty in quitting evil after
long habit. It becomes a home, and holiness is dull, and cheerless, and dreary.
Youth, then, is the time for action--earnest, steady advancement, without
looking back. St. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, “Let us therefore
fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it”; and again he shows us the evil of drawing back--“Now
the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soulshall have no
pleasure in him.” (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
Lot’s wife
The phenomenon of her transformation remains to this day a
mystery. It is believed that she was smothered and stiffened as she stood,
looking back, and was overlaid with saline incrustations. Such a result is not
at all incredible, apart from the sacred narrative. An atmosphere heavily
charged with the fames of sulphur and bitumen might easily produce suffocation,
as was the case with the elder Pliny in the destruction of Pompeii. And as no
dead body would ever decompose on the shores of this salt sea, if left in such
an atmosphere it would become incrusted with salt crystals. Pillars of salt are
found in the vicinity, which have formed from the spray, mist, and saline
exhalations of the Dead Sea, and are constantly growing larger. Indeed,
Josephus attempted to identify one of these with the wife of Lot. The spiritual
phenomenon, however, presents no mystery. Lot’s wife looked back. The command
was explicit; it forbade looking behind, and the word for “look” implies a
deliberate contemplation, steady regard, the look of consideration, desire. She
looked back wistfully, longingly. The fact was, her heart was yet in Sodom,
where all her treasures were. She had become identified with her home there,
and even the wrath of God, poured out in a storm of fire, could not avert her
eyes or quicken her steps. Abraham also “looked” toward Sodom, but the word
signifies a rapid, and even unintentional or casual, glance. He glanced with
grief and awe; she gazed with lodging and regret. She doubtless looked back, as
the Israelites did toward Egypt, longing to return, more willing to stay there
amid the sins of Sodomites than to abide apart with God. And so her heart’s
wish became a fact; her real prayer was strangely answered; where she lingered,
there she should stay. She would look back, and henceforth should never look
ahead. So sins become habits, and habits encrust us with fixedness, and
transform us into immovable pillars, monuments of wrath. God fixed and rooted
her where she was; his curse transfixed her, as it blighted, blasted, withered,
the barren fig tree; and so Lot’s wife, to this day, is herself the
personification of Sodom, its sins and its punishment. The only safe obedience
is a prompt, implicit, and exact conformity to God’s command. No part of His
word can be unheeded without risk; we may run from one peril only to fall a
prey to another. A divided heart is like the “double” eye, and singleness of
aim is as important as singleness of vision. A double-minded man is unstable in
all his ways. (A. T.Pierson, D. D.)
Followers of Lot’s wife
Lot’s wife has always had more followers than God’s angels have.
Look at the worldly-minded disciples in the Church to-day. Roused by fear to
flee from the wrath to come, stirred by the warning of some special providence,
or by the pressing entreaty of grace, they profess to leave Sodom behind. But
they linger about the edge of destruction. They look back with longing, and
linger and loiter on the way.
And you may see them all about you, mere pillars of salt, without
life or action, motion or emotion. The world has encrusted them with the salt,
not of the saving and savouring sort, but that which represents sterility. If
they are saved from the fire, it is so as by fire, and their works are burned
up. They have lost their testimony for God, and have become only a warning to
backsliders. (A. T. Pierson, D. D.)
Lot’s wife’s tomb
Her backward look must have been more than momentary, for the
destruction of the cities did not begin till Lot was safe in Lear. She must
have lingered far behind, and been overtaken by the eruption of liquid saline
mud, which, as Sir J. W. Dawson has shown, would attend or follow the outburst
of bituminous matter, so that her fate was the natural consequence of her heart
being still in Sodom. As to the “pillar of salt,” which has excited cavils on
the one hand and foolish legends on the other, probably we are to think rather
of a heap than of a pillar. The word does not occur in either meaning
elsewhere, but its derivation implies something raised above the level of the
ground; and a heap, such as would be formed by a human body encrusted with salt
mud, would suit the requirements of the expression. Like a man who falls in a
snow-storm, or, still more accurately, just as some of the victims at Pompeii
stumbled in their flight, and were buried under the ashes, which still keep the
outline of their figures, so Lot’s wife was covered with the half-liquid slimy
mud. Granted the delay in her flight, the rest is perfectly simple and natural.
She was buried in a horrible tomb; and, in pity to her memory, no name has been
written upon it. She remains to all generations, in a far truer sense than
superstition dreamed of when it pointed to an upright salt rock as her prison
and her monument, a warning of the danger of the backward look, which betrays
the true home of the heart, and may leave us unsheltered in the open plain when
the fiery storm bursts. “Remember Lot’s wife.” (A Maclaren, D. D.)
Lot’s wife as a type
She is the type of a large class--persons who are convinced of the
danger of their position, but not converted to God: professors who occupy a
position half-way between Sodom and Lear, thinking it enough to have got away
from the corruptions of the world without having got into Christ; thinking it
enough to have been brought, as it were, outside the suburbs of Sodom, without
having taken refuge in the blood. She looked back from her half-way position
and “became a pillar of salt.” (M. Rainsford, B. A.)
Verses 27-29
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he
stood before the Lord: and he looked toward Sodom
The righteous man’s retrospect of God’s great judgments
I.
HE
REGARDS THEM WITH SOLEMN EMOTION.
II. HE IS
SATISFIED WITH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AS SEEN IN THEM.
III. HE HAS SOME
COMPENSATIONS IN REGARD TO THEM. Some were delivered. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
1. Praying souls are early up to observe God’s answer to their
desires Psalms 5:3).
2. Where souls have once met with God, well may they hasten to hear
return of prayer from Him there again (verse 27).
3. Saints under God’s indulgence may be solicitous about the state
of the wicked to look after them.
4. The righteous see sometimes vengeance executed upon the ungodly,
notwithstanding all mediation made with God for them.
5. Where the smoke of sin hath offended God’s eyes, the smoke of
vengeance shall arise there.
6. In the midst of pouring out fury on the wicked, God is mindful of
the mediation of His saints.
7. One righteous soul may fare the better for the intercession of
another. Lot for Abraham.
8. Righteous souls may put themselves in danger of destruction by
sitting down among the wicked.
9. The righteous God in His execution spareth, and destroyeth not
the righteous with the wicked.
10. Some spectacles of mercy God hath made in snatching them from the
midst of His overthrow, as brands out of the burning, as well as He hath made
others examples of His vengeance (verse 29). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The smoke of their torments
Early in the morning Abraham sought that favoured spot where but
yesterday God had been pleased to manifest Himself, and where he had been
favoured with a season of extraordinary communion. Whither should the believer
go, but to that choice place, dear to his heart, where he has communed with the
Lord? It is a high privilege, the highest which mortals can enjoy, to talk with
God, to plead with Him, to use arguments, and to prevail. Such grace had
Abraham found. No marvel that he goes back to the place where God had thus
drawn nigh to him. Doubtless one reason why he rose early, and went to the
place, and looked towards Sodom, was an anxious desire to know how his prayers
had speeded. It is remarkable that he does not appear to have observed the
storm as it came down from heaven. Hence we may infer how rapid the destruction
of the cities must have been. God rained fire out of heaven upon Sodom; it
seems to have been done in a moment; the whole plain was destroyed; and all
that Abraham saw after he rose up, which was probably just at the sun-rise, was
merely the smoke that followed the conflagration. So does God drive His enemies
away.
I. WITH WHAT
EMOTIONS OUGHT WE TO GAZE UPON THE TORMENTS OF UNGODLY AND IMPENITENT SOULS?
1. Certainly it should always be with an humble submission to the
Divine will. The assurance that God is just, even in the midst of His hot
displeasure, must ever be cherished. The Judge of all the earth cannot but do
right.
2. Surely, too, another emotion, which a glance towards the dreary
doom of the ungodly can never fail to prompt, is that of ingratitude. “And why
am I not there? They gnaw their fire-tormented tongues in vain: and why am I
not there? Did they sin? I have sinned. Did they curse God and die? I, too,
have cursed God; and it was a marvel that I did not die.”
3. Should there not also here be deep feelings of humility? Look to
the hole of the pit whence thou was digged, and the rock whence God hath hewn
thee I What those sinners were, such wert thou.
4. And there is a sensation which must thrill through every nerve,
and the thought will sometimes blanch our cheeks with terror, lest we also
should come thither. Metinks a glance of the eye towards the smoke of Gehenna
would always prompt a holy jealousy over one’s own heart, and a diligent
watchfulness of one’s own walk. What sayest thou to this, professor? Thou seest
the smoke going up for ever: what if thou shouldst come there after all?
II. Look thou,
Christian--if thou canst look--and see there THE EVIL OF SIN. Dost thou start?
That is the true harvest of the sowing of iniquity. Come, sinner, I charge thee
look at it. This is what sin brings forth; this is the full-grown child. Thou
hast dandled it; thou hast kissed and fondled it; see what it comes to. Hell is
but sin full-grown, that is all.
1. As the Christian, with downcast and blushing face looks to the
place where their worm dieth not and their fire is not quenched, he is
awe-struck with the justice of God. “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye
perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.”
2. Another lesson now comes to us, and one which I hope will be more
pleasing, and affect some minds that may not be moved by what we have hitherto
said. Looking at the destruction of the wicked, this reflection crosses our
minds. We, His people, have been redeemed from destruction! What a price must
that have been which redeemed us from such woe and rescued us from such a place
of torment!
3. That fearful vision which beclouds my eyes and makes them feel
heavy, at the same time presses upon me with a tremendous weight, while I
mention another truth. Behold here the solemnity of the gospel ministry, the
responsibility of those who listen to it, and the need there is for earnestness
in handling divine things. Have I to deal with immortal souls? Then let me not
trifle. My brethren in the faith, and sisters, too, with what earnestness
should this invest you! Whitfield could say, “When I think of these things, I
wish I could stand upon the top of every hackney-coach in London, and preach to
the passers by.” We do not preach as if we meant it. I am afraid that we make
infidels by our lethargy, and that you Christian people help to prevent the
usefulness of the Word of God by the apparent indifference with which you treat
eternal things.
III. I am weary
with my picture; I am weary with looking into that thick darkness. Let me turn
your eyes another way. WOULD YOU BE SAVED? See yonder little hill outside
Jerusalem’s streets. God has become Man. He is bearing sin upon His shoulders.
Wherefore do I picture this? Why, here is your salvation. You must have an
interest in the sufferings of that Man, or you must suffer for yourself for
ever. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
God remembered Abraham,
and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow
Justice blended with mercy
I. THE TERRORS OF
GOD’S JUSTICE TOWARDS THE WORLD OF THE UNGODLY.
II. THE TRIUMPH OF
GOD’S MERCY TOWARDS THE CHILDREN OF HIS LOVE.
1. He originates the plan of salvation.
2. He overcomes the hindrances and obstacles to salvation which
arise in our minds.
3. He will surely bring us to the rest and the refuge which He has
prepared for us. (T. H. Leale.)
Verse 30
And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain
The folly of seeking our own choice
Lot was bidden to go to the mountain, but requested that he might
be allowed to seek refuge in Zoar.
We only land ourselves in greater difficulties when we act according to the
suggestions of our own human wisdom in opposition to the Divine will. Of such
conduct we observe:--
I. THE ROOT OF
ITS UNBELIEF. Lot could not trust God fully, and therefore the infinite charity
of God stooped to his infirmity. We must trust in God, with our whole heart,
and lean not to our own understanding. Our faith falls short in so far as we
seek to modify the commands of duty by our own wilfulness. Imperfect obedience
has its bitter root in unbelief. In the instance of Lot, we see the sad
consequences of this timid and imperfect faith. Here we trace the source of the
inconsistency and vacillation of his character. Our walk in the path of life
and obedience is only steady and sure in proportion as our faith is clear and
strong.
II. WE ARE MADE
BITTERLY TO REPENT OF IT. “He feared to dwell in Zoar.” He was afraid that the
destruction would overtake him even there. That spirit of unbelief which
renders our obedience imperfect brings dread. We take alarm, for conscience
tells us we have left some ground for fear. To commence following God’s
command, and then to impair our obedience by our own foolish will, leads in the
end to doubt and uncertainty-to that sense of insecurity in which we feel that
nothing is sure and safe.
III. WE MAY BE
COMPELLED TO ACCEPT GOD’S WAY AT LAST. Lot finds refuge, at length, in the
mountain, where he had been ordered to go at first. A merciful Providence
brought him up to the full measures of his duty. He finds, in the end, that it
is best to fall in with God’s plan. By a painful discipline we are often
brought round to God’s way, and made to feel that what He chooses is best. (T.
H. Leale.)
Another wrong choice
On leaving Sodom he was very earnest to have Zoar granted him for
a refuge, and to be excused from going to dwell in the mountain; yet now all on
a sudden he went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and that for the
very reason he had given for a contrary choice. Then he feared some evil would
take him, if he went to the mountain; now he “fears to dwell in Zoar.” It is
well to know that the way of man is not in himself, and that it is not in man
that walketh to direct his steps. Our wisdom is to refer all to God, and to
follow wherever his word and providence lead the way. But why did not Lot
return to Abraham? There was no occasion now for strife about their herds; for
he had lost all, and but just escaped with his life. Whatever was the reason,
he does not appear to have made a good choice. Had he gone to the mountain when
directed, he might have hoped for preserving mercy; but going of his own
accord, and from a motive of sinful distrust, evil in reality overtakes him.
His daughters, who seem to have contracted such habits in Sodom as would
prepare them for anything, however unnatural, drew him into intemperance and
incest, and thus cover his old age with infamy. The offspring of this illicit
intercourse were the fathers of two great, but heathen nations; viz., Moabites,
and the children of Ammon. (A. Fuller.)
Lessons
1. Man’s choice of rest and safety crossing God’s command will not
content him long.
2. Man, upon the failing of expected comfort in his own way, may be
then moved to try God’s
3. Weakness in the best of man may be such as disobediently to do
that which sometimes God justly commands; so Lot goeth when God bids not to the
place formerly commanded.
4. Naturally man’s own will maketh him move faster than the will of
God.
5. Solitary and sad may be the peregrinations and habitations of the
best families here below. Lot and his daughters in a cave, not a city.
6. Fear of sin and vengeance and evil to come will make a soul fly from
its desired refuge in the world
7. A cave or den in a mountain with God is a better habitation then
a palace in a city of sin. Lot chooseth so. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
And they made their father drink wine
The lessons of Lot’s dishonour
I.
THAT
SAINTS WHO HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECTS OF EXTRAORDINARY MERCY MAY YET FALL INTO SIN.
II. THAT IT IS
DIFFICULT, EVEN FOR THE BEST, TO ESCAPE THE EFFECT OF EVIL ASSOCIATIONS.
III. THE FOLLY OF A
WORLDLY CHOICE.
IV. THE WISDOM OF
AVOIDING THE OCCASIONS OF SIN.
V. THE AWFUL
DEPTHS OF HUMAN DEPRAVITY.
VI. FLESHLY SINS
COVER EVEN A FAIR NAME WITH DISHONOUR. VII. THE DANGER OF EXCITEMENT.
VIII. THE
FAITHFULNESS OF THE SCRIPTURE RECORD. (T. H. Leale.)
Lot’s dishonour
The dishonourable end of this good man shows that we are never out
of danger while we are upon earth. He whose righteous soul was grieved with the
filthy conversation of the wicked, while in a city, is drawn into the same kind
of evils himself, when dwelling in a cave! His whole history also, from the
time of his leaving Abraham, furnishes an affecting lesson to the heads of
families in the choice of habitations for themselves or their children. If
worldly accommodations be preferred to religious advantages, we have nothing
good, but everything evil to expect. We may, or we may not lose, our substance
as he did; but, what is of far greater consequence, our families may be
expected to become mere heathens, and our own minds contaminated with the
examples which are continually before our eyes. Such was the harvest which Lot
reaped from his well-watered plain; and such are the fruits very commonly seen
in those who reflect his example! (A. Fuller.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》