What would you risk to save members of your family? What would you tolerate? Both God and man (Abraham) sought out Lot’s protection even after he made poor choices. Here is how it played out…
Genesis 18:
1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth
3 and said, "O Lord, if I have found favour in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,
5 while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on---since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."
6 And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes."
7 And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.
8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent."
10 The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?"
13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?'
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."
16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way.
17 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."
20 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know."
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
23 Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"
26 And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27 Abraham answered and said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.
28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
29 Again he spoke to him and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."
30 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."
31 He said, "Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."
32 Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."
33 And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
Genesis 19: God Rescues Lot
1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth
2 and said, "My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the town square."
3 But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.
5 And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them."
6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him,
7 and said, "I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly.
8 Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof."
9 But they said, "Stand back!" And they said, "This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them." Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down.
10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door.
11 And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door.
12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place.
13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city."
16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
17 And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away."
18 And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords.
19 Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.
20 Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there---is it not a little one?---and my life will be saved!"
21 He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favour also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.
22 Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
God Destroys Sodom
23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven.
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
28 And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30 Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters.
31 And the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth.
32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father."
33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
34 The next day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine tonight also. Then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father."
35 So they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.
36 Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father.
37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day.
38 The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
Things to think about…
1. The three messengers in Gen 18 gave the word of God to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham calls them Lord. Is this an example of the trinity? Certainly a type, I think so. They accepted gifts and worship – angels never do this in the scriptures. Like pre-incarnate versions of Christ I think this interaction with Abraham shows the personhood of the Godhead expressed as a visual form of the trinity.
2. Sarah laughs and then said she didn’t laugh, only to be rebuked for lying, Gen18:15. In what areas do we doubt the Lord and His promises by what we believe or what we say to others? It is unbelief. How do you discern the difference between trusting in God and His promises and relying on your own understanding and resources?
3. There were three men in Gen 18 – referred to as the LORD in Gen 18:10, 13, 17, 33; yet in Gen 19:1 it says there are only 2 angels. Why not three as before? These are likely to be angels at this point because in Gen 19:13 it says “the LORD has sent us to destroy this place”. But it also says that Abraham spoke with the Lord, Perhaps One remained behind in the discourse with Abraham regarding the reducing number of righteous in the city of Sodom that Abraham was asking to spare.
4. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a sad tale of judgement. These men were delivered by Abraham and saw the Lord’s deliverance when they were taken captive remember, in Gen 14:11. It seems they were saved by man (Abraham) only to be judged by God. Here “the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man” wanted to assault the two angels with Lot, Gen 19:4. Lot’s answer was to offer up his two virgin daughters. We may read this with horror, but do we not offer up our daughters when we allow our society to dictate what they wear, what they believe and how they act. Let’s not let the morality of our modern day Sodom influence our kids, but stand with them in showing them the truth and grace of our Lord Jesus.
5. It says “Lot lingered”, Gen 19:16. We see the sad story of Lot exposed in this phrase. He lingered in Sodom and now he is lingering when judgement is about to fall. May we see the urgency of giving the gospel to people while there is time and a season of grace.
6. Lot offered his daughter’s in Sodom to abuse. We then read his daughters offered themselves to him in the cave, Gen 19:30-38. What a sad tale is recorded regarding Lot’s life. Ishmael was enough of an enemy for Isaac from Abraham’s sin. Now we see the Moabites and the Ammonites from Lot’s incestuous relationships with his daughters would complete the full quota of the enemies of the Lord’s people Israel. Let’s make sure we pass on a true representation of the grace and truth of Christ to our children, rather than allow them to grow up being enemies of the cross.
Vision Point
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Questions for Cell groups
Sunday’s sermon, “Am I my brother’s keeper” came from Gen 4:1-16 by Ps Jay.
1. Is there a person’s life that you envy, either past or present? Discuss reasons why.
2. God didn’t accept Cain’s sacrifice, but accepted Abel’s sacrifice. Why was this the case?
3. God told Cain that sin was crouching at the door, ready to strike. This is like Satan the snake. Cain didn’t listen, even though God spoke to him directly. Cain then murders Abel after speaking with him. Discuss why it is easier to destroy God’s servants rather than focus anger directly to the Lord.
3. Eve was told her seed would bring separation from the seed of the Serpent. What a tragedy for her when her son rather than being a messiah was a murderer. Discuss how you bring Christ to your children, even when they do not embrace the Saviour.
4. Pray for your cell group and prayer/praise points.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Lebanon and the people of Beirut with this accidental blast from the storage of ammonium nitrate. 135 confirmed dead. 5000 wounded, 300, 000 left homeless. $3-$5 billion to rebuild.
2. Pray for those who heard the gospel on Sunday. Pray for Christ to grant them salvation.
3. Pray for Victoria they are in stage 4 lockdown. Curfews and very strict travel restrictions in place for 4 weeks.
4. Pray for our church services now meeting together and our streaming that both can continue to be done well every Sunday.
5. Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6. Sunday’s fb live messages and for Kids church. The message this week – “The legacy of Abraham” Gen 4 – Doug Horne.
7. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1. New visitors on Sunday. Please pray that they receive Christ as their Saviour. Pray they keep coming back to CBC.
2. Full church – had to use our overflow in house and café
3. Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
4. Finances being maintained and donation to Café roof. Thankyou!
7. Praise God for worship and technical team – amazing individuals.
Announcements
1. We are establishing a “Blessing Beirut” fund. Pray we can find a gospel centered ministry to bless the people of Beirut as they rebuild.
2. One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we will have an overflow in the house and Kids church will be in the crèche in the cafe.
3. Cell groups – Ask for details as to how and what is required.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
Q. 15. What do we pray for in the fifth petition? A. That God would pardon our sins for Christ's sake, and enable us to forgive those who have wronged us.
