Genesis 19 is a sad story of what happens when people sin and face the wrath of God. Sodom and Gomorrah were towns filled with sin, and God had enough. He sends a couple of his angels to town to destroy it, but they first find Lot and they spend the night with him. After a rather ugly confrontation with the townspeople who want to cause harm to his guests, Lot is instructed in the morning to get out of town with his family before destruction comes. He had witnessed God’s power through his visitors the evening before when God struck all those blind who had come to inflict harm. It wasn’t a mystery any longer who these two were. So I would have expected Lot to high tail it out of town on their command. But not so fast, he first wants to argue about it. Initially it is fear of leaving at all, then fear of where they asked him to go – up into the mountains. Listen to what he says and see if it sounds vaguely familiar to anything we might say: “who knows what terrible thing might happen to me in the mountains and leave me for dead”. OK – these guys tell him the city is going to be wiped out and he wants to argue about where they ask him to go? The choice was stay here and be destroyed or go somewhere else where there is a chance to live. Seems so obvious to me it was time to get out of there. But I can imagine I do the same over and over when God gives me direction. Hmmm….how about my way God. I know that you are the creator and controller of the universe, but how about we do it my way since I know more and better than you. Sound familiar – I know I am like that some times. I want to be in control and I let fear control my response.
Fortunately Lot finally left town. He had convinced his guests to let him go to the next little town rather than into the mountains as they asked. But they did give him very strict instructions: “Don’t look back”. They didn’t give any consequences at the time, but they were extremely clear it was time to run and keep running without turning around. You may remember what happened: “But Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt”. That had to be a heartbreaking result. Disobedience doesn’t always bring an immediate and powerful consequence, but it always has one. We should never assume that God will let us get away with sin, because He can’t and won’t. We may not become salt, but we will pay a price when we disobey. Sodom and Gomorrah found out the hard way when God “blasted those cities off the face of the Earth”. Oh how we need to learn the lessons of obedience.
