Safety Instructions
Genesis 19: 15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”
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Morning dawned and the day of destruction had arrived. The
angels seemed to already set in motion the destruction of the city and its
people. They urged Lot to leave with his wife and two daughters. But Lot
lingered. He may have been thinking of ways to take all their stuff with them
because he was extremely wealthy. While Lot lingered, the angels grabbed his
hand and his family’s hands, pulling them out of the city in haste.
My Observations:
- Destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah would have come whether Lot left or not.
- GOD wanted to keep Lot
safe, so HE sent angels to provide urgent instructions.
- Lot could have ignored
the instructions and would have been destroyed with the city.
Having no time to ask question, Lot and his family were
pulled out of the city. All of their possessions, comforts and animals were
left behind. One angel said “Escape for your life!” Lot’s short-term decision
caused him to lose all of his possessions.
This is the first mention of Lot’s wife. She and her
daughters had been captured and rescued by Abraham, along with Lot and the rest
of the Sodomites. Lot’s wife may have been raised in the ways of the Sodomites.
This group of people were against GOD ways and wanted to do the opposite of HIS
desires. GOD graciously rescued Lot’s wife. The angels held her hand tightly,
leaving the city.
Even though the instructions were given with urgency, Lot
lingered. I can understand this. Sometimes it depends on how many other urgent,
life-threatening things have popped up with no time to think. GOD sent angels
for the first time, to help Lot out of his bad decision. GOD’s grace and
patience was shown in extreme measures.
Challenge
- Why does GOD tell Moses
about the dire instructions the angels gave Lot and his family?
- Has GOD ever told you to
do something urgent?
- When GOD gives you an
instruction to keep you safe, do you act with immediacy?
