Lot, the friend of the world (Gen. 19)

This chapter records the sad consequences of Lot's spiritual decline; then Lot passes off the scene while Abraham's story continues (see 1 John 2:17). Abraham was the friend of God, but Lot was the friend of the world (see James 4:4); and the contrasts between these two men are easy to see.

Locations (v. 1). When the heavenly contingent came to visit Abraham, he was at his tent door; but Lot was sitting in the gate of a wicked city. Abraham was a pilgrim and stranger, only passing through this world; but Lot had gradually abandoned his tent and settled down in Sodom. Instead of keeping his eyes on the heavenly city (Heb. 11:10, 14-16), Lot looked toward Sodom and began to walk by sight (Gen. 13:10-11). Then he moved his tent near Sodom (v. 12), and finally he moved into Sodom (14:12). Lot's location in the gate indicates that he was a man of some authority, for that was where official business was conducted (Ruth 4:1ff).

Had Lot gone to Sodom because God directed him, his being there would have fulfilled divine purposes. After all, God put Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon, and Esther in Persia; and their presence turned out to be a blessing. Worldliness is not a matter of physical geography but of heart attitude (1 John 2:15-17). Lot's heart was in Sodom long before his body arrived there. No doubt he got his first love for the world when he went to Egypt" with Abraham (Gen. 13:1, 10), and he never overcame it.

Times (v. 1). It was early afternoon when the Lord and His angels visited Abraham (18:1), but it was evening when the angels entered Sodom. Abraham was "walking in the light" while Lot was "walking in darkness" (1 John 1:5-10).

Visitors (v. 1). Only the two angels visited Lot, for the Lord could not fellowship with Lot and his family as He did with Abraham and Sarah. Even though Lot was a believer, his life was such that the Lord did not feel "at home" with him. It is the separated believer who enjoys the close walk (2 Cor. 6:14-18) and communion (John 14:21-24) with the Lord. Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest translated Paul's prayer in Ephesians 3:17 "that the Christ might finally settle down and feel completely at home in your hearts through your faith" (Wuest). Unlike Abraham, Lot had no tent or altar; and the Lord could not fellowship with him.

Hospitality (vv. 2-11). Lot called himself a "servant," but you do not see him hastening to prepare a meal as Abraham did; nor did he stand by to see what further service he could render. But the arrival of the men of the city at the door for immoral purposes was the climax of the evening. ("Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them" is the niv translation of v. 5.) Lot was willing to sacrifice his two unmarried daughters to the lust of the crowd (see Judges 19), but the angels intervened. What had happened to Lot's personal values that he would offer his daughters to satisfy the sensual appetites of a mob? (In contrast, Abraham would offer his son to the Lord.)

Messages (vv. 2-13). God's message to Abraham was a joyful one: he and Sarah would have the promised son within a year. But the message to Lot was frightening: God was going to destroy Sodom and everything in it! God would have spared the city had the angels found ten believers; but since that was not possible, God mercifully rescued the believers they did find (v. 16). God's message to the lost world is that judgment is coming, but His promise to His own people is that He will rescue them (1 Thes. 5:1-11; 2 Peter 2:4-10).

Influence (v. 14). Because of his faith and obedience, Abraham was a blessing to his home and to the whole world. Because of his worldliness, Lot had no spiritual influence either in the city or in his own home. His married daughters and their husbands laughed at him and refused to leave the city. Even his wife was so in love with Sodom that she had to take one last look, and that look killed her (v. 26; Luke 17:32). Lot's two unmarried daughters accompanied him out of the city; but they ended up in a cave, getting their father drunk and committing incest with him. After separating from Abraham, Lot had allowed his character to deteriorate; and his influence declined with it.

Attitudes (vv. 15-26). The first time God rescued Lot, he was a prisoner of war (14:12, 16); and he went right back into Sodom. That painful experience should have warned him that he was out of the will of God; but if Lot heard the warning, he certainly did not heed it. Now God has to take Lot by the hand and forcibly drag him out of Sodom! First, Lot lingered; then he argued; then he begged to be allowed to go his own way. Instead of being grateful for God's mercy and obeying his rescuers, Lot resisted them and created trouble for them. In contrast, Abraham obeyed God's will even to the point of offering up his own son.

Consequences (vv. 27-38). The result of the Lord's visit to Abraham was new hope and excitement as Abraham and Sarah joyfully anticipated the birth of a son. Lot, however, lost everything when Sodom was destroyed; and he himself was saved "yet as by fire" (1 Cor. 3:15). His daughters gave birth to two sons, whose descendants would be enemies to the Jewish nation. Abraham saw the cities of the plain destroyed (Ps. 91:8) and knew that God had not found ten righteous people. But God delivered Lot because of Abraham (Gen. 19:29). It was wholly a matter of God's grace and mercy (v. 19).

Lot was conformed to the world (Rom. 12:2). All that he lived for went up in smoke and was buried under ruins somewhere in the area around the Dead Sea. Lot is a warning to all believers not to love the world, become friendly with the world, or be stained by the world (James 1:27), because the day of reckoning finally comes.

Jesus, the Friend of sinners

While it is true that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is an example of God's righteous judgment (Jude 7), it is also true that God's love for lost sinners is clearly seen in this story. Jesus certainly did not approve of the lifestyle of the men of Sodom, but He came to save sinners just like those in Sodom and Gomorrah (Matt. 9:9-17). When He ministered on earth, He was known as "a Friend of tax collectors and sinners" (11:19)—and He was!

Consider our Lord's love for the people of the wicked cities of the plain. To begin with, He was long-suffering toward them as He beheld their sin (Gen. 18:20; 19:13). Just as Abel's blood cried out to God from the ground (4:10), so the sins of the people cried out from the wicked cities. God is long-suffering and holds back His judgment so that sinners will have time to repent (2 Peter 3:1-9).

Not only was our Lord long-suffering, but He was willing to listen to Abraham's intercession and consider sparing Sodom for ten righteous people. When the time came for the cities to be burned up, He sent His angels to rescue Lot and his family even though the ten righteous people could not be found! "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:20, nkjv). Did Lot deserve to be delivered? Of course not! But do any of us deserve to be saved from the wrath to come? Of course not!

The most amazing thing is that Jesus Christ died for the sinners in Sodom and Gomorrah! "For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18, nkjv). Christ did not die for good people, because there are none. He died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6) and for sinners (v. 8). We may not have committed the same sins as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, but we are sinners just the same; and apart from faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot be saved from the judgment to come.

The situation is no different today. Jesus is still the Friend of sinners and will save all who come to Him in true repentance and faith. He needs intercessors and witnesses who will pray and tell lost sinners that Jesus died for them and they can make a new beginning if they will trust Him.

The inhabitants of the cities of the plain had no idea that they were awakening that morning to the last day of their lives (Gen. 19:23). Life was going on as usual, and then the fire fell (Luke 17:26-30).

When the judgment comes, will you be like Abraham and not have to worry about the wrath of God? Or, like Lot, will you be saved "as by fire"? Or, like the people of Sodom, will you be lost forever?

"Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God; for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:6-7).