Last Days - Part Three
The Days of Lot

Last Days - Part Three
The Days of Lot

by Wayne Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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Luke 17:28-30
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

When the Lord says, Likewise, also as it was in the days of Lot, He is referring to the preceding portion of Scripture where He said, as it was in the days of Noah — Luke 17:26, 27.

In the days of Noah, the Lord sent a flood and destroyed all who remained upon the earth except for Noah and his family (see part two, dealing with the days of Noah and the great flood).

In this lesson, we'll look into the Scriptures concerning the days of Lot and find out why God sent fire to destroy the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Remember Lot's Wife

What is it that we're supposed to remember about Sodom and Gomorrah? Lot's wife — Luke 17:32. We want to learn what we can about her as well as about the days of Lot.

Luke 17:28
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded

Are these the things Sodom is noted for? Isn't Sodom noted for ungodly acts of homosexuality? In Luke 17 the Lord makes no mention about this vile sin of sodomy. Why did He leave this out? And why does He stress for us to remember Lot's wife? Maybe there's something more here than meets the eye. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah might be the result of something more than the fact that the men of the land were such wicked sinners.

Let's explore this to find out why we are told to remember Lot's wife.

The first mention of Lot is found in Genesis 11. Lot comes into prominence in the life of Uncle Abram at the time when God called Abram to depart out of Haran and go into the land of promise.

Abram packed up and got ready to journey into the Promised Land, taking his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot with him.

Genesis 12:4, 5
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Do you find any mention here of Lot's wife? We find mention of Abram's wife, but there is no mention of Lot having a wife. We can conclude, therefore, that when Lot went out of Haran with Abram, he didn't have a wife. He was a single man.

Now, after they were in the Promised Land for a short time, there was a famine. So Abram, Sarai and Lot pulled up stakes and journeyed down into Egypt. After a while, they finally departed out of Egypt to return to the Promised Land.

Genesis 13:1
And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.

Notice that Lot is once again referred to, and we still find no mention of his having a wife. The Scripture points out that Abram, his wife and Lot — these three — departed from Egypt.

Friction

The Scripture goes on to relate that Abram was very rich. He had an abundance of cattle, silver and gold. And his nephew Lot also had an abundance.

Genesis 13:5-7
And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

Abram didn't want any contention in the camp. As he looked the situation over, he saw the need of separation and determined to straighten things out right away.

Choices

Genesis 13:8,9
And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

Lot had a choice to make. He could choose whichever place he wanted to settle down in, and Abram would be content to take what was left. This way all contention would cease.

Remember, now, that both of these men knew the Lord. Both of them were righteous men. Keep in mind that we are talking about someone who was a godly man when we talk about Lot.

We sometimes face separations that are of God. When a man and woman get married, God expects them to separate from mother and father and move out on their own. That's a godly separation (not a separation because of hatred or for some other ungodly reason). There are a lot of such godly separations along life's journey, and Abraham and Lot made such a separation here.

Genesis 13:11, 12
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.

Lot had to make a choice as to what direction he would go when he moved away from Uncle Abram. When we look at his choice, we want to take note of the details of those things which the Lord tells us in this account.

First of all, Lot looked out and saw the well-watered plains.

As you walk along in your experience, you have to be very careful. It's the devil's business to get your eyes on something that looks good but is actually something which will lead you away from your walk with the Lord.

It looks good! Here we find Lot seeing the well-watered plains and making the choice to move in that direction.

Don't suppose for a minute that Abram and Lot were ignorant of what was out there in the land. They both knew that out there, in those very plains, were the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; yet, Lot chose to go in that direction!

You certainly can't say that Lot was led by the Spirit of God in his choice! The Spirit of God doesn't lead anyone into temptation (James 1:13,14), and, surely, going in that direction was going to be a great source of temptation for this young man.

Lot headed out in that very direction. He pitched his tent toward Sodom and dwelt in the small towns and villages that surrounded the city. He would content himself, for a while, in the outskirts. This certainly was a big mistake in his life!

Now, you may be at a crossroads in your life, a place where you could easily make the wrong decision. You want to move out and go on your own, and you refuse to listen to anybody. Be careful! Be careful what you're stepping into. Be careful what direction you head in. Be sure you're truly being led by the Spirit of God before you take that step, or you might end up like Lot did!

Lot went journeying in the direction of those wicked cities, and it wasn't long before he proceeded a little closer.

Genesis14:11, 12
And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

. . . who dwelt in Sodom . . . Lot had gone out and pitched his tent towards Sodom, but now we find he was living in Sodom! He was a resident of the city. He had moved right in. He had gone to live in the very midst of that wicked place. Of all the places he could go, surely this was not the place for him to be journeying to. Yet he moved right in.

Genesis 13:13
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

God saw the wickedness of this area. He saw it becoming greater and greater in its sin. The homosexuality in this place grew to be such a plague that God couldn't bear to see it or to hear about it any longer. He decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them into an ash heap and putting down such wickedness.

But Lot lived down there! In the midst of that wicked and evil place was this righteous man.

God sent some angels down to see if the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah was as bad as it sounded. These angels were sent with the power and authority of God to destroy those cities, burning them to the ground.

Now, Abram was a friend of God. The angels stopped by to see him on their way into the cities. And they told him what God intended to do — Genesis 18.

Abraham's Intercession for Lot

Abraham's heart became burdened, and he began to make intercession: God is going to burn those cities to the ground, but my nephew Lot and his family are in Sodom!

Lot is married now and is a family man. He is down in the city of Sodom, raising children. Take note that Abraham was thinking of Lot and his family.

Abraham thought about all of this and began to make intercession for Lot and his family: God, suppose there be fifty righteous down there! Would You spare the city for the sake of fifty righteous? Would You spare it if there were forty and five? If there were forty? If there were thirty? If there were twenty? (see Genesis 18:23-33).

Abraham kept praying and making intercession until he came down to asking God if He would spare the city if He found ten righteous in it. I wonder why Abraham came down to the point of stopping at the total of ten righteous.

Let's stop for a moment to figure this out according to the Word.

When you add that up, it totals the ten souls Abraham made intercession for.

Some twenty or so years ago, Lot had moved away from his uncle and was now residing in this city, living here and raising a family.

Abraham was saying, God, if my nephew Lot and his family are living righteously, would You spare the city for their sake? And God said He would! It's never been His policy to destroy the righteous when He brings judgment upon the wicked.

God's purpose in having the rapture is that the righteous might be taken out of this world, so they won't be destroyed when He brings fire judgment upon the world. Thank God that we're not appointed unto wrath but are appointed to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Pending Judgment

Genesis 19:1
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

Abraham had prayed and interceded that God wouldn't destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if there were ten righteous in the city. He hoped and believed that, somehow, God would spare Lot from being destroyed.

Well, we find Lot sitting at the city gate. Back in those days, it was customary for the elders to gather at the gates of the city. The elders were the rulers of the land, and this is where we find Lot sitting. He had risen to prominence. He had moved down into the city years ago, raised a family, and is now a prominent citizen.

Though Lot had drifted a long way from his rightful place with God, he recognized that these two angels were sent from God, and he invited them into his home.

Genesis 19:2
And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night

Lot had no idea of the pending judgment which hung heavily over the cities. He had no inclination whatsoever that these angels were on a mission to destroy that wicked place.

When Lot asked the angels to stay at his house, they declined. They said they would stay in the street all night.

Genesis 19:3
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.

I wonder why Lot was so concerned to persuade these angels to abide in his home. Hey, Lot knew what went on in the streets of Sodom all night! He knew what went on when a stranger came to town! And he had enough of God in his heart to fear for these angels if they were in the street all night. He knew what the men of the city would do, so he pressed them greatly to come to his house and stay.

We have to stop and take a spiritual look here to find out why God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah:

Genesis 19:4
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.

What on earth is this! All of a sudden, there is a big gathering of men around Lot's house. In fact, every man in the city was there, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.

Genesis 19:5
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

What did they want to know these men for? Don't be naive! They didn't just want to get acquainted. The Scripture says they wanted to know them. That word know is used throughout the Bible in speaking of having a sexual relationship: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain . . . (Genesis 4:1a)

Genesis 19:6, 7
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do no so wickedly.

Lot was well aware that the men of the city didn't just want to get acquainted with these two angels.

Genesis 19:8
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.

Here are two angels of God who are visiting the area. Lot was the only one who realized they were angels. To the men of the city, these angels were just two men: men with whom they could gratify their burning lust.

These homosexuals wanted to have a homosexual affair with the angels. Their hearts were set on it. They had no interest in Lot's daughters — they wanted these men!

When a man becomes a homosexual, he takes an unclean spirit upon himself. And that unclean spirit turns his natural affections away. He loses interest in women and only wants to have affairs with men.

You can see this portrayed here in the Word. The men of the city burned in their lust one toward another; they lost their natural affection. This is why they had no interest in Lot's offer of his daughters.

Homosexual behavior is still like this today. It turns men to burn amongst themselves, and it turns women to burn amongst themselves. This is totally unnatural and totally against God's Word. What a vile practice this is in the eyes of God. They may say God made them that way, but that is an insult to a holy God. He certainly isn't behind such degradation.

We live in a generation of homesexuals that call themselves gay. Their use of that word isn't referring to the definition of happy and joyous. They may think they are happy, but they are really miserable lost sinners, headed for destruction unless they repent of their sin and turn to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Now, why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Let's take a look at just how bad things really were.

Genesis 19:9
And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

If you're not going to let us have these two men, then we'll rape YOU right here on your doorstep! Nothing was going to keep them from getting what they wanted.

And in the last days, we can expect homosexual gangs to be just as persistent. They'll be right out there in gangs to get what they want. This is how far this sin can drag someone down into the gutter. We already hear of such things going on in our present day.

Genesis 19:10-11
But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. 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.

This shows us how bad and how grievous the sin in Sodom had become. We need to take this as a sign to us: as it was in the days of Lot, so will it be in the day of the Son of Man. And today, things are getting more and more out of hand.

Genesis 19:12-13
And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 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.

Lot was getting a little firsthand information as to why these two angels had come to town. They began to warn Lot to get his family together and get out of the city before it was destroyed.

Genesis 19:14
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.

Lot went out there and told his sons-in-law what was going to happen. These young men had grown up in Sodom, but they didn't seem the least bit concerned that the place was going to be destroyed. They didn't pay any attention to what Lot had to say. In fact, they didn't want to listen to what he had to say!

This is a common reaction when you try to warn people of the pending judgment of God: they only mock and scoff. They tell you you're just peddling fear.

Lot might have seemed fanatical, but when they saw the fire fall from heaven, I imagine they wished they'd given heed to his warnings.

Escape for Thy Life!

Genesis 19:15
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

This was hard for Lot to do. It wasn't an easy thing to get ready to get out of there. After all, they were engrossed in that place. It had been home for years!

Genesis 19:16
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.

Why would anyone linger? When you know judgment hangs, pending over your head, why linger? Move on as quickly as you can, and do as you're told to do!

Imagine! The angels of God had to take Lot and his family by the hand and drag them out of that place. One would think that they would have started to run just as soon as they were warned to flee from the judgment of God.

But you know, when you are backslidden, when you have fallen away from God, when you have drifted away from the truth of God's Word and have grown cold in your heart, you become indifferent. When you get into such a state, you won't move nor respond when God tells you to act. You won't pay any attention. You won't be listening. Someone will try to warn you, but you will mock and scoff: Mind your business! Leave me alone! If I want to die, let me die!

When this sort of thing is going on, we can't decide that we're not going to do something about it. We can't just stand back and not at least try to warn them.

Genesis 19:17
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.

Don't hang around, Lot! God is going to destroy this wicked place. Break your ties. Pull your heart from this wicked place and escape. Know that you're escaping for your very life. If you don't hurry up and get out of here, God will destroy this place — WITH YOU IN IT!

Even at that, Lot begged the angels to show him mercy that he wouldn't have to go to the mountains. He wanted to go to a little city called Zoar because he feared he'd lose his life in the mountain.

My, Lot hardly seemed worthy of getting out of this city. He didn't seem worthy of God's mercy . . . yet God was merciful to him.

Remember, I told you that Lot had been a righteous man, but he had backslid. When he left Abraham, he pitched his tent toward Sodom; then he dwelt in Sodom; and the next thing you know, he was sitting in a place of prominence at the gate of the city.

Lot lost his separation unto God. He became engrossed and entangled with the world. And he surely made a mess out of his life and testimony.

We have to say that God didn't find any reason to spare that city. He had told Abraham that He wouldn't destroy the city if there were ten righteous in it, but there weren't ten righteous there. Yet, God was merciful to Lot.

Judgment Came

Genesis 19:22-25
Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

God overthrew the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the perverse sin of homosexuality.

We're living in a time when this perverseness is becoming widespread in our land. My, hoards and hoards of homosexuals gather together to demonstrate. Lesbians and homosexuals run for office and are elected. Homosexual marriages are being legalized in some states. What is this nation coming to?

We have to look and say that it's like the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. This vileness is a stench to our nation. Surely, the wrath of God will fall in these last days — not only in our nation, but in the nations of the world.

The Result of Backsliding

Genesis 19:26
But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Who was Lot's wife? Where did he get her from?

I have pointed out that Lot didn't take a wife with him when he left Haran with Abraham. When he went down to Egypt, he still didn't have a wife. And when he separated from Abraham, he still didn't have a wife. But when he pitched his tent toward Sodom and eventually moved into the city — somewhere during that time — he found a wife. So, no doubt, he married a resident of Sodom.

As the result of this, Lot backslid and lost out. This righteous man defiled himself: going down into that wicked place, marrying there, and staying there to raise his family.

In the days of Noah, the sons of God defiled themselves with the daughters of men. This brought the great flood of water upon the earth.

We see a similarity to this in the days of Lot. He was a righteous man (a son of God). He went down to Sodom, vexing his soul with the people of Sodom (the children of men). He not only vexed his soul down in Sodom, but his sons and daughters perished down there. His sons-in-law perished down there. And his wife turned into a pillar of salt just outside the city limits!

What tragic things happened as a result of one man's backsliding!

Lot's soul was vexed when he intermarried and was pulled into the community of Sodom. He was vexed from day to day in hearing and seeing the wickedness of that place. It was only by the skin of his teeth that Lot was delivered — only because Abraham made intercession, crying out on his behalf.

It was bad enough that the sins of Sodom were to the full and that pending judgment hung over their heads. But worse than that, here was a righteous man who vexed his soul among them daily.

What was a godly man doing down there? Why was he sitting in the gate of that wicked place? Why did he want to be identified with such wickedness? He had to be backslid in order for him to get to the place of being identified so closely with such wickedness.

And, as if that wasn't bad enough, after Lot escaped from Sodom, he had children to his own virgin daughters! (see Genesis 19:30-34)

There is the danger of the church going out there and intermarrying with the world. There is the danger of the children of God getting so taken up and so worldly that they bring the world into the church and the church into the world until you can't tell which is the world and which is the church!

God made an example out of Lot and his wife; He made examples out of them both. And He warns the world of our day through their example. He gives us warning of the pending fire judgment that will come upon the earth in these last days. And He uses these examples to warn us to walk carefully and get prepared.

Flee to Jesus

If you want to flee from the wrath to come, you'd best run to Jesus as fast as you can. Get right with God. Turn your life over to Him. If you're in an ungodly fellowship, separate yourself. Don't let anyone bring such an influence into your life, or you'll be torn away from the Lord by it.

Some of you are in a very difficult position, yet you have to keep your testimony and walk uprightly with God. Get in your prayer closet. Do some serious intercession, asking God to move in your home and to rain down His righteousness.