Thursday 09 November 2023
- Bible Book:
- Genesis
So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had settled. (v. 29)
Background
When the angels whisk Lot and his immediate family out of Sodom, which is about to be destroyed, Lot is afraid, and he bargains with God. At this point in the narrative Lot is again in the presence of a single being that he addresses as Yahweh. So they are whisked to safety in Zoar. The story does not speak about the destruction of Sodom alone, but all the cities around and the land they sit on. Only Zoar is saved.
Lot’s wife hesitates, stops and looks back and is lost (turned to a pillar of salt). The loss of Lot’s wife is actually a necessary part of the greater story of the nations descended from Abraham, but for that you would need to read chapter 20.
The angels rescued Lot and his daughters from a city on the brink of destruction because Abraham pleaded with God (see Genesis 18:16-33). It begs the question: who will be pulled from the fires of hell because I have interceded with God in prayer?
To Ponder:
- What things in the story do you think relate to your life today?
- How do you feel about God raining sulphur and fire on cities (vs 24-25)?