DON'T LOOK BACK
Long ago in an obstinate place called Sodom, which means wicked or
depraved, a family received unexpected visitors at their home. Imagine your family finished the day in the
fields, school, or at the office around dinnertime. Suddenly there is a knock on the door and it’s
the POTUS in disguise. Well in this
case, at the home of Lot, were two men who were in fact, Angels that came with
a special message. Lot, out of respect,
urged the visitors to dine and not sleep in the square with his family
overnight. Hopefully you and I would recognize an Angel, no not your
grandmother silly. Angels have been sent
as messengers and protectors throughout eternity.
Their customary dinner bread
without yeast, unleavened bread, and other portions of dinner perhaps a lamb or
jam with the bread. The smell of fresh
bread and butter can warm anyone’s heart. As they retire from their conversation, there
is yet another knock on Lot’s door. Interesting scripture says, all the men, both young
and old, from the village surrounded the house.
They called to Lot, so they could sexually abuse or sodomize his visitors. What would you do if there was a mob outside
your front door? Some of us would say we’re
a member of the NRA, but are there enough bullets for all the men in the
community, if they came to your doorsteps?
Apparently, Lot’s relationship with his uncle, Abraham, was deeply
embedded in his heart. Lot proposes to
the mob, his two virgin daughters as an alternative versus the men visiting his
home. Literally, we may perceive Lot
throws his daughters’ welfare aside, instead of his attempt to align the perversion
in the hearts of the mob according to God’s standards. As the crowd begin to overtake Lot, the two
men revealed their identity as they drew Lot back inside and blinded the entire
mob. We should presume the Angels opened
Lot’s eyes to see, once the purity of his heart was revealed. Whoa! What a day!
At this point, Lot’s heart is racing, mouth dry, hands clammy, as
the Angels explain the purpose for visiting Sodom. Amazing, the Angels were unaware if Lot had
other relatives as they ascertain for other relatives to escape the destruction
of the city. God allows us to see Angels
are supernatural, but are not Omniscient like God. This is important when we realize that Satan
was an Angel; therefore, he is supernatural and finite. Unfortunately, Lot’s son-in-laws to be,
laughed hysterically at the warning they received from him. We can imagine his daughters’ dilemma surrounding
the situation.
Early the next morning, the Angels instructed Lot saying, hurry, with your wife and your two daughters away from the city. The Angels directed Lot’s family from Sodom because he was reluctant. Again, the Angels instructed them, flee for your lives, don’t look back and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains. So Lot then requested refuge in the town of Zoar and the Angels obliged. Lot, his wife, and daughters scurried to the town just as the sun rose. From the heavens fell fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah annihilating the inhabitants and vegetation. Unfortunately, Lot’s wife did not heed the instructions of the Angels and looked back at the obliteration of the towns. Suddenly, Lot’s wife became a pillar a salt.
No! How is that the love of God? The past 24 hrs. for Lot’s family
already filled with abnormal activity.
As a child my mother became ill.
For many years, I never asked God
the one question we fail to ask in situations, what was the purpose? In reading the passages we fail to realize the
mental and emotional stress these individuals possibly endured. So far, they had entertained men, then a mob
threatening to break through their door, Angels revealing themselves and
informing them of the destruction of their home, so they must flee. Yeah, that’s not too bad, just a normal day in
the neighborhood. All in all, their
family would have endured the hardship without drawbacks if their mother would
not have aborted the original plan.
God’s sovereignty spared Lot’s wife the trauma of living through what
she saw. In this century, people deal
with mental issues such as: PTSD,
psychosis, and other issues from traumatic experiences that sedation, therapy
have not resolved. We cannot fathom Lot’s
wife mental state, after she looked back if she had lived in that period. Now there are sleep aides, psychiatrist, and
most importantly, redemption since Jesus came.
God does keep all His promises and judgments for our protection. If we never saw car accidents, we would
believe only speeding is beneficial. God
in His infinite wisdom always goes beyond judgement, He extended His great
mercy.
So Lot and his two daughters are grieving with the sudden loss of
their home and a loved one catastrophically, which is difficult for anyone to
process. On top of this, the daughters
lost their future husbands and may have misinterpreted their father offering
them to the mob for sexual exploitation. In reality, Lot understood that God created
male and female for sexual relations. It
sound outrageous to our natural mind but the mind of God deemed Lot righteous
for this act. When we experience pain,
loss we are susceptible to unhealthy choices due to emotional and mental
instability. Can you imagine the disorientation,
phrenzy, or agony? The only other comparison of Lot’s losses would be Job.
The events that followed were even more disturbing. The town that Lot requested and resided,
left him and his daughters living in a cave.
The two daughters in their naivety manufactured a plan ensuring their
father, Lot, became inebriated. The sisters plotted to have sexual relations
with their father to continue the bloodline. They went through this process two
consecutive nights. Here is food for
thought, in one opportunity not just one, but both the daughters were within
timeframe to be impregnated. In
addition, they both conceived males. Is
this by chance? Surely, God could have
hindered even this detestable thing but God desired to show redemption in every
situation. The daughters though they escaped the place of perversion still
carried the culture or mindset of the Sodom to conceive their plot.
Years prior, Lot began at the gates of Sodom and Gommorah, but he
eventually resided within the city walls.
There are reasons God instructs us to run from perversion not live in
it, least we birth something from it.
The season of my mother’s illness was temporary. However, the enemy desired that moment to be
permanent in my conduct. Sin is not a
secret recipe but it is a simmering recipe that slowly draws us into defeat and
stagnant cycles. Sin means to miss the mark.
It is more than actions we committed but a degraded earthy mindset produced
in the Garden. Yet, when we seek to do
right, like Lot, God reveals He is on the scene in astronomical ways. Blinds
our enemies and provides an escape route!
This is the first known instance of incest in the history
of man. It is not our location
physically but our location mentally that reveals us. In fleeing a vile place,
we must be careful we are not carriers of the culture and birth another
abhorrent act as these two young ladies infecting the new place. Or that we take God’s place when we foresee
dead ends, as Lot’s daughters, like Sarah with Hagar, or Absalom with Amnon.
God does exchange our filthy rages for riches and our shame for His glory. He delicately
and graciously weaves in our lives His riches in time. Who would imagine that out of the eldest
daughter the Moabites what would emerge?
Yet, in ten generations this same bloodline would become the bloodline
of Jesus Christ. God converts our filthiness
to His fullness. Even in a similar instance
Rahab, a prostitute, became a part of the lineage of Christ. Why?
God’s love.
From Lot’s daughters to Ruth, a young Moabitess that follows her
mother-in-law Naomi
back to Bethlehem Judah after the death of both of their
husbands. Naomi’s relationship with Ruth
brought conversion in her mind & heart that led Ruth to the fields of Boaz,
a kinsman of Naomi. Is this by
chance? Oftentimes, we see the blessings
in the good, but overlook God’s blessings in disguise. God’s B.I.D., they are everywhere! Most recently, at my place of employment the
dimensions of an instrument were incorrect.
This investigation led to realization the merchant overcharged our company
by $40,000. On top of that, we were duplicating this same project numerous times. So what turned out to be a problem was a blessing
in disguise. God’s love will teach us,
stretch us, test us, and prove us for His glory!
Ruth and Naomi were poor widowers.
How could God possibly create a pathway for their future? Love.
For Boaz to respond, to be alive, to be open, cannot be left to
chance. It is the orchestration of God’s
love through mere men. So out of incest came a covenant, that evolved into an eternal
covenant.
My friend God’s love is always present, we need to adjust our
lenses. For many have unknowingly entertained strangers that were actually
Angels. Remember, God’s plans for us are
always Drippin’ with Love! Download the
God App!
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