As I said
in yesterday’s blog, several years ago, I wrote and published a book called Victory
Over Backsliding. Backsliding is when you turn away from God (and
start living life your own way), even though you were once committed to
Him. In my book, I share my own first-hand
experience with it, what I learned from it, and how I came back to the God of
my childhood.
Recently,
this book about backsliding came to mind, and I feel compelled to share the
chapter that talks about the believer’s stand in our present world. I trust you will feel enlightened and
encouraged as you read. Today’s blog is
a little longer, since I don’t want to break up the story, thereby making it choppy.
Chapter 3 – Overcoming the World (see book info
below)
Beginning of Part 2
Yesterday,
we talked about an “evil world system,” led by Satan and his demons. This is
different from the planetary world in which we live, work, play, and so on. This evil system is against all that is good
and Godly. It is a blatant show of pride
and shaking a fist at God. It is behind the
most vile and ungodly acts in existence in the world today. And the best Biblical example is found in the
very first chapter in the Bible, the Book of Genesis, the true account of Sodom
and Gomorrah. It is remarkable how that same ungodly city resembles our world
today. In fact, so much so, that I have thought
many times, this is a prelude to a time of unprecedented judgement on this
world, for such lewd and evil perversions provoke and are surely justified by a
holy and just God, who created all things for His glory. There has been no fear of God, and I wonder
now, with the dreaded Novel Covid-19 circulating the earth, perhaps people will
reach out to God. Will they come to realize
that it is God, and not science and good behavior, that will deliver us from this
insidious virus, and the financial ruin, etc. that seems to be looming ahead, threatening
our very existence?
In the following we have an excellent Biblical example of what
happens when we get too involved in the evil world system.
Choosing the World
Imagine a beautiful prosperous city,
situated near the banks of the Euphrates, a large metropolis, rich in commerce
and a notable political power. A marine
port of Babylonia, Ur was a happening city, trading goods with India, Ethiopia
and Egypt. Inhabited by Chaldees, people
of Babylon, Ur was ruled by a king that took pride in the building of the
temple in honor of the Babylonian moon-god, Sin. A neighboring city, Haran, shared in the
worship of this god, Sin. Abraham, a
wealthy, but godly man, enjoying modern life in suburbia Ur, moved with his
entire family from Ur to Haran and lived there in the land of Canaan. Life was good and Abraham enjoyed the company
of his close-knit family. But, one day Abraham received a strange directive
from God Himself.
The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country,
your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I
will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever
curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 12:1-3 NIV
What was the Lord asking? To leave the comforts of Haran and the
affluent society he had grown used to, and go on a journey to a strange land he
had never seen before, leave his entire family, and at his age? But Abraham believed what God had said, so at
age 75, Abraham packed up his many opulent things, and with his wife Sarai, bade
his entire family goodbye. Other than
several servants, herdsmen, and handmaidens, only Lot, his younger nephew,
Lot’s wife and family travelled with him.
Abraham didn’t know that he was beginning a journey that he would never
fully see to completion, and that many years later his descendants would also
embark on a similar journey to see God’s plan fulfilled.
Many
surprising events were about to unfold as they made their way to Canaan, the
land that God had promised to give Abraham and all of his descendants for their
own. Abraham, a wealthy man, wanted for
nothing. His entourage included all the
wealth that Abraham had amassed, flocks, rich herds of cattle, tents, silver
and gold. Lot’s entourage similarly
matched Abraham’s. After many days and
weeks of journeying, they arrived at Bethel.
But it was clear that they both couldn’t stay together because there
wasn’t enough land for both families to spread out because of their great
wealth. Besides, strife and quarrelling
between Lot's herdsmen and Abraham's exasperated the situation. Abraham, not wanting to be in strife with his
kin, suggested they go their separate ways.
Abraham gave Lot first choice of where to settle (see Genesis 13:1-9).
Imagine
Lot surveying the outlaying land. God
has not been talking to Lot as He does to Abraham, at least that we know
of. We’re not even sure that Lot
realizes the real purpose of this journey.
Abraham, still walking in blind faith has not yet seen the land that God
has promised to him. But Lot is looking
for something else, something tangible, something for today, not for a future
unseen as Abraham is. Lot sees a city
similar to the one he has left behind. Still
thinking in worldly terms and of all the comforts and wealth he could acquire,
Lot chooses what is most appealing to his natural senses.
Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of
the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of
Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the
LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot
chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.
The two men parted company: Abraham lived in the land of Caanan, while Lot
lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning
greatly against the Lord. Genesis 13:10-13 NIV
Lot, in his limited
vision, did not see the evil at work behind this panoramic portrait of wealth
and great beauty. Lured by the things of
the world, he bases his decision on what he could gain from it.
Like the opulent Titanic, no one could have ever imagined that this city
was destined for disaster.
After
the two men part company, they never live together again. It isn't until Lot departed that God showed
Abraham the true vision of all the land that he would inherit. What a stark contrast to what Lot had seen.
The
Lord said to Abraham after Lot had departed from him, "Lift up your eyes
from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that
you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your
offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust,
then your offspring could be counted. Go, walk through the length and breadth
of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
Genesis 13:14-18 NIV
As
with any nation that does not follow or honor God, there was a great war
amongst the cities where Lot lived. Lot
was taken captive and mightily delivered thanks to Abraham's offer to send his
own men to rescue him (see Genesis 14).
There are other significant points to consider in this account; first
that it confirms the limited vision of Lot in settling there in the first
place. For although the land appeared to
be beautiful and pleasing to the visible eye, it was ruled by wicked men. History shows that God’s judgement and
calamity always follow the deeds of wickedness (see Proverbs 11:5,8,11).
We
wonder why Lot hadn’t left the city before being taking captive. In Genesis 19 verse 1, we discover that Lot,
rather than living outside the city limits, is now sitting in the gate of
Sodom. Could he have become so affluent
that he now holds a position of authority, guarding the gates of Sodom? We begin to see that in spite of the evil
practices of this doomed city, Lot continues to live oblivious to what is about
to happen. If we didn’t know the fate of
Sodom and its sister city Gomorrah, we might, similar to Lot, pitch our tents
by its strong and appealing gate, oblivious to the impending doom of the
city.
God
again speaks to Abraham and tells him that the outcry against the sins of Sodom
and Gomorrah are so great He is considering destroying them completely. Abraham pleads with God to spare the cities
for the sake of the righteous living in them. (Read this interesting account in Genesis 18:16-33).
God is gracious, honors Abraham's request, and agrees to spare the
cities even if there are only 10 righteous people found in them.
The
beautiful and opulent cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that Lot has chosen to live
in are seething with evil practices, namely perverse sexual practices. Lot, having gained status and prominence,
greets the angels that God sends who have come to warn any righteous of the
impending judgement, at the gateway of the city (Genesis 19:1). We discover the depravity of the inhabitants
when the two angels sent by God to warn Lot of the impending destruction, are
wanted by the evil men of the city for sexual purposes. Lot does something that
startles us. He has become so much a
part of the society around him that he offers his two virgin daughters instead
of the angels to these reprobate men (see Genesis 19:5-8). It is inconceivable he would offer his own
daughters to perverse sexual men, and let them do what they will with
them. Even that he should bargain with
the wicked men at all is astounding, but this is the extent of Lot's
compromise. Sin breeds selfishness, and
it seems that Lot would rather appease these men that God is going to destroy,
than stand up to them and protect his own family.
When
he does this, these perverse men are not satisfied with the exchange, so in
anger they try to charge through the door to do Lot great bodily harm. Lot still can’t see what is happening and
doesn’t recognize the real danger he is in.
He does not fear for his own life, let alone for that of his
family. He no longer recognizes the
difference between evil and good. He
lingers at the door. Do we linger at the
door of compromise and bargain with those who would entice us to sin?
Even in Lot's backslidden state, God is gracious and His two messengers
intervene to protect Lot and his family.
They literally have to drag Lot away from the enticing evil men, pull
him into the house, shut the door, and then physically blind the men so that
they can't find Lot's door (see Genesis 19:10-11).
The
following morning, the angels urge Lot to take his family and hurry out of the
city because it is about to be destroyed.
But Lot lingers. Perhaps he is
still in a state of unbelief, not really believing that God is going to destroy
the city. The two strong angels literally
grab his hands and his family and drag them out of the city (see Genesis
19:15-16). Yet, as astounding as it
seems, Lot, still hanging on to this life he has known, pleads with the angels
not to send him to the mountains for fear of some evil thing happening to him
there. So, Lot asks them to let him go
to a smaller city.
Look,
here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it -- it
is very small, isn't it? Then my life will be spared. Genesis 19:20 NIV
The amazing truth here is that Lot
seems to find security in the things of the world. He believes if he runs to the little town, he
will then be spared, rather than trust that the Lord Himself will save him. When we abandon ourselves to the world, we
develop a false security that it is our place of refuge. But in the end, only God is our true refuge.
So Lot goes to the little town of Zoar and then the Lord destroys Sodom
and Gomorrah with, what is now known as an eruptive earthquake, which covered
the city with brimstone and fire.
But
this is not the end of the story.
Perhaps one of the most noted events is when Lot’s wife did not heed the
angel’s urgent warning to not turn back.
As
soon as they [the angels] had brought them out, one of them said, "Flee
for your lives! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain!
Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!" Genesis 19:17 NIV
Lot, having lost his spiritual
headship and authority, was unable to persuade his wife, by his own example,
when he pleaded to flee to Zoar, to turn away from Sodom. His wife disobeyed the angels command, looked
back and was instantly turned into a pillar of salt (see Genesis
19:23-26). It wasn't so much that she
disobeyed, but her looking back made a statement that her heart was still
wanting the things of this affluent city.
She is preserved and remembered as a standing memorial so that we know
the tragic consequences when God's people love the world more than God Himself.
Finally,
with nowhere else to go, Lot ends up retreating to the mountains. He retreats
to a cave, for fear has driven him there (see Genesis 19:30). He has narrowly escaped the wrath of God’s
judgement on these cities because of wicked sin, but still he doesn’t recognize
the magnitude of evil practices all around him that has stirred the wrath of
God. Sin produces more sinfulness and
Lot’s daughters practice what they have been exposed to for too long. With their betrothed husbands destroyed with
the city, and fearing that the entire world has disappeared and all eligible
men along with it, they get their father drunk and have sex with him. They each bear a child out of this incestuous
act, whose descendants, the Moabites and Ammonites, bear the marks of this
wicked world from which they were spawned.
Later, these two people groups are known for their idolatrous and wicked
practices. Also, they are often a source
of conflict for the children of Israel (See Numbers 22-28; Numbers 25:1-9; Numbers 31:16;
Amos 2:1-3; Judges 11; Deut. 23:2-6; Ezek. 25:1-7).
This
Biblical account teaches us to choose carefully where we will pitch our tents –
will we be drawn to the glitter and grandeur of the world, even if it is
cloaked in evil, and destined for ultimate destruction? Or will we, like Abraham, see a far greater
vision by faith and choose to go God’s ways, even when we can’t see the
results?
Stay tuned for Part 3.
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