Scripture: As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived.
Genesis 19:15-29 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, two angels of the Lord arrive in Sodom and find Lot sitting at its gate. Lot requests they stay at his house for the night. They reject his offer, but Lot persists, persuades them to stay as his guests, and provides them with a feast. Shortly after, Sodom’s men surround the house and shout to Lot to bring his guests to them for their sexual pleasure. Lot stands outside his door and pleads that they do not act wickedly toward his guests. Ignoring Lot’s plea, the men arrogantly accuse Lot of judging them, threaten Lot, and draw near to break down his door. Having seen enough, the two angels pull Lot inside and blind the men. They then tell Lot to gather his family and flee to safety, for they are going to destroy Sodom per God’s direction based on the cries of those traumatized by its wicked citizens. Thus, Lot urgently relays their directive to his daughters and their fiancés, but their betrothed partners deem Lot’s words a joke.
Today’s passage is part two of God’s rescue of Lot’s family. At dawn, the angels urge Lot to gather his family and immediately flee the city lest they suffer the collateral damage of the Lord’s judgment. But Lot lingers, spurring the angels to seize Lot, his wife, and two daughters by the hand and set them outside the city. One of the angels then commands them not to look back but to flee for the hills. Expressing gratitude for their rescue, Lot reasons that he cannot outrun the disaster and requests they allow him to seek refuge in the little city of Zoar. They agree, promising not to destroy Zoar, but they order Lot to hasten to the town.
As the sun rises, Lot arrives at Zoar. Immediately, Yahweh rains sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah and their surrounding valleys, extinguishing human lives and crops. Sadly, Lot’s wife disobeys the one angel’s command, looks back, and turns into a pillar of salt. Meanwhile, Abraham looks on from where he had earlier interceded for Sodom before the Lord and sees the rising smoke from the ruins, resembling a furnace. Moses then concludes by noting that God remembered his promise to Abraham and rescued Lot’s family.
Geographic note: Zoar (whose Hebrew name means “a little one”) is modern-day Ghor es-Safi in Jordan’s vale of Siddim. Located southeast of the Dead Sea, Zoar would have been approximately five miles from Sodom’s estimated location.
Takeaway: While Abraham’s intercession for Sodom on behalf of Lot failed, “God remembered Abraham” and spared a small city that Lot and his daughters occupy (v.29). Indeed, as Moses details, the sun has risen—providing his audience with a familiar Hebrew metaphor for divine salvation of the righteous and judgment of the wicked (e.g., Isaiah 9:2; Malachi 4:1-2). He then depicts salvation (with Lot and his daughters fleeing to safety) and judgment (with all the others meeting their horrid fate as sulfur and fire envelop Sodom, Gomorrah, and their surrounding valleys). Still, this is not the main point of this story. Rather than dwell on this catastrophe, Moses redirects his readers’ attention to the two who gaze upon the destruction: Lot’s wife and Abraham. Lot’s wife disobeys, looks back while still in the valley, and suffers the same fate as the wicked. In contrast, Abraham obeys God (staying clear of Sodom) and looks forward safely from a distant ridge, mourning as he sees the smoke rise like a billowing furnace.
Our takeaway? Both Abraham and Lot’s wife mourned for Sodom. That’s not the issue. Abraham trusted God’s salvation and judgment, obeyed, and looked ahead amid his grief. Lot’s wife disregarded the angel of the Lord’s directive and pined for what she left behind. It is a cautionary story that confronts us with how we handle grief. Do we grieve like those who have no hope, dwelling on the past and our losses, or as those who hope in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13) and face forward to what he has in store for us, trusting amid our sorrows that the Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3) is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28). Our obedience to the Father and Son, or lack thereof, will reveal where we are facing.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, who exemplified facing forward amid his grief to complete his rescue mission and save us from eternal separation from you that results in neverending suffering. And we thank you for the examples of Abraham and Lot’s wife that remind us of the outcomes of facing forward (trusting in your love and goodness) versus pining for the past (distrusting your loving heart that redeems our losses). So please help us to face forward amid our grief, following the lead of your Holy Spirit to align with your will and hold fast to your Son, our Man of Sorrows, who is working all things for our good. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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