Daily Devotions
Genesis
"I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more…" Psalm 37:35-36a
Text: Genesis 19:1-38
ONE LAST WARNING
The mission of the angels of the Lord was clearly revealed in the following text. They had a two-fold mission entrusted to them.
“Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here?
Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have
in the city – take them out of this place! For we will destroy
this place, because the outcry against them has grown great
before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us
to destroy it.”GENESIS 19:12-13
1. Saving the righteous
This was the first concern of the angels. Lot must be rescued. The angels inquired of Lot whether he had sons-in-law, sons, and daughters who shared the same faith. Did he have any friends or business acquaintances who had come to faith through his life and ministry? If they were to leave Sodom, they would not perish.
2. Destroying the wicked
The second aspect of the angels’ mission was to see to the destruction of the city of Sodom and its wicked denizens! Outcries against Sodom had risen all the way to the Lord and He had sent His angels to check out the city before the sentence pronounced against it could be carried out.
WARNING WENT UNHEEDED
Lot knew the import of the words of the angels. Sodom would be destroyed. There was nothing he could do to prevent this reality from occurring. He sought to convince family members to leave Sodom with him, but in vain.
“So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law,
who had married his daughters, and said,
‘Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy
this city!’ But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.”GENESIS 19:14
DID ABRAHAM FAIL IN HIS INTERCESSION?
He did not fail, as far as the Lord was concerned! He did his part, making intercession on behalf of the righteous. Abraham did not pray for the wicked. He prayed for the city of Sodom for the sake of the few good citizens that may have lived in the city.
The reply he heard was not totally unsuspected. Nevertheless, Lot’s heart must have felt a great sense of grief that all those years spent in Sodom he convinced no one of the need to repent and believe in His Anointed One. Abraham had made his plea on behalf of the ten. He did not pray for the wicked who were living! Righteousness was of paramount importance to God! Wickedness must be put down or it would spread like wildfire!