A Terrible Mess
Opening Prayer
Lord, today may I think on “whatever is true … noble … right … pure … lovely … admirable” (Phil. 4:8).
Read Genesis 19:1-14
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
[1] The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. [2] “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” [3] But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. [4] Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. [5] They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” [6] Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him [7] and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. [8] Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” [9] “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. [10] But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. [11] Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door. [12] The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here-sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, [13] because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” [14] So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
What was the warning given to Lot's family?Lot had risen to a position of prestige in his adopted city, as seen by the fact he was found sitting at the gateway. The angels arrived to ascertain whether there were enough righteous inhabitants to hold off God’s destruction of the whole place, and the men of the town didn’t help the cause. Lot took his role as host to the shocking extreme of placing his guests’ safety over that of his own daughters, who were only rescued when the angels intervened. What a terrible mess! It seemed that God’s righteous judgment must come. Lot was graciously given enough warning to get himself and his family out of harm’s way (12,13), and he had probably been rescued in the nick of time. He had been walking a fine line between maintaining integrity and assuming the values of the culture around him. How do you feel you have adapted to local culture? How do the values and practices of your culture sit with you? Have you walked the “fine line”? Have you caved in to community and cultural “values”?
Apply
Ponder whether there are any ways in which you think and act too much like the culture around you.
Closing prayer
Lord, help me to know and choose the ways to live with integrity for You within the culture around me.
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