The Consequences of Compromise, Genesis 19:1-16

Tonight we’re going to look at the case of Lot in Sodom. We’re going to contrast his situation with that of Abraham, who is at this time dwelling in the plain of Mamre. We learned where Abraham now is back in verse 1 of the last chapter. We are reminded of Lot’s location here in verse 1 of chapter 19.

What the Respective Locations Tell Us

The respective locations of Lot and Abraham, particularly the natures of these locations, are rather important to the message of this chapter. Lot has gone to live in the wicked city of Sodom. We recall that at first he only pitched his tent “toward Sodom,” and then he moved into Sodom, then he was captured by the kings of the east and was rescued by Abraham. Now he is back in Sodom, and what we see is that he is something of a fixture in the city. We read

"And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom,"" (Gen 19:1).

We talked a little bit about this earlier in the book, but we want to ask a few more questions as we look at this passage tonight. First we ought to wonder what Lot was doing here at all. Think about it: The place is so evil that God has come down in person, as it were, and is going to bring such destruction on the place that it gets beat down into the ground 2000 feet, and then fills up with water and the salty residue of brimstone. Today it is the location of the lowest elevation on earth. How often in human history has anything like that happened? Why is Lot in this place?

Of course, we know that he had to separate his flocks from those of Abraham, but that did not necessitate his move into this area. What we remember from our earlier reading in chapter 13 is that the plain of Jordan was well-watered and it looked like the Garden of Eden. Being such a nice place, a good question to ask is why Abraham didn’t live there. But in the same chapter we learned this: Genesis 13:13, “The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.”

That apparently disturbed Abraham enough that he would rather live in a relatively empty place than even to be near this den of iniquity. The plains of Mamre where Abraham was, we are told in chapter 13, was near Hebron. Hebron is essentially on the same latitude as the center of the Dead Sea, and about 20 miles west. Abraham is not in Sodom, or even in Hebron, but maintains his household out on the plain. In this kind of isolation, he’s evidently not one of the movers and shakers of the pop culture in Canaan.

The wickedness of the Sodomites didn’t bother Lot enough to keep him from living with them. We know from the New Testament in 2 Peter 2 that Lot was vexed with the evil behavior of the men of Sodom, but just how vexed was he? I think we can say that he was not as vexed as Noah was with the wicked people who lived in his day. The same chapter of 2 Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. How do you think that kind of preaching would have come across in Sodom? Lot knew that they wouldn’t stand for it, so he largely kept quiet. Yes, he vexed his own soul over their behavior, but we don’t read that he said a great deal to rebuke them for their sin. When he finally does say a little something in v. 9 (when his house is under attack), they nearly kill him. The vexation was not enough to keep him out of town. It wasn’t even enough to keep him from giving his daughters as wives to some of the city’s inhabitants.

One of the more significant things we find in the first verse of chapter 19 is that Lot is sitting in the gate when the strangers arrive. This is what I meant when I said that Lot was something of a fixture in the city. To sit in the gate indicates that he was a civil magistrate there. Also, consider how Lot addresses the perverted men who came to his door to Sodomize his visitors? Genesis 19:7 “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.” This is the strongest rebuke he can muster. He calls them brethren. I can almost hear him saying to his Angel visitors, “You know, I’ve got a ministry to these people—it’s really not such a bad place; I think I’m getting through to some of them. Look, I even let my daughters marry into their families.”

Are you getting a better picture of how Lot justified his existence and incorporation into this city? It’s true, he doesn’t like the way they behave; we can be thankful for that. He doesn’t engage personally in their wickedness. That’s very good. But he’s there, he’s embedded, and he is compromised. The truth is, he likes the place for its beauty and comfort. He has become prosperous and comfortable there, and he doesn’t want to leave.

Even after the attack on his house, the Angels have to lay their hands on him and his family to get them away:

"And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city," (Gen 19:16).

We didn’t read farther than this, but you remember the story. As they flee, Lot’s wife looks back and is treated to essentially the same judgment as the Sodomites. She becomes a pillar of salt, and stands—literally—as a monument to the folly of making common cause with God’s enemies, even if only to partake of their material prosperity.

Application to our church situation

This is not completely unlike the church situation we find ourselves in. I don’t mean to say that the churches we are leaving are composed of Sodomites, or of people who are no better than Sodomites. That is not the case. There are many genuine Christians among them, and among their leadership.

What I am saying is that it’s all too easy to become comfortable with real wickedness and to fail to recognize it among people whom you otherwise like and admire. There is an ease and a simplicity to going along with everyone else. But there comes a point when a separation is necessary.

None of us really wants to stand out in the cold with Abraham. It’s not pleasant or convenient. Certainly there are times when we need to engage with the world and with the religious culture of a decadent church. But our testimony is not very effective if we are effectively just another one of the crowd and take part in the benefits of their life of ease.

Let’s pray that others will join us and help us to stand in opposition to false worship, a denial of the truth of the Bible, dishonesty, child abuse, and a failure to exercise church discipline. If we are in churches like this, we need to be like Noah rather than Lot, and it will soon be evident that we aren’t welcome in those places, whether we want to stay there or not.

May God hear us and build a sound church in our midst.