*Genesis 19:15-29
Two angels urge Lot to flee Sodom with his family before it’s destroyed by God, but Lot’s wife disobeys and is turned into a pillar of salt.
- Urgent Departure from Sodom:
- As dawn breaks, the angels urge Lot to take his wife and two daughters out of Sodom to escape the impending destruction.
- Lot hesitates, prompting the angels to grasp his hand, along with the hands of his wife and daughters, and lead them out of the city for safety, showing mercy on them.
- Divine Instructions and Lot’s Plea:
- Once outside, the angels instruct Lot to flee to the mountains and not look back, warning that he should not stop anywhere in the plain to avoid being swept away in the catastrophe.
- Lot pleads with the angels, fearing he cannot make it to the mountains in time and requests permission to flee to a small nearby town (Zoar) instead.
- Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah:
- After the angels consent to Lot’s request to flee to Zoar, the Lord rains sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah from the sky.
- The cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants and vegetation, are completely destroyed.
- Lot’s Wife’s Disobedience and Fate:
- Despite the angels’ warnings, Lot’s wife looks back at the destruction and becomes a pillar of salt.
- Abraham’s Perspective:
- The next morning, Abraham goes to the place where he had stood before the Lord.
- From there, he looks down upon Sodom and Gomorrah and sees dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
Genesis 19:15-29 teaches us about obedience, trust, and not looking back. When God rescued Lot and his family from destruction, they were told to leave quickly and not turn back. But Lot’s wife looked back and suffered the consequences, showing us the danger of clinging to the past instead of moving forward with God. This passage reminds us to trust God’s direction, obey Him without hesitation, and focus on the future He has for us. Instead of dwelling on past mistakes or regrets, we should keep our eyes on His plan and walk in faith.
Genesis 19:15-29 (WEB)
19:15 When the morning came, then the angels hurried Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” 16 But he lingered; and the men grabbed his hand, his wife’s hand, and his two daughters’ hands, the LORD being merciful to him; and they took him out, and set him outside of the city. 17 It came to pass, when they had taken them out, that he said, “Escape for your life! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be consumed!”18 Lot said to them, “Oh, not so, my lord. 19 See now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown to me in saving my life. I can’t escape to the mountain, lest evil overtake me, and I die. 20 See now, this city is near to flee to, and it is a little one. Oh let me escape there (isn’t it a little one?), and my soul will live.”21 He said to him, “Behold, I have granted your request concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there, for I can’t do anything until you get there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of the sky. 25 He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew on the ground. 26 But Lot’s wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.27 Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and saw that the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace.29 When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.