Don't Look Back--Talk to God

Well, today has been a typical Monday. I was going to take a break from Genesis tonight, but knowing that the next couple of chapters were on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, it just seemed to be “apropos” :]

(Genesis 18-19)

The Lord appeared to Abraham one day while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. Three visitors came (angels), and Abraham hurried to meet them and bowed before them, ready to assist them. He offered to bring water for them to wash their feet, and offered refreshment for them while they rested. When they were ready to leave, the Lord decided to let Abraham know about the grievous state of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Lord said,

The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know. (18:22)

Then Abraham stood before the Lord and pled for the salvation of these cities. This is the first record of a person praying for the sparing of another person in the Old Testament. Abraham asked,

Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are 50 righteous people in the city?...Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? (18: 23-33)

Abraham continued to be so bold as to beg for 45, 40, 30, 20, and finally 10 people. The Lord agreed, “For the sake of 10 [righteous people], I will not destroy it” (18:32).

When the two appointed angels arrived at the gateway of the city, Lot happened to be there. When he saw them, he offered for them to stay in his house, where they could clean up, eat, and rest from their journey. Lot feared for their safety and sought to protect them from the perverted men in the city square. Soon, men of all ages surrounded the house and called for Lot to bring the men outside. Lot went outside to make them go away. He remembered his two virgin daughters inside and offered them to the men. They refused and tried to break down the door. The men inside (the angels) reached out and pulled Lot back inside the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men outside with blindness so they couldn’t find the door.

The two angels instructed Lot to leave the city with any others who belonged to him, because they were sent by the Lord to destroy this wicked place. So Lot went to speak with his future sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. They thought he was joking, so they did not leave. At dawn, Lot hurriedly left with his wife and two daughters. The Lord was merciful to them.

One of the angels said to them,

Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away! (19:17)

Lot pled with them to let them go as far as Zoar, a smaller town nearby, instead of the mountains. Then the Lord rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah; but, before it was all over, Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked back, and she turned into a pillar of salt (19:26).

God remembered Abraham’s appeal for the safety of the righteous. His pleading with the Lord is similar to a "prayer of faith", and that is why his nephew Lot was spared.

In the New Testament, James (a brother of Jesus) explained the importance of praying by faith. Such a prayer can make a sick person well, bring physical and emotional healing, and cover a multitude of sins:

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring them back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the way of error will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (James 5: 13-20)