Title: 13
Author: Joe G
Last saved by: PJD-SymCast
Company: GDC

© 2003 Joe Griffin		03-12-04.CC02-218 /

The Angel’s Four-Paragraph Escape Plan, Gen 19:17; Lot’s Arrogant Rejection, vv. 18-19; Lot’s Request to Go to Zoar, v. 20; Angelic Approval, vv. 21-22
Genesis 19:17 -	And it came about when the angels had brought Lot and his family outside, that one said, “Escape for your life!  Do not look behind you!  Do not stay anywhere in the valley!  Escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away!”
		1.	There are four orders given.  They are to escape: the Niphal imperative of:
				 fl^m* malat -	“escape from the threat of death”
The Niphal is reflexive and denotes an action which the subject allows to happen to himself.  An imperative is the mood farthest removed from reality.  An order can be given but it is up to the free will of the person hearing the order to respond.  If Lot chooses to respond then other instructions must then be followed.
2.	First of all, do not look back.  This implies the urgency of the situation.  If you pause to rubberneck what’s about to happen you will be killed.  They must evacuate the area and do it immediately and quickly.
3.	And as they move out they are not to consider seeking shelter in the Jordan Valley.  There are four other cities in the valley: Gomorrah, Zeboiim, Admah, and Zoar.  These cities are under judgment as well and will offer no refuge.
4.	Finally, they are to escape post-haste to the mountains.
5.	Did Lot follow these instructions immediately?  No!  At this point Lot decides to give a speech.
	Genesis 19:18 -	But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord!
	v. 19 -	“Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains lest the disaster overtake me and I die;
v. 20 -	now behold, this town [ Zoar ] is near enough to flee to, and it is small.  Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.”
		1.	Do the words dufus, lamebrain, ingrate, nincompoop, ninny, simpleton, and just plain stupid come to mind?  Lot has just been delivered from Ground Zero but in order to get out of the blast area he is told he must go to the mountains.  Instead of getting into high gear, he stops to give a situation report to those who are about to blow the entire valley to smithereens.
		2.	It is good to be thankful for divine favor.  But when the Lord issues a command through His pursuivants for Lot and his family to move out and do so double-time, it is no time to give a speech.
		3.	Lot compounds the problem by overriding the angels’ orders to move out to the mountains.  Lot, in his expert analysis of the situation, has determined that he doesn’t have time to do this.
		4.	Consider the arrogance of Lot: In verse 16, the angels had to literally drag Lot and his family out of Sodom.
			PRINCIPLE: When in reversionism, the believer is unable to read historical trends or orient to authority.
			In verse 17 the angels issue Lot a divinely approved Exit Strategy but in verse 18 Lot counteracts it with his own.
			PRINCIPLE: Those in reversionism consider their own problem-solving devices to be superior to God’s.
		5.	Lot wants to do what he wants to do.  He dreads the idea of leaving the valley, his herds, his flocks, and his stuff.  He now knows that the angels are messengers of God but he is greedy.  He has seen divine grace get him this far so why not milk it to his advantage?
		6.	However, Lot hopes to soften the impact of his arrogant disregard of the divine guidance by taking valuable time to praise and compliment the angels on their good work so far.  However, “I’ve got a better idea.”
		7.	And the “better idea” is to stay in the valley in Zoar.  He tries to sell this idea by pointing out that within the pentapolis Zoar’s population is the smallest so the percentage of perverts spared will be small.
		8.	This is a compete disorientation to grace or a complete rejection of it.  It is surely a lack of common sense.  If the Lord instructed His angels to deliver Lot and his family from Sodom and order them to seek refuge in the mountains, then it follows that the divine intent is to save their lives.
		9.	For Lot to assert that if he follows divine directives he will die is an insult to the grace of God.
			PRINCIPLE:	Fear causes the reversionistic believer to rely on human viewpoint rather than divine guidance.
		10.	When disobedience occurs and God decides to protect, support, or deliver the believer then He does so through grace by means of divine permissive will rather than divine directive will.  Lot is about to become the beneficiary of the former.
Genesis 19:21 -	And the angel said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken.
v. 22 -	“Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.”  Therefore, the name of the town was called Zoar [ ru^x) “small” ].
		1.	The angel is given approval to withdraw the planned destruction of Zoar in order to get Lot and his family to a point of safety.  It is clear from verse 21 that the divine intent is to destroy all five cities.  But Lot’s negative volition combined with the Lord’s promise to Abraham, in Genesis 18: 26-32, led to God permitting this exception.
		2.	Lot and his family are therefore blessed by association with Abraham.  Lot is arrogant, self-centered, greedy, and afraid.  He is disoriented to grace and driven by personal interests.
		3.	Again we see that the reversionistic believer, unable to read historical trends, cannot anticipate the punishment that threatens a degenerate society.
		4.	Lot’s conscience has been desensitized to the evil around him.  He does not want to admit that the area is under judgment and therefore cuts a deal to stay close to home.
		5.	We live in a degenerate society today.  Nevertheless, it is a haven of refuge for those who still seek freedom and prosperity.  But this freedom and prosperity is a thin façade that covers a rotting inner core.
		6.	Further, this façade causes the majority of our population to become blind to the reality of our spiritual condition and thus misread historical trends.
		7.	Because we continue in our blindness while enjoying blessing by association from a continuously shrinking Pivot, we invite national discipline.
		8.	Once judgment comes to the nation we will find it hard to leave its comfortable surroundings but instead swap freedom for security in an effort to restore order.
		9.	Lot does not want to leave the Jordan valley because it’s home to him, a comfort zone where he achieved great material prosperity.
		10.	He is afraid to try and escape to the mountains because he feels he would die trying.  It is also logical to consider that if he were to escape to the mountains he would in doing so loose all his possessions which to him would be worse than death.
		11.	So the Lord grants Lot’s request and instructs the angels to allow him refuge in the city of Zoar.

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