Lot, his wife and two daughters
were forced out of Sodom by the two angels God had sent to destroy
Sodom, Gomorrah and surroundings. The cities were about to be
destroyed, because not even ten righteous people could be found in
the entire area. Now the angels instructed Lot and his family:
"Run for your lives!" the angel
warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And do not look back!
Escape to the mountains, or you will die." Genesis 19:17
Now as we have seen last week,
Lot's wife did not listen. She looked back and turned into a salt
pillar. She couldn't let go of all that she left behind.
Now notice something else in his
instructions. The angel told them to escape to the mountains. Now
what did Lot do? Did he listen? He didn't want to. Despite the fact
that they just saved his life, he didn't want to go into the
mountains. He was sure that he would die there. So he dared to
negotiate with the angel in these dire circumstances and asked him
to please rather allow them to go to a small village, Zoar, nearby.
He was sure that his life would be saved there. Lot must have been
so used to living among civilisation; he was scared to travel into
the unknown into an unfamiliar territory. Now the angel was kind to
him and granted him his request. And in the process the lives of
those in this village, Zoar, was also saved. The moment Lot and his
family reached Zoar, the angels rained down God's judgment on Sodom
and Gomorrah and the surrounding areas. What a sight that must have
been! Abraham also saw the devastation the next morning and must
have been shocked that not even ten righteous souls were found. But
I am sure that he was relieved that Lot was saved.
Now what is very interesting to me
is that the very next verse tells us that Lot didn't stay at
Zoar.
"Afterward Lot left Zoar
because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a
cave in the mountains with his two daughters." Genesis
19:30
Isn't that ironic? God told Lot to
go and live in the mountains, but he didn't want to. Instead he
said he will die in the mountains, he rather wanted to live in
Zoar. But now it seems that he will die in Zoar, so now he went to
live in the mountains where he should have gone in the first place.
It is clear to see that God knew best from the start. He knew that
the people in Zoar were evil; in fact He wanted to destroy them
along with Sodom and Gomorrah. He knew that Lot won't be able to
live there, but He granted Lot's request, because he had to see for
himself.
God knows best for us too.
Sometimes we are scared of the 'mountains' where He is sending us
to. Sometimes we do not want to go there. We are scared of the
unknown, we are afraid of what might happen to us once we arrive
there. We would much rather follow our own little plans and go and
settle in 'Zoar' where it is seemingly more comfortable for us. We
would rather negotiate with God, thinking that we know best. But as
we've seen with Lot now, God really does know best. If He wants you
to go to the 'mountains' then that is the best route to take. Do
not doubt His goodness and Fatherly love. He knows what will be
best for you. Trust Him with your life. A heavenly, eternal
perspective is much better than an earthly one. Let go and let God.
You might just save yourself a lot of heartache and pain if you
listen to Him.
Father thank you so much that we
can know that You know best. You are our eternal Saviour, our God
of all. Please give us the courage to follow You wherever You may
lead us. Help us to follow in Your footsteps. We would love to go
where You may lead us. In Jesus Name. Amen