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he Bible is a marvelous book. Alongside of the record of Abraham, it gives us the negative history of Lot. For quite a long time, I did not understand why the Bible included such a negative record. There are certain verses in Genesis 19 that, humanly speaking, I do not like to talk about. But the Lord's divine revelation is economical; not one word is wasted. Hence, every word in the Holy Bible is very important. What then is the purpose of chapter nineteen of Genesis? It is to give us a warning example. I have the strong burden that in this message so many of us, especially the young people, need to see this warning example. We need such an example because today's situation is no better than that of Sodom…. If we read 2 Peter 2:6-9, we see that Peter was much in favor of Lot. In verse 8 Peter referred to him as a righteous man whose “righteous soul” was vexed with the unlawful deeds of the people in Sodom. In verse 9 he describes Lot as godly. Thus, according to Peter's concept, Lot was both righteous and godly. Although we may find it difficult to believe this because Lot's record in Genesis is so negative, we must believe it because the Bible tells us so. If you still say that Lot was not righteous and godly, then I would ask you about yourself. Are you more righteous and godly than he? In a sense, Lot was more righteous and godly than many of us. But although he was saved, righteous, and godly, he was a defeated righteous man. (a) Passively Brought into God's Way by Others As we consider Lot's history, we see that he was passively brought into God's way by others (11:31; 12:5), having been brought into God's way by his grandfather and his uncle. His grandfather brought him from Ur of Chaldea to Haran, stopping halfway because the grandfather would not go on. When God took the grandfather away, Abraham, Lot's uncle, took him from Haran to Canaan. Although it is good in the eyes of God that there are grandfathers and uncles who can bring their grandchildren and nephews into God's way, it is not the best to be passively brought on by others. Lot had a very weak start. He did not have an active, positive beginning in spiritual things. Young people, it is not the best to be passive concerning holy things or your following of the Lord. Lot was righteous and
A Defeated Righteous Man
godly, but he was defeated because he had a very weak, passive start. His passive beginning was the cause of his eventual defeat. (b) Never Having God's Appearing Lot never had God's appearing. As I read through the verses about Lot again and again, I could not find a hint that God ever appeared to him. Although God and the two angels visited Abraham, only the two angels came to Lot. Does this mean that God is unfair or a respecter of persons? Of course not. God is fair and is no respecter of persons. God did not appear to Lot or reveal Himself to Lot, We live in an evil age because Lot was passive, and need protection not actively seeking God, from it. Our family and and was living in a wicked city. He did not our children must be follow God in a direct protected. way but in an indirect way and did not walk in the way of God. Unlike Abraham, Lot had no direct relationship with God. God does not respect persons, but He does respect behavior, respecting whether or not we are active or passive in seeking Him. If you seek Him, He will appear to you. But if you do not seek Him, He will not waste His time. That God did not appear to Lot was not God's fault; it was Lot's. God wants to appear to you, but are you seeking Him and walking in His way? Do you have a heart to seek God positively and actively and walk in the way of God? If you do, God will not fail you. He will certainly appear to you. (c) Never Taking the Initiative in Taking God’s Way Lot never took the initiative in taking God's way. I have been unable to find a verse which indicates that Lot ever took the initiative in this matter. The Bible says that Lot's grandfather took him to Haran; it does not say that Lot followed him. There is a great difference between the two. I am somewhat concerned for the young people among us. Many of them are in the church life because someone brought them here. They did not take the initiative to come into the church life…. (d) His Relationship with God Being under the influence of Others Lot's relationship with God was under the influence of others (13:1). When others were up, he was up. When they were down, he was down. Lot was like a piece of driftwood. When his spiritual leader drifted into Egypt, he drifted there after him. He was altogether under the influence of others. When Abraham was drifting southward toward Egypt and the world, Lot should
have withstood him and said, “Abraham, if you go downward, I'll go upward.” But we see no such tendency in Lot’s life. I am concerned that in the church life today there is this kind of driftwood. Is your relationship with God under His direct appearing or under others’ influence? Do not think that Lot suddenly drifted into Sodom. No, it was a gradual development starting from a very weak beginning. If as you read this message you feel that you have not had a strong beginning, be encouraged for it is still not too late to lay a solid foundation. (e) Leaving Others’ Spiritual Influence because of Material Substance Lot left others’ spiritual influence because of material substance (13:5-13). When there was only the spiritual influence, Lot kept himself under it. But when Lot was faced with the choice between spiritual influence and material substance, he chose material substance. The principle is the same today. Material substance, that is, worldliness, is a test to those who follow the spirituality of others. Like Lot, they may be righteous but still choose material substance…. (f) Drifting into a Situation Which was Wicked and Sinful Before God Lot drifted into a situation which was wicked and sinful before God (13:11-12). Once you leave the source of spiritual influence, you will automatically go downhill, You will never go upward. Never forsake the proper spiritual influence, for it is your protection. If you give it up, you will lose your protection, and, like Lot, will drift downward into Sodom. In spite of the fact that Lot knew Sodom was wicked in the eyes of God, he eventually entered into that evil place and lived there…. (g) Sovereignly Warned by Being Captured Lot was sovereignly warned by being captured (14:11-12). God was merciful to him, not allowing him to live in Sodom peacefully. As a warning and a discipline, God caused Lot to be captured. (h) Rescued from Captivity by the Lord's Overcomer, but Not Helped to Come Back to the Way of God Although Lot was rescued from captivity by the Lord's overcomer, he was not helped to come back to the way of God (14:12-16). For a long time I was troubled by Lot's not returning to the way of God. He might have been stubborn. Do not think that passive people are submissive. Nearly all the passive ones are rebellious. Lot did not learn the lesson and he did not return to God's way.
(i) Going Back to Live in the Wicked City which Was Condemned by God and Was to Be Destroyed by the judgment of God Lot went back to live in the wicked city which was condemned by God and which was to be destroyed by the judgment of God (19:1-13). Lot did not go there to visit; he went there to live. When the two angels came to execute God's judgment over Sodom, Lot was sitting in the gate of the city, in contrast to Abraham who was sitting at his tent door. According to ancient custom, whoever sat at the gate of the city was one of the elders, for only they had the privilege of sitting there. Lot became a leader in Sodom! Suppose the Lord or His angels were to visit you. Where would they find you-sitting at your tent door, or at the gate of the wicked world? Where you are sitting determines whether or not the Lord will come to you…. Lot was even willing to sacrifice his two daughters to satisfy the Sodomites’ lust (19:7-9). Whether he was forced to do this or not, he never should have done it. This shows that Lot's sense of morality had been drugged. We may use the smell of garlic as an illustration of this. If we were to eat garlic all day long, our sense of smell would eventually be drugged. If someone having a fresh sense of smell would come into the midst of the garlic eaters, he would immediately notice the scent of garlic. Lot and his children remained in the garlic room of Sodom for years, and their sense of morality was drugged. Lot would consider sacrificing his virgin daughters to save his two guests. How could he consider such a thing! Although he was a righteous man, he had lost his sense of morality and shame…. (j) His Children Being Corrupted Lot's children were corrupted by living in the wicked city….Lot had to tell his sons-in-law and his children that God was about to judge that city. But when Lot preached the gospel to them, some would not believe the word from the Lord, thinking that he was joking…. Others of Lot's children had no sense of morality (19:30-35). Look at what his daughters did after they escaped from the city! After escaping from Sodom, Lot and his daughters still had wine with them (19:32). If they had not brought the wine with them, how else could they have had it in the cave where they were dwelling? How drugged they were by the sinful situation in Sodom! When I was visiting some saints in Las Vegas in 1963, they vindicated their living in that city, saying, “It is not wrong for us to stay in this gambling city, because we are here as a
testimony for the Lord.” I did not argue with them, but deep within myself I said, “If you stay here for some years, your children will have no sense about the wickedness of gambling.” Many of the young people today have been drugged, Look at the way they dress: there is no sense of morality, or feeling of shame. Many times when I am on the street I have to shut my eyes. For young ladies to be without a sense of shame is to be without protection. Throughout the whole world the sense of shame and morality has been drugged. Because most of the young people were raised in a sinful atmosphere, their senses have been drugged. But if they would come in to the church life and remain in its pure atmosphere for a few months, they would never return to the sinful world. They would be unable to stand its smell. We all must escape Sodom and shut our doors to its evil atmosphere. if we do not, our descendants will be drugged, How could Lot and his children have conducted themselves in the way they did after Sodom was destroyed? Because their sense of morality had fallen so low. If we remain in the fresh air, we shall immediately sense the bad smell of immorality. But if we do not discern any bad smell, it means that our sense of morality has been drugged.
PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship
Volume 4 Issue 8 August, 1999
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APPLICATION 1. Why did Lot not have a strong spiritual life? 2. Why did God not appear to Lot as He had appeared to Abraham? 3. How could Lot and his children have conducted themselves in the way they did after Sodom was destroyed?
PARENTHOOD is a free paper published monthly to strengthen the function of parents according to the vision in the Lord’s recovery. We primarily use the writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. All excerpts from materials published by the Living Stream Ministry are used by permission. Direct all inquiries and requests to: Gary Kaiser Phone 510 704-1891 2332 B Haste Street E-mail: gkaiser34@aol.com Berkeley, CA 94704
A Defeated Righteous Man he whole world lies in the evil one. This was the solemn concluding word of the aging apostle John. “We know,” John wrote to those he called his little children, “that everyone who is begotten of God does not sin, but he who has been begotten of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the evil one”—1 John 5:18-19. We are of God! We are not a common people. We believers, the called ones of God, must stand as an anti-testimony to the people of this world. Everything in this world is under the evil one, Satan. But we are of God. Hence, we should have nothing to do with the fallen culture of this age. We must eschew sin, the world, and idols. But there is a danger that we might not maintain our unique status—a terrible possibility that we would leave our sanctified position to become a kind of mockery to the grace of our dear Lord Jesus. Thus, Lot, the nephew of Abraham, stands as a stark warning to all believers. The Bible says that he was a righteous man (1 Pet. 2:7). Yet it is also poignant in its evaluation of the life that Lot lived: “For that righteous man, who settled down among them, in seeing and hearing tormented his righteous soul day after day with their lawless works”—v. 8. He settled down among them. May the Lord have mercy on us that we may not repeat the conduct of Lot in settling down among the people of the world. The Lord Jesus said that we are in the world, but we are not of the world (John 17:11, 14). We are of God! If we settle down in this world, we will experience, as Lot did, the tormenting of our soul by the things which we see and hear. In this issue of Parenthood, we are reminded of the dangers of becoming as a piece of driftwood, going down into Sodom. Becoming closely associated with the unrestrained morality of the people of Sodom contributed to an uncertain morality in Lot and his family. We believing parents must do our best to educate the moral consciousness within our children that they may escape the degradation that results from accepting the friendship of this world with its corrupting influence.