In this particular verse, Lot is being a true witness. He delivers accu-
depend on how the recipients respond. In this case, the sons-in-law disre- gard the warning, thinking Lot is speaking in jest. Their response is their responsibility. Lot has accurately delivered the message. In this case, Lot’s example challenges us. While the gospel is good news, it is set against the bad news of God’s just wrath against our sinful dis- obedience. The gospel offers us a way of escape through trusting in the - omy and freedom, people don’t see the danger they are in. Unless they understand how offensive their sin is to a holy God, they will not perceive the gospel as good news. We are called to be true witnesses. We have to be ready to speak the truth in love regardless of the response. We may meet hostility, or we may meet ridicule. But we may also meet people that the Holy Spirit has prepared to receive the truth.
Lot was a true witness and not a false witness. But there is another as- pect to being a witness. Is our witness credible? Do people see that our words match our behavior so that our words are believable and convinc- ing? Another way to think about this is that we are all witnesses, even when we’re not trying to witness. We are a witness by our actions. In this aspect, Lot is not a good example. He had earlier separated from the covenant community and left his uncle Abraham, in order to choose what looked like the better land. “And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord … (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)” (Gen- eses 13:10). So Lot chose because of what he saw with his eyes rather than remaining with Abraham and the people of God’s covenant promise. Choosing what looks like the good land is not always wrong, but in this case, there was another important factor Lot chose to ignore. “Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord” (Gen- esis 13:13). Lot’s choice set in motion a downward spiral in his life, until the end of Genesis 19 where we see him living in a cave with his two daughters who initiate an incestuous relationship with their father to pro- duce offspring.
The way Lot got to Sodom, making a choice by what he saw with his eyes, ignoring the sin of the people against the Lord, negated the credibil- ity of his witness.
We gain some insight into how much he had been impacted by Sodom from two things in Genesis 19. First, when the two angels met Lot in verse 1, he was sitting in the gate of Sodom. The gate is a place of commerce and government. Apparently Lot had gained some prominence in Sodom. in the punishment of Sodom, Lot lingered. “But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city” (Genesis 19:16). in-law took him to be jesting. I wonder if he had ever talked to them about the LORD. They certainly didn’t see in his actions any sense of urgency
November/December 2022
concerning God’s judgment. Do you show any sense of ur- gency regarding your own sins and concern for the judgment they deserve? Do people around you see a sense of overwhelming grati- tude for the gospel of God’s grace that spares you from the judgment you deserve because the judgment fell on Christ instead. Do people sense in you an attitude of supe- riority that looks down on them, or do they sense a real concern for their welfare. Are your actions and attitudes lending credibility to you witness?
When the Lord had revealed to Abraham what was about to hap- pen to Sodom, Abraham had ap- pealed to the Lord on behalf of the people of Sodom, probably with his nephew, Lot, and family in mind. Abraham asked if the Lord would spare Sodom for the sake of 50 righteous people. He then nego- tiated down to 45, 40, 30, 20, and “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it” (Genesis 18:32).
In the end, only three righteous people escaped the destruction of Sodom: Lot and his two daughters. Not even Lot’s wife survived. “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26). This was backward out of curiosity. This was a look back out of a longing to return, much like the Israelites would long to return to Egypt even after the Lord miraculously deliv- ered them from slavery.
So Lot’s witness was so compro- mised, that there were not even ten righteous people left in the city. His witness was so compromised in his family, that his wife and sons-in- law were left behind in the judg- ment. And while his daughters
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