Victimization
Part 4
Lot’s in a Lot of Trouble
1 Corinthians 10:6-13, “But these things became examples for us, so that we may not be lusting after evil, even as those indeed lusted. 7Neither be idolaters, even as some of them, as it has been written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” (Ex. 32:6) 8Nor should we commit fornication, as some of them fornicated, and twenty three thousand fell in one day. 9Neither let us tempt the Messiah, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. 10Neither should you murmur, as also some of them murmured, and perished by the hand of the destroyer. 11And all these things happened to those as examples, and it was written for our warning, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12So that he that thinks he can stand, let him be careful that he not fall. 13No temptation has taken you except what is human; but Yahovah is faithful, who will not allow you to be tested above what you are able. But with the trial, He will also make the way out, so that you may be able to bear it.”
Well, we’ve explored some interesting stories from the Bible in this series. Today, we will explore one more. We may get back to Job, but I make no promises. In today’s study we will examine a little of Lot’s life, the nephew of Abraham. After Abraham and Lot parted ways, Lot eventually settled in Sodom. Read all of Genesis 18 and 19. Yahovah had decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham had interceded for the cities. Let’s pick up the story where the two angels had arrived to rescue Lot and his family, Genesis 19:1-13, “And the two cherubs came into Sodom at evening. And Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw, and he rose up to meet them and bowed his face to the earth. 2And he said, Behold, now, my masters, please turn in to your servant’s house and lodge, and wash your feet; and rise early and go to your way. And they said, No, for we will lodge in the street. 3And he much urged them, and they turned in to him and came into his house. And he made a feast for them. And he baked unleavened matzos, and they ate. 4Before they had laid down, even the men of the city, the men of Sodom, circled the house; from the young to the aged, all the people from its limits. 5And they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them. 6And Lot went out to them, to the door, and he closed the door behind him. 7And he said, My brothers, please do not act evilly. 8Behold, now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please let me bring them out to you and do to them as you see fit; only do not do a thing to these men, on account of this they came into the shade of my roof. 9And they said, Stand back! And they said, This one came in to visit, and must he always judge? Now we will do evil to you rather than to them. And they pressed on the man, upon Lot violently, and drew near to break the door. 10But the men put out their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and shut the door. 11And they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, from the small to the great; and they struggled to find the door. 12And the men said to Lot, Who still is here to you? Bring out of this place your sons and your sons-in-law and your daughters, and whoever belongs to you in the city. 13For we are about to destroy this place, for the cry of them is great before Yahovah, and Yahovah has sent us to destroy it.”
In verse 5 we see that the men of Sodom were so corrupt that they wanted to Sodomize, or victimize, the two angels from Yahovah. Lot tried to protect the angels by talking to the men of Sodom and offering up his daughters to them instead, but they would have none of his talk. Unfortunately, Lot was willing to sacrifice the virginity of his daughters to save a couple angels. In our eyes that was not a wise move on his part. Lot’s daughters would have been victimized if not for the help of the angels. Lot was willing that his daughters be defiled and dishonored, rather than angels of Yahovah! Had Lot read Yeshua’s words where He taught that we are to love Yahovah and His kingdom more than our own family? Apparently, Lot knew the Law of Yahovah, better than most living today.
Then the men of Sodom tried to rape Lot in verse 9!! The angels had to rescue Lot from his compromised position. Lot was about to be victimized by those sodomites! The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were sexual perverts, deviants deserving destruction from Yahovah. They did get their just dues.
So the angels brought Lot and his family out of Sodom, but unfortunately, Lot’s wife was disobedient and looked back and became a pillar of salt. Lot was having a rough day! He must have felt like this was the end of the world, at least the end of his world. Lot was allowed to go to the little town of Zoar, but was still afraid Yahovah might destroy that city also, so he moved into a cave in the mountain nearby. But his troubles had only just begun! Genesis 19:30-38, “And Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the mount. And his two daughters were with him. For he feared to live in Zoar. And he lived in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31And the first-born said to the younger, Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to come in to us as is the way of all the earth. 32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may keep alive seed of our father. 33And they caused their father to drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. And he did not know when she lay down nor when she rose up. 34And on the next day it happened, the first-born said to the younger, Behold, I lay with my father last night. Let us cause him to drink wine tonight also. And you go in and lie with him, so that we may keep alive seed of our father. 35And they caused their father to drink wine that night also. And the younger rose up and lay with him. And he did not know when she lay down, nor when she rose up. 36And both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37And the first-born bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of Moab to this day. 38And the younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.”
Lot’s future sons-in-law had refused to escape Sodom with Lot and their fiancees, so they remained behind and were destroyed with the Sodomites. Lot’s daughters were concerned about the future of their family line, so they were willing to commit incest with their Dad to continue the lineage of Lot! My, what poor decisions this family of Lot was making. Lot himself may have been a righteous man, but his entire family was making poor decisions that week. Lot was seduced and raped by his own daughters! A terrible sin with long lasting consequences, for the Moabites and Ammonites caused much harm to the tribes of Israel, and continue harming Israel to this present hour. Lot did not want to be victimized by the Sodomites or his daughters, but he was victimized over and over, even losing his precious wife in the process.
Yahovah was testing Lot and it may appear to us that he failed his tests, but look what Apostle Peter says about him in 2 Peter 2:6-9, “and covering the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with ashes, He condemned them with an overthrow, setting an example to men intending to live unholy lives. 7And also delivered righteous Lot, who was tormented with the filthy conduct of the lawless; 8for that righteous one living among them day after day, in seeing and in hearing, his righteous soul was tormented with their lawless deeds. 9But Yahovah knows to deliver the righteous out of temptation, and to keep the unjust to be punished at the judgment day,”
Lot’s sons-in-law may have failed their test. Lot’s wife may have failed her test. Lot’s daughters may have failed their test. But Lot apparently did not fail his test! Peter called him a righteous soul! But Lot was victimized!! By whom? By Satan. Satan set Lot up in Sodom in order to cause him to fall, but Lot did not fall! Lot was an overcomer! Where did he learn to overcome? Through the discipleship of his Uncle Abraham! Lot may not have discipled his family as well as he could have, but they were making their own decisions, many poor choices in the crunch time! But Lot himself was a righteous man. He loved Yahovah. He loved Abraham. He loved his family. Lot suffered a lot at the hand of Satan that Yahovah allowed to happen.
Lot was trying to protect his daughters by moving into that cave, but he unwittingly set himself up to be seduced and raped. Was that his fault? Possibly. Could Lot have prevented this situation? Probably. Yahovah would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of 10 righteous people that Abraham had asked for. Poor Lot couldn’t pull together 10 family members and future in-laws to get out of town. How many of us could find 10 righteous people in our city today to prevent it being destroyed by Yahovah? I shudder to contemplate it.
If you look up incest in Nave’s topical Bible, you will find many instances of incestual relationships in the Scriptures, even close of kin marriages. Incest is another sin that must be repented of before Judgment Day arrives. We need to repent of every sin that the Holy Spirit convicts us of. We are racing toward Judgment Day. It is scheduled on Yahovah’s calendar. Please get right with your Creator today. Time is rapidly slipping by us. Turn to Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, today. Ask Him to save you from your own sin through His precious shed blood.
One point I want my dear readers to understand from this series is that you will be victimized in this life. But you must realize that Yahovah is in control of your life. He allowed you to be victimized. You must continue to live righteously, love Yahovah and worship Him. You must overcome the victimization and continue to walk with Yahovah. Trust Him that He will work it out to your good. He is refining your character to become like Yeshua. Yeshua was the ultimate victim, yet He overcame and was exalted to the highest position in the Kingdom of Yahovah. Will we, as seemingly innocent victims overcome and forgive our very abusers, torturers, or murderers? Yahovah wants to promote us in His Kingdom, but we have to learn to walk as Yeshua walked. When you are being stoned or beheaded for your preaching or stance with Yeshua, will you be able to forgive as Stephen did in Acts 7:59-60, “And they were stoning Stephen while he prayed, and he said Our Master Yeshua receive my spirit. 60And after he kneeled down, he cried in a loud voice and said, Our Master, do not cause this sin to stand against them! And having said this, he fell asleep.”?
We as parents and grandparents must always do everything we can to protect our children and grandchildren from victimization. But at the same time we must trust Yahovah for ultimate protection. The child Yeshua would have been slaughtered with the rest of the babies in Bethlehem if Yahovah had not guided Joseph through a dream. Had all the other parents in Bethlehem not protected their children adequately from the Roman army? Should they have known they were going to be attacked? Do we condemn all those other parents in Bethlehem for not protecting their children? Were the parents just as much victims as the babies? Will you be able to protect your children from a S.W.A.T. invasion of your home? Can you really protect yourself and your family from a home invasion or terrorist attack? Must we not ultimately trust Yahovah for our family’s safety?
Read Genesis 20 and see how Yahovah protected the evil pagan king Abimelech from sinning against Sarah, Abraham, and Yahovah. Genesis 20:6, “And Yahovah said to him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the honor of your heart, and I also withheld you from sinning against Me. On account of this I did not allow you to touch her.” Yahovah is in intimate control of your life. No one, not even Satan, can cross that line unless Yahovah allows it. Yahovah has great plans for your life. Trust Him to take you to the highest heavens in the Kingdom. Why did David never lash out and kill King Saul? Because he knew Yahovah’s protection was REAL. Saul could NEVER harm David, unless Yahovah allowed it. David had a real living trust in Yahovah. We all need to live like David.
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