Genesis 19:1,12-14
And there came two angels to Sodom at even…
And [they] said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: for we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): God was about to destroy Sodom.
H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): The angels commanded Lot to go to his relatives in the city, men who had married his daughters and tell them that tomorrow the judgment was to fall. But they mocked him when he talked to them about judgment—they thought he was demented.
D. L. MOODY (1837-1899): The Saviour tells us they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, Luke 17:28; all went on as usual. They did not believe there was any sign of the coming judgment.
H. A. IRONSIDE: Why? Because Lot had lived so much like the rest of them.
C. H. MACKINTOSH (1820-1896): It is vain to speak of approaching judgment, while finding our place, our portion, and our enjoyment, in the very scene which is to be judged.
MARTYN LLOYD-JONES (1899-1981): The world expects the Christian to be different and looks to him for something different.
D. L. MOODY: Ah! poor Lot has lost his testimony.
WILLIAM ARNOT (1808-1875): One of the heaviest complaints made in the prophets against Jerusalem for her backsliding, is that she was a “comfort” to Samaria and Sodom, Ezekiel 16:54; that those who had the name and place of God’s people, so lived as to make the wicked feel at ease. If the salt retain its saltness, surrounding corruption will be made uneasy by the contact. If Christians live as much like the world as they can, the world will think itself safe in its sin; and those who should have been the deliverers, will become the destroyers of their neighbours.
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): If Christian men are so unwise as to conform themselves to the world, even if they keep up the Christian character in a measure, they will gain nothing by worldly association but being vexed with the conversation of the ungodly—and they will be great losers in their own souls—their character will be tarnished, their whole tone of feeling will be lowered and they themselves will be wretchedly weak and unhappy.
A. W. PINK: The powerlessness of Lot’s testimony appeared in the response made by his sons-in-law when he warned them―his words now had no weight because of his previous ways.
D. L. MOODY: He couldn’t get them out. I see him going through the streets with his head bowed down and great tears trickling down his cheeks.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city,” Genesis 19:15. He was now returned from his sons-in-law, and by this time it began to be light: “then the angels hastened Lot;”―urged him to get out of his house as fast as he could.
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): “And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand,” Genesis 19:16. The angels first urged him by words; now seizing him by the hand, and indeed with apparent violence, they compel him to depart. His tardiness is truly wonderful, since, though he was certainly persuaded that the angels did not threaten in vain, he could yet be moved, by no force of words, until he is dragged by their hands out of the city.
C. H. SPURGEON: Why should Lot want to linger in Sodom? He had often been vexed there. The very night, before, he had his house beset with rioters! Why should he want to linger?
A. W. PINK: The words “while he lingered” show plainly where his heart was.
WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): Lot was a “righteous soul,” but he was seduced [by worldliness].
ALEXANDER MacLAREN (1826-1910): The world tightens its grasp as we grow older.
D. L. MOODY: He had been there twenty years. He could not bear the thought of leaving his loved ones there to perish.
C. H. SPURGEON: When Lot lingered, he was defeating his own purpose and doing the worst imaginable thing, if he wanted to convince his sons-in-law that he spoke the truth, for while he lingered, they would say, “The old fool does not believe it himself, for if he did believe it, he would pack up and hasten away!”—The mischief that Lot did to his daughters was yet more aggravated, for all the while he was hesitating, they were sure to hesitate, too.
D. L. MOODY: His own children do not believe him—I tell you, when men live so like the world that their own children have no confidence in their piety, they have sunk very low.
C. H. SPURGEON: Actions speak louder than words. Conformity to the world is sure to end badly sooner or later―to the man himself it is injurious, and to his family ruinous.
D. L. MOODY: You take your children to Sodom, and you will find it will not be long before they will want to stay there. It is easier to lead your children into temptation than it is to lead them out. What a mistake Lot had made! He had taken them away from the society of Sarah and Abram, that holy family living out on the plain in communion with heaven daily. He had taken them down to Sodom, and they were steeped in the sins of Sodom…Ask Lot now about his life, and he will tell you it has been a total failure.
ROWLAND HILL (1744-1833): Through a long life I have invariably noticed, that when such children turn out improperly, you may trace a defect in the religious character of one, or both of the parents. If the father is a godly man, the wife may have much of the world about her; or, if the mother is wholly devoted to God, the children may see a want of cooperation in the father in advancing the mother’s plans.
JOSEPH ALLEINE (1634-1668): Well then, pause a little, and look within. Does not this concern you? You pretend to be for Christ, but does not the world sway you? Do you not take more real delight and contentment in the world than in Him?
H. A. IRONSIDE: Are you and I so living that our testimony really counts when we warn men to flee from the wrath to come, or are we living so near to the edge of the world, are we so much like those around us, that others question whether we really believe what we are professing?
