August 23 Sermon: Deliverance
Consider these questions as we look at Genesis 13:1-14:16:
1. How does Lot's decision to move towards the Jordan Valley demonstrate a prioritization of personal prosperity over spiritual considerations?
2. In what ways does the world oppress Lot, and how does this reflect the broader theme of the world's self-centeredness and lack of concern for the well-being of individuals?
3. How does Abram's rescue of Lot serve as a parallel to the gospel message, and what does it reveal about God's willingness to intervene and deliver His people from the oppression of sin?
Transcript:
We’ve all been in a position where we have to make an important decision. We weigh the options in our heads and try to do what we think is best. Inherently, we end up making decisions that are selfish. We usually look for what brings us the most happiness or what we think will benefit us the most. In most cases, there might not be anything wrong with that approach but there are times when making an important decision with our eyes on looking out for ourselves and what selfishly desire can create serious problems. I’m sure we have all been in a place where we were given and option and even though we didn’t want to come across as selfish we jumped at the opportunity anyway. We have also probably all been on the other side where we put an offer out there to someone and we selfishly hope they don’t choose the option we would prefer. When we are looking at the options before us, we can easily forget some things that are important to consider. When our category for decisions is our happiness or our personal prosperity, we can push to the side the pangs in our conscience or forget about the need for considering what is best in the sight of God.
As we come to the book of Genesis again this morning, we find ourselves in a story where Abram’s nephew Lot has an option to consider and he chooses to leave the area that God has promised to his covenant people. This decision seems harmless but as we will see in the life of Lot this decision will cause him serious issues. In fact, two times he will barely escape with his life.
And so we find ourselves with Abram in another interesting story. Just like what we read last week it isn’t a story that usually makes the greatest hits list of what we remember from the book of Genesis. I’m guessing even if you are familiar with the book of Genesis it might not even be something you really remember but once again it is an important story and it points us to the greater story about the seed of the woman who will come and crush the head of the serpent.
As you think about stories in the Bible you might often find yourself asking “Why these stories?” Why is this part of the life of this or that character told? When you meet someone new and they ask you to tell them about yourself you don’t give them every last detail, right? You don’t start out with your being born on a Thursday and you came home from the hospital on Monday and precede to bore people with the mundane details of life. When someone asks you about your week you don’t tell them about the monotonous hours you spent typing at your keyboard or the time you had behind your windshield driving across the prairie. You tell people about the big project you completed at work or about that moment that you barely missed being in an accident while you were driving.
The same holds true for the stories in our Bibles. The normal and banal moments of life don’t make it into holy scripture and so we need to remember that these incidents in the lives of the saints who have gone before us have a significance. They are pointing us to something greater. They are showing us the greater story of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so, we arrive in this interesting story in the lives of Abram and Lot and we are going to break the story up into three points that will hopefully be helpful in helping us to interpret the passage and help us to apply it to our daily lives.
First, we see that Lot succumbs to the seduction of the world. He has come to the land that was promised to Abram but his eyes look away from where they have worshiped God to a place outside the land.
Secondly, we see that despite the hopes for prosperity and renown the world oppresses Lot. The world that was so enticing overpowers him and he is in trouble. Lot had been blessed along with Abram, but all of this is at risk when the powerful nations in the area go to war. Lot is in trouble, and he is not going to be able to save himself.
As we will see as the story concludes that Abram comes and provides deliverance for Lot and brings him back to the land of promise. The situation is dire for Lot but through extraordinary circumstances he is rescued.
This is another interesting story and we have quite a few verses that we are working through today. We won’t be going through verse by verse like we normally do but instead looking at the big picture of these three themes.
As we come to our first point today, we will be looking at how Lot gives in to the seduction of the world in chapter 13. As we come to this story it is important that we make sure our interpretation is framed with what we’ve learned as we’ve been in Genesis thus far. Remember the war that is going on between the seed of the woman and those who are servants of the serpent. That war began in the garden when humanity fell into sin and God promised that from Eve would come the one who would crush the head of the serpent. From there we saw the drama unfold. At so many points it seemed as though the serpent was winning. The righteous Abel is killed and so the messiah can’t come from him and Cain is an unworthy murderer. But what does God do? He gives another child to Adam and Eve in Seth who would be the beginning of a godly line of the promise. When the world fell into evil violence and God was going to send a flood to judge the unrighteousness, what did God do? He set apart a man by the name of Noah who was in the godly line to rescue in an ark of salvation. Things seem dire but what does God do? He keeps his promise and rescues his people.
I am reminding us of this because as we come to the different people and nations in this story, we need to remember that while they seem like random people groups to us, they would have been considered people outside the covenant and enemies of the people and purposes of God for the original audience of Genesis. Remember, Canaanites were cursed by Noah after the little incident where he had too much wine. We need to approach this story with that understanding. To see the struggle between the promised line to the seed of the woman and those who are agents of the serpent trying to to undo the work of God helps us to see what is going on in the passage.
And we begin to see this idea playing out as we see Lot struggling with the seduction of the world. We begin by seeing that Abram and Lot are leaving Egypt and they have profited greatly from their little excursion trying to avoid famine. Things didn’t go as planned but God not only protected the promise but he actually increased the prosperity of Abram and because he is along for the ride, Lot reaped the benefits too.
We read that Abram is very rich not only in livestock but in silver and gold too. And they go back to Beth-el where Abram had made an altar to the LORD. We see that when they return Abram calls upon the name of the LORD once again. He has returned to a place of worship after his period of sin and unbelief in Egypt.
But as we saw, everything isn’t all sunshine and lollipops between Abram and Lot’s herdsmen. They had acquired so much that they couldn’t be in the same area. There just weren’t enough resources and so to keep peace between the herdsmen Abram calms things down by making a suggestion. There is plenty of land out there, we are family, let’s sort this out. And Abram isn’t pushy at all. He agrees to take whatever Lot doesn’t want.
Well, Lot can choose any direction, but his eyes look to the east, and he sees that things look pretty lucrative over there but what else is going on over there. It is in the Jordan valley, and it is on the edge of the Promised Land or even outside of it. Again, we see someone moving away from where God has promised to deliver them to.
But there is a deeper issue. Remember when I brought up that the players in this story were more than just random names. It is people who are outside of the covenant. It is those who are agents of the serpent that dwell to the east. Some of the nations we see here we aren’t familiar with but others, we are very familiar with and the people hearing this story for the first time were clearly familiar too. Notice what it says when it references Sodom and Gomorrah.
It was before it was destroyed. We haven’t gotten to that part of the story yet. Clearly, the story of their sinfulness and the destruction of the cities was well known. So, what do we feel as we read about this story? Lot is more concerned with his personal prosperity than with the purposes of God. He is going east and away from where Abram had made the altar. Moving away from Beth-el, which we saw last week means the house of God.
And we see the concern here when we get to verse 13.
The story is being told in such a way to help us understand what happens when we move away from the presence of God and the people of God. Lot was more concerned with what the land looked like than the culture he was immersing himself in as he moved east. When people move east in Genesis it isn’t a good thing. When Adam and Eve were banished from the garden, they went east. After Cain killed Abel, he moved even further east. You get the idea. Nothing good happens when we move away from the presence of God.
The allure of the world is not just something that Lot is tempted by. We have the same temptations. We are drawn to the things that seem to be prosperous for ourselves and we don’t consider where it takes us. We don’t consider how who we associate with will endanger our relationship with God. We often don’t appreciate the importance of being around the covenant people of God and how that can impact our spiritual life.
This isn’t just in the big decisions of our life like where we choose to live, who we marry, or the type of friends we surround ourselves with. It gets down to the daily decisions we make. Are we going to stay near the presence of God or are we going to be seduced by the allure of the world? Will we be sure to regularly be in the presence of the covenant people? Will we be sure to hear the word and trust that the Spirit will be at work in us? It is so easy to succumb to the world and to be faithful we must be in a position to hear the word and have the support of fellow believers.
And we will see that in the case of Lot, his decision has consequences. We see that he succumbs to the seduction of the world but as we move on to our next point we find that the world oppresses Lot.
Lot was interested in the things of the world but the world wasn’t concerned at all with the well-being of Lot.
He moved east and the powers of that region decided to exert their power over the people. While Lot was looking for prosperity in that area the kings in that region were doing the same thing. As I said, the world only looks out for itself. The power that these kings had cared nothing for the feelings of Lot. They didn’t care whether his life would be good after they got done with him. They just wanted the power they felt was due to them in their positions.
We read in the passage about war happening as war does. Different kingdoms joined forces and overcame other kingdoms. Not only are the names of many of these kings and places hard to say but the whole thing is hard to keep track of as you read through it so we are focusing more on the big picture and we see that in verses 11 and 12 of chapter 14.
All the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah are taken but not only that, the provisions that they had. This is brutal. They not only took their stuff but what they needed to survive. Prospering is out the door here. Staying alive becomes the priority.
The world did not care for Lot, it only looked out for itself. And while we hopefully will never experience being oppressed in the way that Lot was, the truth is that we are oppressed. When we fall into sin, no matter how great we think it is, the truth is sin oppresses us. Our sin separates us from God. It keeps us from growing in holiness. It can cause us to move away from the gathering of the covenant people of God further damaging our spiritual condition.
But isn’t the problem that we often don’t even realize it’s happening. We are so enamored with our sin that we don’t see the damage it is inflicting on us. We get to a place where even if we want out, we struggle to know how to do it and we find that sin has us trapped.
That is why we need to be rescued from our sin and unbelief and we see that the problem Lot is facing requires the same and the rescue he receives is miraculous.
As we come to our third point today, we see that word comes to Abram about the situation that Lot is in. He sees that he is in need, and he devises a plan. Turns out that Abram had some trained men. Now, I’m guessing these aren’t trained acrobats or trained chefs. I’m guessing that they were trained for battle because in the ancient world there was little in the way of law enforcement, so you had to protect your livestock and other property through force of your own and with the wealth that Abram had acquired he needed quite a few. 318 to be precise. Notice also that they were born in his house. They were likely children of his servants and he had provided for them and fed them their entire lives. They are therefore, not only trained but probably very loyal to Abram.
This is really a remarkable story because when you and I think of 318 trained men we see that as a lot but compared to the forces that these kings would have had in their forces it is a small force but yet Abram leads them in to rescue them by night. Not only Lot’s family but his servant too. They took back all that had been taken from them and what did they do? They returned them to the land of the promise. The enemies of God have been vanquished by Abram, the one from whom the child of the promise will come who will crush the head of the serpent.
As I said earlier, so many things happen in the life of Abram but this story was chosen to be told for a reason. It is pointing us to something greater. It is telling us an interesting story, but it is also pointing us to the greatest story.
Despite our desire for something other than God. Even in the midst of our sin that was oppressing us God rescues his people in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Lot was not going to rescue himself. At best he could hope to flee and abandon everything but even then, he was likely doomed. But Abram came in and through impossible odds he rescued his kinsman and brought him to the land of the promise.
God in Christ, even though the odds seemed against him at the cross actually rescued his people through his death, resurrection, and ascension and we have been brought into the Promised Land of his kingdom. This story and every story that shows the amazing rescue of God’s people points us to the rescue that you and I have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so, this story, which seems to be a little out of place and insignificant, is actually a picture for us of the gospel. Our sinful desires have us in a predicament. We choose sin and in turn it oppresses us but, as Christians, we know that we have deliverance and because of that we have forgiveness for our sin and unbelief, and we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk in newness of life.
And it is because of this good news that we are motivated to live in holiness and that is why we desire to apply scripture, even a relatively obscure passage such as this one, to our lives.
I want us to take away two points of application this week that are rooted in the truth of the gospel for us. As I said, we desire to apply this to our lives not to score points with God but instead as a response to what God, in Christ has done for us. Because he has come and rescued us and brought us into his kingdom, we now desire to do these things to live a holy life and serve him in love.
Our first point of application this week is to avoid the seduction of the world. This starts with an honest assessment of our lives. Where have we fallen prey to viewing the world in a way that is not in line with the word of God? What do we do that moves us away from the presence of God? Another good question to ask ourselves is how do we justify those things in our minds?
The draw of the world is strong and if we don’t identify the way this affects us can find ourselves in a situation similar to Lot’s. Everything might seem fine for a while but the oppression of sin will show up. It will do you harm and so we want to stay near the presence of God and in fellowship with him and his people.
And that brings us to our second application for this week and it is a challenge. Find something this week that helps you stay near to the presence of God and fights the allure and seduction of the world. That might be time in the Word, family worship, or adding more times of prayer or mediation on scripture into your day. We know what happens when we move away from the presence of the Lord and that is why we are here. We come and center ourselves in the kingdom of God and in his Word here as we worship, confess, and hear the gospel. We go out into the world with its temptations, but we are drawn back here by God’s Word and Spirit each week to be in the presence of God and the presence of his covenant people. To be strengthened in the news that we have been delivered and no matter how overwhelming the odds we have a savior who came and rescued us and brought us into his kingdom.
And so, may this good news strengthen you and may the proclamation of it be used by the Holy Spirit to sanctify you this week.
