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Sodom and Gomorrah - The Book of Genesis · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And there came two angels to Sodom at even. And
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  Speaker 1: Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. And Lot, seeing them,
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  Speaker 1: rose up to meet them. And he bowed himself with
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  Speaker 1: his face toward the ground. Genesis 19.1 My Lord, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for constantly showing me grace when I'm surrounded and
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  Speaker 1: tempted with the pleasures of this world. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: protecting me from myself. and from foolish decisions I've made
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  Speaker 1: when I wasn't thinking in alignment with your word. Help
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  Speaker 1: me to move with critical obedience when you give a command.
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  Speaker 1: I will no longer hesitate when I know the direction
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  Speaker 1: you're calling me to go. I will no longer look
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  Speaker 1: back at my past, longing for the things that move
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  Speaker 1: me off the path of my destiny. Thank you, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: that when you close one season of my life, like
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  Speaker 1: Lot and his family, you will provide a safe space
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  Speaker 1: for me and my loved ones to dwell in. I
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  Speaker 1: thank you for your protection, your justice, and your mercy
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  Speaker 1: towards me. I can move in full confidence knowing that
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  Speaker 1: you've placed your angels like a fence around my life.
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  Speaker 1: I am protected because I am yours. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Sodom and Gomorrah Before this story, we learned about how
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  Speaker 2: God visited Abraham and they talked about the cities of
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  Speaker 2: Sodom and Gomorrah. God alluded to Abraham his plans to
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  Speaker 2: destroy the city for its wickedness. Abraham asked again and
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  Speaker 2: again about God's mercy, if there are any righteous left
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  Speaker 2: in the city. God promised he would not destroy Sodom
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  Speaker 2: and Gomorrah if there were any righteous still living in
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  Speaker 2: the city. Now we will learn about how God will
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  Speaker 2: bring justice to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, inspired
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  Speaker 2: by the book of Genesis.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important. that we
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. Last time we heard about God's
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  Speaker 3: visit to Abraham and how Abraham pleaded for Sodom and
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  Speaker 3: Gomorrah to be spared from destruction. The evil in these
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  Speaker 3: cities has simply gone way, way too far. God is
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  Speaker 3: going to bring judgment upon them, destroying them completely and
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  Speaker 3: all within the cities. But Abraham intervened and God agreed
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  Speaker 3: to relent if just 10 righteous people could be found
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  Speaker 3: in those places. Today we pick back up as two
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  Speaker 3: angels who were with God arrive in Sodom, the place
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  Speaker 3: where Abraham's nephew Lot was still living. They're going to
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  Speaker 3: try to find righteous men who could spare the cities
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  Speaker 3: from annihilation. Notice as Lot greets them, knowing as Abraham
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  Speaker 3: knew that these visitors were not of this world. Listen
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  Speaker 3: as he pleads with them, knowing that they are not
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  Speaker 3: safe in a very wicked town. So just think about
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  Speaker 3: what this recognition of the evil around him signals about
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  Speaker 3: Lot's unwillingness to distance himself from corruptive influences, terrible, awful,
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  Speaker 3: wicked influence upon his life and family. Is this the
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  Speaker 3: kind of leader his family needs? Finally, as you hear
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  Speaker 3: this passage and the things the townspeople do to these angels,
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  Speaker 3: imagine how much this grieved God's heart. to see the
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  Speaker 3: depth of depravity in the hearts of those He created
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  Speaker 3: in His own image, now defiled by sin. You will
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  Speaker 3: surely see that God's righteous anger against Sodom and Gomorrah
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  Speaker 3: was more than warranted. But consider also that our hearts
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  Speaker 3: are not so different and prone to sin and evil,
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  Speaker 3: and this also grieves the heart of the Father. Soberly,
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  Speaker 3: let us hear today's passage.
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  Speaker 2: Lot, Abraham's nephew... was still living in the city of
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  Speaker 2: Sodom with his family. He was sitting outside of Sodom
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  Speaker 2: in the gateway when two angels arrived. Lot walked up
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  Speaker 2: to them, bowed down with his face to the ground.
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  Speaker 2: He said to them, Come with me where you can
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  Speaker 2: wash your feet, spend the night, and leave in the morning.
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  Speaker 2: For Lot knew that the two angels would not be
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  Speaker 2: safe in the city at night. The angels responded, saying,
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  Speaker 2: We will stay the night in the square. Lot insisted,
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  Speaker 2: so they went with him to his home. Lot prepared
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  Speaker 2: a meal for them by baking bread without yeast, and
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  Speaker 2: they ate. Darkness began to fall over the city, and
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  Speaker 2: the Shroud of Night provided a covering for the wicked
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  Speaker 2: men of the city to emerge. Every man from the
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  Speaker 2: city of all ages surrounded Lot's house. This horde of
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  Speaker 2: Sodom knocked on Lot's door, demanding that he deliver the
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  Speaker 2: angels into their hands. Bring them out here, so that
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  Speaker 2: we might have our way with them. For they desired
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  Speaker 2: to take turns with them, brutalizing and raping them. Lot
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  Speaker 2: came outside instead. Frantic and not in his right mind,
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  Speaker 2: he said, Please, brothers, do not take them from my house.
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  Speaker 2: They are righteous guests and are protected under my roof. Here,
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  Speaker 2: I have two virgin daughters. I will give them to you,
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  Speaker 2: and you can do whatever you want to them. Just
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  Speaker 2: do not take these men in my house. There Lot stood,
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  Speaker 2: feeling as if he had no choice but to sell
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  Speaker 2: out his own daughters. Growing louder and more impatient, the
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  Speaker 2: men outside yelled towards Lot, Get back! You are a
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  Speaker 2: sojourner here in our land, and now you want to
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  Speaker 2: judge us? Move, or we will do worse things to
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  Speaker 2: you than we will to your guests. The men came
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  Speaker 2: closer to Lot, ready to break down the doors. Then
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  Speaker 2: FROM BEHIND LOT, THE TWO ANGELS GRABBED HIM AND DREW
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  Speaker 2: HIM BACK INTO THE HOUSE, CLOSING THE DOOR BEHIND THEM.
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  Speaker 2: THE TWO ANGELS STOOD BEFORE LOT AND LOOKED OUTWARD AND
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  Speaker 2: STRUCK THE MEN OUTSIDE WITH BLINDNESS. HOWEVER, IT DID NOT
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  Speaker 2: STOP THE MEN FROM TRYING TO GET INSIDE. DISORIENTED AND BLINDED,
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  Speaker 2: THE MEN EVENTUALLY WORE THEMSELVES OUT GROPING FOR THE DOOR.
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  Speaker 2: THE ANGELS SAID TO LOT, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER
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  Speaker 2: FAMILY MEMBERS HERE IN THE CITY? If so, flee with them,
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  Speaker 2: for we are going to destroy this city. The Lord
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  Speaker 2: has sent us because of the outcries against it. So
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  Speaker 2: Lot went to go warn his family, including the men
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  Speaker 2: supposed to marry his daughters. Flailing and frantic, the son-in-laws
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  Speaker 2: thought he was joking, so they did not listen and
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  Speaker 2: went to bed. Morning came. And the angels came again
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  Speaker 2: to Lot, yelling, Take your wife and your daughters and
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  Speaker 2: flee the city. You will be destroyed if you linger
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  Speaker 2: any longer. But Lot did linger, indecisive and afraid, and
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  Speaker 2: was unable to help himself or his family. He was
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  Speaker 2: cowardly to offer up his daughters, and now he stood
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  Speaker 2: equally a coward for not saving them. Yet God was
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  Speaker 2: still merciful to them, and promised he would not destroy
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  Speaker 2: the city, unless all the righteous were gone. So the
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  Speaker 2: angels seized him and his wife and his two daughters
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  Speaker 2: by the hand, and they brought him out and set
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  Speaker 2: him outside the city. They commanded again, Escape for your life.
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  Speaker 2: Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley.
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  Speaker 2: Escape to the hills, lest you be destroyed with the city.
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  Speaker 2: Lot responded to them and said, Please, do me another
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  Speaker 2: great kindness. Spare the neighboring town Zoar so we can
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  Speaker 2: settle there. The angel said to him again, I will
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  Speaker 2: do as you ask. Now flee. Judgment is coming. When
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  Speaker 2: Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen and the Lord
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  Speaker 2: caused fire, ash, and sulfur to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah.
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  Speaker 2: In the distance... Lot and his family could hear the
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  Speaker 2: cries of those in the city. The city of Sodom,
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  Speaker 2: a nest of rape, murder, and wickedness, fell under the
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  Speaker 2: fist of the Almighty. Lot's wife, longing for the city
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  Speaker 2: of wickedness again, looked back despite the angel's warning. There,
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  Speaker 2: Lot's wife turned to a pillar of salt and died,
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  Speaker 2: eventually crumbling beneath the ash and fire. Early the next morning,
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  Speaker 2: Abraham went to the place where he had stood before
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  Speaker 2: the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and
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  Speaker 2: toward the valley. Behold, the smoke of the land went
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  Speaker 2: up like a furnace. Lot's story would not end here,
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  Speaker 2: yet he would rise to repentance like his uncle Abraham. No,
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  Speaker 2: Lot's story does not end with him as the hero.
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  Speaker 2: Yet God continues to be faithful, and God is the
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  Speaker 2: ultimate hero.
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  Speaker 3: Just as Abraham did when he saw the travelers approaching
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  Speaker 3: his tent, Lot saw the two angels coming and went
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  Speaker 3: out to meet them, bowing down to show reverence and
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  Speaker 3: honor to them. But that is where the similarities end
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  Speaker 3: between Abraham and Lot. He didn't prepare a feast for
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  Speaker 3: these men. He fed them just some unleavened bread, but
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  Speaker 3: no fatted calf, no milk, no curds. They didn't sit
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  Speaker 3: in the shade of a tree enjoying fellowship with each other.
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  Speaker 3: Lot's first instinct, rather, Born out of his knowledge of
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  Speaker 3: this place in which he had remained with his family,
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  Speaker 3: compromise was to hide these divine beings. But the angels
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  Speaker 3: were not there to be safe or to hide. They
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  Speaker 3: were there to see just how evil this city had become.
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  Speaker 3: And remember, according to the scriptures, angels are holy beings.
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  Speaker 3: Of course, God did not need firsthand evidence or for
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  Speaker 3: angel scouts to find righteous men. He knows all. He
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  Speaker 3: sees everything. the instincts and the sins of every heart.
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  Speaker 3: But he had an agreement with Abraham. So the angels
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  Speaker 3: were there to witness the evil. They were in effect
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  Speaker 3: on a mission of espionage. Lot knew very well that
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  Speaker 3: he was in an evil place. So why didn't he leave?
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  Speaker 3: Why didn't he pick up his family and get out
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  Speaker 3: of this place? Or maybe we should ask ourselves, why
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  Speaker 3: don't we flee an evil situation when we have the chance?
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  Speaker 3: What's the problem here? Why did he stay? Was it
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  Speaker 3: for comfort? Was it wealth? Was it familiarity? No, Lot
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  Speaker 3: had given up protecting his family a long time ago,
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  Speaker 3: it seems, but he was intent on protecting these visitors,
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  Speaker 3: even to the point of sacrificing his own daughters, virgins,
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  Speaker 3: to the wicked, wretched men who were trying to rape
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  Speaker 3: and abuse the angelic beings. We see that even this
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  Speaker 3: is not a deterrent for the men of Sodom. Their
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  Speaker 3: desires are so depraved gone from what God created them
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  Speaker 3: to be, that they reject Lot's offer. This is a shocking,
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  Speaker 3: stunning display of the nature of sin gone completely out
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  Speaker 3: of control, unrestrained. They do not know it yet, but
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  Speaker 3: this is going to have devastating consequences for their city.
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  Speaker 3: Not only could God not find 10 righteous men, he
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  Speaker 3: could barely find one. The least evil man in the
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  Speaker 3: town was Lot, who had offered his flesh and blood
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  Speaker 3: to be brutalized by these wicked men. Lot is severely
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  Speaker 3: compromised at every level. Somehow this was enough to save
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  Speaker 3: Lot because the angels tell him to gather his family
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  Speaker 3: and leave, never looking back. Did you catch what is
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  Speaker 3: happening here? The towns were going to be destroyed completely.
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  Speaker 3: God's justice would be served because of the great evil
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  Speaker 3: in the area. Lot should have wanted to flee to
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  Speaker 3: get as far away as possible, as soon as possible.
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  Speaker 3: He was told to flee to the mountains, but what
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  Speaker 3: did he do? Genesis 19 verses 18 and 19 gives
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  Speaker 3: us the response. But Lot said to them, O my lords,
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  Speaker 3: now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight,
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  Speaker 3: and you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have
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  Speaker 3: shown to me by saving my life. but I cannot
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  Speaker 3: escape to the mountains for the disaster will overtake me
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  Speaker 3: and I will die. Failing to trust to deliver him
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  Speaker 3: through his escape, he asked them to spare the nearest
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  Speaker 3: town of Zoar so he could settle there. When we
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  Speaker 3: flee from sin, when we run away from wickedness and evil,
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  Speaker 3: we must get away as far as possible, as soon
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  Speaker 3: as possible. But how often do we keep sin close?
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  Speaker 3: cherishing it even in our hearts. They agree to let
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  Speaker 3: him go there, so Lot takes his family and they
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  Speaker 3: go to Zoar. They've been warned not to look back
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  Speaker 3: on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but Lot's wife
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  Speaker 3: is so seduced by the city where sin abounded that
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  Speaker 3: she had to take one last, was it a longing look?
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  Speaker 3: It was her last act as she turned into a
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  Speaker 3: pillar of salt, crumbling into oblivion just as the city
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  Speaker 3: she had fled. When God gives you an escape, a
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  Speaker 3: chance to sever your ties with sin, to break away,
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  Speaker 3: don't look back. Don't go there again. For the old
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  Speaker 3: life of sin will paralyze you and Satan himself will
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  Speaker 3: destroy you. The judgment of God will fall upon you.
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  Speaker 3: Heavenly Father, thank you for rescuing us from our sin.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for the story today which so vividly shows
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  Speaker 3: the wickedness of our hearts and how your justice cannot
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  Speaker 3: be avoided. Thank you for your son, Jesus, who took
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  Speaker 3: the penalty of our sin and wickedness upon his own
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  Speaker 3: life at the cross so that we could have a
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  Speaker 3: brand new life in the power of the resurrection. Amen.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
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  Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
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  Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like like you. Your
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: support today is so important that we want to thank
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: you for your gift by giving you a copy of
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: my book called The Jesus Book. This book is a
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: powerful guide that shows how every book in the Bible
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: points to Christ and how you can better read and
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: understand the Bible and how God's word transforms our lives.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: So to get your copy of The Jesus Book, simply
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: thank you for your support.