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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And there came two angels to Sodom
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  Speaker 1: at even. And Lot sat in the gate of Sodom.
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  Speaker 1: And Lot, seeing them, rose up to meet them. And
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  Speaker 1: he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. Genesis
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  Speaker 1: 19.1 My Lord, thank you for constantly showing me grace
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  Speaker 1: when I am surrounded and tempted with the pleasures of
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  Speaker 1: this world. Thank you for protecting me from myself. and
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  Speaker 1: from foolish decisions I've made when I wasn't thinking in
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  Speaker 1: alignment with your word. Help me to move with critical
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  Speaker 1: obedience when you give a command. I will no longer
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  Speaker 1: hesitate when I know the direction you're calling me to go.
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  Speaker 1: I will no longer look back at my past, longing
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  Speaker 1: for the things that move me off the path of
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  Speaker 1: my destiny. Thank you, Lord, that when you close one
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  Speaker 1: season of my life, like Lot and his family, you
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  Speaker 1: will provide a safe space for me and my loved
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  Speaker 1: ones to dwell in. I thank you for your protection,
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  Speaker 1: your justice, and your mercy towards me. I can move
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  Speaker 1: in full confidence knowing that you've placed your angels like
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  Speaker 1: a fence around my life. I am protected because I
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  Speaker 1: am yours. In Jesus' name, amen. Listening to these daily
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  Speaker 1: prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the
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  Speaker 1: Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought
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  Speaker 1: 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: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. Last time we heard about
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  Speaker 3: God's visit to Abraham and how Abraham pleaded for Sodom
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  Speaker 3: and Gomorrah to be spared from destruction. The evil in
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  Speaker 3: these cities has simply gone way, way too far. And
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  Speaker 3: God is going to bring judgment upon them, destroying them
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  Speaker 3: completely and all within the cities. But Abraham intervened and
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  Speaker 3: God agreed to relent if just 10 righteous people could
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  Speaker 3: be found in those places. Today, we pick back up
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  Speaker 3: as two angels who were with God arrive in Sodom,
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  Speaker 3: the place where Abraham's nephew, Lot, was still living. They're
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  Speaker 3: going to try to find righteous men who could spare
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  Speaker 3: the cities from annihilation. Notice as Lot greets them, knowing
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  Speaker 3: as Abraham knew that these visitors were not of this world.
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  Speaker 3: Listen as he pleads with them, knowing that they are
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  Speaker 3: not safe in a very wicked town. So just think
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  Speaker 3: about what this recognition of the evil around him signals
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  Speaker 3: about 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: as 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
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  Speaker 2: YOU AND YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO THEM.
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  Speaker 2: JUST DO NOT TAKE THESE MEN IN MY HOUSE. THERE
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  Speaker 2: LOT STOOD, FEELING AS IF HE HAD NO CHOICE BUT
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  Speaker 2: TO SELL OUT HIS OWN DAUGHTERS. GROWING LOUDER AND MORE IMPATIENT,
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  Speaker 2: THE MEN OUTSIDE YELLED TOWARDS LOT. Get back! You are
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  Speaker 2: a sojourner here in our land, and now you want
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  Speaker 2: to judge us? Move, or we will do worse things
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  Speaker 2: to you than we will to your guests. The men
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  Speaker 2: came 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 daughter's. 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.
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  Speaker 1: Or his family.
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  Speaker 2: He was cowardly to offer up his daughter's. and now
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  Speaker 2: he stood equally a coward for not saving them. Yet
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  Speaker 2: God was still merciful to them, and promised he would
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  Speaker 2: not destroy the city unless all the righteous were gone.
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  Speaker 2: So the angels seized him and his wife and his
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  Speaker 2: two daughters by the hand, and they brought him out
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  Speaker 2: and set him outside the city. They commanded again, Escape
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  Speaker 2: for your life, do not look back or stop anywhere
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  Speaker 2: in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be
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  Speaker 2: destroyed with the city. Lot responded to them and said, Please,
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  Speaker 2: do me another great kindness. Spare the neighboring town Zoar
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  Speaker 2: so we can settle there. The angel said to him again,
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  Speaker 2: I will do as you ask. Now flee. Judgment is coming.
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  Speaker 2: When Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen and the
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  Speaker 2: Lord caused fire, ash, and sulfur to fall on Sodom
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  Speaker 2: and Gomorrah. In the distance, Lot and his family could
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  Speaker 2: hear the cries of those in the city. The city
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  Speaker 2: of Sodom, a nest of rape, murder, and wickedness, fell
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  Speaker 2: under the fist of the Almighty. Lot's wife, longing for
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  Speaker 2: the city 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, compromise,
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  Speaker 3: was to hide these divine beings. But the angels were
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  Speaker 3: not there to be safe or to hide. They were
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  Speaker 3: 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 the instincts and the sins of every heart. But
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  Speaker 3: he had an agreement with Abraham. So the angels were
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  Speaker 3: there to witness the evil. They were in effect on
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  Speaker 3: a mission of espionage. Lot knew very well that he
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  Speaker 3: 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: I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download the Pray.com
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  Speaker 3: be sure to visit jackgram.org. God bless you.
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