Genesis 14:8 – And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

Genesis 14:9 – With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.

Genesis 14:10 – And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.

Genesis 14:11 – And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

Genesis 14:12 – And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

Hey all, haven’t done a blog for a while!!! but back with a new blog today, from Genesis 14. Remaining with the story of Lot. Before Genesis 14, which is where the blog today is based from, the last thing we know is that Lot and Abram’s herdmen had strife, Abram said they should split, and Abram told Lot to choose the land he wanted, and so Lot chose the land he wanted… the THEN well watered plains of Jordan… which were next to the cities of the plain – Sodom being the main city … and Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom. Sin takes ground sometimes very slowly, Lot was in a tent outside Sodom, and not very much later we see Lot dwelling in Sodom, and not just in there, but entrenched in the city, sitting in the gate of Sodom. Satan will take ground in your life, he will strip away your freedom, he will build strongholds, and completely destroy you, with you only waking up when it’s too late in hell. For many, they sleep spiritually their whole life, only finally awaking to reality when it’s all over. Satan gained ground in Lot’s life, slowly, but surely, and Satan, being the thief and murderer that he is laid waste to both Lot and his family. It didn’t have to be this way, but it was, because Sodom is a picture of the world, and Lot was a Christian who lived very worldly, who loved the world, who saturated himself in the world. Before Sodom was blown off the map by God, there was a rebellion, that Lot himself got caught up in, and we are looking chiefly at this aspect of Lot’s life today. Lot got caught up, he got carried away, he got taken captive… it took faithful Abram to save his hide… Lot was a powerless weakling of the faith… he never grew up in the faith, he is a lesson to believers today, and also a warning to unbelievers today as his life shows a pathway that nobody would want if they saw where it lead, but the pathway that many are on. Lot’s life applies to believers and unbelievers, if you aren’t saved you need to get saved, if you are saved, you need to heed the lessons from Lot’s life to avoid his fate. As a Christian you aren’t indestructible, look at the life of Samson, he got himself in a world of trouble despite being a mighty man of faith.

Lot lived in Sodom. He shouldn’t have been there, but here he was living in Sodom. The men of Sodom weren’t just sinners, they were particularly bad sinners. The Bible tells us that the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. To “exceed” something means to go beyond the normal bounds – to EXCEED something, their sin was beyond measure. We all lie, cheat, steal, do wrong, but these guys were doing something MORE wicked, MORE wrong. It doesn’t justify our sin, but there is lesser and greater sin the the Bible, and these guys were committing all kinds of abominable sexual filth. What business did Lot have there? None at all. And yet he was there. And they brought him down. He tried bringing the standard up evidently, he was a judge there, but the only standard that changed was his. He tried “Christianizing” the men of Sodom, but Christianizing never works and particularly so in this case. You can’t train sin out of people, only God can change a person and birth a sinless new creature inside us. You can wash a hog, but it’s still a hog, and will still go to it’s wallowing in the mire at the first opportunity. You must be born again, not Christianized, not religionized. And they brought him down, he did not bring them up. This is the folly of “Christianity” today, attempting to find common ground, attempting to compromise with the world and all it’s sin and wickedness and filth. It only ever ends one way. And IT DOESN’T HELP ANYONE. The truth, while many times uncomfortable, confronting and exposing, is paramount, the light shining in a dark place, and truth brings comfort, truth brings true comfort not false comfort, when you know the truth, you can then do something, you can act and obey God, you will be set free by the truth, you don’t have to live in a web of darkness, lies, deceit. Tell the truth, that paves the way for repentance and being saved. Making someone feel comfortable, telling them smooth words that they want to hear is the meanest thing you can do to someone. It is deceitful, it only greases their slide to hell. Lot had no business being there. He was useless there. It ruined his witness, his family, his inheritance, his life. It only took him down. A little leaven leaveneth the lump the Bible says, and it’s just as true today.

So we read in Genesis 14 that a war of sorts broke out, a rebellion of the Sodomite coalition of the cities of the plain against a dominion that was over them. These evil Sodomites were under the rule of a confederacy of nations stronger than themselves, and they sought to throw off some yokes, they wanted to free themselves from being under subjection and servitude. Firstly, this teaches us that Sodomites are rebellious at heart, they seek to throw away and break down law. They want to be unrestrained, they want a Satanic version of “freedom” which actually is anything but. Without law there is chaos, anarchy, there is freedom in law, laws are good, law is what makes it safe for you to go out your house. Sodomites turn this upside down, and not in a good way, they call bad good and good bad. They call darkness light and light darkness. They are reprobates, people who God has given up because of their continued and final rejection of him. Don’t take God’s grace for granted, you never know when you’ve pushed him away for the last time. Saul made that mistake, he rejected God’s word and not only did this but in his disobedience he was lying to his own heart by insisting he was obeying God… while being in disobedience!!! if you reject truth, all that’s left for you is delusion. And we see today a deluded, mad world calling evil good, and good evil. Just like Ahab who said it was Elijah who was troubling Israel, when in fact it was Ahab himself who was the problem. The city of Sodom was a dangerous place. Sodom brings darkness and danger. Rebellion against God makes for a dangerous world, and in many places for many people, around the world, it is not safe to walk the streets, there is danger even in your home. There was danger for Lot in Sodom, when he was hosting the angels that came to get him out, the men of the city came and tried breaking in. There was such darkness and evil in this city, Lot wasn’t even safe in his own house. He had got by in Sodom by constantly yielding to the Sodomites, Sodomites today want you to yield to them, otherwise they will force their way on you. How true today!?

What we see in this chapter is bad people fighting bad people. This battle was a wrong cause, and Lot was all caught up in it. If he wasn’t in Sodom he wouldn’t have been taken captive and got into such trouble. But because he was in the wrong place, he shouldn’t have been in Sodom, but because he was in it and part of it, he got caught up in the wrong cause, the wrong things, the wrong fight, and he lost out badly. Compare this to David, who fought for a righteous cause, the cause of God’s glory, when he slayed Goliath who was defying the God of Israel. You cannot go wrong with this cause, because we were indeed created to bring glory to God, so when God’s glory is your cause, your fight, your battle, you will be victorious. But here we see a wrong cause being played out. What the Sodomites needed to do was repent. But instead they’re fighting the wrong battle, and a battle they’re going to lose, a battle that would do nothing to avert the certain and worse fate that was coming down the pipe, because God was going to destroy their cities himself. Bad people fighting bad people. Neither were the “right” side. We see this today, there is the eternal struggle of the “right” vs the “left”, both are bad, maybe one more than the other, but all humanistic causes are wrong.We see today the same old warfare and rebellion. Humans don’t get along, humans get advantage over each other whenever possible, all of human history is filled with violence and war. Mankind always has war with each other, mankind is always trying to throw off yokes. But the real problem is never addressed. The Sodomites were fighting the wrong thing, the were happy in their sin but wanted freedom from Chederlaomer the leader of the other group of kings. They should’ve wanted freedom from slavery to their wickedness, but instead they wanted even more “freedom” to do whatever their wicked hearts desired. Today people are going about things that don’t matter, that are not important. Getting saved is the most important thing for all of us, but for most of us it is last on the “things to do”, behind absolutely everything else. God is forgotten, sin isn’t dealt with, reconciliation with your Creator is the only thing that matters, but the last thing we want to address. The problem is sin, these guys were particularly wicked sinners, they were fighting the wrong battle. Because a little later on in Genesis we see God rained fire and brimstone for the wickedness of the cities of the plain. Sodom went from the frying pan into the fire. Learn the lesson here, Sodom was rebelling against the yoke of Chederloamer, but they were under a much worse yoke. The word “Sodom” means fettered. They were under the yoke of Satan, a heavy, dark, hell bound yoke. They were yoked up to Satan, who is judged, his kingdom is doomed, under damnation, which is sure and irreversible. Why be on his side? Living in unrepentant sin will cause you to fight the wrong battles. You can dedicate your life to the wrong causes, the wrong battles, the wrong wars, you will get caught up in vanity, which when your life is weighed out in the balances, your life will be found wanting.

God teaches us about the massive differences there were between Lot and Abram in this chapter. Because we see Lot caught up, taken captive, all caught up in the wrong thing. Meanwhile Abram wasn’t caught up, wasn’t taken captive, and in fact he was victorious. It was he that armed his servants, pursued the kings, slaughtered them, and saved Lot. Abram went to save Lot, Lot who tried crooking him, but Abram was a greater man than any of us will ever be. Abram had the right cause, the right focus, he was in fellowship with God, walking by faith, and he was effective and victorious. We see the man of faith that wasn’t anywhere near Sodom compared to a man of faith but backslid badly on God, out of fellowship, out of communion with God, living in Sodom, helpless, lost, groping in the darkness, ineffective, and with a heritage ultimately to be scoffed at, a legacy flushed down the toilet. Abram had already found true freedom, he wasn’t all caught up in the wrong thing. He wasn’t in Sodom, he wasn’t involved in all the rubbish, he wasn’t caught up in vanity, in wasted time, wasted life, wasted efforts. He was on the right cause, the right side, the Lord’s side. He fought the right battle, and he won. Jesus says for us to take his yoke, because his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. The Sodomites had a much heavier yoke upon them than the yoke of Chedorlaomer, bondage to sin and wickedness, but they would never seek to be freed from that. The only truly free people in this world are those who are saved, born again, forgiven, set free by the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Jesus talked with the Jews one day, and they couldn’t understand when he said that he would make them free. They said they were free. But they were not. Jesus said Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. Jesus said who he makes free is free indeed. He gives life and he gives it more abundantly.

The Sodomites were incapable of fighting and resisting the other army. Chedorlaomer is a picture of Satan. Satan first of all hates his own servants. He keeps his own people under cruel hard bondage. People want to break free from Satan, but are unable to, in fact they don’t know who their enemy is. The Bible says Satan takes unbelievers captive at his will. The Bible says that Satan blinds the mind of unbelievers lest they should see the glorious light of the gospel. We all serve either Satan or the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no middle ground, no third option. How well fooled are you? It is interesting the the Bible says the battle happened at a place where there were lots of slimepits. The first mention of slime is what they used as mortar to make the tower of Babel. In the Bible there are the slimepits that these kings fell in, and then there is the well of water that springs up into everlasting life that Jesus gives. What a comparison, what would you rather, a slimepit to fall in or a well from which to draw everlasting life from, which never runs out. False religion, humanistic philosophical garbage, and in fact anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ is a slimepit. There is no living water, instead it is a slimy mess which causes us to fall. Human efforts, human wisdom, human intellect, human failure.The Sodomite kings fell into the slimepits, and the battle was lost there. Slimepits will cause you to fall, the slime they got for Babel was from slimepits, whereas in Deuteronomy 32:2 the Bible teaches says – My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Where do you get your beliefs from, the pit, or from heaven above? The gates of hell will not prevail against you when you build your life upon the rock of Christ.

Everyone worships something, it’s just where do you place your worship, where do you place your adoration and praise. The reason these Sodomites would never have victory was they had unrepentant sin in their lives. But they weren’t even interested in addressing that. They wanted to stay sinners. After all they were proud of their sin, open in their sin. The reason why you will never be able to beat your Chedorlaomer, you will never be liberated from your servitude, is because you have sin in your own camp. You’re fighting the wrong battle, and you’re fighting a losing battle. It was Abram, the father of faith, who was outside all of this, Abram the Hebrew who was on the Lord’s side, free, and focused on the right things, who was capable of not only battling Chedorlaomer but slaying him and having the victory. It is important to realize that the winning side of the battle between the kings was still the losing side. Any side that is not Christ’s side is the wrong and the losing side. Many people pick this side, pick that side, but all sides are wrong except for God’s side. Get on God’s side, as Moses said, Who is on the Lord’s side? And it is his side, he doesn’t come to our side, we have to get on his side. He is not on OUR side, we have to get on HIS side. God comes first, put him first, all the rest will sort out. This whole incident should’ve alerted Lot that things needed to be changed in his life. He had been dwelling in Sodom, this happened, and after this happened, he was right back living in Sodom. His standing in Sodom even went up (he went from dwelling in Sodom to being a judge in Sodom!), but Sodom was going down. Lot didn’t learn from the battle, he stayed out of touch with God. We see God fellowshipping and communing with faithful Abram through Genesis, but none of that in Lot’s life, instead we see Lot living down in the wicked city, his family a mess, his life falling apart at the seams.

We learn about the devil and the world from the king of Sodom. He did not track Lot down, and the world doesn’t care for you. You will die, and noone will care. You will go to hell, nobody cares. When Judas Iscariot came back with the money that they paid him to betray Jesus they said… What is that to us? See thou to it. They didn’t care at all. Judas killed himself. Noone cried for him. They just took the money, they cared NOT A BIT for him. That is the reality, the world does not care for you. Sure you may have some “friends” but noone is going to help your soul when you die, noone can save you, we are all truly alone, despite how many companions you may have. Jesus is the one and only TRUE friend, the one you can always count on, the one you can stake your eternal existence, hopes, dreams on.  Believe lies if that makes you feel better, but it makes truth no less truth, the person that truly cares for you is the person that cares about where you go when you die. This life is the beginning of eternity. It never ends, just where will you spend it… hell or heaven? The world says … What is that to us? … to you today, you will pour your life into the world, and you will be spat out the other end. It was Abram that fetched Lot, but Sodom isn’t in the rescue business. But the slaughter of the kings did help Sodom’s cause. Abram went after Lot, but his actions benefited Sodom indirectly. And we see today a world that benefits from Christ but which attributes nothing to the grace, mercy and longsuffering of God. God waits for them, just like God waited in the days of Noah, his longsuffering, mercy and grace waits, but they despise it. They turn his grace into lasciviousness, and their damnation does not linger, it does not slumber, it is coming. The same breath which God graciously gives the atheist is the breath which he uses to deny God. God allows it. Sinful humanity breathes on the fumes of Gods grace to his people. Believers are salt, we are light, the indwelling Holy Spirit works through the lives of God’s people today, and the fact is wicked people benefit from the actions of God’s people. You enjoy your freedom but use that to thumb your nose at God who gives you freedom. But that’s not the end of the story. Because when the righteous are all gone, all that left is destruction. It was only Lot in the city, there weren’t 50, there weren’t 40, there weren’t 30, there weren’t 20… otherwise God would’ve spared the city. When the righteous are gone, judgement is passed.

We haven’t actually looked that much at Lot specifically in this blog. Lot lived his life in the wrong realm, in the wrong kingdom, under the wrong king. We don’t need to live as slaves to Satan and sin. We have been translated out of his kingdom. Why go back to Egypt? Why live in Egypt. The promised land is before us, but would you rather the wilderness of doubt, disobedience and faithlessness, would you rather the yoke of Egypt? Lot is an example of what the Bible says not to do. 2 Timothy 2:4 – No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Lot got entangled up in Sodom and was caught up in this battle. His life was one of embracing vanity, he valued highly what was worthless, he lived by sight, by his flesh. He sowed to the wind, and reaped the whirlwind. He was taken captive. He was helpless, hopeless, and in need of rescuing. Lot loved the world. The Bible says not to love the world. Abraham looked for a world to come, but Lot was caught up in this life. He was caught up in worldly causes, not God’s cause. He was short sighted, he chose a land that was about to be destroyed as his inheritance. Such bad decisions… all because he was not in fellowship, not walking with God by faith. While Abram was hosting God and the angels, Lot was down in Sodom. Sodom is a picture of the world, the Bible says that the whole world lieth in wickedness. Lot got caught up in the wrong battles, the wrong fights, the wrong causes… Satan will distract you and derail you from what matters. It took Abram to bail him out otherwise he was in a hopeless case, and even then he didn’t learn from this as he went right back to the state he was in before. Lot got caught up, Lot got carried away… he was way out of line with God… and yet things were about to get even worse… because he did not learn his lesson. He got caught up in the world and all of it’s issues, fights and causes, he got taken, he got taken, he got carried away… don’t be like Lot today. We all need to be saved, we all need to be right with God, we all need to believer on the Lord Jesus Christ and apply his shed blood to our hearts by faith today… that is what matters… that is what will be victorious, that is what will be worthwhile, that is what will count, that is what will last.

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