Welcome to Faith
Chapel. I'm Gordon Kainer,
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retired academy Bible
teacher living in Santa
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Rosa,
California. The title of my
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presentation today is Remember
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Lot's Wife. I invite you to pray
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with me. Dear heavenly
Father, we thank you for your
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love and for your
kindness and for your
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amazing grace. I
pray today that you will
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give us wisdom
understanding as we
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open your word
in Jesus name, Amen.
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One of Jesus'
favorite topics was his second
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coming. In Luke's Gospel, Jesus
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mentions that the
days before the second
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coming are very
much like the days before
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the flood and
before the destruction of
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Sodom and Gomorrah
and then Jesus leaves
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us with these
rather intriguing, but
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definite warning that we
find in Luke 17, verse 32
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"Remember Lot's Wife" and most
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of us have heard
about Lot's wife and
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yet we hardly know
anything about her.
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We have no
Biblical record of her name.
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Tradition has it
that her name was Ildeth,
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but there is no
evidence for that. We
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don't know where
she was from. We don't
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know when she met
Lot, when or where
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they got married.
We know next to nothing
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about her, yet we
are told Remember Lot's
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Wife. I think it is
highly significant that
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the only thing we
know about her is her
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attempt to get out
of Sodom. Lot is first
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mentioned when Abraham leaves Ur
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and Lot, his
nephew goes with him since
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his father
already passed away and he
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decides to follow
his uncle. We know that
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after reaching
Canaan they settled down and
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after a few
years passed by Lot and
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Abraham decided to
separate and go their
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own way. The
reason for this is because
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they both have
great wealth and there was
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friction going on
between their herds
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now. Now you
recall that Abraham gave
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Lot the first
opportunity to choose
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as to where he wanted
to live. The Bible says
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that Lot lifted up
his eyes and he saw the
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plain of Jordan.
Unfortunately, he
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didn't lift up his
eyes high enough to God in
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prayer to ask him
for guidance in this very
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crucial decision. Very
few choices in life are
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as important as the
choice of where we're
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going to live. Now
the Jordan Valley was
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lush, it was lavish,
it was called in fact in
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the Bible as the
garden of the Lord,
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but it was near
the cities of Sodom and
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Gomorrah, which
seems to indicate that
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Lot was more
influenced by what he
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saw then by his
spiritual perspectives.
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Now sometime
later, we find Lot and his
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family are living
in Sodom and the city's
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attacked, it's
looted and everyone is taken
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hostage. Now whenever we
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hear of someone
having a misfortune
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or a painful experience, we
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always think that
it's bad news, but the
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truth is that in
these kind of situations,
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these painful
experience sometimes
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are our most
valuable lessons. It's been
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rightly observed
that people do not
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generally make
significant changes in
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their life until
they are motivated by some
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kind of pain, as
you know the official
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colors of the school
of experience is black
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and blue. Nevertheless conflict
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and hardship can provide God an
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opportunity to
make himself known.
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Sodom's capture was
indeed a blessing in
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disguise, in fact
it allowed the God of
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Abraham, who
specializes in rescue
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to intervene.
When Abraham hears what
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has happened to
Sodom, what's his
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response. He could
have said it serves
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them right that's what
they did for a living in
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sin city. But that
would have prevented
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God from having to
get an opportunity to
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step in and to help
these people. So, what
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does Abraham do, he
calls together his 318
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trained servants,
attacks the invading
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armies at night,
he rescues Lot and his
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family and the
whole city and we read
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about it in Genesis
chapter 14, verses 21
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to 23. Now, the King of
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Abraham said to
Abraham, excuse me,
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the King of
Sodom said to Abraham,
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"Give me the persons,
and take the goods for
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yourself." But
Abraham said to the
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King of Sodom, "I
have raised my hand
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to the Lord, God Most
High, the Possessor of
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heaven and earth,
that I will take nothing,
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from a thread to a
sandal strap, and that
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I will not take
anything that is yours,
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lest you should
say, 'I have made Abraham
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rich.' Imagine the disbelief
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of the people when
they hear that all of
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their belongings
were going to be returned
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to them. Well in
those days, the whole city
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was, I mean they
were surprised that as a
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result of their
capture that they were gonna
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get everything back
to them, but that was
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evidence to the
people, that was first
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kind evidence to the
people of the kind of
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man Abraham really was, but more
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important it was a powerful
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demonstration as
to the kind of God
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Abraham served, a God that was
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powerful and
gracious and faithful. It was
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important for the
people of Sodom to
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remember that truth,
but unfortunately they
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soon forgot it. I
believe that the most
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important thing a
person will ever learn
00:06:43.44\00:06:46.20
is to discover what
God is really like. If
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the people of Sodom
were like the rest of
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the Canaanites,
they worshiped many
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different Gods,
they have a God for every
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aspect of life,
prosperity, fertility for
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large families,
essential pleasures,
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victory in battle.
Their rescue made it
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obvious that the
God of Abraham was more
00:07:08.63\00:07:10.86
powerful then
their Canaanite Gods, but
00:07:10.89\00:07:14.82
their lust and
selfish lifestyle impelled
00:07:14.85\00:07:18.14
them to hang on
to their Gods, what a
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tragic mistake.
Several years passed
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by and one day three
angels, well actually
00:07:25.44\00:07:29.41
the Lord and two
angels stopped to visit
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Abraham's home
and informed him that
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Sodom and
Gomorrah were going to be
00:07:36.11\00:07:37.46
destroyed because
of their wickedness.
00:07:37.49\00:07:39.52
Once again Abraham's response is
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positive for these
people. He says look,
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if there are 50
righteous people there
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will the city be
spared, well when he
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actually comes
back there won't be 50
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there, he says well
how about 40, 30, 20?
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He finally goes down
to 10, because that's
00:08:00.49\00:08:03.18
probably the
extended number of people in
00:08:03.21\00:08:05.92
Lot's family, but we
know that was not the
00:08:05.95\00:08:09.86
case, but to me
it's interesting and
00:08:09.89\00:08:12.32
important that the
ten people responded in a
00:08:12.35\00:08:15.03
positive way, that
city would have been
00:08:15.06\00:08:17.75
spared. Of course
the reverse is also true
00:08:17.78\00:08:20.20
when God's people
are not faithful they
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may take others down with them.
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I'm reminded of
Revelation 7 where
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we're told that God
withholds the wind's
00:08:28.97\00:08:32.25
strive and holds
them in check because of
00:08:32.28\00:08:36.33
the faithful
followers of God. Well the next
00:08:36.36\00:08:40.75
day, two angels
enter Sodom. Lot is sitting
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at the city gate
and that suggests
00:08:45.23\00:08:47.92
something important
because it indicates
00:08:47.95\00:08:50.49
that he was an
important official. He
00:08:50.52\00:08:52.57
might have been
the mayor of the town.
00:08:52.60\00:08:54.51
These two
messengers now serve as God's
00:08:54.54\00:08:58.88
witnesses. Their
primary purpose was
00:08:58.91\00:09:01.95
to save the
residents of Sodom. These two
00:09:01.98\00:09:07.22
messengers that
God sends out at this
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particular time were
not the first time that
00:09:10.55\00:09:13.06
God sent them
out. When God rescued
00:09:13.09\00:09:17.36
Israel from Egypt,
he sent Moses and Aaron
00:09:17.39\00:09:21.56
and before the city
of Jericho was attacked,
00:09:21.59\00:09:24.45
he sent two spies in
the land. It seems to
00:09:24.48\00:09:28.25
me that if the
people of Canaan would have
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responded, in fact
if the residents of
00:09:32.85\00:09:34.59
Jericho would
have responded in a
00:09:34.62\00:09:35.89
positive way none
of them would have
00:09:35.92\00:09:37.65
been destroyed. In
fact, I think that's true
00:09:37.68\00:09:39.73
of all the cities
of Canaan had they
00:09:39.76\00:09:41.36
responded as Rehab
did, their lives would
00:09:41.39\00:09:44.73
have been spared.
God still uses these
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two messengers today
and they're called in
00:09:51.65\00:09:55.09
Revelation the
two witnesses. We call
00:09:55.12\00:09:59.11
them the Old and
the New Testament.
00:09:59.14\00:10:02.25
These two
messengers continue to proclaim
00:10:02.28\00:10:05.42
the good news of
salvation that all
00:10:05.45\00:10:07.78
might escape the
destruction that is
00:10:07.81\00:10:10.46
coming upon the
world. Yes, it is God's
00:10:10.49\00:10:13.44
desire for us to
keep, to keep us from evil.
00:10:13.47\00:10:17.28
Yet, he sent us right
back into the world as
00:10:17.31\00:10:21.32
his spokesman. You
know, there is a time
00:10:21.35\00:10:24.20
to go into Sodom. If
we're going to rescue
00:10:24.23\00:10:28.68
and save people and
then there is a time to
00:10:28.71\00:10:31.32
get out and we need
to be wise enough to
00:10:31.35\00:10:34.57
know the difference.
Well, let's get back to
00:10:34.60\00:10:37.71
Sodom, to Lot and
his wife and children.
00:10:37.74\00:10:41.15
Just before
Sodom and Gomorrah are
00:10:41.18\00:10:43.50
destroyed, the two
angels lead them out
00:10:43.53\00:10:46.99
of the city telling
them to hurry up and
00:10:47.02\00:10:49.90
to not look back.
We read about this in
00:10:49.93\00:10:52.74
Genesis chapter 19,
verses 24 to 26. Then
00:10:52.77\00:10:57.40
the Lord rained
brimstone and fire on
00:10:57.43\00:10:59.30
Sodom and Gomorrah, from the
00:10:59.33\00:11:01.13
Lord out of the heavens. So he
00:11:01.16\00:11:03.21
overthrew those
cities, all the plain, all
00:11:03.24\00:11:06.30
the inhabitants of
the cities, and what grew
00:11:06.33\00:11:08.74
on the ground. But
his, that is Lot's wife
00:11:08.77\00:11:11.49
looked back behind
him, and she became
00:11:11.52\00:11:14.28
a pillar of salt.
Now many see Lot's wife
00:11:14.31\00:11:19.76
as an exception,
I mean after all how
00:11:19.79\00:11:21.54
many people die in
this unusual way, but
00:11:21.57\00:11:24.47
as we take a closer
look at this story we
00:11:24.50\00:11:27.23
will discover that
she was a very typical
00:11:27.26\00:11:29.41
person living in a
society in a culture
00:11:29.44\00:11:32.48
very typical to
ours. So, let's do some
00:11:32.51\00:11:36.24
Biblical surveillance,
let's do a background
00:11:36.27\00:11:38.85
check if you
please and get a more
00:11:38.88\00:11:40.48
complete picture
of what was really
00:11:40.51\00:11:42.24
taking place and
to see some of the
00:11:42.27\00:11:46.37
reasons for what
happened there and
00:11:46.40\00:11:49.76
we are going to use
our primary source an
00:11:49.79\00:11:52.62
ancient document
that we call the Book of
00:11:52.65\00:11:55.24
Leviticus. The
destruction of Sodom
00:11:55.27\00:11:58.71
had taken place
about 200 years before
00:11:58.74\00:12:02.66
Leviticus was
written, but the people that is
00:12:02.69\00:12:06.70
Israel people
never forgot what had
00:12:06.73\00:12:08.41
happened to Sodom,
but what they might
00:12:08.44\00:12:11.94
not have known was
that the wickedness
00:12:11.97\00:12:14.62
that had engulfed Sodom now had
00:12:14.65\00:12:17.32
pervaded over the
entire land of Canaan
00:12:17.35\00:12:20.50
in which they were
about to enter. Let's
00:12:20.53\00:12:23.37
notice of Leviticus
chapter 18, verses 1
00:12:23.40\00:12:27.79
through 4. Then the Lord spoke
00:12:27.82\00:12:30.46
to Moses, saying,
"Speak to the children
00:12:30.49\00:12:33.10
of Israel, and say
to them: 'I am the Lord
00:12:33.13\00:12:36.46
your God. According
to the doings of the
00:12:36.49\00:12:39.09
land of Egypt,
where you dwelt, you shall
00:12:39.12\00:12:41.66
not do; and
according to the doings of the
00:12:41.69\00:12:44.17
land of Canaan,
where I am bringing you,
00:12:44.20\00:12:46.57
you shall not do; nor
shall you walk in their
00:12:46.60\00:12:49.84
ordinances. You shall observe my
00:12:49.87\00:12:51.92
judgments and
keep my ordinances, to
00:12:51.95\00:12:54.72
walk in them: I am
the Lord your God."
00:12:54.75\00:12:57.51
Now these verses
are telling us something
00:12:57.54\00:13:01.45
very important.
While Egypt represents the
00:13:01.48\00:13:05.18
old way of life, the
life in slavery. Canaan
00:13:05.21\00:13:09.10
represents the new
life, a new life lived
00:13:09.13\00:13:12.41
in relationship to
God and for that reason
00:13:12.44\00:13:15.57
when we, when God
finds a trace of sin in
00:13:15.60\00:13:21.10
Canaan he wants it
eliminated, he wants
00:13:21.13\00:13:23.55
to do away with it, now once we
00:13:23.58\00:13:26.19
understand how
totally different or
00:13:26.22\00:13:29.42
how, what a
different perspective we have
00:13:29.45\00:13:32.54
when we understand that God's
00:13:32.57\00:13:34.42
annihilation
decrees have indeed a deep
00:13:34.45\00:13:37.80
significance
and meaning. Now the
00:13:37.83\00:13:41.08
same principle
holds through today, when
00:13:41.11\00:13:44.40
we leave Egypt and
become residents of
00:13:44.43\00:13:47.18
God's kingdom, we
will face the same
00:13:47.21\00:13:49.58
conflicts that
Israel did and God
00:13:49.61\00:13:52.72
empowered them to
conquer as he powers
00:13:52.75\00:13:56.96
us to conquer overcome evil, but
00:13:56.99\00:14:00.14
within these boundaries, within
00:14:00.17\00:14:02.37
our own
personal kingdom, keep in
00:14:02.40\00:14:06.50
mind that God's desire
is to destroy sin and if
00:14:06.53\00:14:11.04
we hang on to it we
are destroyed with it.
00:14:11.07\00:14:14.43
So what were the
sins of Canaan that God
00:14:14.46\00:14:18.09
warns Israel about.
In the Book of Leviticus,
00:14:18.12\00:14:21.86
God condemns a whole number of
00:14:21.89\00:14:23.47
immoral
practices such as sensual
00:14:23.50\00:14:26.02
nakedness,
adultery, homosexuality,
00:14:26.05\00:14:29.54
worship of idols,
anger, resentment,
00:14:29.57\00:14:33.01
seeking after familiar
spirits, not taking care
00:14:33.04\00:14:36.24
of the poor and
the needy. That list
00:14:36.27\00:14:39.07
reminds me of
society today doesn't it and
00:14:39.10\00:14:42.94
they were the very
sins for which Sodom
00:14:42.97\00:14:45.13
was destroyed. Let's
read it about that in
00:14:45.16\00:14:48.58
Ezekiel chapter
16, verses 49 to 50.
00:14:48.61\00:14:51.70
Look, this was the
iniquity of your sister
00:14:51.73\00:14:54.64
Sodom: She and her
daughter had pride,
00:14:54.67\00:14:57.08
fullness of
food, and abundance of
00:14:57.11\00:14:59.84
idleness; neither
did she strengthen the
00:14:59.87\00:15:02.37
hand of the poor
and needy. And they were
00:15:02.40\00:15:04.91
haughty and committed
00:15:04.94\00:15:06.10
abomination before
Me; therefore I took
00:15:06.13\00:15:08.80
them away as I saw
fit. It is not enough
00:15:08.83\00:15:13.90
just to say no to
sin, we must say no,
00:15:13.93\00:15:15.39
excuse me, yes to a
new life. In Leviticus,
00:15:15.42\00:15:21.52
God did more
then simply warn the
00:15:21.55\00:15:24.32
people regarding
certain practices.
00:15:24.35\00:15:26.78
He gave Israel
certain specific guidelines as
00:15:27.47\00:15:31.06
to how to worship
God and how to relate
00:15:31.09\00:15:33.13
to others and to
each other. They were
00:15:33.16\00:15:35.66
asked to live very
differently from the
00:15:35.69\00:15:38.50
people that would
now occupy the land
00:15:38.53\00:15:41.45
of Canaan. Israel
had lived as uneducated
00:15:41.48\00:15:47.05
slaves for 200 years
in Egypt. It was essential
00:15:47.08\00:15:50.27
that God teach them
not just a better way
00:15:50.30\00:15:52.19
to live, but a
holy way. They had to be
00:15:52.22\00:15:55.12
instructed on loving
relationships and how
00:15:55.15\00:15:59.11
to live with one
another and with the
00:15:59.14\00:16:01.84
people in their
new land and we read
00:16:01.87\00:16:05.02
about this in
Leviticus chapter 19, verses 17
00:16:05.05\00:16:09.57
and 18. You shall not hate
00:16:09.60\00:16:13.09
your brother in
your heart. You shall
00:16:13.12\00:16:15.40
surely rebuke your
neighbor, and not bear
00:16:15.43\00:16:17.53
sin because of
him. You shall not take
00:16:17.56\00:16:20.27
vengeance, nor
bear any grudge against
00:16:20.30\00:16:22.73
the children of your
people, but you shall
00:16:22.76\00:16:25.34
love your neighbor
as yourself: I am the
00:16:25.37\00:16:28.43
Lord. Now in that same
00:16:28.46\00:16:31.10
chapter, God goes on
to tell them that they
00:16:31.13\00:16:34.36
were to love the
strangers in the midst
00:16:34.39\00:16:36.60
of their land even
as I have loved you
00:16:36.63\00:16:39.41
because he said I
loved you when you
00:16:39.44\00:16:42.96
were strangers in
the land of Egypt. Now
00:16:42.99\00:16:45.76
sometimes, God
gives us commandments or
00:16:45.79\00:16:49.70
gave them commandments
00:16:49.73\00:16:50.72
excuse me that
involved the health
00:16:50.75\00:16:52.69
principles,
ceremonial laws, some dealt with
00:16:52.72\00:16:55.93
culture issues and
there were also moral
00:16:55.96\00:16:58.15
commands. There
were different kinds
00:16:58.18\00:17:00.38
of laws, but they
were all inspired of God.
00:17:00.41\00:17:02.82
They were all important for his
00:17:02.85\00:17:06.05
people. Now
these instructions were
00:17:06.08\00:17:09.62
given several times
with slight variations.
00:17:09.65\00:17:12.38
In some of these
lists, God gave warnings
00:17:12.41\00:17:15.97
that appear rather
strange, for example
00:17:16.00\00:17:19.17
he said to them do
not boil a young goat in
00:17:19.20\00:17:24.05
its mother's
milk. Well the common
00:17:24.08\00:17:26.24
response would be,
well what does that
00:17:26.27\00:17:27.93
have to do with life,
what's that have to do
00:17:27.96\00:17:30.68
with spiritual things.
Let me illustrate, let's
00:17:30.71\00:17:35.14
imagine that in
a few hundred years
00:17:35.17\00:17:36.86
someone is digging
through the rubble of
00:17:36.89\00:17:41.00
major cities in
United States and this is of
00:17:41.03\00:17:45.52
course a couple
of hundred years from
00:17:45.55\00:17:46.68
now if time would
last that long and as they
00:17:46.71\00:17:48.24
are reminiscing
through they find
00:17:48.27\00:17:50.01
fragments of old
books and newspapers
00:17:50.04\00:17:53.19
and computer printouts and they
00:17:53.22\00:17:55.58
discover there was
a whole number of laws
00:17:55.61\00:17:57.58
and ordinances in at
that time. A law that
00:17:57.61\00:18:02.06
deal with things
such as poverty and
00:18:02.09\00:18:03.92
hunger, homelessness,
of street violence,
00:18:03.95\00:18:06.92
HIV, pollution,
gangs, and as they are going
00:18:06.95\00:18:11.59
through these rules,
they come across this
00:18:11.62\00:18:14.45
one. Do not wear
black sneakers with
00:18:14.48\00:18:17.06
either blue or
red shoelaces. Well of
00:18:17.09\00:18:20.36
course they're
surprised and what
00:18:20.39\00:18:22.23
does that have to
do with life during the
00:18:22.26\00:18:24.34
later part of the
20th century, but you know
00:18:24.37\00:18:28.22
having lived in
Southern California
00:18:28.25\00:18:29.56
during this time
period. I remember
00:18:29.59\00:18:33.74
telling the students
that they will have to
00:18:33.77\00:18:36.16
be very careful not
to dress with some of
00:18:36.19\00:18:39.16
these garbs in this
particular case shoes,
00:18:39.19\00:18:43.95
because they were
being worn by gangs.
00:18:43.98\00:18:46.25
They identify
themselves with the
00:18:46.28\00:18:51.10
kind of clothes
they wore or didn't wear.
00:18:51.13\00:18:52.10
In other words,
whether it was boiling
00:18:52.11\00:18:54.88
a young goat in
its mother's milk or
00:18:54.91\00:18:57.83
wearing black
sneakers with blue or
00:18:57.86\00:18:59.92
red shoe laces both
deal with practice that
00:18:59.95\00:19:02.98
represented some of
the worst evils in their
00:19:03.01\00:19:06.57
respective
cultures. Sometimes God gives
00:19:06.60\00:19:11.26
to us
instructions that do not seem
00:19:11.29\00:19:13.30
important. There is a
temptation to pick and
00:19:13.33\00:19:16.57
chose what we think
is relevant. We must
00:19:16.60\00:19:19.95
not put something
down or minimize its
00:19:19.98\00:19:22.28
value just because
we don't understand it's
00:19:22.31\00:19:25.45
significance. Well
let's take a final look
00:19:25.48\00:19:29.11
at Lot's wife.
After talking about Noah's
00:19:29.14\00:19:32.66
Day, Jesus made
this observation in Luke
00:19:32.69\00:19:35.18
chapter 17, verses
28 to 32. Likewise as it
00:19:35.21\00:19:40.36
was also in the
days of Lot: they ate and
00:19:40.39\00:19:42.61
they drank, they
bought, they sold,
00:19:42.64\00:19:44.42
they planted and
they built; but on the day
00:19:44.45\00:19:47.11
that Lot went out
of Sodom it rained fire
00:19:47.14\00:19:49.67
and brimstone from
heaven and destroyed
00:19:49.70\00:19:51.32
them all. Even so
it will be in the day
00:19:51.35\00:19:53.95
when the Son of Man
is revealed. "In that
00:19:53.98\00:19:56.34
day, he who is on
the housetop, and his
00:19:56.37\00:19:59.63
goods are in the
house, let him not
00:19:59.66\00:20:01.07
come down to take
it away. And likewise
00:20:01.10\00:20:03.84
the one who is in the
field, let him not turn
00:20:03.87\00:20:06.63
back. Remember
Lot's wife. You will note
00:20:06.66\00:20:10.92
that Jesus doesn't
say, I don't look back. He
00:20:10.95\00:20:15.97
said don't turn back,
this suggests I believe
00:20:16.00\00:20:20.13
that Lot's wife
looked back, but more than
00:20:20.16\00:20:24.88
that she wanted to
turn back. Why would
00:20:24.91\00:20:29.09
Lot's wife want
to turn back, well we
00:20:29.12\00:20:32.14
know that she
was leaving behind a
00:20:32.17\00:20:33.64
family, a lush
home, she was leaving
00:20:33.67\00:20:38.51
behind some of her
treasures no doubt, I
00:20:38.54\00:20:41.78
think that Lot's
own indecisiveness,
00:20:41.81\00:20:44.19
indecisiveness
allowed his wife to be
00:20:44.22\00:20:47.34
a little bit prone
to not want to leave. In
00:20:47.37\00:20:51.25
Patriarchs and
Prophets, page 161,
00:20:51.28\00:20:53.44
Ellen White
observes that Lot's wife felt
00:20:53.47\00:20:56.28
that she was being
treated severely and
00:20:56.31\00:20:58.20
resented the fact
that the wealth that taken
00:20:58.23\00:21:00.67
years to
accumulate would be left to
00:21:00.70\00:21:03.95
destruction. Though
she was running from
00:21:03.98\00:21:08.51
Sodom, her heart
was where her treasure
00:21:08.54\00:21:12.22
was in Sodom.
Jesus says for where your
00:21:12.25\00:21:15.98
treasure is there
will your heart be also.
00:21:16.01\00:21:19.39
Her heart revealed
the real direction she was
00:21:19.42\00:21:22.65
going, so I ask
you today what is the
00:21:22.68\00:21:26.60
direction of your
life, where is your heart
00:21:26.63\00:21:29.42
focused, your minds
and your affections.
00:21:29.45\00:21:32.32
I'm reminded of a
song that was sung by
00:21:32.35\00:21:40.24
the Blackwood
Brothers many years
00:21:40.27\00:21:42.61
ago and it
opened with these lines.
00:21:42.64\00:21:46.15
Friend, how would
you feel if your heart
00:21:46.18\00:21:51.83
was made with a
window on each side,
00:21:51.86\00:21:54.43
so that all could
see not just outward
00:21:54.46\00:21:57.70
charm, but detect
the inward side. So I ask
00:21:57.73\00:22:02.18
you again if our
hearts were open to others
00:22:02.21\00:22:06.35
what would they see,
what would it indicate
00:22:06.38\00:22:09.09
about the direction
of our lives. When I
00:22:09.12\00:22:15.06
talked about Lot
and his family and this
00:22:15.09\00:22:19.88
whole experience,
most students were
00:22:19.91\00:22:22.78
very puzzled over
the fact that God turned
00:22:22.81\00:22:27.10
Lot's wife into a
pillar of salt, but you know
00:22:27.13\00:22:32.78
what that's not
what the Bible teaches.
00:22:32.81\00:22:37.03
Turn with me again
to Genesis chapter 19,
00:22:37.06\00:22:41.68
verse 26, notice
what it says, but his wife
00:22:41.71\00:22:47.38
looked back behind
him that is Lot and
00:22:47.41\00:22:51.32
she became a pillar
of salt. It doesn't say
00:22:51.35\00:22:56.46
anything does it
about God. I think
00:22:56.49\00:22:59.94
sometimes that we
are too prone when, when
00:22:59.97\00:23:03.19
misfortune takes place
to just kind of look to
00:23:03.22\00:23:07.13
see once why did God
do this, but it simply
00:23:07.16\00:23:11.30
says she looked
back and she became a
00:23:11.33\00:23:13.90
pillar of salt. In
this situation, the wicked
00:23:13.93\00:23:19.60
city of Sodom is a
symbol of the human
00:23:19.63\00:23:23.06
heart. In Jeremiah
17:9, we are told that
00:23:23.09\00:23:28.27
the heart is
deceitful above all things and
00:23:28.30\00:23:31.96
desperately wicked.
In looking back Lot's
00:23:31.99\00:23:36.42
wife suffered the
consequences of her
00:23:36.45\00:23:39.67
choice to turn
back and looking back at
00:23:39.70\00:23:44.45
Sodom. She was
turning her back on
00:23:44.48\00:23:48.10
God, the only one
who could save her.
00:23:48.13\00:23:51.34
All those who go along with the
00:23:51.37\00:23:54.95
inclinations of the
heart, where then the
00:23:54.98\00:23:59.58
saving imitation of
a savior are chosen to
00:23:59.61\00:24:03.14
die. I think
sometimes we are very prone to
00:24:03.17\00:24:08.80
see God
responsible for things that
00:24:08.83\00:24:13.42
happened, for people who die and
00:24:13.45\00:24:15.85
misfortunes, and so
forth, but this seems
00:24:15.88\00:24:20.18
to indicate to us
that the general reason for
00:24:20.21\00:24:24.67
what happens to us
is a result of our own
00:24:24.70\00:24:27.58
choice. Jesus
stated when he said
00:24:27.61\00:24:33.91
remember Lot's
wife, he adds this warning
00:24:33.94\00:24:36.32
whoever seeks to save
his life will lose it and
00:24:36.35\00:24:41.71
whoever looses his
life for my sake will
00:24:41.74\00:24:45.04
find it. It
seems to be a sort of a
00:24:45.07\00:24:48.22
contradiction doesn't
it and yet God is lying
00:24:48.25\00:24:51.46
down here for
us a very important
00:24:51.49\00:24:53.29
principle, which
I think Lot's wife
00:24:53.32\00:24:55.92
illustrates and that
is that if we turn back
00:24:55.95\00:24:59.33
and reach back and
get the, keep holding
00:24:59.36\00:25:03.85
on to the things
that have preoccupied us,
00:25:03.88\00:25:06.99
we will lose the
most important thing and
00:25:07.02\00:25:10.02
that is our hold on
eternal life. In turning
00:25:10.05\00:25:16.36
into a pillar of
salt, the use of the word
00:25:16.39\00:25:20.16
pillar has a very
interesting meaning.
00:25:20.19\00:25:27.48
The word pillar has reference to
00:25:27.51\00:25:30.47
something that's
stationary, stable,
00:25:30.50\00:25:33.73
immovable. If Lot's
wife turned to a pillar
00:25:33.76\00:25:38.55
of salt, it may have
depicted her attitude,
00:25:38.58\00:25:41.47
an attitude of
defiance, a refusal to
00:25:41.50\00:25:46.56
continue, to
moving away from Sodom.
00:25:46.59\00:25:50.81
Salt is a, has
various meanings in the
00:25:50.84\00:25:57.18
Hebrew language. It
can mean reference to
00:25:57.21\00:25:59.91
ashes, to dust or
light fragile covering. One
00:25:59.94\00:26:04.42
theory is that
when Sodom was destroyed
00:26:04.45\00:26:07.67
giant deposits of
salt came out of the earth
00:26:07.70\00:26:12.82
and doused Lot's
wife with burning ash and
00:26:12.85\00:26:17.47
salt. The
evidence of this might be
00:26:17.50\00:26:20.69
indicated by the
fact that the cities of
00:26:20.72\00:26:22.52
Sodom and Gomorrah
have been found, we
00:26:22.55\00:26:24.82
believe in the
southern end of the
00:26:24.85\00:26:27.81
red sea, excuse
me, the dead sea, which
00:26:27.84\00:26:31.44
by the way is also
called salt sea and it is
00:26:31.47\00:26:35.02
there that the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
00:26:35.05\00:26:38.88
evidently were
burned up and the southern
00:26:38.91\00:26:43.07
end is a very
shallow end of the dead sea
00:26:43.10\00:26:47.19
only about 13 feet
in depth, but it might
00:26:47.22\00:26:50.92
indicate that at
that part of the sea was
00:26:50.95\00:26:53.12
dry land up until
recent time. Now, we
00:26:53.15\00:26:59.08
don't really know do
we, exactly how all of
00:26:59.11\00:27:03.88
this happened. We
can only conjecture,
00:27:03.91\00:27:07.92
we can only study
the Bible and conclude
00:27:07.95\00:27:12.14
some general
things that we have talked
00:27:12.17\00:27:15.13
about here
today, but being told to
00:27:15.16\00:27:18.57
remember Lot's
wife, we need to remember
00:27:18.60\00:27:23.94
the whole story,
we need to have the
00:27:23.97\00:27:27.17
complete picture.
Let's not forget that
00:27:27.20\00:27:31.41
we are living
today in the same kind of
00:27:31.44\00:27:34.96
culture, we're faced
with the same kind of
00:27:34.99\00:27:38.66
wickedness, we
are having to make the
00:27:38.69\00:27:41.45
same kind of
choices and we are being
00:27:41.48\00:27:44.48
called by the same
God to be holy, as he
00:27:44.51\00:27:47.95
is holy and that my
friends is the reason
00:27:47.98\00:27:52.55
we are to remember Lot's wife.
00:27:52.58\00:27:55.28