View Resource Online
The Zoar Zone
Genesis 19:15-20 – “15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” “16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” “17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” “18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:” “19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:” “20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.”
l. INTRODUCTION – THE PARABLE OF THE WILD DUCK
There is a story known as the parable of the wild duck. In this tale, there comes to us an excellent illustration of how the soul declines from it’s ideals and becomes satisfied with lower standards.
There once was a duck who along with his mates was flying in the springtime northward across Europe. During the flight he came down in a Danish barnyard where there were tame ducks. He enjoyed some of their corn. He stayed for an hour, then for a day, then for a week, then for a month, and finally, because he relished the good fare and the safety of the barnyard, he stayed all summer.
But one autumn day when the flock of wild ducks were winging their way southward again, they passed over the barnyard, and their mate heard their cries. He was stirred with a strange thrill of joy and delight, and with a great flapping of wings he rose in the air to join his old comrades in their flight.
But he found that his good fare had made him so soft and heavy that he could rise no higher than the eaves of the barn. So he dropped back again to the barnyard, and said to himself, “Oh well, my life here is safe and the food is good.” Every spring and autumn when he heard the wild ducks honking, his eyes would gleam for a moment and he would begin to flap his wings. But finally the day came when the wild ducks flew over him and uttered their cry, but he paid not the slightest attention to them. What a parable of how the soul can forget it’s high ideals and standards and be content with the lower things. (Charles Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, p. 116)
-The dangers of half-heartedness, complacency, and apathy are fully illustrated for us in this particular area of text of Genesis 19. I would recommend that every person read the whole chapter of Genesis 19 to gain the spiritual lessons from this region of Scripture.
ll. LOT
-If Abraham is called the “Father of the Faithful” then Lot can be called the “Father of the Scarcely Saved.”
-Not every man is called to be a pioneer or explorer in life. Not every man is called to achieve greatness in his life. There are great, powerful men such as Abraham and then there are those who are to follow along in the roles that these men play. Lot was such a man, if only Lot would have ended as he had began.
-If Lot would have been content to share the prospects, the peace, and the prosperity of Abraham, his life would have turned out far less tragic than it did. He would have escaped many trials and sorrows by doing so.
• Instead of being scarcely saved he would have been abundantly saved.
• Instead of having to deal with the smell of fire and brimstone in his clothes he would have only watched from a distance.
• Instead of being lost in the mountains in some unmarked grave he would have been given the honor of a patriarch’s burial.
A. The Contrasts between Abraham and Lot
-There is a deep and wide valley between the things that motivated Abraham and the things that Lot found himself pursuing:
• Abraham built his altars, Lot pitched his tents.
• Abraham had his own altars, Lot borrowed Abraham's altars. (Not one single reference of Lot building his own altar.)
• Abraham walked by faith, Lot walked by sight. His eyes lingered too long on the well watered plains of Jordan.
• Abraham was generous and selfless, Lot was worldly and greedy.
• Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker was God, Lot found a city built by men and destroyed by God.
• Abraham became an heir of the world through righteousness, Lot's last mention in Genesis finds him in a deserted cave with all of his possessions.
B. Tents Versus Altars
-But there are more to the aspects of the life of Lot that proves that at very best, his priorities were tainted.
_Lot was concerned about his tents more than his altars. Lot gravitated toward Sodom because there were no altars in his life. There are some deficiencies in tents that are not found in
altars.
• Tents have to be pitched thus meaning that they are but temporary dwellings. Altars have to be built for they are permanent places in our lives.
• Tents have to be supported by ropes and poles, they have to be held up. Altars are there to support you. A tent will never hold you up but an altar will.
• Tents are made with inferior materials such as cloths and tarps and they will have to be patched up. An altar is forever, because if the commitment of the builder is true it will never have to be patched up.
• A tent is where man lives but an altar is where God lives.
• A tent was the place of Noah's sin and of Sarah's laugh of doubt, but it was at an altar where the fire of God fell for Elijah.
C. Lot’s Struggle
-But it all reached a head when the herders of Lot and those of Abraham began to have conflict between them. Lot was quickly becoming the father of those who were hard-faced, hard-hearted, tight-fisted, and money-loving. Every thing was found to be based on a profit and loss margin.
-It was not long until the bickering bands found themselves locked in struggle that not only scandalized the two camps but spread out into the whole country.
-So Abraham being the man he was provided Lot with a choice. What land would you like to take your herds to? Where is it that you feel would be most productive for your desires?
-The Bible declares to us that Lot lifted up his eyes and looked to the well-watered plains of Jordan. It was a beautiful place. It had the vast meadows for grazing flocks. It had the Jordan River basin to supply the right amounts of water. Everything about Jordan was perfect, except that it contained two wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah.
-The choices that he made in life were to mark and mar him. What a man chooses and how a man chooses proves a lot about his character. Opportunities, alternatives, and choices placed before a man will allow certain discoveries to come to light.
-Lot chose the good ground, the good water, the good pasture, at the very cost of disgrace, shamelessness, and a host of other avenues of self-centeredness. Lot knew quite well both the name and the character of the city in the rain and sunshine of the Jordan Valley. He had heard too many times his uncle praying and plotting with God with all his might for Sodom. But Lot did not care.
-The important thing is that Lot’s cattle are up to their bellies in grass and the herd is growing by leaps and bounds. All of this around Sodom which was heaven on earth to Lot.
a. Which Direction to Pitch the Tent?
-One of the most crucial times in a young man or young woman’s life is when they are trying to choose which city toward which they will pitch the direction of their tent. Too many times those choices are made as if the history of Lot had never been written.
-Think, Think, Think, Think about the temptations and the dangers that will come from the choices in life that you will make. Open your eyes and count the cost. Take time over that choice. Seek the wisdom of elders in that choice. Imagine that you have retired from that choice in life and what effect did it have upon your own soul. Don’t just evaluate the successes of that choice but also the failures of others who have made those same choices.
-Think about the choices for jobs, for commitment in marriages, for commitment in families, for commitment to a church. Think, Think, Think. . . .
-Look at your motives. Read Genesis 13 and Genesis 19 and then go to your knees and ask God to help you to make the right choices. Look at the dangers, the temptations, and most especially the companions of that choice.
-Look at the people with whom you will have to part company with and at the people that you will have to live with and work with. . . . . then let the die be cast. Lot chose all of Jordan but he got Sodom in the deal with Jordan.
Just as Lot was beginning to acquaint himself with the men of Sodom, the Lord was getting ready to answer Abraham’s past prayers.
• Just as Lot was beginning to discover that the men of Sodom were not as bad as they had been reported to him, the Lord was setting angels in motion for judgement.
• Just as Lot is beginning to open accounts with the merchants of Sodom, the Lord is about to recognize Abraham’s prayers.
lll. SODOM’S COLLAPSE
-Since God does not deal with the righteous as if they are wicked, God sets forth a plan.
-Shortly prior to the collapse of Sodom, heaven put earth on hold and sent two angels to the house of Lot. As these spiritual beings walked into the wicked city, the word immediately went out and the men of Sodom, consumed with wickedness, went to Lot’s home in the city.
A. The Characteristics of the Wicked in Sodom
1. Their sin was unnatural. Romans 1:26-27. Their sin had stooped to the lowest form of impurity.
2. Their sin was shameless. Instead of shrinking into darkness, the openly proclaimed their filthiness and would have fed their lust in public.
3. Their sin was violent. To violate the rights of property by breaking into Lot’s house. These men were ready to violate the laws of men to destroy the laws of God. Their desire was to add “sin to sin” Isaiah 30:1.
4. Their sin was stubborn. When stricken with blindness the crowd outside of Lot’s door still stubbornly pressed on. Many will pause when they are confronted with the just judgements of heaven, but these men were only maddened to a greater fury. Psalm 73:7.
5. Their sin was universal. From all areas and ages in Sodom they clustered and clamored at the door of Lot.
-Lot was always in pace with his world. Therefore because he carried no burden in his heart he carried no weight of concern in his soul. Just “business as usual.” Lot’s relatives were the brethren in lukewarm Laodecia, a lukewarm Demas, and a lukewarm Judas.
-Lot was locked in the disastrous world of shallowness and half-heartedness.
-There was still a little light left in Lot’s life because we see his hospitality to the angelic visitors. There was enough light left in his life that he defended his evening guests from the demented residents of Sodom.
-But for what little light that was left in Lot’s life, there was a darkness that seemed to engulf the fading light. He had been in Sodom far too long.
-Sodom was showing when he was willing to allow his daughters to find husbands in Sodom. Sodom was showing when he was willing to sacrifice their purity to the lusts of sinners.
-When you are accused of being different and separate and whatever other line that may be used, we are doing nothing more than attempting to keep Sodom out of our souls.
1 John 2:15-17 – “15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” “17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
B. Lot’s Warning to His Son-in-Laws
-When Lot had received the message from the angels about the destruction of Sodom, he wanted to warn his son-in-laws. So he ran with the desperate words. . . only to be mocked and laughed at by those he was trying to reach.
-How was it that such words could be taken so lightly?
• Because he had lost his influence in Sodom.
• Because he had lived to long in Sodom.
• Because he had made too much money in Sodom.
• Because he had formed too many business relationships in Sodom.
• Because he had no influence when he reasoned of righteousness and judgement in Sodom.
-The recourse of the residents of Sodom was, “You are just like us!!!” If you expect to have any effect in your world, you must be different.
lV. THE ZOAR ZONE
-Now that I have preached all that I have, I come to the crucial point of what I really want to say.
-Two things that Lot did that really catches my eye in this chapter.
-The first is this: Even after the destruction had been spelled out to him, the Bible states that he still “lingered” (Genesis 19:16) and the angels had to forcefully remove him from this place.
-The second is this: That he prayed a pitiful prayer about wanting to stop in Zoar when the command had been to flee to the mountains (Gen. 19:20). Never was a poorer and more selfish prayer offered, yet it was this prayer that was answered.
-Lot panic-stricken and weeping over the loss of the his treasures in Sodom, fearing the flames will be wherever he runs to, thinking the mountains will be to high for him, begs the angel to change the orders and let him stay in Zoar. The Zoar Zone. The place of incompleteness, the place of little commitment, the place of just getting by.
-Sometimes that is the fate that attempts to overtake all of us. The start of the race was began well. There was a knowledge that the pursuit of God was the right thing to do. It is right to obey the commandments of the Lord. It is right to give up the things of the world.
-But the new way present difficulties. . . . .The thought of things that were being tossed aside began to weigh heavily on the mind. . . . .The zeal cooled off and enthusiasm subsided. . . . . What place is this?. . . . . . . It is the Zoar Zone.
-It is living in quarter way or half-way houses of compromise and stagnation. There is not a formal turning back toward Sodom and it’s ruins. . . . .But Sodom is still very much on the mind.
-The Zoar Zone makes a connection with the church and is content with a minimum of just getting by. Just enough sacrifice to remain. . . . All the while living with shriveled souls in petty, little Zoars.
-The mountains are a long way off, and the road is sometimes steep and rough, but if God tell us to go there, then we must go there. What God commands us to do, he will provide the strength necessary to live up to it.
V. CONCLUSION – AN ILLUSTRATION
It happened in Europe several years ago. A massive collision and derailment of two trains. Torn, lifeless bodies were everywhere. It was a grim scene that greeted the rescue workers on that cold morning. It was evident from the start that there would be few survivors if any at all. The rescuers worked on tirelessly with the bent steel and soft flesh trying to save as many as possible.
As they worked on during the day, it seemed as if one frozen picture captured the entire feeling of the mishap. A young mother's lifeless body had shielded her small three_year old daughter. Somehow, the young child's body had missed death because the mother had wrapped her own body around that of her child. As the rescuers worked, the pulled the small
girl from the arms of her dead mother. Amazingly, the small child did not cry or even whimper upon the separation from her mother.
They took the tiny child to the hospital for X_rays and found that there were only a few minor scrapes and bruises. The little girl endured all of the tests and examinations of the
physicians without any agitation. It was then that the doctors began to notice a tiny balled up fist. The child was apparently holding something. Perhaps, it was something that could assist them with identifying the child. They began to attempt to coax the little girl into opening her hand but all to no avail. Finally, after understanding that the child was not going to open her hand, they pried the little fingers away from an object. The child immediately began to scream and cry. She had not cried when the rescuers took her from her dead mother's arms. Nor had she cried in the back of the ambulance. She had not even cried during the battery of
her tests. But when she lost her small piece of penny candy her little life was shattered.
-What happens when you lose the penny candy in your life? ?
