Bible Study Online Article
Abraham had prayed and tried bargaining with the one true God when it came to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Through prayer and reasoning, he had convinced God to leave the two wicked cities standing, if He could at least find ten righteous people that lived from within the cities. But the problem with this agreement... is that God did not find the ten righteous that was needed in order for Sodom & Gomorrah to be saved and because of this -- the two cities were still going to be destroyed. But there was one group that was spared from the wrath of God, and that group just so happened to be Lot, his two daughters and his wife. I find it very interesting that Lot was so attached to the comforts of this world, that while he was in the midst of destruction and wicked chaos -- he still had the sense of mind to try to bargain with the angels that were ordered to save him before they destroyed the cities. We must understand, that Lot did not want to go up into the mountains where the angels had told him to go -- but instead, he wanted to go and seek safety in the nearby town that was called "Zoar." This is a strong testament to the power of God's prayer, being that Lot would have perished in the city along with the rest -- if it had not been for the prayers of Abraham. Be as it may, here we find Lot bargaining with the angels, and because of the power of prayer... the angels would grant Lot's request when it came to him going to the small town called -- Zoar, instead of the mountains that he was originally was to have gone. Now, the destruction of Sodom was delayed until Lot and his family had reached the small town of Zoar. Now we find that the sun had risen across the land and God had begun to rain down burning sulfur unto the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And the God from out of the heavens had overthrown the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah along with the entire plain and its vegetation... and all those who were living in the two cities had perished. Now while all of this was going on, Lot's wife would disobey God by turning to look back at the destruction of the two cities. At this point, the scriptures would confirm, that when she laid her eyes upon the wrath of the Almighty God -- she had been turned into a pillar of salt, because of her disobedience. As the day would pass, we are now entering into another and this is where we would find Abraham awakening from his sleep. It is now early in the morning, and Abraham decides to go and return to the place where he had spoken to the Lord concerning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. As Abraham would look out towards these cities, he would see a dense dark smoke that was rising throughout the entire land. For now, he had realized that the cities were not spared. I wonder how Abraham must have had felt at that time, while he was looking down at the two destroyed cities? He had pleaded and bargain with God, for the cities to be saved for the righteous sake. Abraham would assume that there should be at least ten righteous people that should have been found living within the cities. I would assume that he had his nephew Lot on his mind while he was pleading with the Lord when it came to Sodom and Gomorrah. Within Lot's family alone, there should have been at least ten righteous? But it was not, so therefore the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed. But what Abraham could not see, is just how powerful his prayer really turned out to be. With the divine petition that he had put forth before the Lord, he was able to get God to alter his plans when it came to the judgment. God remembered the conversation he had with Abraham and so therefore, the righteous did not suffer because of the wicked. Although Lot wasn't living in the ways of the Lord, perhaps his heart was in the right place and this could be the reason why he was spared? This is a powerful lesson that we can learn from when it comes to the prayers that we send up to the Lord our God? Although we don't recognize what we thought we would see from our prayer request -- doesn't mean that God isn't working on fulfilling them. As for Lot's wife? It would seem in a natural sense, that her punishment was rather harsh? But understand, we must remember that it was God's plan to destroy everything that was associated with Sodom and Gomorrah. The only reason why Lot's wife had a chance to be spared, is because she was... Lot's wife. If it had not been for the prayer request that Abraham had presented before the Lord, she would not have had that chance. But what did she do with her second chance that had been gifted towards her? She continued to disobey God, and looked back at a place that she perhaps longed for. She had friends and material things back in the city of Sodom. It's possible that Lot's wife had second guessed her decision to leave, thinking maybe the city of Sodom would somehow survive? I for one could see her thinking to herself, that maybe she didn't have to leave everything and everyone that she knew and cared about? This example of Lot's wife, is just how we are in the world today? We have second guessed our salvation, so we take chances by constantly putting our dedication to the Lord on the back burner for the things that we love about this world. But we must be careful, because one day you will find yourself in the same position as Lot's wife? You would have missed your chance for salvation because of the worldly things that you couldn't let go of. Don't be like Lot's wife, there's too much at stake. God help us to be brave, courageous and strong enough to turn from our wicked and worldly ways. To have the desire to be transformed into what you have called us to be. We are a rare treasure and we owe everything to You... for all that we are and continue to become. Thank you for everything that you have poured into us... my precious Lord. In Jesus name -- Amen. 01) Introduction of Abraham - Before He was Called 02) The Divine Calling of Abraham 04) The Strife between Abram and Lot 10) Abraham the Father of a Multitude 11) Sarah the Mother of Nations 13) Abraham Bargains for Sodom 15) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 17) Abimelech Angry with Abraham  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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