Columbus, OH
Scripture Reflection by Sang Sur on Genesis 19:19-20,30 posted January 6, 2025 - Prayer Tents
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Arguing wifh God.
We see that God allows us to barter and negotiate with Him. He never forces but always recommends the best course of action. As His children, He loves to interact with us and welcomes our conversations.
Lot lived in a corrupt society for some time, and his relationship with God was probably very off. His bartering was more about his desire (to go to a small town that might have the same corrupt mindset as Sodom) than what is best.
We see that God allowed Lot to go there because he kept on “insisting.” Yet, soon after, Lot lives in the mountain anyway.
Could things have been better if Lot went to the mountains in the first place? It certainly would have saved the two trips, and the trouble that he seems to have experienced in Zoar.
Perhaps the lesson is:
1. Have a deep relationship with God. Lot’s interaction with God was vastly different from the one with Abraham in the previous chapter.
2. Bartering with God generally doesn't fall in our favor. Having a relationship with God would confirm that just listening and obeying gives us the best outcome. Our bartering might come from our tendency for evil, which God may allow when we ask (so that we would turn back to Him and let Him know He was right—repent)
19I know that you’ve taken a liking to me and have done me an immense favor in saving my life, but I can’t run for the mountains—who knows what terrible thing might happen to me in the mountains and leave me for dead. 20Look over there—that town is close enough to get to. It’s a small town, hardly anything to it. Let me escape there and save my life—it’s a mere wide place in the road.” 30Lot left Zoar and went into the mountains to live with his two daughters; he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He lived in a cave with his daughters.
Genesis 19:19-20,30 (MSG)
Monday, January 6, 2025
Leonia, NJ USA
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Leonia, NJ USA
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Scriptures Marked by Sang Sur
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