“When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. "See now, this city [is] near [enough] to flee to, and it [is] a little one; please let me escape there ([is] it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.” (Genesis 19:15-30 NKJV)
When you read this account, you have to remind yourself that Lot was a righteous man. His behavior would seem to prove otherwise, but Scripture tells us that he was righteous (2 Pet. 2:7).
Lot suffered from overexposure to wickedness. The New Testament says he was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (2 Pet. 2:7). “(For that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented [his] righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing [their] lawless deeds) ——” (2 Peter 2:8 NKJV)
So the question is what held him in that wicked city? If he did not like their sin, then something else must have drawn him to this God-forsaken place. It could have been that Lot was given to greed. Remember when he separated from Abraham he looked on the plains of the Jordan and saw how it was like the garden of Eden (Gen. 13:10). Perhaps it is more likely that he was fearful, and thought Sodom would provide greater protection. He was taken captive after moving into the plain (Gen. 14:12). Maybe after that incident he moved into the city for safety.
Whatever, the reason, his constant exposure to wickedness dulled his ability to make good decisions. The angels had to drag Lot from the city before they could destroy it. Even then, he didn’t want to go to the mountains, but begged to go to Zoar a nearby city.
However, in the process of time, after seeing his wife turned into a pillar of salt and watching the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he finally comes to his senses and flees to the mountains.
What can we learn from this? First, we should never forget that sin is infectious. We are influenced by the things that we allow into our lives. Therefore, if we sow to the flesh we will reap destruction. Next, we should never forget that God is willing to punish sin. Sodom is a picture of God’s wrath unleashed. Third, God knows how to move His children as He sees fit.
While God can and does protect us from the world and ourselves, let us not have Lot’s testimony. We ought not to need to be drug from the city of sin. We should be fleeing to the mountains without any prompting from angels.
What dominates your time? Is it a good influence or a sinful influence? If you are not sure, remove it for a while and see if the shock factor is there when you look at it again. God Bless.