“So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law who were to marry his daughters, up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.”
– Genesis 19:14
What a tragic verse, Genesis 19:14. God’s judgment is about to rain down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot knows it’s coming, so Lot goes and pleads with his sons-in-law. Those pledged to marry his daughters, he’s like, “Get out of here. God is about to destroy this city.” But the sons-in-law think he’s joking, and they don’t take him seriously, and as a result, they experience God’s judgment along with that city.
God graciously warns us of the danger of sin. We must heed these warnings and flee to Christ.
Genesis 19:14 Warns of God’s Judgement
What a sad, somber picture of people who when they hear warnings of God’s judgment and ignore those warnings, pass those warnings off. Oh, we have got to be careful of this in our own lives. We see warnings to run from sin all over scripture, all over scripture. We’ve got to make sure to heed those warnings. When we read the word of God we are being graciously warned by God for how to experience life and satisfaction and joy, so we’ve got to hear his warnings, heed his warnings, to run from sin.
If you are toying with sin, flirting with sin in your life, today, like run from it. Don’t toy with it. Don’t take the warnings and judgement of God lightly. Hear his warnings. Heed his warnings, and then this verse just causes us to pray that as we share the gospel, people would hear in the gospel the warning of judgment and wrath that’s coming, and that they would not think this is just a joke. That they would not ignore what we’re sharing.
This Verse Leads Us to Live In Accordance With God’s Word
So we pray, God in our own lives, please, please, please help us to heed your warnings. Help us not to treat sin casually or lightly. I pray for this in my life. I pray for this in every single person who’s listening to this right now, oh God. You’ve given us clear warnings in scripture, like don’t do this, don’t do that. Do this, and you will live, so God help us to live according to your word. Help us to heed your warnings. Help us to realize how serious your word is, how good it is, how it leads to good for us. God please, help us to heed your warnings and we pray that you would help us to give warnings that others heed.
Lord help us to share the gospel today with somebody who needs to hear it and God help them to hear it. God I pray for somebody in my life today … I just think of all the people I’m praying for, that they would come to know Christ.
Lord I pray that you would give me boldness to share the gospel with them today, and I pray that as they hear about sin, and its effects in their lives and the judgment that it warrants, God that they would heed that warning. I pray for that for others who will hear the gospel, for people who are listening to this right now, God help us to share the gospel boldly.
Help us to sound the warning and in the process please, oh God, by your Spirit, we pray that you would bring people today to heed that warning of judgement, to trust in Jesus, to save them from their sins. God please, may it be so, today. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
