Do you see where Lot is now?
He is in the gateway, where the leaders of the city sit. He started near Sodom, moved into the town
and is now a leader. Is he bringing
light to that place? He knows where he
lives, he knows what this place is like, that is why he urges the men strongly
not to sleep in the city square and instead stay at his house. They are strangers and yet he pushes his
hospitality on them because he knows it to be completely unsafe to sleep out in
public. Lot calls the men who attempt to
force themselves on these guests "my brothers" and offers his virgin
daughters instead but the men will have none of it. Essentially the men struck blind act like
zombies, wearing themselves out groping for the door so great is their
desire. Lot's daughters are engaged but
these men can't be cajoled into leaving, even Lot lingers and the angels
forcibly take him and his family from the city to save them, clearly for the
sake of Abraham. Lot can't bear to leave
city life behind though, he begs to be allowed to live in the little city of
Zoar and is granted his request. The
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is complete and is a byword forever.
Jesus quotes from Isaiah 55 concerning true bread and
mentions they are to work for that bread.
The people seize on the idea of working and ask what works they must do
to receive that true bread. Jesus says
the work is simple, believe in the one who has been sent. They want the bread but they want proof, what
work will He do to prove Himself and they quickly propose a work, bread like
Moses provided in the wilderness. Jesus
has just done this very thing and yet they didn't believe, this is nothing more
than a matter of desire for more bread and magic. When Jesus speaks of this true bread they
respond as the Samaritan woman at the well, "Sir, give us this bread
always." He offers them Himself as
the true food and drink, obviously in metaphorical manner but they are
materialists with respect to their desires, we want what we want and it needs
to satisfy a material need.
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen."
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. He believed God was able to do exactly as He
had promised, give him progeny and land.
He waited twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the promise and there
were times when his faith certainly wavered yet to the end he continued to
believe in the goodness of God. When he
thought it impossible that God could open Sarah's womb he still asked that
Ishmael be allowed to inherit the land the Lord had promised, he still believed
that this part would come true. The Lord
miraculously provided a child for he and Sarah and then ultimately gave the
land to those children. Are we
materialists like Lot who couldn't believe that Sodom was going to be
destroyed, like the people following Jesus because their physical hunger was
satisfied, or are we going to be people of faith, convicted of things not seen?
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