Genesis 19:17-22 "And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar."
Lot, his wife, and his daughters had just been delivered from destruction by the merciful hand of the LORD upon them. The messengers from God had taken them by the hand and led them out of the city (Genesis 19:16). Lot was told to “escape” for his life. One of the meanings behind the Hebrew word translated as “escape” is to “let go (See Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries).”
Even when God has delivered us from some situation in our lives, we often seem to have trouble letting go. We want to stay in the area, thinking that we may be able to make the situation better. Rest assured that when God puts us out of a situation, it is to our benefit and His glory that we let go. There is no benefit in continuing the proximity of that thing He has delivered us from, and we should not be looking back as though second-guessing God’s wisdom.
God not only brought Lot out of the destruction, but He also told him the best place for him to go. He was to escape to the mountain. However, Lot was afraid to trust God that this was the best place for him. He liked dwelling in the plain where things were smooth and seemingly simpler. We see a great deal of our nature in the story of Lot. How often has God directed us onto a certain path, but we were afraid because it was unfamiliar?
We see the mercy of God continuing with Lot, even though Lot still sought a way that seemed right unto him rather than obeying God. Lot said to God, “I am afraid of the mountain. Let me go into this little place close to where I have been.” In mercy, God granted Lot a space of time to flee to Zoar. Being a promise-keeping God, He told Lot to go quickly because He would refrain from the destruction He was getting ready to rain down until Lot and his family were safe.
Repeatedly in these chapters in Genesis, we see the frailty of man and the mercy and righteousness of God. This is not just a history of how things were. This is an example unto us of how both we and God still are today. May we take the time to meditate on these lessons of God’s faithfulness and learn to be better servants!