Genesis 19:16, "And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city."
This morning, the daily mercies and longsuffering of God continues to amaze us, and I trust, fill us with thanksgiving. My own patience level is quite low, and I am prone to grow weary and impatient when things are not happening as I would wish them to be. Too many times, we fall into the rationale that someone does not deserve mercy and therefore withhold it. For mercy to be deserved, it would not be mercy. Rather, it would be justice, but by the very nature of mercy, it is wholly undeserved and unmerited. Many of the aged in the church (when I was a young boy) were fond of the phrase while praying, "Oh Lord, deal not with us in justice, but be merciful unto us." Lest we ever get to the point of thinking that because of the blood of Christ we do not stand in need of daily, timely mercy, let us never forget that God Almighty was not required to save us by the blood of His Son. On top of that, He is not required to show pity upon us here. Let be thankful that He has seen fit to do both. While His justice will not go unserved (ours was served on the precious head of our Redeemer), He ever opens the door of mercy daily with fresh blessings.
As we read through accounts like the life of Lot(from whence the verse above springs), there are large sections that are not pleasant to read through or take into consideration. Yet, they are there for our learning that we through these Scriptures may have hope. (Romans 15:4) So, during the miserable times of Lot's life, what are we to learn? What should we glean from accounts of prodigals in God's own family? While my legalistic mind would be unmerciful to Lot while reading the Genesis account, Peter informs us, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Lot is indeed a child of God that is dear in His sight. He loves Lot no less than any of His other children, and the same blood that washed us from our sins washed Lot from His as well. Yet, even reading this account, we get glimpses of God's longsuffering with His child that show us how far above us and our ways He is with His ways.
In our haste, we many times pass over words, phrases, and punctuation that is vitally important to comprehend while studying or reading a passage. In my haste, I have, in the past, read through the story of Lot's life and missed the very precious thought "the LORD being merciful unto him." We could say that the Lord showed mercy on Lot for Abraham's sake in foretelling him about the impending doom of the cities of the plain. We could also say that the Lord showed mercy upon Lot later by granting his request to flee to Zoar (the smallest city of the plain). Yet, what hit me in this verse is that the Lord showed mercy and pity upon Lot in his procrastination.
Our society today puts responsibilities off as long as they can. We do things at the last minute, and then are "surprised" when things are not neatly in order as they would have been with a little careful thought and preparation. Lot has been told what is going to happen. He has been told what he must needs do. Yet, he is lingering (perhaps waiting on his son-in-laws)
In Hope,
Bro Philip