The Righteousness of One Saves Many: The Lord Remembering Abraham when Saving Lot

Genesis 19:29 (DRA)

29 Now when God destroyed the cities of that country, remembering Abraham, he delivered Lot out of the destruction of the cities wherein he had dwelt.

Prelude Tarach was sojourning with his son Abraham to the promised Land. They started in a town called Ur near the Persian gulf and traveled up the Euphrates river to the town of Haran (in the modern-day Syria-Turkey border), where Tarach would perish. Abraham continued his father's journey and travelled to the land of Canaan with his nephew Lot. When they were there, a famine hit the land so they stayed in Egypt for a while where they ended up with a fortune. Once they returned to Canaan, they were at odds as there was not enough land for both of their livestocks to graze. Abraham gave him the option of where to settle, and Lot chose the land along the fertile Jordan river. He had the better land for his cattle but it came at the cost of living in the very wicked city of Sodom.

Abraham Saves Lot the First Time

The kingdoms of Canaan refused to give tribute to the Mesopotamian kingdoms, which resulted in them being raided and plundered. Sodom was among the cities afflicted, and it resulted in Lot being captured by the invading army. Abraham, with his 318 servants, chased down the invaders as they were going back north and defeated them. Not only did he save Lot, but also all the other captives from Sodom as well as their wealth that was plundered.

The Lord Sparing the City for the Sake of Ten

Genesis 18:32 (DRA)

32 I beseech thee, saith he, be not angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more: What if ten should be found there? And he said: I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.

Abraham had a conversation with the Lord considering whether he will destroy the just alongside the wicked. He first asked if it will be spared for the sake of fifty, then forty-five, then thirty, then twenty and finally ten. This exemplifies the generosity of the Lord when dealing with the righteous, especially with his dealings with Abraham.

The Angels Drag Lot Out of the City

Genesis 19:16 (DRA)

16 And as he lingered, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, and of his two daughters, because the Lord spared him

Not only was the Lord generous when warning Lot of the impending destruction of Sodom, the angels actually had to drag him and his family out because they were reluctant to leave. His sons-in-law also had the chance of being saved but they thought Lot was joking when he warned them.

They made one more concession for Lot as he did not want to retreat into the mountains because he feared he would die there. He requested to flee into a small city nearby named Segor, and the Lord allowed this and spared that city for the sake of Lot.

Remembering Abraham and Remembering King David Though Lot was righteous, he was not sinless. When the wicked men of Sodom tried to take the Angels from Lot's house, he offered up his daughters instead. Merely being present around wicked people will force good men into sin. Though Lot compromised with the wicked and likely dealt with them that way many times before, the Lord spared him for the sake of Abraham.

There were Israeli kings and their people (in the times succeeding King David) who did evil in the sight of the Lord. But the Lord withheld punishment and even defended the land from invaders for the sake of David.

A Message for Modern Times

If anyone has eyes open, there is a lot of evil going on in our present time, and 2020 has been a very tumultuous year. But these examples should serve as a beacon of hope, that the conduct of merely a few good men and women could save us from impending doom.