Happy Sabbath friends! As of recently, I have been reading through the book of Genesis. I have a personal goal with myself and the Lord to read the whole entire Bible from front to back, but read a chapter a day so I can really soak in all that God is trying to speak upon me and my life.

I am sure we all have pasts that we may feel ashamed of, pasts that still haunt us, or pasts that we wish never even happened. Believe me, I completely understand. Today I want to touch on a story in the Bible about a man named Lot. Let us delve into the story we will be referencing today and then let us break it down so we can understand and see how this story might relate to the shame and regrets of our past.

“The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My Lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door. The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” But Lot said to them, “No, my Lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it—it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.) By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭1‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So let us break this story down…The story of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed starts off with Lot preparing a meal for the two angels, disguised as men, that entered into his home. Suddenly the story transitions into the sinful nature that can be found amongst the city of Sodom:

“Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.” “Get out of our way,” they replied. “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to play the judge! We’ll treat you worse than them.” They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The transgression starts with the men from every part of the city of Sodom wanting to have sex with the angels who were disguised as men. Then when Lot was not willing to give them the two men, the men of Sodom were going to have sex with Lot instead since he wasn’t being submissive to their request. The angels wanted to protect Lot from these wicked / sinful acts that the men of Sodom were trying to commit, so they pulled Lot back inside to safety. To protect Lot further, they struck all the men of Sodom surrounding his house with blindness so they could no longer see.

“But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The angels then instruct Lot to get anyone else who belongs to him out of the city because Sodom was going to be destroyed.

“The two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—sons-in-law, sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When Lot informed those who belonged with him about the news that was given to him, they all thought he was joking. They all were hesitant with leaving Sodom, but the Lord was merciful and wanted to protect them so the two angels forced them out and led them to safety. The angels then emphasized to Lot and his loved ones, “Don’t look back”.

“When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lot and his loved ones listened to the two angels and fled to a town called Zoar (which means small as it is a very small town). The Lord destroyed Sodom as the angels said He would, but Lot’s wife did what the angels advised not to do…

“By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭23‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This story always speaks to me every time I read it. It’s actually a quite powerful and relatable story and let me show you how. Remember when I stated earlier that we may have pasts that we are ashamed of, pasts that haunt us, or pasts we wish we could forget? Well I am sure if that resonates with you, that the past you are thinking of, does not include God being in the center of it. At least for my past, it does not. Some of us may have pasts where there was a lot of wickedness in our lives: toxic people / things that led us further away from God, drugs, sexual immorality, alcohol, etc. Now compare that past to the city of Sodom. The thing I want to note though is there is a reason it is called our past, and not our present. God pulled us out of our pasts right? The same thing happened in this story. God protected Lot even when he was amidst the most sinful and wicked city. God pulled Lot and his loved ones out of the most sinful and wicked city so he could live a prosperous life with Him. The most important lesson I like to take out of this story is, the past is the past for a reason. When God pulled Lot out of Sodom, He didn’t say to Lot, “you need to leave right now, but in a year or two you can come back.” No, instead, it is written:

“As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭19‬:‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God took you out of your past for a reason! He did it to protect you! He did it so you could live a prosperous life! This story in the Bible teaches us to not dwell in our pasts. What happened when Lot’s wife dwelled on the past and looked back? She turned into a pillar of salt! Lot and his loved ones experienced Sodom, survived, and learned from what occurred so they could be better and grow with Jesus in the next city and/or town they were destined to go to according to God’s plan.

Don’t look back. The past is the past. God took you away from the wicked and sinful parts of your past for a reason. You are stronger now and Jesus loves you so very much that He wiped your slate clean the moment you came to Him and left that wicked part of your life. Let Him lead you to the next city/town that is destined in your journey with Him.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
‭‭I John‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

““Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭18‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Amen.