AND IF HE RESCUED RIGHTEOUS LOT: kai dikaion Lot...errhusato (3SAMI): (Ge 19:16,
22
,29
1Cor 10:13)
If
is added by translators - the rescue of Lot is not "iffy" but is
a past completed historical event as indicated by Peter's use the
aorist tense (of rhuomai) which signifies completed action in
the past. The
middle voice is significant also because it conveys
the picture of the Subject (God) initiating the action (rescue)
and participating in the effects or results of the action! Middle voice
conveys a "reflexive" sense and so could be translated "God
Himself".
Rescued
(4506)
(rhuomai
from rhúo
= to draw, drag along the ground) means to draw or snatch to oneself, invariably
from danger, evil or an enemy. This basic idea is that of bringing
someone out of severe and acute danger, and so to save, rescue, deliver,
preserve.
Rhuomai emphasizes
the greatness of the peril from which the deliverance is given by a
mighty act of power. A great illustration of this word as follows: While
floating in a river, I fell out of the inflated inner tube and was
suddenly trapped under a massive weight of water pouring through a
narrow spillway onto my head, the weight preventing me from standing up
even though the water was less than 4 feet deep. I was utterly helpless
to save myself. I was however able to out my hand up through the water
and a family playing in the nearby eddy saw it, grabbed hold and
snatched me to the side so that I was able to stand up and could breath
again. There I was beside the river safe in the presence of those who
had pulled me out, yet still in the presence of the dangerous spillway.
I had been snatched out of imminent danger and possible drowning. This
is what rhuomai means.
Righteous
(1342)
(dikaios
from dike
= right, just) defines that which is in accordance with high standards
of rectitude. It is that which is in right relation to another and so in
reference to persons defines the one who is morally and ethically
righteous, upright or just.
The
meaning of the root word dike is based on the assumption that men
expect a certain standard of behavior and if this is not attained
judgment may result. It follows that the basic meaning of the
adjective dikaios describes that which is proper, right, fitting,
fair, righteous, just (acting or being in conformity with what is
morally upright or good). From a legal viewpoint dikaios refers
to one who is law-abiding (doing all that law or justice requires),
honest and good in behavior and from a religious viewpoint one who is
rightly related to God. In simple terms this trait describes being in
accordance with what God requires. The righteous man does what he ought.
He is the person who conforms to the standard, will or character of God.
Righteous
Lot's rescue is described in vivid terms in Genesis 19...
hesitated. So the men seized his
hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters,
for the compassion of the LORD was upon him and they brought him out and
put him outside the city." (Ge 19:16).
Notice "why" God rescued
Lot! Clearly Lot's escape from Sodom's fate was not due to his own
timely foresight but wholly to the God's intervention on his behalf. In
fact Scripture teaches that God acted in response to Abraham's
intercession (Ge 19:29,
cf
Js 5:16).
Abraham outside
of Sodom had more influence than Lot inside the city.
Tragically although he was delivered, Lot lost no only his testimony to
his own family for his married daughters and their husbands laughed at
his warning but he also lost his wife who disobeyed God and was killed. Our
choices may be personal but the consequences
are not necessarily private but may (and most likely will) affect
those around us, especially those nearest and dearest. Lot would have
done well to read and heed Solomon's advice:
My
son,
give
attention to my
words.
Incline your
ear to my
sayings. Do not let them
depart from your
sight.
Keep them in the
midst of your
heart. For they are
life
to those who
find them
& health
to
all their
body.
Watch over your
heart with
all
diligence, for from it flow the
springs of
life"
(Pr 4:20-23)
We all do well to do likewise. Lot had entered Sodom and then Sodom
had entered Lot and he and his loved ones found it difficult to leave.
Oh, righteous saint, beloved of God, have you been drawn into the
worldliness and sensuality of Sodom so that now it's in you and in your
loved ones? God is still in the "delivery" business. Cry out.
Repent. Return. Do the deeds you did at first.
Despite Lot's compromises, God
still considered him righteous
or justified by faith as discussed
above. When did Lot exercise faith? We cannot be sure from the Scripture but it is clear that
although he had to be seized by the hand to leave the wicked city, he did obey God
and did
not look back as his wife did. (Gen 19:17,19:26,
Lu17:32)
It is intriguing that although 3 times in 2 verses Peter emphasizes that
Lot was righteous, the rabbinical interpreters of the Old Testament were
not so generous in their evaluation of Lot's character, measuring him by
the absolute standard of the Law and regarding him as a notorious
sinner!
OPPRESSED BY THE SENSUAL CONDUCT OF UNPRINCIPLED MEN: kataponoumenon (PPPMSA) hupo tes ton athesmon en aselgeia anastrophes: (Ge 13:13;
19:7,8;
Ps 120:5;
Jer 9:1-6;
23:9)
Oppressed (2669)
(kataponeo from kata = down & so gives the
force of "worn down"+ poneo = labor from ponos =
pain or toil) means to wear down by labor or toil (cf
only other NT use
Acts 7:24)
and then figuratively to oppress, afflict or vex (vex
means to upset or agitate a person's composure),
describing Lot's inner reaction to the unceasing evil that surrounded
him day and night.
The picture is of Lot being (present
tense
indicates continual action and
passive voice indicates the
action is exerted from outside source, in this case Sodomites, etc) worn
down and exhausted with toil and hence deeply distressed ("sore
distressed") by the lifestyle of his fellow citizens.
The present
passive as noted indicates that their evil lives continued to be a
burdensome weight upon Lot personally. It is amazing (and encouraging)
that Lot had not allowed his conscience to become so dulled that he was
no longer pained by what he witnessed. As someone has well said
Our
great security against sin lies in being shocked at it.
Does the bold faced rampaging sin
in America still shock you and make you blush?
By (5259)
(hupo) is a preposition which conveys the "directional
sense" of "under" or "beneath". Hupo
frequently meant not simply to be beneath but even to be under the
control of something or someone. In the present context it is as if Lot
was continually under the "control" of the immoral and wicked
influences with the result that he was "completely worn down"
(Wuest) and in "acute mental distress" (Phillips).
Interestingly,
Lot's great pain at the evil around him was in fact evidence of his own
upright character. Does the blatant shameless parade of immorality in
America wear you down? May our Lord come soon and rescue us, snatching us from
the wrath to come (see note
1Thessalonians 1:10)
Wiersbe adds
a note of urgency
God’s people, as weak as they are, will be
delivered from judgment by the grace and mercy of God. God could not
judge Sodom until Lot and his family were out of the city. Likewise, it
is my belief that God will not send wrath on this world until He takes
His own people out and home to heaven. “For God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for
us, that, whether we wake or sleep [live or die], we should live
together with Him” (see notes
1Thessalonians 5:9;
5:10) One day soon, the fire will
fall. Are you ready?" (Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor
or
Logos)
Sensual
(766)
(aselgeia) was discussed earlier in this chapter (click for detailed discussion)
and here is modified by the little Greek preposition en in what the Greek refers to as "locative of sphere" a fancy way of
indicating that the Sodomites were living and conducting their lives "in
the sphere" (sphere = an area or range over or within which someone
or something acts, exists, or has influence or significance)
of unbridled, insatiable desire for pleasure and sexual excess and with
a total absence of restraint. The vile lives of the people of these two cities wore
Lot down as his own conscience and soul rebelled against the filth that
he continually witnessed around him.
Unprincipled
(113)
(athesmos from negative "a"
= without + thesmos = law or custom although not referring
to laws enacted by lawmakers but that which became prevalent by custom
and was expected to be observed as if it were law) describes those who
were rebellious and refused to be subject to legal requirements.
Athesmos was used of one who defied the restraints of
divinely sanctioned limits and gratifies his or her fleshly lusts. The
word is stronger than anomos “lawless” (in verse 8 below),
because it pictures open rebellion against that which had divine
approval. The idea is to violate the "laws of nature" and conscience.
They were audaciously wicked.
Conduct
(391)
(anastrophe from verb
anastrepho = to turn up, to move about <> aná = again,
back + strépho = turn)
literally means "a turning about" and in the NT refers to how one
conducts one's life, with a focus on everyday behavior. It refers to how
we live or conduct ourselves.
How Lot could be so
oppressed,
how he could be called a righteous
man, and yet
offer to turn his two daughters over to the wicked townsmen to be
sexually abused is difficult to understand apart from a knowledge of the
code of honor characteristic of that day. Ancient hospitality obliged a
host to protect his guests in every situation.
