Details within this story trouble me. The overpowering stench of evil permeates its words. But God. The phrase that makes all the difference in our evil world. God established such a relationship with Abraham that his intercession for his family and the cries of others reached to heaven and influenced the outcome. Prayer called God into action, deployed heaven’s army and pulled an unwilling victim from the fray.
God Acts
The cries that reached heaven caused God to act. He came to see for Himself and decided to tell Abraham. On the way to Sodom, Abraham stood before the LORD. Abraham knew God was bent on judgement and pleaded with God to spare the city for the sake of the righteous within it.
Heaven’s Army Deployed
The men were from heaven. Their job was to execute judgement and to rescue Lot and his family. When the evil men of the city tried to force entrance, the angels protected Lot by pulling him inside and causing blindness to fall on the men outside. The angels told him to talk to his son-in-laws about escaping the judgement to come, but when he did, he wasn’t taken seriously.
An Unwilling Victim
Lot was an unwilling victim. When the angels came into town, Lot was in the gate. This represents leadership. When the angels instructed him to take his wife and daughters and leave, he lingered. He had been comfortable here. The angels had to pull them outside of the city. Still, Lot begged the angels for permission to not go as far away as the mountains. He feared the evil which might come upon him there. The angels were restrained until Lot was safe.
As you intercede for your family, remember the God who hears the cries that come before Him. He acts on our behalf, deploys heaven’s army, and takes force as necessary to rescue our loved ones.