Linger Not, Lingering Lot
Linger Not, Lingering Lot
There are times when haste is foolish, but there are also times when delay is dangerous. Genesis 19 records one of those dangerous moments. Judgment was about to fall upon Sodom, the angels were urging Lot to escape, and yet the Bible says, “while he lingered” (Genesis 19:16).
Lot was not ignorant of the danger. He had heard the warning and had attempted to warn his family. He knew that Sodom was marked for destruction. Yet knowing that he needed to leave did not make him leave. The angels had to take Lot, his wife, and his daughters by the hand and bring them outside the city.
Why do people linger when they know what God has said? Lot’s story reveals three powerful reasons: failure, flesh, and fear.
Failure Can Cause Us to Linger
When Lot warned his sons-in-law that the Lord was about to destroy Sodom, “he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law” (Genesis 19:14). His warning sounded like a joke because his testimony had lost its influence.
Lot had become deeply entangled with Sodom. He sat in the gate of the city, spoke of its wicked inhabitants as his brethren, and offered his daughters to the violent mob outside his home. Although the New Testament identifies him as a just and righteous man, his years in Sodom had distorted his judgment and weakened his testimony.
Lot had failed God, Abraham, his family, his city, and himself. When the time came to leave Sodom behind, he was not merely walking away from a city. He was walking away from the ruins of his own decisions.
Failure is difficult to overcome, especially when it is self-inflicted. It can convince us that we have gone too far, done too much, or made too great a mess to obey God now. The Bible, however, records both the victories and failures of its people. David defeated Goliath, but he later sinned with Bathsheba. Joshua conquered Jericho, but Israel was defeated at Ai. Jonah preached to Nineveh, but only after fleeing from God’s command. Peter walked on water, but later denied the Lord.
Their failures were real, but failure did not have the final word. God is greater than our failures because he has never failed. We must not allow yesterday’s failure to become today’s excuse for disobedience.
The Flesh Can Cause Us to Linger
The flesh wants to hold on to what it knows, even when it knows that what is familiar is wrong.
Sodom had become Lot’s home. Whatever wickedness surrounded him, the city represented familiar possessions, relationships, status, and security. Leaving meant surrendering everything he had accumulated and walking toward an uncertain future. The flesh may have encouraged Lot to cling to the pleasure of iniquity, the position of influence, and the pride of intelligence. He had gained a position in the city, but he possessed no power to save it. He could argue with the angels, but he could not stop God's judgment.
Pharaoh demonstrated the same tendency when Moses allowed him to choose when the frogs would be removed from Egypt. Remarkably, Pharaoh answered, “To morrow” (Exodus 8:10). He chose one more night with the frogs instead of immediate relief.
Jacob also delayed sending his sons back to Egypt because he feared losing Benjamin. Judah finally told him, “except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time” (Genesis 43:10).
The flesh always asks for a little more time. It says, “Tomorrow I will obey. Tomorrow I will leave. Tomorrow I will get right with God.” But delayed obedience gives sin more time to tighten its grip. James 1:15 warns that when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.
Fear Can Cause Us to Linger
After Lot was brought outside Sodom, he was commanded to escape to the mountain. Instead of obeying, Lot began to argue: “Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die” (Genesis 19:18–19).
Fear made God’s appointed place of safety appear dangerous. Lot believed that something evil would overtake him in the mountain, so he asked permission to flee to Zoar instead.
Yet Genesis 19:30 says that Lot eventually left Zoar and went to the mountain because he was afraid to remain there. He ultimately went to the place God had first commanded him to go.
Fear makes us question what God has said. We fear death, the unknown, starting over, other people, responsibility, and accountability. Fear asks, “What if I obey God and something goes wrong?” Faith asks a different question: “What if I disobey the God who is mercifully taking me by the hand?”
David did not say that he would never walk through a dark valley. He said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). Faith does not rest in the absence of danger. It rests in the presence and faithfulness of God.
The Lord Was Merciful
The most encouraging words in Lot’s story are found in Genesis 19:16: “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.”
Lot lingered, but the Lord was merciful. God did not deliver Lot because Lot had managed his life wisely. He delivered him because he was merciful. Second Peter calls him “just Lot,” speaks of his “righteous soul,” and declares that “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:7–9).
Lot’s choices nevertheless left painful consequences. His wife disobeyed the warning not to look back, and his daughters later committed grievous sin in the mountain. His compromise and failure to lead contributed to the spiritual devastation of his household. Lingering rarely affects only the person who lingers.
Even so, sin could not defeat the providence of God. Moab was born through the sinful actions of Lot’s firstborn daughter, but generations later Ruth the Moabitess trusted the God of Israel and married Boaz. Ruth became the great-grandmother of David and entered the earthly lineage of Jesus Christ.
Grace does not call evil good, excuse sin, or erase every earthly consequence. But God can bring redemption out of what sin has broken.
Where are you lingering today? Are you lingering because of a failure you cannot get over, a fleshly attachment you do not want to surrender, or a fear you refuse to release?
If you are unsaved, do not delay. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). If God has already made your next step clear, stop negotiating with his command. The Lord is mercifully calling you away from danger and toward himself.
Linger not.
There are times when haste is foolish, but there are also times when delay is dangerous. Genesis 19 records one of those dangerous moments. Judgment was about to fall upon Sodom, the angels were urging Lot to escape, and yet the Bible says, “while he lingered” (Genesis 19:16).
Lot was not ignorant of the danger. He had heard the warning and had attempted to warn his family. He knew that Sodom was marked for destruction. Yet knowing that he needed to leave did not make him leave. The angels had to take Lot, his wife, and his daughters by the hand and bring them outside the city.
Why do people linger when they know what God has said? Lot’s story reveals three powerful reasons: failure, flesh, and fear.
Failure Can Cause Us to Linger
When Lot warned his sons-in-law that the Lord was about to destroy Sodom, “he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law” (Genesis 19:14). His warning sounded like a joke because his testimony had lost its influence.
Lot had become deeply entangled with Sodom. He sat in the gate of the city, spoke of its wicked inhabitants as his brethren, and offered his daughters to the violent mob outside his home. Although the New Testament identifies him as a just and righteous man, his years in Sodom had distorted his judgment and weakened his testimony.
Lot had failed God, Abraham, his family, his city, and himself. When the time came to leave Sodom behind, he was not merely walking away from a city. He was walking away from the ruins of his own decisions.
Failure is difficult to overcome, especially when it is self-inflicted. It can convince us that we have gone too far, done too much, or made too great a mess to obey God now. The Bible, however, records both the victories and failures of its people. David defeated Goliath, but he later sinned with Bathsheba. Joshua conquered Jericho, but Israel was defeated at Ai. Jonah preached to Nineveh, but only after fleeing from God’s command. Peter walked on water, but later denied the Lord.
Their failures were real, but failure did not have the final word. God is greater than our failures because he has never failed. We must not allow yesterday’s failure to become today’s excuse for disobedience.
The Flesh Can Cause Us to Linger
The flesh wants to hold on to what it knows, even when it knows that what is familiar is wrong.
Sodom had become Lot’s home. Whatever wickedness surrounded him, the city represented familiar possessions, relationships, status, and security. Leaving meant surrendering everything he had accumulated and walking toward an uncertain future. The flesh may have encouraged Lot to cling to the pleasure of iniquity, the position of influence, and the pride of intelligence. He had gained a position in the city, but he possessed no power to save it. He could argue with the angels, but he could not stop God's judgment.
Pharaoh demonstrated the same tendency when Moses allowed him to choose when the frogs would be removed from Egypt. Remarkably, Pharaoh answered, “To morrow” (Exodus 8:10). He chose one more night with the frogs instead of immediate relief.
Jacob also delayed sending his sons back to Egypt because he feared losing Benjamin. Judah finally told him, “except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time” (Genesis 43:10).
The flesh always asks for a little more time. It says, “Tomorrow I will obey. Tomorrow I will leave. Tomorrow I will get right with God.” But delayed obedience gives sin more time to tighten its grip. James 1:15 warns that when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and when sin is finished, it brings forth death.
Fear Can Cause Us to Linger
After Lot was brought outside Sodom, he was commanded to escape to the mountain. Instead of obeying, Lot began to argue: “Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die” (Genesis 19:18–19).
Fear made God’s appointed place of safety appear dangerous. Lot believed that something evil would overtake him in the mountain, so he asked permission to flee to Zoar instead.
Yet Genesis 19:30 says that Lot eventually left Zoar and went to the mountain because he was afraid to remain there. He ultimately went to the place God had first commanded him to go.
Fear makes us question what God has said. We fear death, the unknown, starting over, other people, responsibility, and accountability. Fear asks, “What if I obey God and something goes wrong?” Faith asks a different question: “What if I disobey the God who is mercifully taking me by the hand?”
David did not say that he would never walk through a dark valley. He said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). Faith does not rest in the absence of danger. It rests in the presence and faithfulness of God.
The Lord Was Merciful
The most encouraging words in Lot’s story are found in Genesis 19:16: “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.”
Lot lingered, but the Lord was merciful. God did not deliver Lot because Lot had managed his life wisely. He delivered him because he was merciful. Second Peter calls him “just Lot,” speaks of his “righteous soul,” and declares that “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:7–9).
Lot’s choices nevertheless left painful consequences. His wife disobeyed the warning not to look back, and his daughters later committed grievous sin in the mountain. His compromise and failure to lead contributed to the spiritual devastation of his household. Lingering rarely affects only the person who lingers.
Even so, sin could not defeat the providence of God. Moab was born through the sinful actions of Lot’s firstborn daughter, but generations later Ruth the Moabitess trusted the God of Israel and married Boaz. Ruth became the great-grandmother of David and entered the earthly lineage of Jesus Christ.
Grace does not call evil good, excuse sin, or erase every earthly consequence. But God can bring redemption out of what sin has broken.
Where are you lingering today? Are you lingering because of a failure you cannot get over, a fleshly attachment you do not want to surrender, or a fear you refuse to release?
If you are unsaved, do not delay. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). If God has already made your next step clear, stop negotiating with his command. The Lord is mercifully calling you away from danger and toward himself.
Linger not.
Posted in Deception, Fear, Hindrances, Obedience, Salvation
Posted in Fear, Obedience, Hindrances, Mercy, salvation
Posted in Fear, Obedience, Hindrances, Mercy, salvation
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