June 30, 2023

Today's lesson is about being grateful for unanswered prayers. Abraham prayed a general prayer, and God still answered him. He started by asking for fifty righteous people to escape when God destroyed Sodom and finally ended by asking for ten. The Bible only tells us of four leaving, and none were very righteous, but God saved them because of Abraham's prayer. The men of Sodom were insane and knew of the angels visiting Lot. They were ravenous to get to them, but Lot offered his daughters instead. What kind of dad offers his daughters to strangers for sexual abuse? Why were those men so eager to get to the angels? It reminds me of the sickos wanting to sexualize children today. It's not a good idea to look back after God saves you from destruction; Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt, but that is a lesson for another day! Lot's daughters slept with him when he was drunk and got pregnant with sons; one became the father of the Ammonites, and the other was the father of the Moabites. They eventually caused trouble for the children of Israel. It's one of those prayers that, in hindsight, you wish God hadn't answered. It also makes you wonder; if they were considered righteous, how evil was Sodom? When God doesn't answer your prayers, maybe it's because of something like this! Be grateful for unanswered prayers!

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. Genesis 19:29