Lot Fears (Genesis 19)

 Lot Fears

Lot chose to live in the wicked cities that God had overthrown because he wanted possessions. 

But everything was destroyed by God’s judgment in fire. Sodom had been consumed. 

Had it not been for Lot’s righteous inclination, the faith of Abraham and God’s boundless mercy and compassion he would have been destroyed with them.

But he was saved, even if he was weak, with his daughters. 

Earlier he was told to go into the mountains, but he feared the mountains.


[Gen 19:17-22 NKJV] 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." 18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords! 19 "Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 "See now, this city [is] near [enough] to flee to, and it [is] a little one; please let me escape there ([is] it not a little one?) and my soul shall live." 21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 "Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.


God was saving him and had great compassion on him, but Lot had a weak faith. He didn’t trust God. The angels had commanded him to escape to the mountains to save him from destruction and yet he feared for his own life in the mountains. 

If God had saved him from Sodom, why would He let him be destroyed by some evil in the mountains? 

But God had, in His great mercy, even favored Lot in this. Lot escaped to Zoar, one of the cities that now received mercy because of Lot.

And when the cities were consumed, Zoar still stood.

God had mercifully spared Lot and Lot could now have trusted His word, knowing that he would be safe. If Lot chose to get out of Zoar it should have been for the fear of sins.

But this doesn’t seem to be the case. It was only after God’s judgment became very visible and after Lot lost his wife who got judged as well because she still longed for Sodom that Lot feared again.


[Gen 19:30 NKJV] 30 Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.


It seems that Lot feared to dwell in Zoar because it might get punished for its wickedness anyway. Lot only feared right after God’s judgment and then he went to the mountains anyway.

He wanted to go to Zoar out of fear and a lack of trust in God’s word and mercy.

Now he wanted to go to the mountains and again out of fear and a lack of trust in God’s word and mercy.

This kind of fear came from unbelief. There is no peace for it. Both the mountains and Zoar brought him fear and he went the opposite way every time something was granted to him.

It was a doubt of God’s mercy.

And though it may be less specific for us, a lot of fear can come from not trusting in God’s word and mercy. It is an offense to God to doubt it and fear anyway when He has promised otherwise.

He has promised, for example, a resurrection to those who believe. Why then so great a fear of death? Why act on that fear in such great restlessness going to Zoar and then back to the mountains so to say? 

Unbelief in God’s word and mercy brings fear and fear, when acted upon, is a great offense to God. Is He not trustworthy? When He says mercy, would He condemn? 

When others are punished, are we to fear condemnation while God is being so merciful to us and has promised us to be so?

This is the spirit of him who does not trust fully in God’s mercy. It is fear and much trouble.


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