“So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his
daughters, ‘Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the
city.’ But he seemed to his sons-in-law
to be jesting.” Genesis 19:14
When Lot warned his sons-in-law about
the coming destruction of wicked Sodom, they laughed because they did not think
he was serious. Since Lot seemed to be
jesting, they did not act upon his exhortation to flee the city of destruction.
We might speculate about why they
thought Lot’s warning was a joke. The
text, of course, doesn’t tell us, but several possibilities emerge with a
moment’s consideration.
Lot’s sons-in-law may not have been
serious men. Some men are incapable of
having a discussion unless sarcasm and ridicule are invited. No topics—election or reprobation, heaven or
hell, the reality of eternity, the certainty of a coming judgment day—make humor
inappropriate in their eyes. “Let the
conversation be light,” they say. “I
like his preaching,” says another, “because he has such a good sense of humor.” “No hellfire and brimstone. Keep the people laughing.” Did Lot’s sons-in-law laugh when the city
went up in flames?
Another possibility is that Lot’s
sons-in-law may have been incredulous about the place of such fanciful subjects
in friendly conversation. Levity is a
likely response to (perceived) fantasy.
Lot can’t be serious. How could
anyone be so foolish to believe that there is a righteous God in heaven who is
angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11) and will bring sure and certain
judgment in his own time? They may have
doubted that God would judge Sodom seeing as there were other cities that were
guilty of immorality that did not meet the same fate and considering that Sodom
had enjoyed its sin for so long making it seem improbable that it would come to
such ruin.
We cannot but think that Lot himself
may not have been convincing in the way that he addressed his sons-in-law. Was Lot persuaded in his heart that the
report of the angels was true? When he
does leave the city, he lingers, which may indicate his indecision in the
matter (Genesis 19:16). Perhaps there
was something about Lot’s tone that betrayed his lack of assurance. Lot himself may have been known for telling
jokes. His sons-in-law simply may have
thought that he was up to his usual antics.
Although we may speculate to no avail
concerning why Lot’s sons-in-laws thought he was jesting, we can say with
certainty that the reason that they did not flee the wicked city but perished
in it along with the other sinners is because they did not think the coming
judgment was to be taken seriously. If
sinners do not think that we are serious in our warnings about the coming judgment,
then they will not respond in repentance and faith.
There is no doubt that some sinners are
foolish people who seem incapable of talking about eternity for even a single
moment. But if we shall spend eternity
in either heaven or hell, the subject deserves more than a moment’s reflection.
Others are unwilling to take such solemn
subjects as anything more than the punch line of a bad joke. Everything is trivial to them. Laughter is commonplace among the sons of men;
trembling is a rare virtue even among the sons of God.
Many are the occasions when preachers
do not warn with the earnestness becoming the man of God who is convinced that
God will do as he has said. Sodom is
wicked, and its destruction is not asleep.
Yet the preacher does not seem to believe what he preaches. David Hume was once asked why he listened to
the preaching of George Whitefield even though Hume did not believe. Hume responded, “He does.”
When we believe in the reality of the
coming judgment (for the destruction of Sodom is an example of what shall happen
to all the ungodly, 2 Peter 2:6), sinners will know that our warnings are not
jokes but passionate pleas for them to flee the city of destruction and come to
Christ in whom there is deliverance and life.
But do we seem to them to be joking?
