And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
God rescued righteous Lot out of Sodom while judgment fell on the wicked around him. He is called just and godly, yet his righteous soul was pained day after day by seeing and hearing lawless deeds, with vile talk in his ears and violence and crime he witnessed but was powerless to stop. His deliverance stands with God's past acts of justice, when He did not spare sinning angels but cast them into chains of darkness, did not spare the old world but sent the flood on the ungodly while saving Noah as a preacher of righteousness, and turned Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes as a warning to the ungodly to come. Though distressed, Lot had chosen Sodom for gain, left the altar and its daily worship, let his family mingle with a corrupt people, and so dulled his moral sense, weakened faith and judgment, and was saved at last as a brand from the fire, stripped of goods, bereaved of wife and children, and dwelling in caves with his life-work lost. The same vexing of the righteous by unholy works and talk is repeated when God's judgments go forth, when the humble and devoted mourn over iniquity they cannot stop, while separation from corrupting surroundings guards the heart and character.
Lot Vexed in Sodom
The verse calls Lot just and righteous, a godly man distressed by the filthy and corrupt conduct of the wicked around him. The same distress over wickedness is seen in Enoch, whose soul was vexed as he saw rebellion against God.
To be vexed means his righteous soul was troubled day after day by seeing and hearing unlawful deeds. Vile talk greeted his ears, and violence and crime met his eyes that he witnessed but was powerless to prevent.
He remained just because he kept the fear of God in his heart even after choosing Sodom for pleasure and profit. That choice took him away from Abraham's altar and its daily sacrifice to the living God, and he permitted his children to mingle with a corrupt and idolatrous people. He himself had no right to punish his sons-in-law, but God had the right to punish them in strict justice.
Remaining there dulled his moral sense and weakened his faith and judgment. Association with the wicked corrupted his family and left him reluctant to obey the warning to flee, so his distress did not shield him from harm. He was delivered at last as a brand plucked from the fire, yet stripped of possessions, bereaved of wife and children, dwelling in caves like wild beasts, covered with infamy in old age. Instead of giving to the world a race of righteous men he gave two idolatrous nations at enmity with God, with his children ruined, his life-work lost, and his life a sad failure.
God Delivers, God Judges
His rescue from Sodom stands as the proof that God pulls the godly out while judgment falls on the ungodly. He was just and righteous, distressed by the corrupt and wicked conduct around him, with his righteous soul troubled day after day by seeing and hearing unlawful deeds. That deliverance declares that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust for punishment unto the day of judgment.
The verse is one link in a single chain of divine dealing. God did not spare angels when they sinned but cast them down into chains of darkness to be kept for judgment, and He did not spare the old world but brought the flood upon the ungodly while saving Noah the eighth person as a preacher of righteousness. He turned Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes as an example to those who would afterward live ungodly, and Lot's rescue belongs with that overthrow.
Their judgment was long prepared and their damnation does not sleep. Through covetousness, exploiters with deceptive words make gain of people. As He judged Sodom, He knows the many whose names are on the church books yet cherish sins resembling in vileness the sins of Sodom, and those who pollute themselves and others and have defiled the temple of God will be cut down. The judgments of God are long-delayed but none the less sure, and will soon fall.
Separation and Final Application
Wicked surroundings can trouble and even corrupt a person, so separation from worldly influences guards the heart and conscience, and Lot's deliverance while living among the wicked supports leaving a wicked place when its influence makes it hard to live out the truth and form a Christian character. Lot was righteous yet distressed by the wickedness around him, vexed in soul by what he saw and heard.
The same distress over wickedness is seen in Enoch, whose soul was vexed as he saw people defy God and trample His authority. He separated himself from the ungodly and their corrupting influence and unbelief because he feared it would weaken his reverence for God. He devoted time to reflection and prayer, seeking to know and do God's will.
Choosing a home for temporal advantage and worldly prosperity rather than for the moral and religious influences surrounding the family exposes children to temptation, unfavorable associations, lax morality, unbelief and indifference that counteract parental influence and lead youth into rebellion and alliance with the enemies of God. God would have moral and religious influences considered first in choosing a home, and where duty calls to trying positions He will enable watchfulness, prayer and trust in grace to stand uncorrupted. But voluntarily placing oneself in an atmosphere of worldliness and unbelief displeases God and drives holy angels from the home. Securing wealth and honor at the expense of eternal interests is a terrible loss, and true wisdom accepts less worldly prosperity in order to secure title to the immortal inheritance. Lot stands as a just man barely saved while his children were ruined, his life-work lost and his life a sad failure.
The experience of just Lot is repeated in the time when God's wrath goes forth in judgments. Then the righteous are humble, devoted followers distinguished by soul-anguish expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous, and being powerless to stop the torrent of iniquity they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn to see religion despised in homes that had great light, and lament pride, avarice, selfishness and deception in the church, while others throw a cloak over evil and excuse wickedness to obtain favor.
The surrounding passage belongs to one chain in which God did not spare sinning angels but cast them down into chains of darkness to be kept for judgment, did not spare the old world but brought the flood on the ungodly while saving Noah the eighth person as a preacher of righteousness, and turned Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes as an example to those who would afterward live ungodly. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust for punishment unto the day of judgment, while their judgment long prepared does not sleep and through covetousness exploiters with deceptive words make gain of people. This is fulfilled in those who secretly bring in destructive heresies, deny the Lord who bought them, draw many after destructive ways and cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of, refusing light and exalting themselves when warnings come. It was seen in men who caused trouble in the early church by holding wrong opinions they refused to give up, claiming infallible judgment and bringing strange confusing things and pleasing sophistries that injure the work, and the same conditions must be met today, so all must be on guard.
As part of 2 Peter 2:1-9 the verse shows the work of God's people, means everything to them, and must be understood and kept in view. It calls for heaven's light to understand the divine will, for circumspection instead of heedlessness, and for seeking heaven with all the heart. It calls for confessing mistakes, seeking to be overcomers, refusing the sayings and customs of the world, and living as a peculiar people who show forth praises of Him who called out of darkness into marvelous light. It calls for searching the Scriptures to know duty because they testify of Christ and give eternal life, and for coming into sacred relation to God so that by beholding Christ there is partaking of the divine nature and escape from corruption through lust, leaving no excuse for being found deficient at last.
God rescued righteous Lot out of Sodom while judgment fell on the wicked around him. He is called just and godly, yet his righteous soul was pained day after day by seeing and hearing lawless deeds, with vile talk in his ears and violence and crime he witnessed but was powerless to stop. His deliverance stands with God's past acts of justice, when He did not spare sinning angels but cast them into chains of darkness, did not spare the old world but sent the flood on the ungodly while saving Noah as a preacher of righteousness, and turned Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes as a warning to the ungodly to come. Though distressed, Lot had chosen Sodom for gain, left the altar and its daily worship, let his family mingle with a corrupt people, and so dulled his moral sense, weakened faith and judgment, and was saved at last as a brand from the fire, stripped of goods, bereaved of wife and children, and dwelling in caves with his life-work lost. The same vexing of the righteous by unholy works and talk is repeated when God's judgments go forth, when the humble and devoted mourn over iniquity they cannot stop, while separation from corrupting surroundings guards the heart and character.
Lot Vexed in Sodom
The verse calls Lot just and righteous, a godly man distressed by the filthy and corrupt conduct of the wicked around him. The same distress over wickedness is seen in Enoch, whose soul was vexed as he saw rebellion against God.
To be vexed means his righteous soul was troubled day after day by seeing and hearing unlawful deeds. Vile talk greeted his ears, and violence and crime met his eyes that he witnessed but was powerless to prevent.
He remained just because he kept the fear of God in his heart even after choosing Sodom for pleasure and profit. That choice took him away from Abraham's altar and its daily sacrifice to the living God, and he permitted his children to mingle with a corrupt and idolatrous people. He himself had no right to punish his sons-in-law, but God had the right to punish them in strict justice.
Remaining there dulled his moral sense and weakened his faith and judgment. Association with the wicked corrupted his family and left him reluctant to obey the warning to flee, so his distress did not shield him from harm. He was delivered at last as a brand plucked from the fire, yet stripped of possessions, bereaved of wife and children, dwelling in caves like wild beasts, covered with infamy in old age. Instead of giving to the world a race of righteous men he gave two idolatrous nations at enmity with God, with his children ruined, his life-work lost, and his life a sad failure.
God Delivers, God Judges
His rescue from Sodom stands as the proof that God pulls the godly out while judgment falls on the ungodly. He was just and righteous, distressed by the corrupt and wicked conduct around him, with his righteous soul troubled day after day by seeing and hearing unlawful deeds. That deliverance declares that the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust for punishment unto the day of judgment.
The verse is one link in a single chain of divine dealing. God did not spare angels when they sinned but cast them down into chains of darkness to be kept for judgment, and He did not spare the old world but brought the flood upon the ungodly while saving Noah the eighth person as a preacher of righteousness. He turned Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes as an example to those who would afterward live ungodly, and Lot's rescue belongs with that overthrow.
Their judgment was long prepared and their damnation does not sleep. Through covetousness, exploiters with deceptive words make gain of people. As He judged Sodom, He knows the many whose names are on the church books yet cherish sins resembling in vileness the sins of Sodom, and those who pollute themselves and others and have defiled the temple of God will be cut down. The judgments of God are long-delayed but none the less sure, and will soon fall.
Separation and Final Application
Wicked surroundings can trouble and even corrupt a person, so separation from worldly influences guards the heart and conscience, and Lot's deliverance while living among the wicked supports leaving a wicked place when its influence makes it hard to live out the truth and form a Christian character. Lot was righteous yet distressed by the wickedness around him, vexed in soul by what he saw and heard.
The same distress over wickedness is seen in Enoch, whose soul was vexed as he saw people defy God and trample His authority. He separated himself from the ungodly and their corrupting influence and unbelief because he feared it would weaken his reverence for God. He devoted time to reflection and prayer, seeking to know and do God's will.
Choosing a home for temporal advantage and worldly prosperity rather than for the moral and religious influences surrounding the family exposes children to temptation, unfavorable associations, lax morality, unbelief and indifference that counteract parental influence and lead youth into rebellion and alliance with the enemies of God. God would have moral and religious influences considered first in choosing a home, and where duty calls to trying positions He will enable watchfulness, prayer and trust in grace to stand uncorrupted. But voluntarily placing oneself in an atmosphere of worldliness and unbelief displeases God and drives holy angels from the home. Securing wealth and honor at the expense of eternal interests is a terrible loss, and true wisdom accepts less worldly prosperity in order to secure title to the immortal inheritance. Lot stands as a just man barely saved while his children were ruined, his life-work lost and his life a sad failure.
The experience of just Lot is repeated in the time when God's wrath goes forth in judgments. Then the righteous are humble, devoted followers distinguished by soul-anguish expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous, and being powerless to stop the torrent of iniquity they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn to see religion despised in homes that had great light, and lament pride, avarice, selfishness and deception in the church, while others throw a cloak over evil and excuse wickedness to obtain favor.
The surrounding passage belongs to one chain in which God did not spare sinning angels but cast them down into chains of darkness to be kept for judgment, did not spare the old world but brought the flood on the ungodly while saving Noah the eighth person as a preacher of righteousness, and turned Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes as an example to those who would afterward live ungodly. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust for punishment unto the day of judgment, while their judgment long prepared does not sleep and through covetousness exploiters with deceptive words make gain of people. This is fulfilled in those who secretly bring in destructive heresies, deny the Lord who bought them, draw many after destructive ways and cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of, refusing light and exalting themselves when warnings come. It was seen in men who caused trouble in the early church by holding wrong opinions they refused to give up, claiming infallible judgment and bringing strange confusing things and pleasing sophistries that injure the work, and the same conditions must be met today, so all must be on guard.
As part of 2 Peter 2:1-9 the verse shows the work of God's people, means everything to them, and must be understood and kept in view. It calls for heaven's light to understand the divine will, for circumspection instead of heedlessness, and for seeking heaven with all the heart. It calls for confessing mistakes, seeking to be overcomers, refusing the sayings and customs of the world, and living as a peculiar people who show forth praises of Him who called out of darkness into marvelous light. It calls for searching the Scriptures to know duty because they testify of Christ and give eternal life, and for coming into sacred relation to God so that by beholding Christ there is partaking of the divine nature and escape from corruption through lust, leaving no excuse for being found deficient at last.