Grainger County news. (Rutledge, Tenn.) 1917-current, 1920-01-22

shall point out in the elaboration OF
our text.
To begin with, Lot made a worldly
choice. When the herdmen of Abra.
ham and Lot quarreled in Canaan,
Abraham gave Lot the choice Of the
land before them. Lot beheld the fer
tile plain of Jordan and chose it, but
we read these significant words The
men of SOdOm were wicked and sim
ners before the Lord exceedingly"
(Gen. 1919
After this fatal choice, he progressed
downward. First, he pitched his tent
toward Sodom' (Gen. Is :12) +; then he
dwells "in Sodom" (14:12); finally
he sits lin the gate of Sodom' C19:1),
apparently a magistrate in that wicked
city. The Christian who compromises
becomes more and more enmeshed In
sin.
Still, God warned Lot. Other eyes
than his could see the fertility of the
plain of Jordan about Sodom, and
hence we find several kings of the East
swooning down upon this section,
Among others, they took Lot captive.
together with his goods which he loved
so well, and he WIS delivered only
through the valor OF Abraham. How
ashamed he must have been when he
met his uncle, whom he had dealt with
so ungenerously in choosing the most
fertile section! But, even though he
may have been ashamed, he settled
down In Sodom again. God today
warns men of the insecurity of wealth.
and Of its uselessness in time of trial.
Alas that so few heed the warning!
The Unhappy Compromises.
And now we note the interesting fact
that Lot was unhappy. II Peter 2:7, 8
tells how he was vexed by the filthy
ways Of the men of Sodom, whose SIN
is proverbial. The same passage
speaks Of him as lust Lot" and that
righteous man. We should hardly
have dared to call him such, but here
Is clear evidence that he was a saved
man by the grace Of God. Indeed, 1t Is
! because he had divine life In his soul,
however weak, that the ways Of Sodom
vexed him No Christian is happy with
the wayssof the world with which he
1has compromised!
One Of the NEST pathetic Of all the
facts about L0tyis that he had no In
nuence for God in Sodom.. After ne
had lived there twenty years, God
could not find ten righteous men there.
in. Alas, they knew why he had come
amongst them and attached little IND
portance to any pi0us talk on his part.
1t Is always thus with eompromisers.
Worst of all, Lot lost his iniuense
over hts children, for when. be be-
sought them to fee from Sodom The
seemed as one that Knocked" (Geh
] 9:14).
Tote Losses.
Finally, az the result Of Lots WORLD
~ choice he lost all. He lost bis pos
sessions: In the overthrow Of the city,
all these things on which his heart was
set we're consumed. He lost his Wife:
lingering, because her heart was In
SodOm, she was overtaken by an erup'
ton of salty mud and encrusted. He
lost his children: hts married daugh-
ters we're probably destroyed In
Sodom, and his two single daughters
had better have died rather than eOm--
NIT their shameful deed d incest with,
their father. fsee Gen. 1917
How cheap do W. sell out to satan r
DR.. Il. Webb Peploe tells Of a girl
who was ensnared by O Jewel she
wore, an heirloom. She liked the adj
miration It brought her. Finally, feel
ing 1t was marring her communion
with Christ, she had It appraised.
After a sleepless night she went to the
jeweler who said: II am sorry to dis
appoint you, but 1t Is an imitation,
worth only a couple Of dollars" Yet
she had lost hours of communion with
Christ for It!