12 Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else do you have here? A son-in-law and your sons and daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; 13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the Lord is destroying the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be joking.

Genesis 19:12-14 (NASB)

Search and rescue

The two angels demonstrated grace and love to Lot. They instructed him to tell all his relatives and “whomever you have in the city” – which could have been slaves, maybe even friends – of the coming destruction. Suddenly Lot is thrown into the position of Noah with much less notification; the destruction would happen within 24 hours!

We notice that the angels seem to not know who Lot’s relatives are; their instructions were to, I assume, find anyone he cares about. For example, they didn’t mention his wife but they did mention his daughters; they mention sons but Lot had no sons. The only people we’re told that Lot appealed to were his two sons-in-law. 

The sky is falling

Remember the children’s story of Chicken Little and “The Sky if Falling”? Lot ran to his sons-in-law and pleaded with them to heed the warning and leave the city before destruction came. Imagine what they were thinking. Probably what the people in Noah’s day did – “You’re crazy. You’ve gotta be joking. Life is great here and I feel safe.” “This was the clear effect of Lot’s life of compromise. When he spoke with utmost seriousness to his sons-in-law about the judgment of God, they did not believe him.” (enduringword.com)

RЯeflection

• You and I are all in a similar situation as Lot. We are living in this world that is decaying and doomed for destruction. Each person has a limited lease of life which will end at any point in destruction, in eternal separation from God and punishment for sin. Are we searching for them and telling them what’s about to happen? Do we do it with a sense of urgency – not knowing how much longer any person has on this earth?
• We may wonder if the sin in any city today can become so great that God would send a supernatural (or natural) disaster to wipe it out. But be certain, God is sending judgment.