And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. Genesis 13: 10-12, NKJV.
Dear God, We need to see with spiritual eyes what is really happening around us. Our physical eyesight very often will deceive us. As we study Your Word please open our eyes to our reality. This is our prayer in the Holy N ame of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our Scripture for today shows us just how wrong we can be about a lot of things, and how dangerous it is to be led by our senses. When Lot lifted his eyes and looked at Sodom and Gomorrah, it looked to him “like the Garden of Eden” (Henry Wright). But he could not have been more wrong! In the Garden of the LORD, what you saw was what was there! Not so with Sodom and Gomorrah. Almost as if in direct contradiction to that statement, comes the following: “But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD” (13). Things were not what they seemed.
The more I study the Word of God, the more I understand the extent of Jesus’ words, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17: 15). Remember the words of the LORD after our first parents sinned? “Then the LORD God said, ‘ “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil” ‘ ” (Genesis 3: 22a). Disguising evil is the work of the evil one – the great deceiver. He did it with Eve and he has been doing it ever since! He made her see the tree simply as, “a tree desirable to make one wise.” He did not explain what the “knowledge of evil” entailed.
Jesus said of him, “When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8: 44c). Every form of deception is a lie. Whether it be spoken, an optical illusion, a false sensation, a misleading scent, or a disguised taste. They are all the work of the Adversary. He not only makes us see what is not there; he also makes us act as who we are not. Our senses have become so distorted by sin, that we can no longer trust them. Jesus’ prayed that we would be protected (kept) from the deceitful influence of the devil.
Sad to say, he has not only invaded the world, but is also at work within the church. He has tampered with our spiritual senses as well! Listen to the words of the Spirit to the church in different eras:
” ‘ “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, . . . you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars” (Revelation 2: 1a, 2).
” ‘ “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, . . . I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (8a, 9).
” ‘ “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, . . . I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality” (12, 14).
” ‘ “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, . . . I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols” (18a, 20).
” ‘ “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, . . . ‘ “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” ‘ ” ‘ ” (3: 1).
” ‘ “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, . . . ‘ “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. . . . Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—” ‘ ” ‘ ” (14a, 15, 17).
Yes my friends, in the world, and unfortunately, in the church, there are those whose spiritual senses have become affected by the deceitfulness of the evil one. Many have “a form of godliness but [deny the] power” (2 Timothy 3: 5a). Therefore, things are not always what they seem.
The advice of the Spirit to the church represents the only viable solution to this dangerous problem: “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see” (18). Emphasis provided.
Only then can you and I be sure that what we see is what is really there.