Grace in the Aftermath of Sin
Text: Genesis 19:30-20:18
Core Idea: When we sin, God doesn’t abandon us – He pursues us with even greater intensity. Our God is a God who awakens the compromised, restrains the sinful, and preserves the faithless. Have you sinned today? Then, receive His grace. He may not erase every consequence, but He’ll transform you to be more like Christ.
INTRODUCTION
We’re going through the Book of Genesis – tracing how God’s plan of salvation began. And last week, we witnessed the destruction of Sodom as burning sulfur rained down from heaven. But the fire that fell wasn’t random or cruel – it was righteous since Sodom was found to be morally bankrupt, socially unjust, sexually perverted, and spiritually rebellious. Yet even in judgment, we saw God’s mercy as He sent angels to rescue Lot and his family before the flames consumed the city. Now, this wasn’t because Lot deserved it – far from it, for Lot was as compromised as the people around him. He never cried out for mercy – he didn’t even realize how close he was to destruction. But God saved him because He remembered Abraham and his prayers. This truth, personally, really stuck with me because it reminded me how powerful and important it is to stand in the gap for others – to intercede for those who can’t or won’t cry out to God for themselves. Abraham’s prayers became the means through which God extended mercy to Lot. And that should awaken in us the same burden: To keep praying for the lost, the hurting, and the hardened – trusting that in God’s perfect timing, our prayers may be the very reason someone is rescued tomorrow. Friends, let’s not stop praying. Let’s earnestly appeal to the mercy of God, even when you don’t see the results, knowing that God is always working behind the scenes – weaving grace into stories we can’t yet see.
Now, considering that Sodom has been judged, you might expect the story to end on a more hopeful note. Maybe Lot will finally start fresh. Maybe Abraham can now rest – confident in God’s promises. But that’s not what happens. The chapter doesn’t close with triumph – it closes with tragedy because sin doesn’t die easily. The destruction of Sodom may have removed the wicked from the land, but it didn’t remove sin from the human heart. The fire burned the city, but it couldn’t burn away the corruption within us. And that’s what this passage will show us: That sin is not only “out there” in Sodom – it’s “in here,” within the hearts of even those who have been shown mercy. So, with that in mind, please turn your Bibles to Genesis 19:30-20:18 – let me read this for us.
19:30 Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. 31 One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children – as is the custom all over the earth. 32 Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” 33 That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. 34 The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. 36 So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. 20:1 Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her. 3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.” 4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “LORD, will You destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all who belong to you will die.” 8 Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelek called Abraham in and said, “What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done.” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham, “What was your reason for doing this?” 11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14 Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelek said, “My land is before you; live wherever you like.” 16 To Sarah he said, “I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.” 17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the LORD had kept all the women in Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
Let me share three things from this passage – three ways God responds to our sin:
· THE AWAKENING MERCY OF GOD
· THE RESTRAINING GRACE OF GOD
· THE PERSEVERING FAITHFULNESS OF GOD
1) THE AWAKENING MERCY OF GOD
After the destruction of Sodom, verse 30 tells us that Lot left Zoar and lived in a cave because he was afraid. This is interesting because earlier, Lot was the one who begged to go to Zoar, as it seemed safer than the mountains. So, what changed? What was he scared of? The text doesn’t tell us explicitly, but we can speculate that it was because he feared Zoar might also be destroyed like Sodom. Seeing the smoke rise from the valley, he must have realized how close Zoar was to the blast zone – and he couldn’t rest. “What if Zoar is next? What if God changes His mind and judgment spreads?” But his fear actually revealed something deeper: The fact that he still wasn’t trusting God’s word. God had already promised that Zoar would be spared – and yet Lot couldn’t rest in that Word. He didn’t believe that the same God who saved him could continue to sustain him. So, rather than living by faith in God’s protection, he lived by sight and went into the mountains. Now, before we go further, let’s trace Lot’s journey because we see a slow spiritual drift. In Chapter 13, he was with Abraham – sharing in God’s blessings. But when the land could no longer support both of them, instead of seeking God’s guidance, Lot chose for himself the land near Sodom – land that looked good to the eye but was deadly to the soul, considering that Sodom was already known for its wickedness. By Chapter 14, he was living in Sodom. And by Chapter 19, he was sitting at the city gate, which was a position of influence and respect – implying that he most likely had become a respected figure within Sodom. Every step of compromise seemed small – but each one moved him deeper into a culture that normalized sin. J.J. Davis writes, “The story of Lot and his family should provide a sobering reminder that all our decisions are significant – even that of where we live. Our moral environment significantly influences our lives. For this and many other reasons, the New Testament constantly implores the believer to fellowship with those of like precious faith.” And that’s exactly what happened to Lot’s family. The values of Sodom didn’t just shape him – they seeped into the hearts of his wife and daughters as well. So, his wife longed for Sodom, and his daughters learned from it.
Then, let’s take a closer look at what happened in the cave. Verse 31 – the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children – as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.” And that’s exactly what they did. On two consecutive nights, they got their father drunk, committed incest, and each gave birth to a son – Moab and Ben-Ammi, the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites. The key phrase here is, “as is the custom all over the earth.” They weren’t acting out of impulse but imitation. They were following the moral logic of Sodom – reasoning that if something was common, it must be acceptable. They measured right and wrong not by God’s Word, but by what was normal around them. Sadly, isn’t that the same reasoning we often use today? In dating, people say, “Everyone lives together before getting married – it’s almost expected because they can figure out their compatibility.” In parenting, we say, “Faith can wait because school and sports matter more right now.” And without realizing it, we teach our children that God can be replaced when life gets busy. In the workplace, we say, “It’s just office gossip – it’s how people connect.” So, we compromise integrity for advancement. In what we consume, we say, “That’s just the kind of content that’s out there – you can’t avoid it.” So, we watch without discernment. Even in church, people say, “We shouldn’t talk about sin too much. It’ll make people uncomfortable.” So, we measure success by popularity rather than faithfulness. Now, what do all these have in common? It’s that, slowly, what is customary replaces what is holy – what’s popular becomes more persuasive than what’s true. But James 4:4 says, “Friendship with the world means enmity against God.” When we start measuring our choices by culture instead of Christ, we walk the same path as Lot’s daughters – doing what seems reasonable while drifting from what’s righteous. Then, let me ask you: Where have you started to justify disobedience simply because everyone else does it? Brothers and sisters, remember that compromise rarely looks dangerous at first because we tell ourselves we can always turn around – because we think we can resist when a greater temptation comes. But slowly, our hearts will grow numb until we begin to rationalize what we once rejected. Lot didn’t intend to ruin his family, but he underestimated sin’s power to shape them. Then, friends, are there small compromises in your life that are quietly shaping your heart or your family? Cut them off at the root. Don’t take them lightly.
Now, God’s response to Lot wasn’t to strike him down but to let him feel the consequences of his own choices. By allowing Lot’s daughters to act as they did, God was holding up a mirror to Lot’s life – showing him what his decisions had produced. The values he once tolerated had now taken root in his own family. And yet this wasn’t God being cruel but merciful because this was His way of allowing Lot to feel the weight of his sin so that he might finally repent. Now, the text doesn’t tell us whether Lot ever repented, but the NT gives us a clue. In 2 Peter 2:7, Lot is called “a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless” – which implies that he must have turned back to God at some point, as grace found him again. That should encourage us because many of us have been there – living with the painful fallout of our own compromise and watching our sin affect the lives of those we love. But even then, God’s purpose is not destruction – it’s restoration. This may be difficult to hear, but sometimes the most merciful thing God can do is to let us taste the consequences of our sin – not to crush us but to renew us. For example, God may allow a relationship built on compromise to collapse before we experience a greater fall. In marriage, He may allow tension to expose our pride and selfishness – forcing us to face our sins. In parenting, He may let us see our own flaws reflected in our children (our impatience, dishonesty, or anger) so that we repent. In the workplace, He may let our pursuit of success lead to emptiness so that we see nothing can fill the hole, which only Christ can satisfy. These moments are painful, but they’re purposeful – they’re expressions of God’s kindness to wake us up when nothing else will. Hebrews 12:6, “The Lord disciplines the one He loves.” Then, let me ask you: “Could it be that what feels like punishment in your life right now is actually mercy? Could it be that God is calling you to repent through the very thing that hurts?” That’s exactly what happened to Lot. God didn’t abandon him, but He let him face the painful ripple effects of his compromise so that he might finally see where sin leads. Yet even here, grace would shine again. From those two sons born in shame came two nations – Moab and Ammon. But centuries later, from Moab would come Ruth – the woman of faith who became the great-grandmother of King David. And from Ammon would come Naamah – the wife of Solomon and mother of Rehoboam. In other words, both the Moabite and Ammonite lines were woven into the genealogy of Jesus Himself. What began in sin ended in salvation. Yes, the consequences of compromise are real and painful – but they’re never beyond the reach of grace.
2) THE RESTRAINING GRACE OF GOD
Chapter 20 opens with Abraham moving south toward the desert near Egypt. That detail matters because the last time he went that direction in Chapter 12, he lied about Sarah being his sister. Now, 25 years later, he fell into the same sin again. Verse 2, “There Abraham said of his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’” Out of fear, he hid the truth again – and Abimelek took Sarah into his household. Different place, but same fear and same sin. This is important to point out because it shows that even mature believers can fall back into old sins. Now, what makes this even more shocking is that Abraham had already seen God’s faithfulness again and again in his life. God had protected him in Egypt, rescued Lot, and delivered him in battles. So, you would think that by now he’d trust God’s sovereignty more than his own strategy. But fear can make even the strongest believer forget grace. And that’s what happened here – Abraham feared for his safety more than he trusted God’s sovereignty. And like before, he justified himself with half-truths – he said in verse 12, “Besides, she really is my sister.” Yes, what he said was technically true – but a half-truth used to deceive is still a lie. And this one was especially dangerous because Sarah was the woman through whom the promised child was to come. Then, Abraham’s lie didn’t just endanger his marriage. It also jeopardized the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise.
Now, we’ll come back to Abraham in our next point, but look who steps in. Verse 3, “But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, ‘You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.’” Abraham stayed quiet when Sarah was taken away – but God spoke before any harm was done against her. Abraham endangered the promise – but God protected it. But here’s what’s interesting. God didn’t have to warn Abimelek – He could’ve just punished him but before Abimelek could touch Sarah, God intervened and spoke to him. Why? Something we must remember is that God’s goal is not to bless Abraham and his family only. It has always been the case that He wanted to bless Abraham so that he would be a blessing to the nations – which means that God’s grace is not limited to the Israelites but is available to all, including Abimelek. Then, listen to what God said in verse 6, “I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man’s wife.” What we see here is God’s restraining grace – grace that prevents sin from running its full course. God doesn’t only forgive sin after it happens – sometimes He graciously stops it before it happens. Think about your own life. How many times has God stepped in to protect you from yourself – from speaking in anger and saying words you could never take back, from entering a relationship that would’ve ruined your faith, from taking a job that promised more money but would’ve suffocated your soul, from saying yes to an unethical deal that would’ve compromised your integrity, from buying something you couldn’t afford that would’ve enslaved you to debt, from chasing success at the cost of your family, from giving in to temptation when no one was watching, from making a decision out of fear instead of faith, from responding impulsively when He wanted you to be still, from doubting His goodness when life didn’t go your way? We may call those things disappointments or coincidences, but according to God, they’re called mercy, for what feels like frustration to us may actually be protection from God. God’s grace doesn’t just rescue us after we fall – it often keeps us from falling in the first place.
Now, notice the contrast. Abimelek, a pagan king, acted with more integrity than Abraham, the man of faith – verse 8, “Early the next morning Abimelek summoned all his officials and told them all that had happened.” He obeyed God immediately, confessed publicly, and made things right with grace – in that he sent Abraham and Sarah away with great wealth. And when Abraham prayed for Abimelek, God healed him and all the women in his household so that they could have children again. Abimelek didn’t see God’s warning as a threat but as a gift – and because he listened, he found mercy. Brothers and sisters, I pray that you’ll learn to thank God for the doors He closes. That rejection, that delay, that uneasy conviction might just be the Spirit keeping you from doing something you’ll regret – doing something you could never undo. And who knows? One day, you’ll look back and realize that some of God’s greatest blessings were the sins He never let you commit.
3) THE PERSEVERING FAITHFULNESS OF GOD
Verse 9 – Abimelek called Abraham and basically said, “What were you thinking? Why would you deceive me like that? Did I do something to deserve this? You almost brought judgment on my entire household, all because you didn’t trust me with the truth! You, the man of God, endangered everyone because of your fear!” Now, you would expect Abraham to fall on his knees and confess. But he began making excuses – verse 11, “Honestly, I got scared because I thought there was no fear of God in this place and that someone might kill me for Sarah. And technically, I wasn’t lying – she really is my half-sister.” Isn’t that ironic? Abraham assumed that there was no fear of God there – and yet he was the one acting as if there were no fear of God. More than that, how tragic is that he feared losing his life more than losing his integrity – asking Sarah, his wife, to protect him by lying instead of offering himself to do whatever it takes to protect her? What’s even more shocking is that this wasn’t new. He had done the exact same thing 25 years earlier in Egypt. It’s as if he had learned nothing. But isn’t that the nature of sin? It doesn’t vanish with time – it hides, waits, and reappears in moments of weakness. Maybe you’ve felt that before – that discouraging moment when you sin and say to yourself, “I thought I was past this.” It’s really humbling – and yet, that’s part of the Christian life. Sanctification isn’t a straight climb upward – it’s a long and uneven road where we stumble forward by grace. All of us know what it’s like to wrestle with recurring sins – the patterns that keep showing up in different ways. Maybe for you, it’s anger that flares up when you feel disrespected. Maybe it’s discontentment as you compare your life to others. Maybe it’s bitterness – the resentment that builds up when someone else is blessed while you’re still waiting. Maybe it’s greed – the desire for just “a little more” that blinds you to what you already have. Maybe it’s comfort – the subtle idol that keeps you from taking risks for God’s kingdom. Maybe it’s busyness – filling your life with noise so you don’t have to face what’s going on inside. Whatever form it takes, we’re not strangers to the ongoing war with indwelling sin. Andy Naselli said, “Don’t expect this struggle to get any easier as you mature in your faith. The war against indwelling sin grows only stronger. This is because your knowledge about God’s will in Scripture usually increases at a faster pace than you can put that knowledge into practice. And that gap between knowledge and obedience grows as the years go on.” This means maturity doesn’t make us immune to sin – it simply makes us more aware of how much we need grace. Then, let me ask you: “What recurring temptation are you battling today? And what are you doing to oppose it? Are you cutting off the sources that feed it? Are you feeding your soul with the Word of God? Are you inviting others to help you in the battle?” J.I. Packer said, “The church is a hospital in which nobody is completely well, and anyone can relapse at any time.” This is why we need one another – to remind each other that we’re not alone but that we fight together. Sin thrives in secrecy but dies in community.
Now, yes, Abraham sinned again, but his failure couldn’t cancel God’s faithfulness. We know this because the very next chapter opens with the birth of Isaac – the long-awaited son of promise. If Abimelek had disobeyed and kept Sarah for himself, the covenant line would’ve been compromised. In fact, if Abimelek hadn’t publicly declared Sarah’s innocence, people might have questioned whether Abraham was truly Isaac’s father. All that to say, there were countless threats to the promises of God – and yet, God preserved it perfectly. Abraham’s faithlessness couldn’t undo God’s faithfulness because God’s promises rested not on Abraham’s performance but on His own unchanging character. Now, doesn’t that sound just like the gospel? Our salvation doesn’t rest on our faithfulness but on Christ’s. Paul says in Philippians 1:6, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” So, if you feel crushed by guilt or weary from repeated sins, look at Abraham. God didn’t give up on him – and for the same reason, He won’t give up on you. Psalm 37:24 says, “Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand.” In other words, even when you fall, you’ll fall into His grace. He will never give up on us, for on the cross, Jesus bore the consequence of every compromise, absorbed the wrath our sins deserve, and secured the faithfulness that we could never sustain. The God who awakened Lot, restrained Abimelek, and preserved Abraham has revealed Himself fully in Christ. Paul says in Romans 5:20, “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” That’s not just the theme of this passage – it’s the theme of our lives as well. Yes, God disciplines – but not to reject us. He disciplines to restore us – to make us more fit for His Kingdom. Then, friends, what we learn from this story is that God is not finished with us – He’ll continue to work in and through us because His love for us knows no end. Then, what will you do with the grace God offers in the aftermath of your sin? Will you harden your heart and hide? Or will you turn and trust the God who rescues, restrains, and restores?
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, when we sin, God doesn’t abandon us – He pursues us with even greater intensity. Our God is a God who awakens the compromised, restrains the sinful, and preserves the faithless. Have you sinned today? Then, receive His grace. He may not erase every consequence, but He’ll transform you to be more like Christ.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Lot’s daughters said they acted “as is the custom all over the earth.” What are some examples of how today’s culture normalizes what God calls sin? How have you personally felt that pressure to conform?
2) God sometimes allows us to feel the consequences of our choices to lead us to repentance. Can you recall a time when what felt like pain or loss was actually God’s mercy to wake you up?
3) Have you ever experienced what you later realized was God’s restraining grace – a closed door, a delay, or an interruption that protected you from falling hard?
4) Abraham’s failure couldn’t undo God’s promise. What does that reveal about the nature of grace – and how does it speak to someone who feels disqualified by past sin?