Go Up to the Mountain — Don Wilkerson

Haggai and the Call to Rebuild the Temple

The minor prophets. Give you a little time to find between the two prophets that begin with a name Z, Zephaniah and Zechariah, you'll find a little book, a little prophet, a little message, a big prophet by the name of Haggai and turn with me to that first chapter and we're gonna read some verses out of the first chapter of the book of Haggai.

The first chapter and we begin to read, in the second year of Darius the king in the first day of the month, first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, the son of Shittil, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehoshadak, the high priest, saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, this people says the time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.

Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai, the prophet, saying, is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

You have so much to harvest little. You eat but there is not enough to be satisfied. You drink but there is not enough to become drunk. You put on clothing but no one is warm enough and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the mountains, bring wood, and rebuild the temple with it and be glorified, says the Lord. In that eighth verse is the title for my message tonight, go up to the mountain.

The Faithful Remnant After Babylonian Captivity

Go up. Now Haggai, I believe some of you here tonight, especially those of you that have been coming to our church on a regular basis, you know what we've been preaching here. You're going to appreciate Haggai.

You're going to appreciate the message and the challenge that he lays down here. He was a post-captivity prophet. His message and his ministry was to the remnant, the remnant of Israel who returned from captivity in Babylon to resettle back in the Jewish homeland and in Jerusalem.

And his message we will find is strikingly relevant for today because Haggai teaches us who and what is the remnant and what it means to have the heart of a remnant people and you've been hearing that word.

David talked about it Sunday night. Now as we read historically, and actually it was in the year 5B before Christ, there was an issue, there was a decree that went out allowing the Jews to find their captivity to return back to their beloved homeland.

However, all went back. Out of the many thousands that were taken into captivity, only a portion, in fact Ezra the second chapter uses a figure of 42 ,000. In addition there were some slaves and others and so perhaps there was a 50 ,000 that went back.

But the majority of them stayed in Babylon and in fact they stayed because they became accustomed to Babylon and the world and they assimilated into the Babylonian culture adopting its lifestyle and in the process they neglected the altar, they neglected their faith, they neglected their religious practices and so when they had opportunity to go back they didn't want to go back.

In fact in Psalms 137 it talks about the same period of time when they went into captivity. In fact if you want to turn to it, I'll turn to it very quickly, Psalms 137. It says by the rivers of Babylon there we sat down and wept, meaning when they were taken into captivity, and we wept when we remembered Zion.

Upon the willows in the midst of it we hung our harps. This is Psalms 137. For there our captors demanded of us songs and our tormentors mirth saying sing us one of the songs of Zion. You see the Jews were noted for their festive music.

They were noted by the known world. All the nations around them knew that the Jews, they loved to worship their God and so their captors said sing to us, sing to us and they said no how can we sing? Goes on, how can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?

But you see they should have kept singing. They should have kept singing. They should have kept a heart for God but they didn't and as a result spiritual erosion and decline and declension crept in, backsliding took place.

But when the decree was given that they could go back, a group small in number though they were, they went back and that number is called the remnant. The remnant therefore as you've been hearing again from this pulpit, the remnant represents those who do not give in and they do not give up in the face of widespread apostasy that's around them.

Look at verse 12 when the prophet Haggai gave them the message in verse 12 it says, then Zerubbabel the son of Shittil and Joshua the son of Jehoshaphat the high priest with all the remnant, there's the word, the remnant of the people, they obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet as the Lord their God had sent him and the people showed reverence to the Lord.

Really their reverence began when they left Babylon and there was no reason in the natural for this small band of believers to go back to Jerusalem and to that land and that city that had lost its former glory and majesty.

There was no reason to go back except that it was God's place and it contained the city where which he had promised that he would put his name and his presence. And so this faithful group, this faithful remnant of seekers made the long trek across dry desert sun scorched desert sands a trip of approximately four months.

The trip alone would have tested anybody's commitment and they returned to a ruined and desolate city. Now in making the decision to go back to Zion this band of righteous saints portrays what and who are the remnant.

They went back to Jerusalem because they had a heart for God and when I read to you in Ezra the second chapter that long list of names and numbers that's the people. That's the remnant and my friend I want you to know that God that that record is here but that record also is in heaven and my name is also on that same scroll hallelujah.

These are a type of serious minded saints. Now their priority have made Christ the spiritual and moral center of their lives. Now straight both separation and supplication. Separation on one hand they separated themselves from Babylon but then they also had separated themselves unto the Lord in supplication in submission and in devotion to him and when they came out from among the Babylonians they had to not only make that decision to sever themselves from the world but they had to make another decision that is also almost as difficult.

They had to separate themselves from their brothers. They had to separate themselves from the others who were Jews or Israelites in name but who were not willing to pay the price of remnant living. Go with me back to Ezra again if you quickly can go back to the book of Ezra because this is a parallel account to what Haggai is telling us and in the first chapter of Ezra it talks about this decree that was given as a fulfillment of what Jeremiah had prophesied that after the 70 years was complete that God would use an instrument.

The king would use an instrument in verse 2, thus says Cyrus king of Persia the Lord the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem which is in Judah.

Whoever there is among you of all his people may his God be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

But note verse 4, and every survivor, survivor or really it said what does it say in the King James? Whosoever remaineth at whatever place he may live let the man of that place support him, meaning him who is going, let him support him with silver and gold with goods and cattle together with a freewill offering for the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

Verse 5, then the heads of the father's household of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and the Levites arose. Every, even every one whose spirit God had stirred up to go, to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

In verse 6, and all those about them, encourage them, all those about them who were not going to go, those who were not going to go, encourage them with articles of silver, with gold, with goods and with cattle and valuables aside from all that was given as a freewill offering.

Now get the picture. Here's a small band, this minority that are going out and here's the whole majority of them all surrounding them and said go ahead, go ahead, it's alright, you go on with God and in fact we'll even support you.

We'll give you some of our goods, you go on with God, but they were not willing to pay the price. Do you know, I think many pastors realize this and some abuse this. Do you know that it's possible in any congregation to raise a lot of money?

It's easy to raise a lot of money. I'll tell you why. Because pastors, if they know it and they abuse this, there is an awful lot of guilt money in any congregation. The people who say I am not willing to pay the real price to go on with God.

I'm not willing to pray the heart, the heart price. I'm not willing to pay the devotional price. I'm not willing to pay the price of the true remnant and go on with God. But if you want to do it here, let me give you an offering and I'll support you.

Reminds me of a man who, there was a man like that in one church. He asked a pastor, he said if you said, he said pastor if I give a lot of money to your church do you think I'll get to heaven? And the pastor says I don't know but it's worth trying.

But it's really not funny is it? Because there's a lot of people that will give out of their pocketbook and a lot of it is guilt money because they know they're not willing to pay the spiritual price and so they try to compensate with it by a material price and this is exactly what happened.

And so the remnant of Israel, first they disassociated themselves from the iniquities of Babylon and then they had to make a decision that maybe some of you have gone through recently or some of you, let me tell you, if you're in it, some of you, if you keep coming here you're going to probably have to make a similar decision as well.

And whether you're going to pay the price to go on with God and walk in light of the truth of message that God is birthed in our heart and burdened for our heart out of this pulpit. And sometimes that's a difficult price, some are not willing to pay that.

Rebuke for Neglecting the House of God

But in spite of the remnant having returned to the land of promise, Haggai had to write a letter of rebuke to them. And this rebuke is contained in the message that bears his name, the book that bears his name.

And his is a strong word, a heavy word to a good people, a people of good intention, a people who had started in the right direction but hadn't completed it. Verse 2, look with me again in the first chapter, it says,.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, this people says the time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be built. And note the Lord refers to them as this people. Usually everywhere in the scripture he refers to them as my people.

But instead they are simply called this people and it shows the Lord's displeasure. They were doing something and we'll see exactly what it was that was a cause of the Lord's displeasure and the basis of Haggai's message.

And the reason for the Lord's displeasure and disappointment in the remnant is that they were neglecting the spiritual center of their lives by not rebuilding the house of the Lord. In verse 3 and 4 it says,.

And the word of the Lord came by the prophet saying, Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? You see the temple was always the focal point of their lives.

It was their meeting place with God and they neglected to make this the first priority of business when returning home. And they were acting as those who had no definite object or the wrong object before their eyes.

Now they were engaged in legitimate things. And the Lord understands we need a shelter. We need a roof over our head. The Lord understands the financial pressures that people are under and you've got to make a living.

But first we need a temple over our hearts. The remnant was not serving the devil at this point. They had come out of Babylon. They were a long way from Babylon. But they said this some other time for the most important part of their life and that was their prayer life, their worship life, and their devotion to God.

And so the prophet had two important things to say to such a people. But I'm going to cover here tonight. First of all he said take a look within yourselves at yourselves. Examine yourselves as to your primary interest and activities.

And then secondly he says look outside of yourselves at that which is the very source of your strength, your joy, and your blessing. And those are the two things I want to examine very quickly. First of all the Word of the Lord to the remnant is that they must take a spiritual inventory.

Look at verse 5. Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Now this has to do with self-examination. At looking within and at ourselves and considering our moral and spiritual conduct.

And consider your ways literally means set your heart upon your way. Take a good look at yourself. Self-judgment is a characteristic or practice of the true remnant. A characteristic that is virtually rejected by the popular preaching and teaching of today's self esteemers and self success promoters.

The Lord of hosts says consider your ways. And you see most Christian counseling, I shouldn't say most, much of Christian counseling today is centered more on who treated me. Who did this to me and who did that to me.

And listen there is a place for that kind of a revelation or that kind of a looking at your hurts. But my friend it has to begin, the emphasis has to begin on personal responsibility, personal repentance, and self-examination before the Lord.

I like the old the old to him, not my brother, not my sister, but it's me O Lord standing in the need of prayer. Lamentations says let us examine and probe our ways and let us return to the Lord. Another scripture that we read very often before the communion that a man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

2nd Corinthians 13 5 says test yourselves and see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves or do you not recognize this about yourself that Jesus Christ is in you unless you indeed fail the test. Now please follow me.

The Five Signs of Spiritual Decline

Let's go to the next verse, verse 6. There are five things that happened to the remnant because their ways displeased the Lord. Listen if you don't put, if Christ is not the center of your life, if you are not pursuing the things of God, he says this is what's going to happen to you.

This is the effect of backsliding or the effect of just spiritual coldness. Verse 6 breaks it down into five different things. First of all he said you have so much but you harvest little. In other words there's activity without acquiring anything.

You see these Jews were not a lazy bunch. They never are. They were doers. They were movers. They were shakers. They worked. They sweated. They labored to settle into the land that God had provided for them.

But their emphasis was in the wrong direction and they had little to show for what really counted in the eyes of the Lord. And the Lord says boy you're running around, you're doing a lot of things, you're very busy, but I don't see any fruit.

I don't see any results. Nothing much comes of your activity. You don't acquire anything of real value. He said you harvest little because you are neglecting my house. I've watched Christians and I've probably, I've watched more.

I give so many illustrations out of the Teen Challenge ministry because I've spent so much of my life there and working with young men. And I remember, I think of a young man tonight. If he was here, I'd put my arm around him and I'd just hug him.

And I think, I remember that brother. I remember him come into the center, went through Teen Challenge, graduated. After he graduated, he went into business. And one day I got a report about him. They said, Brother Don, in the natural, he's doing terrific.

He has his own business. He has his own home. He's very successful. He said he drives a $30 ,000, $35 ,000 automobile. But I knew that he wasn't serving the Lord. But I remember that young man. I remember when he came in off the street.

He didn't have two dimes to rub together. He was dirty. He was filthy. He had nothing. And Jesus picked him up. Jesus gave him a new mind. He gave him a whole new life. And he spent a year in our rehabilitation center, graduated.

And then he got so involved in earthly pursuits that he had no time for the Lord. And if I saw him today, he'd probably still tell me that he's successful. And he's sowing, but there's no harvest. There's no harvest.

But my friend, I know myself. I know what it's like. Even in the church, there's often is a frenzy of activity going on in the church. There's often even perceived results. But would the Lord say, in my judgment, there is not a true harvest, a spiritual harvest.

And I know what I'm talking about. I know what it's like to sow and sow and work and work, and nothing comes of it because it's all sown in the flesh, because God was not the center of it. And he goes on.

He said, you eat, but there's not enough to satisfy. Look at it. First he said, you sow much, but then you harvest little. And then he goes on. Next little phrase, you eat, but there is not enough to satisfy.

And this is talking about people who grow lean at the table. Listen, my friend. Never has there been more spiritual food made available to the body of Christ than today. There's more. You go to the bookstore.

My goodness, I don't go anymore. I can't afford it. There's just so much. There's so much. It's overwhelming. The tapes, the conferences, my goodness, that come across my desk. And yet with it all, spiritual malnutrition exists at the very same time.

Why? Because much of what is being eaten, it's simply, it's junk food. It's high on sugar, but it's low on proper nutrition. And junk food lasts about an hour, and then you're hungry again. And when you eat it, there's not enough truth in it to really satisfy.

You eat, but there's not enough to satisfy. And I'm speaking to some of you tonight. You're eating, but you're not satisfied. We used to hold some conferences for ministers and for Christians. In fact, we're gonna do it, I think, in the spring.

A special three-day conference, all-day conference, morning sessions, afternoon, evening sessions, a special concentration of a prophetic word conference. As you see, I'm not, we're not opposed to conferences.

And in one of them, one of the men came to me. In one of the sessions, Bob Phillips had spoken afternoon, first of the afternoon, and I followed him. And there was a break between it. And during the break, this pastor, he went out and he said, and he was struggling with a message.

He wasn't receiving anything from it. And he went out on the break, and he talked to his wife about it. And then he talked to the Lord. And he said, Lord, what's wrong? I just can't grasp it. Is there something wrong with the preacher?

What's the problem? And when he came back in for the next session, and before I began to speak, I just felt extemporaneously to say this. I said, I noticed that some of you are struggling with the message, with the Word.

And I said, I want you to know why you are. Because you've been eating it. When you been eating Big Macs most of your life, and all of a sudden something pure comes along, you think the problem is with the one who is serving it.

But if you just get off the junk food and the Big Macs, and this brother came in, he said, when you said that, he said, that was me. He said, I not only eat Big Macs, but I serve them. In my church, Timothy says, we ought to be nourished upon the words of faith and good doctrine.

And then next notice, it says you drink. I like this. It says you drink, but you, there's not enough even to become drunk. This describes the church crowd who always use the term balance to justify their lukewarmness.

You see, moderation is proper in the physical realm of eating. And balance is all right in relationship between time spent in devotion to the Lord and time spent in outreach service to the Lord. You know, we often talk about having a balance between prayer and devotion and reaching out to other people, and that word balance is all right there.

But you see, moderation or balance should not describe our thirst for God. The remnant were so busy in their personal pursuits that they had become, they had become religiously what some people are in their drinking habits.

That is, they become their social drinkers, their moderates. They make sure that they never get drunk. But when it comes to our spiritual thirst, a few religious drinks will not do it. Be not drunk with wine where is an excess, but be filled with the Spirit.

And note the Scripture does not say drunkenness is wrong. It says that it's the kind of thing that we drink that's wrong. And if you're going to drink, drink until you're full. If you're going to serve God, then serve Him with your foolish.

I've seen so many times some of our converts come in and get saved. Their parents refer them to us. And they get saved and they get filled with God and they go back to their parents. And they begin to rebuke their parents because they're moderate drinkers.

And their parents say, oh, you know, we want you to get saved, but don't get fanatical about this. I was at a meeting and there was a fellow who came to the altar. And God began to deal with him. He repented, laid down his sin.

And he started to get blessed. He started to get excited. He started to get drunk, as it were, in the Spirit. All excited. And it so happened that this church was one of those churches that took the Scripture from Corinthians that when there is to be manifestations, Paul said, let everything be done decently and in order.

And they would take, there's a lot of groups that take that Scripture to mean, you know, nothing should be done. And, you know, let everything be controlled. Let everything be quiet. Don't let there be freedom of worship and freedom of the gifts and so forth.

And they forget that Paul did say, Paul said, let everything be done. And when it's done, let it be proper. Let it be in order. And I noticed that this was this kind of congregation. And they were getting embarrassed that this gentleman here was so full of God.

And that he was drunk in the Spirit. And they started getting nervous. And so I came to the microphone and I said, now, I noticed that some of you are watching this fellow and you're wanting me to settle him down.

But I said, I'm not going to do it because it won't be long that he'll be sitting out there with the rest of you and you'll have him so dead and so dry. I want him to get all that he can right now. He says, you drink, but there's not enough to become drunk.

Then fourthly, he said, you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough. People who have been sold a bill of goods, they've been deceived by the message and the messenger that they're following. And they thought, the thought here relates to the kind of covering that we're putting over ourselves.

And truth, you see, is a covering. Paul speaks of truth as a girdle. And the people that Haggai was speaking to says that you're not following truth because you're not following me. You put on clothing, but no one is warm enough.

You're left out in the cold. And the truth that they were clothing themselves and left them cold and indifferent and lukewarm because they had clothing. Many people are clothing themselves in a cheap imitation clothing so that when the cold winter of tests and trials and tribulation comes along, they don't have what it takes to carry them through.

They get frostbitten. I ask you tonight, have some of you been buying into the wrong message? Are you following a teaching that looks good? It feels good. It has a popular label in it. But in fact, your heart and your soul is not being warmed by the presence of the Lord.

It's not going to hold up. It doesn't have a divine label in it. Isaiah 61 10 says, I will rejoice greatly in the Lord. My soul will exalt in my God for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.

He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland and as a bride decks herself with her jewels. We want to give you something here. We want you to go out warm.

We want to give you something that's gonna stand when the cold night of judgment comes along. And I want you, I want to skip along. I'll skip to the fifth thing here. It says, they earneth wages and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes.

Spiritual Inventory and the Remedy for Decline

But then let me go on. Note God's remedy for the spiritual decline and spiritual decay. In verse 7, Haggai returns to the main theme and the second time he says, consider your ways. And Haggai's repetition of this theme shows us the importance the Lord places upon this matter.

Now listen to me. The word ways here is an interesting word. It's a very important word. He says consider your ways because it refers to one's walk. It refers to our path. It refers to our behavior, our manner, our lot in life, our worship.

And thus it means that we're to consider the path of our conduct and measure it against He who is the way. In fact in the New Testament they were called the people of the way. And so Haggai is talking about the very essence of our walk with the Lord.

Consider your conduct. Is it righteous before God? Is it an example? Is it patterned after Jesus Christ the way? And it says if we're falling short, if we've got holes in our bag and the truth is not producing fruit in us, Haggai tells us how to correct this.

And this is where we come to verse 8. And this is the part that I'm challenged by again and again. And the Lord speaks to my heart and says go up to the mountain. This is the first step in rebuilding a spiritual temple is to go to that mountain.

Prayer, Intercession, and Going Up to the Mountain

Turn with me to Psalms 87 and 1. Psalms 87 and 1. It says his foundation is in the holy mountains. Now foundation means beginning or starting point. And when the remnant is told to go up to the mountain, it represents going to meet the Lord.

In other words, we should do nothing. We should build nothing. We should go nowhere until we've been to the mountain, the place of prayer and intercession before the Lord. That's what he's saying to them.

He said you're spending your time in these pursuits and if you continue on those things, even if you're not in the world, even if you're not in Babylon, but you're worried about yourself and your earthly pursuits, he said you're gonna, he said I have to rebuke you for that.

He said consider your ways and go to the mountain, the meeting place. He said this, my foundation is that this is basic. And my friend, it sounds so simple to say it, but let me say it. Most of our problems can be reduced to the fact that we have not sought the Lord.

Now I know that sometimes somebody can come to a Christian or can come to the pastor and say I've got this problem and we can flippantly say to them or pray about it and go on our way. But let me tell you, friend, I don't know any better advice that gives to somebody.

And I find that many people who come to us seeking advice, they have not been to the mountain. They have not been before God. I preached one night upon about reaching our unsaved loved ones. And a dear sister came to me after the meeting and sought counsel and she said, you know I've done this and I've done this.

And I asked her, I said, have you been interceding? And she said yes. And then she looked at me as if to say, well I've done all that now give me something else to do. I said, sister, I don't know anything else I can give you to do.

And I think this is where the church has gotten itself into problems, into trouble, is that we have not been to the mountain. We have not sought the face of God. And as a result, we go to look for counselors.

We go to this and we go to that for an answer when the answer is right there to go to the mountain and that meeting place with the Lord. See, mountains are a type of spiritual experience. We talk about mountaintop experiences as being a spiritual high, a place of blessing.

But let me tell you, my friend, any time, any place that we are seeking the face of the Lord, we are going up to the mountain. Listen to what Isaiah, listen to a few prophecies. Isaiah 30 and 29 says, you will have songs in the night when you keep the festival and gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute to go to the mount of the Lord, to the rock of Israel.

Here's another one, even those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable at my altar for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

Hallelujah. Go to Isaiah chapter 25 because here's a beautiful prophecy from Isaiah and the reason that we have to go to the mountain is because the cross is, Jesus is on the mountain and the cross is on the mountain.

Turn to Isaiah chapter 25. Oh, what a blessing this is. Isaiah chapter 25, beginning at verse six, here's a beautiful picture of the cross and we're coming to the communion table tonight depicting what Christ has done for us.

Isaiah 25 and six, and the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish, lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain and that banquet that he's talking about is the cross and the power of the cross that can break that homosexual habit, the power of the cross that can break that lesbian habit, the power of the cross, brother, that was here before, that can break that addiction problem in your life.

Hallelujah. And by the way, by the way, we've been talking, we've been praying about this. You know, we, we have the Teen Challenge Center. It's a residence center where some of the young men who come off the streets, they go and they live there.

But we're meeting so many people at this altar who have a life controlling habit. You've heard it. If any of you people, you've heard it tonight, you hear it night after night say, I got a habit. And yet these, some of these people are working people.

They got jobs. They can't go into a center. My friend, we're going to start an outpatient program. We're going to start a program for those in that kind of condition. And we're going to believe God that you can make it while you're yet working and make it by coming to the house of the Lord.

And we're going to bring you to the cross. Hallelujah. Because there is a lavish banquet table on the Mount of the Lord and it can deliver you and heal you. Hallelujah. And the Lord of hosts will prepare, will prepare.

He's done it. Here it was future, but it's already happened. Hallelujah. The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples on this mountain, a banquet of age wine, choice pieces with marrow and refined age so that you'll be full of the spirit on this mountain.

He will swallow up the covering, which is over all people, even the veil, which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time and the Lord shall wipe away tears away from all faces.

And he will remove the reproach of his people from all the earth for the Lord has spoken and he, and it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God for whom we have waited. Listen, some of you that came forward and you're going to come again.

I want to tell you, here's for you tonight. Behold, this is our God for whom you have waited that he might save you for the Lord for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation. Hallelujah.

That's why Haggai said, go up to the mountain because Jesus is on the mountain. Hallelujah. Go with me to Genesis chapter 19. Genesis chapter 19. I've got to close very quickly. Two more thoughts. I'm going to go a little bit longer because praise the Lord.

Lot, Sodom, and the Cost of Refusing the Mountain

Genesis chapter 19. This is when Sodom is burning and it came about, verse 17, Genesis 19. It came about when they had brought them outside that one said, escape for your life. Do not look behind you and do not stay anywhere in the valley.

Escape to the mountains. Escape to the mountains lest you be swept away. But Lot said to them, oh no, my Lords. Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight. If you're a loving God, you have magnified your loving kindness, which you have shown me by saving my life.