LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Plain and the Mountain
In Genesis chapter 19, the plain and the mountain alternate significantly, as symbols of judgment and salvation, respectively.
We know that when Abraham gave his nephew the choice of the land in which he wanted to live, Lot chose the plain of the Jordan, because it was all irrigated, like the garden of the Lord. So while Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, Lot dwelt in the plain, and pitched his tents as far as Sodom. So Sodom was a city settled in the plain.
When God decided to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the angels brought Lot out, and told him to escape to the mountain, but Lot begged to take refuge in Zoar, a small city that was also in the plain, and that was going to be destroyed. Because of Lot's request, the city was spared, and Lot took refuge in it.
The cities of the plain-Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim-and all their inhabitants were destroyed. The next day Abraham looked down from the mountain and saw smoke rising from the earth like the smoke of a furnace. When the danger was past, Lot went up from Zoar and dwelt in the mountain, for he found the plain of Zoar unsafe.
But just as the plain of Jordan is the object of God's judgments, so the mountain is the occasion of God's blessing. Jerusalem is raised up on Mount Zion, "which is not moved, but stands forever". The mountain is the place of the encounter with God, the place of transfiguration. From the mountain, the law goes forth and, from a mountain, the Lord taught his greatest sermon. Ezekiel and John saw from the mountain the holy city of God.
Those who truly know God have been on the mountain with him, and are with him every day. On the mountain the glory of God is seen, while on the plain the judgments of God are received.
When Abraham deviated from the perfect will of God, he "went down into Egypt", which is going down from the mountain to the plain. The Lord deliver us from going down into Egypt, for in the plain there is judgment. Abraham proved that, indeed, it is so.