THE ANGELS VISIT LOT part 1

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The preceding chapter was a picture of blessed Christian fellowship with God. But now the picture changes: We leave Hebron on the plains of Mamre where Abraham dwells and we go to the city of Sodom where Lot dwells.

In this chapter Lot leaves Sodom with his wife and two daughters, and Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. Lot’s wife turns to a pillar of salt, and then we have Lot’s awful sin with his two daughters.

In chapter 19 we have a picture of that which is “the blasted life.” Don’t forget that this man Lot happens to be a righteous man. It is hard to believe that; if I had only this record in Genesis, I wouldn’t believe it.

But Simon Peter, in his epistle, says of Lot, “. . . that righteous man . . . vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds” (2 Pet. 2:8).

Lot lived in Sodom, but he never was happy there. It was a tragic day for him when he moved to Sodom, because he lost his family—he lost all of them if you look at the total picture. It is tragic.

There are many men today who may be saved men, but due to their life style or where they live, they may lose their family, their influence, and their testimony.

Chapter 19 is one of the most dramatic and shocking chapters in Genesis—which is saying something! The events recorded here reveal the utter wickedness of the people of Sodom.

They display God’s grace to Abraham in rescuing Lot and his family. They show God’s readiness and ability to judge the sins of humanity. And, these verses display the lasting consequences of sin in the hearts of Lot and his daughters.

In the prior chapter, God humors Abraham by discussing the conditions which Sodom must meet in order to avoid destruction. While God has no need to justify His actions to anyone, this conversation is permitted for our benefit.

By allowing Abraham to set a standard for God’s justice, which Sodom abjectly fails, chapter 18 leaves no doubt that the fate of Sodom is unquestionably deserved.

In this chapter, two angels come to Sodom to destroy the city. These seem to be the same angels who had been speaking with Abraham in chapter 18.

Lot greets them at the gates to the city and insists they stay in his house for the night. Based on what happens in the next few verses, Lot likely knows that travelling strangers will not be safe in the streets.

Even inside Lot’s home, however, these strangers are not out of harm’s way. The men of the city surround Lot’s house and demand the “men” be sent out so the mob “may know them.”

The text is clear—both in terms of language, interpretation, and context—that a crowd of men from Sodom has gathered to homosexually rape these two strangers.

 

Genesis 19:1-7 KJV

[1] And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

[2] And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

[3] And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

[4] But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

[5] And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

[6] And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

[7] And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

 

 

Genesis 19:1 KJV

And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

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Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. I cannot let that go by without calling attention to the fact that the ones who sat in the gate of a city were the judges. This man Lot not only moved to Sodom, but he also got into politics down there.

Here he is, a petty judge sitting in the gate. In the previous chapter, the Lord revealed to Abraham that He was going to investigate the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The outcry about their grave sins had reached Him.

God, of course, was not literally “investigating” in order to find out something He did not know. Rather, this language and the conversation which followed were meant to show how justified God’s wrath was against Sodom.

The implication was that judgment was coming to these cities for their wickedness. Abraham had pushed back. His nephew Lot and his family lived in the city. The Lord assured Abraham that if as many as ten righteous people were to be found in Sodom, no judgment would fall.

Now the two angels who were with the Lord in the previous chapter arrive at Sodom. When last we saw them, they were walking away from the Lord and Abraham and toward the city.

The distance from Abraham’s home at Mamre, near Hebron, to Sodom was at least 20 miles. Either the angels were arriving on the following evening or, possibly, they had transported themselves to the city supernaturally.

They are still disguised in human form. As was the case when they appeared to Abraham, it is not clear when Lot realizes these two men are supernatural beings. In any case, the culture of the day required for good citizens to show great hospitality to travelers.

Lot does so now, bowing low before them to welcome them to Sodom. Lot’s actions on behalf of these visitors, here and in the next verses, reflect this cultural view of care for visitors.

The gate of a city is often where the elders and leaders of a town would gather to discuss the issues of the day and provide wisdom and guidance.

Though Lot is an immigrant to this region, his seat in the city gate and his welcoming of these visitors shows that he clearly holds a place of importance in Sodom.

This speaks volumes about Lot’s relationship to the culture he chose to live in—those who openly challenged the sins of Sodom would not have been respected enough to sit at the city gate.

 

Genesis 19:2 KJV

And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

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These two men must have had dirty feet. Of course, if you had walked from the plains of Mamre down into Sodom wearing nothing but sandals, your feet would need washing, also.

Again, I call your attention to this custom of that day which was practiced by those who extended hospitality to strangers. Lot was a hospitable man. When these strangers came, he invited them to his home, and they came in.

At first, however, they were reluctant. “And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.” In other words, they said, “We’ll just stay outside. We don’t want to inconvenience you.” And they said this for a purpose, of course.

Two angels disguised as men have arrived in Sodom. Lot, sitting at the gate of the city as a leader and elder of the town, has welcomed them. He probably doesn’t yet know that these are angels sent to investigate the sins of the city’s people in preparation for God’s judgment.

What Lot does seem to know is that two men, arriving in the city late in the day, are not safe out in the open. In this and the following verse, Lot will urge them to come to his home for the night and to leave early in the morning.

He is offering his hospitality, as demanded by the culture of the time. At the same time, though he does not say so, Lot is also offering his protection from the violent men of his own city.

The angels initially reject his offer, claiming they will simply spend the night in the town square. In an era before large-scale hotels, inns, or other accommodations, it would not have been unusual for travelers to sleep in a public area for a night as they passed through a town.

As messengers of God, the angels were not concerned for their own safety. Rather, they seem to be testing Lot to see how hard he would try to protect two unsuspecting “men” from the wickedness of his town.

 

Genesis 19:3 KJV

And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.

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Now these men have another feast. They had a feast with Abraham; they now have a feast with Lot. They had brought out something when they said, “We’ll stay on the street and just sleep in the park,” and Lot says to them, “You don’t do that in Sodom.

It’s dangerous! Your life wouldn’t be worth a thing if you did that.” May I say that maybe Los Angeles ought to change its name to Sodom.

It would not be safe for you to sleep on the streets of Los Angeles; in fact, it is not safe at all to be on the streets of Los Angeles at night. Many women who live alone will not come out to church at night.

The days of Sodom and Gomorrah are here again, and practically for the same reason. Lot says, “No, men, do not stay on the street. It wouldn’t be safe for you.” When he “pressed upon them,” they came in.

After welcoming two strangers to Sodom, Lot had offered to let them stay in his home for the night before they traveled on the next morning.

Not only was he demonstrating the warm hospitality of good people in his culture, he was also hoping to protect these two from the violent men of his town. As will become clear, two newcomers alone and unprotected at night were not safe in Sodom.

Lot likely still does not realize that these two are angels. He definitely does not know they’ve been sent from God to investigate—actually, to confirm—the wickedness of the city in preparation for God’s judgment on it.

Lot certainly knows that strangers sleeping out in the open in Sodom are in serious danger.

Lot won’t take their initial “no” for an answer to his offer to stay with him. He “presses them strongly,” implying that Lot begs, pleads, and argues to convince them to stay in his home instead.

They eventually agree and, as Abraham had done for them in the previous chapter, Lot makes for them a feast. Unleavened bread was likely included because it could be made more quickly.

The question is sometimes asked: do angels in human form eat food? For the second time in the book of Genesis, we witness these angels eating, receiving the generous hospitality of both Abraham and Lot.

Another frequent question is whether angels still appear on the earth in human form.

The writer of Hebrews, in the New Testament, encourages Christians to continue to offer hospitality to strangers, remarking that by doing so some have entertained angels without ever knowing it (Hebrews 13:2).

 

Genesis 19:4 KJV

But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

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This is a sickening scene which reveals the degradation of this city—the city of Sodom. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, has welcomed two traveling strangers into his home in Sodom for the night.

He has prepared for them a feast and has given them a place to stay. He doesn’t seem to know, yet, that these men are angels disguised in human form, and he can’t know that they’ve been sent from God to investigate the sins of the city in preparation for God’s judgment.

After they’ve eaten and before they’ve gone to bed, the sins of the men of the city now become evident. Lot desperately argued with the angels to keep them from spending the night in the town square.

By offering them his home for the night, and encouraging them to leave early, Lot seems to be trying to keep their presence a secret from the predators of the city. This attempt fails, as all of the men of Sodom gather at Lot’s house and surround the place.

The men spell out their evil intentions clearly in the following verses. The text is careful to note that every man in the city of every age is involved in this attempted crime.

This is a crucial fact, since the Lord had assured Abraham that the city would not be destroyed if ten righteous people were found there (Genesis 18:32). It’s now clear that number won’t be reached—Sodom is completely and totally corrupt.

 

Genesis 19:5 KJV

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

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The name that has been put on this sin from that day to this is sodomy. Apparently there was no attempt made in the city of Sodom to have a church for this crowd and to tell them that they were all right in spite of the fact that they practiced this thing.

May I say to you that the Word of God is specific on this, and you cannot tone it down. Sodomy is an awful sin. When this man Lot had gone down into the city of Sodom, he did not realize what kind of city it was—I’m sure of that.

He got down there and found out that perversion was the order of the day, and he brought up his children, his sons and daughters, in that atmosphere.

When he earlier had pitched his tent toward Sodom, he had looked down there and had seen the lovely streets and boulevards and parks and public buildings. And he had seen the folk as they were on the outside, but he had not seen what they really were.

The sin of this city is so great that God is now going to judge it. God is going to destroy the city. Let’s draw a sharp line here. There is a new attitude toward sin today. There is a gray area where sin is not really as black as we once thought it was.

The church has compromised until it is pitiful. The idea today seems to be that you can become a child of God and continue on in sin. God says that is impossible—you cannot do that, and this city of Sodom is an example of that fact.

Paul asks the question: “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

And the answer is “God forbid,” or, Let it not be (see Rom. 6:1–2). The idea that you can be a Christian and go on in sin is a tremendous mistake, especially to make light of it, as I judge is being done in this particular case.

This is what they were doing in Sodom and Gomorrah—and God destroyed these cities. Don’t say that we have a primitive view of God in Genesis but that we have a better one today.

Don’t argue that, after all, Jesus received sinners. He sure did, but when He got through with them, He had changed them. The harlot who came to Him was no longer in that business. When she came to God, she changed.

That is the thing that happened to other sinners. A publican came to Him, and he left the seat of customs. He gave up that which was crooked when he came to the Lord. If you have come to Christ, you will be changed.

My fellow Christians, we are living in a new day, but it just happens to be Sodom and Gomorrah all over again. Every single man in the city of Sodom has gathered and surrounded Lot’s house.

They know he has welcomed two travelers into his home. The men of Sodom don’t know these strangers are angels disguised in human form, sent from God to confirm the sins of Sodom in preparation for God’s judgment.

The men of Sodom demonstrate their wickedness in the most grotesque and obvious way possible. They demand for Lot to send the strangers out, so they may “know” them. This language is a commonly-used Hebrew euphemism for sex.

Despite absurd claims to the contrary, the “knowledge” sought here is not curiosity or friendliness. Lot’s reaction, shown in the next two verses, proves this: he will beg the men not to “act so wickedly.”

The violent and angry response of this same crowd proves the point even further. The context of this passage makes the situation absolutely clear: the men of Sodom want Lot to turn his guests over for sexual purposes.

 

Genesis 19:6 KJV

And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

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The men of Sodom were outside the door, asking that these guests in the home of Lot be turned over to them. The prior verse demonstrated why Lot was so insistent that these two travelers stay in his home for the night instead of sleeping in the city square.

Lot’s offer of hospitality and an early departure was meant to protect these travelers from the depraved men of his city. Lot even suggested the men leave early, probably to keep their very presence a secret (Genesis 19:2).

Unfortunately, the men of Sodom realize they have visitors, and they surround Lot’s house, demanding that Lot release the men to the mob in order to be gang raped (Genesis 19:5).

Assuming Lot does not know yet that these men are angels in disguise, Lot demonstrates a considerable form of bravery in this verse. When the men of the city demand that he turn over the strangers so they can gang rape them, Lot actually goes out to them.

Even more, he goes out and closes the door to his house behind him, cutting off his own escape from this violent mob. His pleas in the next verse are courageous, given that they’re delivered to a warped crowd of would-be-rapists.

 

Genesis 19:7 KJV

And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

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Lot said, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.” That is the way Lot looked at it, and he had been down there in Sodom a long time. It wasn’t new morality to him; it was just old sin.

Lot is attempting to save two traveling strangers staying with him from a violent mob of men who have surrounded his house. These men—all the young and old men of Sodom—are intent on gang raping the visitors.

Lot does not yet seem to know these two visitors are actually angels disguised as humans, nor that they have come to investigate Sodom’s sins in preparation for God’s judgment on the city.

Still, the culture of the day demands that good men protect those to whom they have offered shelter. In fact, Lot’s motive from the start seems to have been to protect these strangers.

Lot has gone out of his house to address the mob, closing the door behind him. He begins by calling them brothers, acknowledging his relationship with them as a leader of their town.

He begs them not to do such a wicked thing, which removes all doubt about the meaning of the crowd’s demand in verse 5. Next he will offer them a terrible alternative.

 

THE ANGELS VISIT LOT part 2

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These two angels visit Lot in Sodom to announce judgment. Lot pleads with them. He offers them his virgin daughters instead. Whether this is a symbolic gesture of middle-eastern hospitality, or an actual solution being proposed by Lot, the men of Sodom will not relent.

 

Genesis 19:8-16 KJV

[8] Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

[9] And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

[10] But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

[11] And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

[12] And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

[13] For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

[14] And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

[15] And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

[16] And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

 

Genesis 19:8 KJV

Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

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When a man entertained a guest in that day, he was responsible for him. Lot was willing to make this kind of sacrifice to protect his guests! The text does not explicitly say if Lot knows that the two men he is protecting are actually angels in human disguise.

Based on his protective treatment of them, it’s safe to assume Lot does not yet realize he is sheltering creatures who fear no human being.

On the other hand, if Lot does think these are holy visitors sent from God, it might help us to comprehend the baffling suggestion he makes in this verse.

After begging the violent, corrupted men of his city not to follow through on their threat to rape his guests, Lot offers them his own virgin daughters to do with as they will, as an alternative.

Suddenly, Lot doesn’t seem to be such a righteous man. Even assuming that Lot is speaking in the typical, overstated style of ancient middle-eastern hospitality, this seems to be a ghastly suggestion.

Maybe Lot is simply trying to demonstrate how evil the mob’s demands are. Perhaps, if Lot really believes the men he is sheltering are messengers of God, he fears such an act will bring down immediate annihilation from God.

Then again, it must be said that this offer is consistent with Lot’s character. Lot has remained “righteous” in the sense that he is not participating in the wickedness that every other man in his city embraces.

He seems to be a kind, generous, and hospitable man. However, Lot hasn’t moved his family away from the wicked influences of Sodom. For whatever reason, wealthy Lot has continued to make the choice, year after year, to raise his family there.

In a sense, as the leader of his home, he has been sacrificing his family to the influence of Sodom for quite some time, fully of aware of the depths of depravity all around them.

As we’ll see in the following verses, Lot is even preparing to marry his daughters to a couple of the wicked men of the city.

So, while the idea that Lot would offer his daughters seems appalling, Lot has already, in some sense, given his family over to the Sodomite culture.

 

Genesis 19:9 KJV

And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.

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“And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: . . .” You see, Lot was advancing in the political arena there.

In every age, those who stand for what is right in the path of those who would do evil, even imperfectly, risk becoming a target of wrath themselves.

Lot has done all he can to protect two travelers staying with him from the men of his city who want to attack and rape them. He has even offered his own two virgin daughters in trade.

Whether this offer was made in earnest, or simply as a way of exaggerating the evil the men of Sodom planned to commit, it’s a disturbing turn in the story.

Now the men of Sodom make it clear they will not be turned away. In fact, they are offended by Lot’s moralizing. How dare an immigrant judge their moral choices by telling them what they can and cannot do to strangers!

Enraged, the mob moves in on Lot, threatening to do worse than they had planned for the two visitors, which was rape (Genesis 19:5–7). The crowd of men from Sodom attempts to break his door down to get to the two strangers inside Lot’s house.

Fortunately for Lot and his family, the men inside his house are not mere men. Their actions demonstrate God’s grace, contrasting with Abraham’s fears in chapter 18. God will rescue Lot, and his family, despite their foolishness.

 

Genesis 19:10 KJV

But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

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The angels (Moses is still calling them men) open the door, reach out and drag Lot back in, shutting the door after him. In spite of Lot’s questionable efforts to manage the rapacious mob surrounding his house, they refuse to be turned away.

Lot has attempted to protect two travelers, who are actually angels in human form. Lot’s fears that these two will not be safe overnight on the streets of Sodom are well justified.

As soon as the city discovers there are visitors, a crowd of men arrive at Lot’s house and demand he send out the strangers so they can be raped.

Lot refused this, and instead went outside in an attempt to reason with the men. Their reaction to his interference is to threaten to do even worse to Lot.

As the men of Sodom move to get to Lot and break down his door, the angels inside the house grab Lot, pull him inside, and shut the door. They have saved his life for the moment, and they aren’t done saving him.

 

Genesis 19:11 KJV

And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

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If Lot’s guests had not done this, both they and Lot would have been destroyed, because that was the intention of the men of Sodom.

Finally, these strangers from out of town, these two travelers, reveal their true nature as angels by using the power of God to control a crowd of men intent on breaking down Lot’s door to get at them.

Neither Lot nor those in the crowd could have known that the angels had come to investigate the sins of the city in preparation for God’s judgment against it.

The angels allowed the men to fully demonstrate their wickedness right up to the moment in which they would have hurt Lot and his family. Lot knew that travelers would not be safe out in the open in Sodom, and attempted to keep the men safely in his own home overnight.

Unfortunately, the men of Sodom arrived and demanded the strangers be handed over for rape. Lot’s attempts to discourage them failed, resulting in even more aggression.

In the prior chapter, God used human language to speak of “investigating” the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. He also humored Abraham’s attempt to plead for the righteous who might be living in Sodom. At this moment, all of these threads come together.

The purpose of the “investigation” is not for God’s benefit, but for ours. Seeing the reaction of the men of Sodom, the angels have provided all the evidence necessary to show that God’s impending judgment is warranted.

The angels first pulled Lot back inside the door to keep him from the mob. Here, they supernaturally blind all of the men who are about to break that door down. Perhaps they did so with a blast of powerful light.

Suddenly without sight, the men outside could no longer find the door. Interestingly, the text says the men were still so intent on their sin that they “wore themselves out groping for the door.”

This crowd is so energized by rage and perversion that even when blinded, they will not stop.

Regardless, the danger from the mob to those inside the house has been averted for the moment. A greater danger is coming, however, and the angels will quickly address this with Lot and his family.

 

Genesis 19:12 KJV

And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

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Lot is in a very bad situation. He had spent years down in the city of Sodom. He had learned to tolerate this sort of thing, although he calls it wickedness.

He had seen his sons and daughters grow up, and they apparently had married among people with those ethical standards. The angels have subdued the violent and rapacious mob seeking to break Lot’s door down.

Now they turn to Lot and those safe inside the house for the moment. The question asked by the two angels reveals that a greater danger is coming.

They ask Lot if there is anyone else in town beside his wife and two daughters that he would hope to get out of the place. They list possibilities: sons, daughters, sons-in-law, anyone at all.

There may be two levels to this question. On the one hand, as the following verse will reveal, God is about to destroy the city (Genesis 19:24–25). The point of the question is an offer of safety: the angels seek to rescue anyone attached to Lot.

At the same time, the Lord had promised Abraham He would not destroy the city if as few as ten righteous people could be found (Genesis 18:32). Lot, his wife, and his two daughters make four, at the most.

In the following verses, Lot’s attempt to find anyone else to come with him will make it abundantly clear that not even ten righteous people were to be found in Sodom. Both God’s justice and His mercy would be satisfied.

No righteous people would be swept away with the wicked.

 

Genesis 19:13 KJV

For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.

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When the time came that Lot got this word from the Lord to leave the city. Finally, the two angels disguised as humans reveal their full mission to Lot and his family. They have been sent by the Lord, who intends to destroy Sodom (Genesis 19:24–25).

Later verses credit the action to God, while the angels here use the expression “we” when referring to Sodom’s impending ruin.

This might refer to the combined actions of God and His messengers, much the same way a player on a team might say “we will…” when discussing an activity.

Or, it might mean that God’s destruction will be accomplished through the agency of these same angels. Either way, their role is to move forward God’s plans for Sodom’s judgment.

With this statement, the outcry against Sodom’s people has reached the Lord, in every conceivable sense. The time of judgment has come. The angels will give Lot one last chance to grab any relatives or friends and take them with him.

God’s justice against Sodom will be satisfied, but in His mercy these angels will rescue all who are with Lot, Abraham’s nephew.

 

Genesis 19:14 KJV

And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

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Lot went to his sons-in-law and said, “Let’s get out of here. God is going to destroy this city.” They laughed at him. They ridiculed him. I suppose they knew that the week before Lot had invested a little money in real estate there.

He had lived so long as one of them, without any real difference, that they took his warning as a big joke. This man was out of the will of God in this place, and he had no witness for God. He did not win anybody for the Lord in this city.

The same principle is true today: when you go down to their level, my friend, you do not win them. I think that that is being clearly demonstrated in this hour.

Frankly, I would agree with Abraham that this man Lot wasn’t saved, but remember what Peter said: “And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an en-sample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds)” (2 Pet. 2:6–8).

Given the opportunity by the angels to warn any of those close to him to flee the city before God’s judgment came, Lot steps outside again.

Given how recently an angry mob had been trying to break down his door, Lot is taking another risk. He is willing to risk his own life if he might save others.

This verse tells us that Lot does indeed have two sons-in-law, men from Sodom who are engaged to marry his two virgin daughters.

Awkwardly, prior verses suggest they were not morally upright men, since verse 4 indicated that every man in the city was in the mob surrounding Lot’s house.

This would suggest that Lot’s own prospective sons-in-law were part of a crowd demanding he send the two strangers out for them to have sex with.

Lot’s choice to live as the only righteous man in Sodom meant the only men available to marry his daughters were themselves wicked.

Still, Lot considers these men family. He urgently warns them to leave this city God is about to destroy. They decide Lot must be joking. It’s possible they assumed Lot’s experience with the mob had given him a moment of insanity.

Or, they had gotten into the habit of ignoring Lot’s opinion on spiritual issues. They will soon learn he is neither crazy, nor being playful.

 

Genesis 19:15 KJV

And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

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I tell you, Lot never enjoyed it down there in Sodom. Now that he is going to leave the city, he cannot get anyone to leave with him except his wife and two single daughters. During the prior night, two angels disguised as men had arrived in Sodom.

Lot offered to protect them in his house, knowing they would not be safe in the streets overnight. A mob arrived at Lot’s home, demanding these strangers be sent out so they could be raped.

When this same crowd attacked Lot for interfering, the strangers pull Lot back into the house and supernaturally blind the attackers. They warn Lot to go and call anyone else he wishes to save from death to leave Sodom immediately.

Lot does so, but nobody listens.

Here, a long night in Sodom finally comes to an end. It will be the last night before God’s judgment rains down on the city.

The angels make clear to Lot and his family that the time has come for the four of them to go to avoid being swept away in the punishment of the city.

The language used here is the same that Abraham used when asking the Lord if He would sweep the righteous away with the wicked.

The Lord had assured Abraham that He would not destroy the city if He found ten righteous people. He did not—the city of Sodom is completely and utterly depraved.

Still, the Lord will be merciful to “righteous Lot” (2 Peter 2:7) and his family, likely because of God’s covenant promises to bless Abraham and all those with him.

 

Genesis 19:16 KJV

And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

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Here is a man who was God’s man in spite of everything. If I only had the Book of Genesis, I am not sure I would believe that Lot was saved, but since Peter calls him a righteous man, we know that he was.

Lot had become righteous because he had followed Abraham—he believed God, and he had offered the sacrifices. God extends mercy unto Lot, and he now believes God and gets out of the city.

Lot lingers. Even with a mob out to destroy him and those with him, Lot lingers. Even with powerful angels telling him to run to escape the wrath of God, Lot lingers.

Why?

We’re not told, but lingering seems to be what has gotten Lot into this danger in the first place. He could have taken his family and left Sodom long ago, but he stayed. He waited.

The wickedness grew worse and worse all around him, and he just didn’t leave. Even in these last moments before judgment fell, Lot finds it difficult to force himself to leave behind the evil place he called home.

The angels, however, will not wait any longer. They grab all four members of Lot’s family by the hand and seemingly drag them outside of the city to a safe distance.

Why do they force Lot to go?

We’re told it’s because the Lord is merciful.

In the previous chapter, Abraham had raised the question of God’s character when it came to judging the righteous and the wicked. This chapter clearly reveals God’s mercy toward Lot and, by extension, Abraham, even in the face of such rebellious wickedness nearby.

That mercy even includes dragging a man like Lot by the hand, quite literally, in order to rescue him despite his own foolish actions.

 

THE ANGELS VISIT LOT part 3

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The angels intervene and physically remove Lot and his family from the city. They give clear instructions to run for the hills and not look back. Lot says no, and they allow him to go to Zoar instead.

Then God’s judgment falls in the form of sulfur and fire. God destroys Sodom, Gomorrah, the region around it, all the people, and all the vegetation. Lot’s wife disobeys, looks back, and is turned into a pillar of salt.

Lot and his two daughters have been spared, but they have lost everything. The following morning, Abraham sees the smoke rising from all the land of the valley as from a furnace. Everything has been utterly destroyed.

Though they are safe in Zoar, Lot is afraid to stay there. He takes his daughters and runs for the hills, settling in a cave. It’s unclear why Lot didn’t run to the household of his uncle Abraham.

In one of Scripture’s most tragic embarrassments, Lot’s daughters decide they have lost all hope of ever being married or having children. They take matters into their own hands.

Reflecting the all-but-nonexistent morality of the Sodomite culture in which they were raised, they get their father blindly drunk on two consecutive nights, each having sex with him in his stupor.

Both daughters become pregnant, and the resulting sons become the fathers of the Moabite and Ammonite peoples, respectively. Lot’s story, so far as the Bible is concerned, ends here, in ruin, shame, and humiliation.

 

Genesis 19:17-25 KJV

[17] And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

[18] And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

[19] Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

[20] Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

[21] And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

[22] Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

[23] The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

[24] Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

[25] And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

 

Genesis 19:17 KJV

And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

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The kindly interest the angels took in the preservation of Lot is beautifully displayed. But he “lingered.” This is the charitable way of accounting for a delay that would have been fatal but for the friendly urgency of the angel.

Was it from sorrow at the prospect of losing all his property, the acquisition of many years?

Or was it that his benevolent heart was paralyzed by thoughts of the awful crisis?

God had predicted His judgment on Sodom, which is so morally corrupt that there are not even ten people in the city who do not participate in horrific depravity (Genesis 18:32; Genesis 19:4–5).

In an act of mercy, God sends two angels disguised as men to rescue Abraham’s nephew, Lot, along with his wife and two daughters.

Despite all Lot’s family has seen and heard, the angels still have to physically drag the family outside the blast zone that Sodom will become.

The angels’ instructions here are for Lot and his family to run to the nearby hills, to not look back, and to not stop anywhere in the valley. Lot and his family are to keep going until they reach the hills so they won’t be caught up in the catastrophe which is coming.

These orders are direct, yet motivated by God’s mercy and compassion. As we’ll see in the following verses, however, Lot still looks for ways to avoid accepting what He is told.

 

Genesis 19:18 KJV

And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:

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Even Lot didn’t want to leave. He would get out of the city, but he couldn’t make it to the mountain. In the previous verses, two angels have forcibly removed Lot and his family from Sodom to save them from God’s impending judgment on the city.

As predicted by God, there are not even ten righteous people left in the entire city, and Lot and his family have recently been rescued from a mob intent on raping their travelling guests.

These strangers, the angels sent by God, then told Lot and his family directly, to run for the hills to save their own lives. They are not to look back, not to stop in the valley, or else they’ll be swept away with the citizens of Sodom.

Now Lot responds by complaining and criticizing the angels’ plan. For whatever reason, Lot does not think he can make it to the hills, and will instead ask to stop in a smaller town outside of Sodom, called Zoar.

Lot continues come across as less and less likable and grateful. Still, the Lord will continue to be more and more merciful to him.

 

Genesis 19:19 KJV

Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

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What a strange want of faith and fortitude, as if He who had interfered for his rescue would not have protected Lot in the mountain solitude.

God’s promised judgment is coming on Sodom, which is so morally depraved that there are not even ten people in the city who don’t participate in abject evil (Genesis 18:32).

In the previous verses, the angels sent from God to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah have physically moved Lot and his family outside of town.

Despite all they have seen and heard, this involves the angels literally taking Lot and his family by the hand and dragging them away from danger. The angels then tell the family to flee to a safe place in the nearby hills.

Amazingly, instead of obeying, Lot complains and offers an alternative plan. His objection seems to be that he does not believe that he and his family will make it to the hills in time before the judgment comes.

He’ll suggest an alternative in the following verse.

It’s a bold request with the ring of ingratitude, insolence, and lack of faith in the Lord who just saved them. Lot himself seems to recognize this.

He admits he has found favor in the Lord’s sight and that the Lord has been kind in saving his life. Still, Lot asks for more favor. Perhaps surprisingly, God will grant his request.

 

Genesis 19:20 KJV

Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.

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This city was a little place called Zoar, and that is where Lot went. You see, this man came out of Sodom, but he did not come clean even out of there. And, of course, he got into a great deal of trouble at that particular time.

Over the last few hours, the Lord has shown great mercy to Lot and his family.

The angels have saved them from an angry and rapacious mob in Sodom, have physically removed them from the doomed city, and have now told them to run for the hills without stopping to save their very lives.

At every step along the way, these angels have acted with extraordinary grace and patience with Lot and his family.

Despite all of this, Lot rejects their commands to run into the hills. He apparently does not believe they will make it in time. Now Lot asks if the Lord would maybe allow them to flee to a small city nearby.

This is not only a request that he seek shelter in a closer place, but it also implies God withholding judgment on that tiny town, as well. The implication in the request is that this little village was likely going to be destroyed if Sodom was annihilated.

Lot has been saved, along with his family, from the judgment of God on a wicked city which he called home for many years. This makes Lot’s request seem extremely bold.

Abraham had asked the Lord to spare Sodom if as many as ten righteous people could be found—which, as it turned out, was more than Sodom could muster.

Lot asks God not to destroy this presumably wicked but much smaller city, simply so he and his family can shelter there.

Neither the Lord nor the angels rebuke Lot for this request, as we’ll see in the following verse.

 

Genesis 19:21 KJV

And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

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His request was granted him, the prayer of faith availed, and to convince him, from his own experience, that it would have been best and safest at once to follow implicitly the divine directions.

Lot has literally been dragged, by the hand, out of the depraved city of Sodom as God’s destruction looms near. This was accomplished by two angels, appearing as men.

In the previous verse, Lot has refused the command of the angels for him and his family to run for the hills without stopping in order to escape God’s judgment on Sodom.

Instead, Lot asked if he and his family might shelter in a much smaller town nearby, if the Lord would be willing not to destroy that little town.

Instead of rebuking Lot for his ingratitude or insisting on judging this little town, which for all intents and purposes was a part of the Sodom and Gomorrah cultures, the Lord simply agrees.

He continues to show Lot great favor both in saving his life and granting his requests, apparently in keeping with His covenant promises to bless his uncle Abraham.

 

Genesis 19:22 KJV

Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

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The ruin of Sodom was suspended till he was secure. What care God does take of His people (Revelation 7:3)! What a proof of the love which God bore to a good though weak man!

The Lord has granted Lot’s request not to destroy a small city nearby so that Lot and his family can flee to it and escape God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. This is quite a generous allowance.

Lot is so entrenched in Sodom that he has to be dragged, by the hand, out of the city by two angels. These are the same angels who initially told Lot and his family to run directly for the hills, in order to be completely out of the disaster zone.

When Lot asks to flee only to a nearby town, his request is graciously accepted.

There is still a sense of urgency at play, however. Lot and his family must hurry.

The Lord will not allow the judgment to begin until the family arrives at the town that will now be called Zoar, which comes from a word that means “to be small.” This town was formerly known by the name Bela (Genesis 14:8).

 

Genesis 19:23 KJV

The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

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Dawn was approaching when the angels urged Lot to leave Sodom. Now the sun is shinning full and bright as Lot enters his city of refuge, Zoar.

The Lord’s judgment is coming on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah—actually, upon the entire region occupied by these two depraved cultures.

Prior to this, and for the sake of our own understanding, God even allowed Abraham to set the limit of Sodom’s rescue: 10 righteous people. This, despite being such a low standard, is a test this culture could not pass.

Lot and his family were living in Sodom, but God has mercifully removed them, allowing them now to escape what is coming by hiding out in the small, nearby city of Zoar. In fact, the Lord has agreed not to destroy Zoar for their sake.

In the previous verse, it was made clear to Lot that the judgment would not begin until his family reached Zoar. Now they have arrived, sometime after sunrise.

Just as the family makes it to safety, God enacts one of his most spectacular instances of earthly wrath. In a moment symbolic of God’s ultimate defeat of sin and evil, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be annihilated in a rain of fire.

 

Genesis 19:24 KJV

Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;

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God, in accomplishing His purposes, acts immediately or mediately through the agency of means; and there are strong grounds for believing that it was in the latter way He effected the overthrow of the cities of the plain – that it was, in fact, by a volcanic eruption.

The raining down of fire and brimstone from heaven is perfectly accordant with this idea since those very substances, being raised into the air by the force of the volcano, would fall in a fiery shower on the surrounding region.

This view seems countenanced by Job [Job 1:16; Job 18:15 ].

Whether it was miraculously produced, or the natural operation employed by God, it is not of much consequence to determine: it was a divine judgment, foretold and designed for the punishment of those who were sinners exceedingly.

Finally the Lord’s judgment falls on Sodom and Gomorrah. By the literal words of this verse the Lord Himself rains sulfur and fire on these cities “out of heaven.”

There’s no question that Genesis means to communicate that this fire and brimstone came directly from the Lord as His judgment against the people of these cities for their grave sins.

While the angels in the prior passages spoke of their role in destroying the city, those seem to have been “team” accounts, with the angels speaking as part of God’s planned process for this event.

Human nature often balks at God’s wrath. This, as it turns out, is why God went through the very process we see in Genesis; God proves in no uncertain terms that His wrath is justified.

The sins of these cultures have been ongoing (Genesis 13:13), and well-known (Genesis 14:22–23). God even allowed Abraham to set his own conditions for Sodom’s rescue—an incredibly weak standard which the culture failed to meet (Genesis 18:32).

What were the crimes of these people that made them worthy of destruction?

The most obvious answer is found in this very chapter, as every man in the city gathered to homosexually rape two strangers in town (Genesis 19:5–7). Indeed, the modern word “sodomize” comes from its association with this ancient doomed city.

Ezekiel 16:49–50 goes beyond the obvious, though, in listing the other, additional crimes which made Sodom worthy of God’s wrath: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.”

We must not fail to recognize God’s indignation with Sodom’s lack of care for the poor, her pride and arrogance, her gluttony and sloth, along with the homosexual immorality she became famous for.

And we must not forget that, as was the case with Lot, we all depend on the grace of God to save us from His own wrath, through our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:1–10).

In Scripture, fire and sulfur are associated with God’s judgment on earth (Psalm 11:6; Ezekiel 38:22), as well as with His eternal judgment in hell (Revelation 21:8).

Peter, specifically, references God’s judgment on Sodom as an example of God’s readiness and ability to judge the ungodly and to rescue the righteous (2 Peter 2:6–10).

To this day, apparently, sulfurous fumes populate this area around the Dead Sea, along with deposits of asphalt. While we don’t know for sure that those are directly tied to this divine act of punishment from the Lord, the symbolism is powerful.

 

Genesis 19:25 KJV

And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.

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More than the two cities were destroyed. The Lord’s rain of sulfur and fire wasn’t limited to the city limits of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sins of the people were not a matter of geography, but of culture.

God’s intent here is not to merely condemn some specific city, but a specific approach to God’s revealed truth. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah completely rejected God’s character in their sin.

So, He overthrew those cities, as well as the surrounding valley. He destroyed all the people in that region, along with all of the vegetation.

Today, the Dead Sea plain continues to be barren and desolate. It wasn’t always that way.

When Lot chose to settle there, the “Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord…this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah” (Genesis 13:10).

God’s judgment for the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah was complete and lasting, a reminder for generations to come that God will hold humans accountable for their sinful choices.

 

 

I hope that you have really enjoyed this post,

 

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