Genesis 19:1-14

God Sends Angels to Destroy Sodom and Gomorrah

2 And he said, "Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant's house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square."

3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter;

5 and they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them."

6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,

7 and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly.

8 "Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof."

9 But they said, "Stand aside." Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them." So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door.

10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

12 Then the two men said to Lot, "Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place;

13 for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

14 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, "Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city " But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting.

Pending Doom of Sodom and Gomorrah

The homosexual men in Sodom who wanted Lot to hand over the strangers is just one example of how low the people of the city had sunk into sin. Even Lot, who offered to hand over his two daughters seemed oblivious to the sins within.

Why Lot's Daughters?

In all fairness to Lot, it is not clear as to why he offered his daughters to protect the two angels. The laws of hospitality in the Hebrew community were strong and stated that a man protect strangers in the house no matter what the cost. Either way, the wickedness of these two cities were such that God chose to destroy them.

Ten Righteous People of Sodom

As we discussed in the last lesson where Abraham pleads for Sodom, God offered to spare the city if ten righteous men were found there in His dealings with Abraham. So, we now know that ten could not be found as the angels were there to carry out the execution.

Are We Like Lot?

According to this study, Lot was a respected member of the town, possibly a high ranking man, and had lived among Sodom's people for so long that he had become complacent about their sin. Much like today, he had begun to "blend in" with the sinners of the day as so many Christians do today.

How about us? Are we "believable" Christians? Do we stand out as defenders of the truth or do we blend in to the community around us, so much so that people of the world cannot tell the difference by our action, or lack of it?

What Does Jesus Say about "Blending"

Jesus says, paraphrasing, that we are to be in the world but not of the world. This means we should be set apart and live the example Christ has set for us. I know, I know! - easy to say, difficult to do. But, we can at least make an effort not to be like Lot, can't we?

Love in Christ

- Bob

Genesis 16:1-16 - Sarai Gives Hagar to Abram - Ishmael is Born