We will begin in Genesis 19:1 “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;”
Genesis 19:2 “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.”
One thing we need to note right here, is that even today, perverted sex
of any kind is called sodomy (taken from Sodom). In this passage above, they
were spoken of as angels. I believe these were heavenly messengers sent of
God. Lot must have realized they were messengers. Lot wanted to get them
safely in his home and out of town, before evil came their way. When lot
called them lords, it was not capitalized meaning they were not the Lord.
They were sent to see if the evil was as bad as had been reported, so they
wanted to stay out in the street.
Genesis 19:3 “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.”
I believe in this unleavened bread that Lot fed them, he was saying, I
am free of sin. “Leaven” means sin.
Genesis 19:4 “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:” Genesis 19:5 “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.”
You see, this city was so evil and perverted that they participated in
group sex. God was showing these two angels that all of this city was
involved in this lasciviousness, except perhaps, Lot’s immediate family.
This “know”, in the verse above, meant participation in an abominable act
with them. Male rape, if you will believe it.
Genesis 19:6 “And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door
after him,” Genesis 19:7 “And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so
wickedly.” Genesis 19:8 “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.”
Why Lot had not moved out of this evil city before now, baffles me. He
knew how perverted they were. I really believe the reason Lot offered his
daughters to these men in this Scripture was to show that sex sin between a
man and woman (even though it is very bad) is not as bad as it is between
two men.
God calls it an abomination. I believe that is very mild word for what
it is truly. Just the fact that these girls were still virgins, showed just
how perverted this city really was. Lot called these evil men brethren,
which means a pretty bad thing. He was either overlooking their sins and
fellowshipping with them or he was involved himself. Either way, it was
terrible. For a dad to offer his daughters to this evil bunch didn’t speak
too highly of Lot.
Genesis 19:9 “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.”
These men filled with lust would not listen to Lot. They even called
him an outsider. One sin leads to another. They were about to break and
enter Lot’s home to get the men.
Genesis 19:10 “But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into
the house to them, and shut to the door.” Genesis 19:11 “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.”
The men, spoken of here, were the angels who pulled Lot into the house.
Just as punishment has fallen today on people who commit this terrible sin,
God punished these with blindness.
Just as people today involved in this sin are not turning from their
sins, neither did these men of Sodom. Lot’s big mistake was in staying in
this evil place. Separate yourself from people who are involved in this
evil.
Genesis 19:12 “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:” Genesis 19:13 “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.”
Sudden destruction was to fall on this city. God would not put up with
this sin. These angels had orders form God to call down fire from heaven.
These angels were warning Lot and his family to get out.
Genesis 19:14 “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.”
His sons-in-law had reprobate minds. They were so caught up in these
sins themselves, that they had never slept with their wives. (They were
virgins). They did not know God, so why would they believe a warning from
God? When this city of men was struck blind, it was not only physical
blindness, but spiritual, too.
Genesis 19:15 “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.” Genesis 19:16 “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.”
I cannot believe that Lot and his family were slow to leave, and had to
be led away from this evil city by these two angels. The girls went without
their husbands. They were better off without them, if they were caught up in
homosexuality. I do not find where Lot had made a stand for God in this
city; the Lord showed mercy to him probably because of Abraham, and also,
because he befriended the angels.
Genesis 19:17 “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.”
Lot and his family had to leave their home and their belongings, but
they should have been very thankful to get out with their lives. In fact,
the destruction was to be so widespread, that they were to run to the
mountain for safety. The angel warned them not to look back.
Genesis 19:18 “And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:”
Genesis 19:19 “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:” Genesis 19:20 “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.”
This was a prayer of Lot to the Lord. Can you even believe that Lot
would question God on this? He realized God had been merciful, but still
wanted to alter the plans that God had made for his safety. It seemed, Lot
did not want to live in the country where you have to work with your hands,
he was a city dweller. Let’s read on, and see if the Lord answered his
prayer.
Genesis 19:21 “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.” Genesis 19:22 “Haste thee, escape thither; for I
cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the
city was called Zoar.”
God answered Lot’s prayer. It seemed this city, as well, had been set
for destruction, but the Lord spared it for lot to dwell in. The name
“Zoar” means little. The angel told him to hurry, so that he could carry out
the destruction.
Genesis 19:23 “The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into
Zoar.” Genesis 19:24 “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;” Genesis 19:25 “And he
overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”
You see, this was like an atomic blast, but it came from the LORD
Himself. This was judgment. Sometimes, God uses people and nations to bring
judgment, but in this case, He took care of it Himself. He explained that
not only the cities were destroyed, but the people, and the trees, and all
living things.
Genesis 19:26 “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she
became a pillar of salt.”
Disobedience to God can bring instant, sudden destruction, as it did to
Lot’s wife, The Bible says, even now when you put your hand to the plow, do
not look back.
Genesis 19:27 “And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place
where he stood before the LORD:” Genesis 19:28 “And he looked toward Sodom
and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the
smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace.” Genesis 19:29
“And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God
remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he
overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt.”
You can see in all of this, that God remembered Abraham and saved Lot,
his nephew. I do not see, in any of this, that it was from righteous living
of Lot that saved him. It was by grace, and in remembrance of Abraham. The
description of this great destruction would be very similar to hell. The
only difference is this happened and was over. Hell is continuous.
In the next lesson, we will pick up here at verse 30