Lot flees wicked Sodom.
Gen 19:1-3 Lot convinces the angelic visitors to stay with him.
1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed
himself with his face toward the ground.
2 And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square."
3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
These were the two of the three angelic beings that visited Abraham.
Whilst Abraham continued his conversation with the Lord, the two angels went on to Sodom.
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. .
We find that Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. The gate was a place of importance in a city. This is a place where city officials met. So we see that Lot had moved on in life.
It also appears that there was a lot of compromise in Lot’s life.
From just looking towards Sodom,
Gen 13:10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar.
He moved on and pitched his tent towards Sodom.
Gen 13:12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.
Now we see Lot dwelling in Sodom.
Gen 14:12 They also took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
This was his choice.
2 Peter 2:7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
Peter tells us that Lot was a righteous (just) man and this is why God saved him. However Lot did not always make good decisions.
It seems as though, if Lot was offered Heaven or hell, he would have chosen Heaven. However, it seems that if he was offered Heaven or earth, he would have chosen earth.
There is always a price to pay for bad choices. They very often come back to bite you as it were.
Each one of us must be aware that we must make the right choices. Who we mix with, what we get up to.
If we mix in the wrong circles and judgment comes down on them, we too can get caught up in the aftermath.
We can get tarred with the same brush.
All our choices should be made with God in mind. We would do well to take note of the old adage, “If in doubt, don’t”.
Lot invited the two men into his home.
Gen 19:2 And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square."
We see Lot insisting that they stay with him.
Gen 19:3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.
In v 3 We see the two angels accept Lot’s offer of hospitality.
The wickedness of Sodom becomes apparent.
Gen 19:4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house.
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 know them carnally."
The men of Sodom, young and old surrounded Lot’s house and asked that Lot deliver the two angels to them so that they could have sex with them. This would be a case of gang rape.
There are those that would teach that the sin of Sodom was the lack of hospitality. However, we see here exactly what the sin of Sodom was. The sin of practicing homosexuality.
Society today does not want this taught, they say that to insinuate this, is homophobic. That anyone who speaks out against such practice is anti LGBT.
Only 60 years ago in this country, this behaviour was classified as unlawful, it was called gross indecency and people were sent to prison for this.
The accepted title for practicing homosexuals since this time was Sodomites, (those that commit buggery) not just those with homosexual tendencies but actual practicing homosexuals. This word buggery, also referred to sex with animals.
Today, they would rather dilute these names and use the word “Gay”.
What these men and boys wanted, was to perform perverted sexual acts with these angels. Acts that is quite clear from scripture to be an abomination to God.
Lev 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
23 Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion.
24 'Do not defile yourselves with any of these things;
Lev 18:26 You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you
Lev 20:13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.
Rom 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
You will notice here that it is not just the sin of homosexuality but any kind of perverted act, from adultery to bestiality, whether male or female.
Lot appeals to the men of Sodom.
However Lot’s idea of what was wicked came from his faith in God and the law, which is different from these peoples idea of wickedness and morality, who are a law unto themselves.
Gen 19:6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
Gen 19:7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
V8 is a difficult verse for us to understand. Why would Lot offer his two virgin daughters to these men.
Gen 19:8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.".
The offer would appear to be a horrible idea and cannot be justified. The men of Sodom showed a shocking demonstration of depravity, but we are just as shocked at the willingness of Lot to give up his virgin daughters to the mob as we are at the sinful desire of the mob itself.
Not knowing the customs of these days, we find it very difficult to comprehend this offer.
We understand it a little more when we consider the low place of women in the pre-Christian world and the very high place of any guest in your home. It was the custom that a guest was to be protected more than your own family.
I have heard other interpretations of this verse, where some suggest that Lot offered the girls, knowing that male homosexuals would not want them. I can’t see this, but I can see some logic in the first reason.
Gen 19:9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.
The men of Sodom had no respect for Lot. It makes you wonder whether Lot had ever preached righteousness to these people. In such a wicked city, the first thing any righteous man would do was to leave and remove his family from such wicked and disgusting behaviour.
They were saying in effect, “Who do you think you are, coming to live among us and now you are judging us”.
Whatever was Lot doing there in the first place? Not only living amongst them but referring to them as brethren.
We see the angels pull Lot back into the house and striking these men with blindness.
Gen 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.
We see here the grip that this perverted desire had on these people. Even after being struck blind they continued to press forward.
The two men asked Lot, who of his family were in Sodom and warned that the city was to be destroyed.
The reason is because of its great wickedness. Not as some would say, for its inhospitality.
We read in Gen 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
The angels enquire of Lot’s family.
Gen 19:12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city--take them out of this place!
13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it."
14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking.
Again it makes you wonder, had Lot expressed his faith and explained how this wickedness in the city was an abomination to God.
Had Lot kept quiet and not spoken out against this behaviour because of his social position? Of course we don’t know the real answer to this. However, we do know what human nature is like, we only have to look at ourselves and others in our society.
We know that this is the kind of thing that we, in our own society face today.
Do we keep quiet because of what people would say or do to us. Do we back off because we would be seen as homophobic? After all it is not against the law of the land anymore and it has become acceptable behaviour in our societies. Homosexual partnerships and marriages have become a norm. It is accepted in law, government, churches, schools, police force and military.
Our children are being taught that this is not abnormal behaviour but that it is a free choice.
If as a Christian, we speak out against these things, we could even be brought before the courts.
Are we like Lot, living amongst them and saying nothing?
We know that Abraham had pleaded with God to spare Sodom if ten righteous men were found, we see here that only four were found, Lot, his wife and his two daughters.
It could be debated that there was only one and that was Lot himself, which will become apparent later.
Gen 19:15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city."
16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."
18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!
19 Indeed now, your servant has found favour in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I
cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die.
Gen 19:20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."
21 And he said to him, "See, I have favoured you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken.
22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Could Lot not understand the urgency of this situation? It seems like the angels were more bothered about Lot’s safety than Lot was for himself and his family.
Funny how this seems to be the norm in spiritual situations. People just do not see the urgency concerning salvation. They think that they have time. “Oh I will do it later”. “I haven’t got time for Christianity, I have my career, I am building my life and my possessions.
This is what the rich fool said but God said “tonight your soul shall be required of you”.
Heb 2:3 How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.
The angels needed to get Lot to safety, for God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked.
Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
God, bound by His own righteousness and honour, could not, bring this judgment on Sodom until the righteous people were delivered.
Gen 19:22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
Lot did not fancy going up into the mountains. He pleaded with them to let him go to Zoar.
So Lot was allowed to go to Zoar. The name of Zoar means (little or insignificant).
Lot seems to have made all the wrong choices and now he is in a small and insignificant city, all his possessions gone.
Lot’s bad choices.
Gen 13:12-13 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD.
Lot saw that the plain of Jordan was like the garden of Eden and chose it (Gen 13:8-11). There is nothing wrong in choosing the choice side of the land, but sin can sometimes pull us in into its midst. Lot didn’t dwell in Sodom but in the cities of the plain but gradually he went into Sodom
itself.
Because he dwelt with wickedness, Lot suffered with the wicked.
When Sodom was attacked by Chedoraloma, Lot was taken prisoner.
Gen 14:12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Another bad decision.
Offering his own daughters for Sodom’s sexual pleasures
Gen 19:4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. “See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
If a righteous person lives among sinners and the wicked, he will be forced to satisfy the sins of the people around him with everything precious he has. Here, Lot is perfectly okay to feed the sinful desires of Sodom with his own daughters.
Later we see the recompense of this. They got him drunk and committed incest with him.
Gen 19:36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father.
Just as Lot offered his own daughters to sexual immorality, God delivered Lot and his daughters into sexual immorality to have incestuous children. If one tries to satisfy the wicked and sinners with any sinful things, then God will deliver you and your descendants into the same sin.
Lingering Lot fled empty handed.
Gen 19:16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.
Even though we know the judgment on the wicked and sinners, sometime we may be reluctant to flee from them. But God being merciful to us, takes us by His hand and moves us to a different place. This can happen in many ways (e.g, house move, job transfer). Here, while Lot lingered, the two angels took hold of his hands, his wife’s hand and the hands of his two daughters and brought them out of the city.
Hence, it is very important to listen to God’s warnings and judgments on sinners and wicked from the land we dwell. If Lot was able to discern the first two warnings of Sodom, he could have left Sodom with everything he had but he had to flee running for his life, empty handed on the day of judgment.
Lot got separated from Abraham because his possessions were so great, but now he was left with nothing because of whom he dwelt with. As long as Lot dwelt with Abraham, he was blessed with abundance. But the moment he dwelt in Sodom with sinners, he was stripped to nothing.
It is also worth noting that Lot was saved for the sake of Abraham
It is very important for us to take stock and consider with whom we dwell among, or with whom we associate. If we are surrounded by sinners and the wicked, we must flee from that place. If we don’t, God warns about us having part in their sins and also in their judgments. If we linger like Lot, we will be left with nothing and have to flee for our lives on the day God judges the
sinners on the land.
