Genesis 19:1-29 Sodom & Gomorrah and Lot

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.

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." 6 So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 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." 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. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.

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.

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 favor 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. 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 place?) and my soul shall live." 21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored 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.

23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace.

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 which Lot had dwelt.” NKJV

Facts revealed:

Y The two men who left while Yahowah was talking to Abraham now arrive in Sodom in the evening and are clearly identified as angels.

Y Lot is sitting in the gate of Sodom where the leaders of the town sit as officials and administrators and judges.

Y Lot greeted them with hospitality calling them Adon (my lords, which is a short version of Adoney), and inviting them to refresh themselves and spend the night in his home.

This is common courtesy and very similar to the greeting Abraham extended to them at his tent. However, Abraham did not invite them to stay over night because it was still early in the heat of the day.

Y The angels declined the invitation, which is also viewed as common courtesy, but being on a mission they would be exposed to the city night life confirming the evil they were investigating.

Yet we know that God knows all that is thought as well as what is said and done by man; hence God did not need to send an investigation team to check out the story. It was for the sake of Lot and because of the love God had for Abraham and the concern Abraham felt toward Lot that caused God to send the angels to save him. [Genesis 19:29]

Y Lot insisted, then the angels accepted his invitation. Because the wickedness was so great, the men did not need to be in the open square to experience the threat of the great wickedness of the city. The wicked people aggressively sought them out for their own mischief.

This is the same aggressiveness that homosexuals today exhibit when they get together and lobby blatantly, in the face of the moral people of our country, for laws to be changed that will require righteous people to accept their depraved practices as normal and acceptable alternate life styles.

Wicked people need to realize (become consciously aware) that God is not influenced by our popular vote, or by our views concerning His “approval rating,” as the news media suggests.

Righteousness is solely established by the Commandments of God Himself, and is only administered by complying human laws. Changing laws to favour wickedness does not make the wickedness suddenly become righteousness.

Y Lot demonstrated that he still hade a speck of righteousness in himself by attempting to defend the angels from the mob.

Y The homosexual mob demonstrated their rejection of any and all righteous influence as they threatened Lot and rejected his plea for them to restrain themselves toward his guests.

Y Lot, who attempted to defend the angels, himself needed their help as they reached out and pulled Lot back inside, then blinded the mob at the door.

We so often get ourselves into trouble attempting to help God instead of trusting Him. The Almighty Creator is able to defend Himself and us in the process. It is human nature to think that the only thing that is real is what we see tangibly or can do ourselves. That is why Abraham ended up with Ishmael.

God wants us to let Him be God and to trust Him in all things.

Y Abraham had asked for the city to be saved if fifty righteous men could be found in it. This number diminished until the figure was down to ten. Then the angels allowed Lot time to gather in all his family and their spouses, but the sons-in-law thought he was joking; thus they did not take advantage of the opportunity to be saved.

How like the response today, people all around us will mock and ridicule our call for their repentance, not knowing that without God’s Salvation offered in Christ Jesus, there is no hope to escape the Lake of Fire. They prefer to believe the lie rather than repent and be saved. [John 12:40, Acts 28:27]

This demonstrates human arrogance and egotism, thinking we can save ourselves by our own righteousness in doing what is right in our own eyes. That was the major problem during the time of the judges and a direct violation of the Commandment of God through Moses. [Deuteronomy 12:8, Judges 17:6]

Y According to Ezekiel, the homosexual practice was not the only reason for Sodom’s destruction, for it was full of pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness, nor did they care for the poor and needy. [see Ezekiel 16:48-49]

Y When given an opportunity to be saved from the Wrath and Judgment of God, Lot like many today, delayed until he had to be physically dragged out of the targeted area by the angels -showing the mercy and patience of God.

This also demonstrates the grip that earthly possessions and creature comforts wield over many individuals. When we know it will all imminently be burned up, we still linger and resist leaving it behind even to the saving of our own lives.

Then like men today, Lot attempted to negotiate with God about the coming judgment of wickedness in the area. The surprising thing was that God accepted his argument and spared a city of wicked people (Zoar) at his request.

And it is evident that Lot did indeed understand the extent of the perilous situation he was in by his expression “You have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life.”

Of all the wealth Lot had as he chose to live in Sodom, when his sons-in-law rejected his plea for their safety, Lot now doesn’t have even ten men who are righteous that God should spare the place for their sake. So, Lot left Sodom with only his wife and two daughters. Then, he lost his wife when she disobeyed the LORD and looked back, she became a pillar of salt.

God brought Lot safely out of Sodom with the condition that he not look back. This shows that one is required to make a choice…to obey or not to obey. We face the same difficulty when it comes to choosing to walk away from all we have acquired and put our trust entirely in God’s hands. He requires us to obey Him.

God kept His Word and rained fire and brimstone (burning sulfur) on Sodom and Gomorrah. Remains of sulfur chunks have been found by archeologists in the deep ash covering the area.

Y Some of the pieces of sulfur were extinguished as the surrounding ash smothered out the fire and the remnant of those pieces are still imbedded in the ash of the area.

There was no volcano, fire came down in the pattern of heavy rain over the entire area as God said, “out of heaven,” so now with all nutrients burned out of the soil, nothing will grow there at all in the remaining ash and it is used as a site for garbage dump land fill. This area is located at the foot of Masada, beside the Dead Sea.

Y Abraham was anxious to know if there were at least ten righteous persons left in Sodom, so he returned to the place where he had talked with Yahowah the day before and looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the land of the plain. There he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a furnace, and he knew.

Y Elohiym (God) sent Lot out before He overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt, because Elohiym (God) “Remembered Abraham.”

Y Human nature, and the character of God (His great grace, mercy and patience as well as His severity against evil), is revealed in this story. [Romans 11:22]

Y The deliverance of Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah becomes an example used by the New Testament writers showing that God knows how to deliver the righteous out of judgment and reserve the ungodly under punishment on the day of judgment. [2 Peter 2:4-9]

Y Sodom and Gomorrah become examples used by Jesus and New Testament writers to demonstrate the severity of the judgment of God. [Jude 1:7, Matthew 10:15, Mark 6:11, Luke 17:26-37]