Genesis 19

          It is evening when the two angels arrive at the gate of Sodom. Verse 1 states that Lot rose to meet them. The fact that he is sitting at the city gate means that he had become more than just a citizen of Sodom. He is a leader, possibly even a judge. It was the custom in those days for men of important stature in the community to sit at the city gates during the day. Lot, like Abraham, recognizes that these two men are not merely men. They are angels of the most high God, and he bows himself to them, entreating them to stay the night with him.
        But the angels refuse. They tell Lot that they will spend the night in the street. Lot, knowing the great wickedness that will befall them if they do so, pleads with them to stay in his house instead. So the angels relent and Lot takes them home. He prepares a feast for them, including unleavened bread.
 
          Verses 4-5: As Lot’s family and the visitors are preparing to bed down for the night, the wicked and carnal men of Sodom, both the old and young, surround the house and demand that Lot bring out the two men that are with him. The Sodomites desire to have sex with the men. (v.5) The word “know” here is used in the same context as Genesis 4:1. It means carnal or sexual knowledge, and this term is used often throughout the Bible in this manner. Notice too, the phrase “…both old and young…” from verse 4. The depth of depravity and wickedness in this city is so great, that even multiple generations are participating together in homosexual gang rape and other such perversions!
         God, through His holy word, clearly and explicitly condemns homosexuality as sin. (Leviticus 18:22-30, 20:13, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10, Jude 7) Anyone today, especially any clergyman or pastors, who says that homosexuality is normal, that God created men and women this way, and that gay marriage is acceptable to Him, is lying through their teeth. This is one of Satan’s greatest and most powerful deceptions. Nowhere in scripture will you find any justification whatsoever for this wicked and immoral lifestyle in the eyes of God, despite the desperate efforts of “gay Christians” today who try to twist and mangle verses such these two and the other references mentioned above. They claim that the writers of these passages in the Bible were not referring to homosexuality as we know it today, or that what was being condemned here in these two verses was just gang rape, not consensual sex between two adults of the same gender. They will often refer to many outside sources such as the writings of secular historians of this time period or other academic and scholarly linguistic works of this time in a vain attempt to prove that what the Apostle Paul meant in the original Greek when he wrote Romans was not homosexuality as it is practiced in our present day. The list of excuses goes on and on.
         But all one needs is the plain and simple truth of the King James Bible, A.V. 1611, translated in perfectly clear and simple modern English. God hates ALL sin, and homosexuality is sin! Period! When God created the institution of marriage in Genesis 2:23-24, He made it absolutely clear what was acceptable to Him in the matter of human sexuality: one man, one woman, married for life, sharing and experiencing the joy of sexuality with only each other, and only after they are married. ANYTHING outside of that – adultery, group sex, homosexuality, sex between unmarried singles, incest, bestiality, etc, etc – is sin. Plain and simple. Period! (If you would like a more detailed argument and defense of this topic, click here and here.)
 
       Verses 6-8: Lot goes outside, shutting the door behind him, pleading with the Sodomites to leave the visitors alone. He then offers them two of his daughters who are still virgins, telling the men that they may do with them as they please. (v.8) This is an utterly bizarre and astounding alternative for any man, let alone someone who is supposed to be a man of God! This shows just how far Lot has fallen in his spiritual walk with the Lord! (2 Peter 2:7-8) The contrast and comparison here in Genesis with his uncle Abraham in the previous chapters, is quite sharp and remarkable.
 
        Verses 9-11: The Sodomites refuse Lot’s offer, becoming even more agitated and angry in their perverted lust. They begin pressing towards Lot, threatening to break down the door. They tell Lot, who only recently was just a traveler and is now a judge in their city, that they’ll deal worse with him when they are done raping the visitors. At this point the angels directly intervene, pulling Lot back into the house, and then striking all the men outside with blindness.
 
         Verses 12-14: The angels warn Lot to flee the city, explaining that “…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.” (v.13) As was often the case in the OT, God used angels as executioners of His judgment and righteous wrath upon sinful mankind. This is also another foreshadowing of the events in Revelation where the angels will be used again as both messengers of destruction and the actual agents of judgment upon the world.
        Lot then goes to the rest of his family who are, presumably, living in the same house and implores them to flee with him, his wife, and two youngest daughters. “But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.” (v.14) Lot’s testimony had degenerated so far that even his own family don’t believe him. What’s even more astounding is that they stubbornly hold on to their unbelief in the presence of what was a clearly divine miracle when the angels struck the men outside with blindness!
 
        Verses 15-17: At dawn, the angels urge Lot to hasten and go! They once again emphasize that they are about to destroy the whole city. But Lot still lingers! This is truly baffling and tragic! A man of God is so backslidden and mired in such great wickedness and depravity that he is reluctant to leave his wealth and prestige that he had gained in Sodom! As he continues to linger, deliberating with himself, the angels physically take hold of him, his wife and daughters and supernaturally transport them outside the city walls. They instruct Lot to “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” (v.17)
 
       Verses 18-22: But Lot, in an astounding act of incredible audacity, actually stops and protests. After finally acknowledging God’s grace and mercy for saving him, he goes on to plead with the angels that he be allowed to flee to a nearby city that is much smaller than Sodom, instead of the desolate mountains where he is afraid some other great evil might befall him! Even more surprising is the fact that not only do the angels relent to his request, but they also agree to spare that city, called Zoar (v.22) from the same judgment that will very soon rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah!
          Doctrinal note from my study Bible: “That God not only spared Sodom until Lot was safe, but also spared another city (Zoar) permanently because of his prayer, is one of the strongest Old Testament illustrations of eternal security for backslidden believers. In spite of Lot’s deep apostasy, the NT assures us that he was a “righteous man” (redeemed), and that his “righteous soul” was daily vexed with the unlawful deeds of his Sodomite neighbors. (2 Peter 2:7-8) Doubtless, Lot will be among those who “shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:15)
 
          Verses 23-26: The sun is now fully risen by the time Lot and his family arrive at Zoar. God rains down from heaven fire and brimstone, utterly consuming Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying even the earth and all vegetation around the cities. Referring back to verse 13, it’s logical to conclude that the angels swept through the cities as the fire and brimstone fell, ensuring that no man, woman or child could flee before the fire devoured them. (Compare this to Exodus 12:23 & 29.)
        Even though verse 23 says that Lot entered Zoar, verse 26 makes it clear that his wife didn’t make it that far. She was not redeemed. Only Lot and his daughters were righteous, though severely backslidden and apostate. Lot’s wife paused and turned back, looking longingly at the burning city, desiring the worldly wealth and status that she was forced to leave behind. Jesus used her as an example in Luke 17:28-32 when describing the last days before His return at the battle of Armageddon at the end of the Tribulation. He also indirectly referenced her in Luke 9:62. In looking back, Lot’s wife disobeyed the direct order of the angels in verse 17. Lot and his family were clearly told not to look behind them as they fled, nor remain in the plains outside the city. For her rebellious disobedience, which was only further evidence of her lack of saving faith, Lot’s wife was judged and destroyed by God along with the rest of the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah.
 
        Verses 27-29: Early the next morning, Abraham arises and returns to the same place where he had stood two days before with the Lord. Verse 28 describes the incredible scene that greeted him: “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.” So large were those twin cities that whole plain was still on fire a day later, the smoke billowing into the sky in great, rolling clouds that must have surely dimmed the sun.
        Verse 29 is the key verse of this whole chapter. God remembered Abraham and heard his prayer of intercession for his nephew Lot. It’s not that Abraham changed God’s mind. Lot was already saved and redeemed. God had already chosen to save Lot and his family before Abraham interceded. Instead, the verb “remembered”, as it is used in this verse, is identical to the same word used in Genesis 8:1, and conveys the same meaning here as it did there. Note from my study Bible regarding that verse: “The verb ‘remember’ refers to the special attention or personal care that God gives to his own. The verb is used the same way concerning Samson (Judges 16:28); Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11); Abraham, for Lot’s benefit (Genesis 19:29); on behalf of Israel (Exodus 2:24); and for the repentant thief on the cross (Luke 23:42).”
        
           One way that I look at this verse – as well as the overall story of Lot, especially in connection with the salvation and divine calling of Abraham as the father of a chosen people – is that God, in his omniscience, knowing Abraham’s future and what He had in mind for him, also called Lot. We can safely conclude from Genesis 12:1-4 that God called not only Abram but his immediate family as well. Though not stated directly, in can be naturally assumed from a close reading of those verses, as well as the rest of Abram/Abraham’s story up to this point, that Lot and his family were saved, called and redeemed too. Thus, even though Lot failed to obey God and walk as close with Him as his uncle did, God still honored Lot’s initial saving faith of belief, just as He did Abraham’s! And thus, God remembered Abraham and gave special attention to his intercession on behalf of Lot and his immediate family, even though that act of intercession did not affect the already divinely determined choice to save Lot. (And yes, I know how that sounds. The debate of how exactly human free will fits into the overall design of God’s omniscience and providence, especially in regards to the act and process of salvation via the initial saving faith, is one that we will never truly resolve or understand this side of heaven. Just let it go for now and stay with me as we move on to the rest of this chapter.)
 
          Verses 30-38: Lot chooses to obey the initial directive of the angels and flees Zoar with his two daughters into the mountains beyond the plains. The ending of his story here in Genesis is a sad one which, unfortunately, is fitting for how he lived his life thus far. Rather than join his uncle Abraham, fall at his feet and repent for his life of sin, rebellion, wickedness, and apostasy, Lot chooses instead to hide out in the mountains with his daughters, very likely bemoaning and mourning the loss of his worldly wealth and former status in Sodom. And, of course, his daughters do what comes naturally for them. Having been raised in the depravity and extreme perversion of Sodom, they decide to get their father drunk and sleep with him since they have no husbands of their own, and they desire children.
           In the closing verses of this chapter, we learn the fate of this offspring: two nations that will plague the children of Israel many generations later. The Moabites and the Ammonites will become two of the most wicked and depraved peoples of Canaan. Lot’s story is the saga of every believer who, of their own free will, falls away from God, rejecting His will for their life, and backslides into sin. Yes, they are still saved, and thus they will go to heaven when they leave this life, but there will be very little – if any – rewards waiting for them. There will be sorrow and regret as they stand before Jesus Christ and answer for their foolish choices and disobedience in this life. As mentioned earlier, these are the ones of whom Paul is speaking in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.
           Lot’s story is a sobering warning for all believers today of the consequences of disobeying God and stubbornly refusing his chastening. Not only do we forfeit many of God’s blessings in this life, but we also lose much – if not all – of the treasures and inheritance that God waits to bestow on His children as an eternal reward for all of our good works and obedience to Him here on earth after our salvation.