Verses 1-3, “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. 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.' 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.” The two angels that had appeared with the Lord to Abraham in the last chapter, have now made their way to Sodom. They find Lot sitting in the gate which indicates that he had become a leader in the community, fully involved in their evil system. His joining with them most likely indicates his and his family's compromise, showing his failure to lead his family rightly and losing his witness in the community. Lot does insist on showing the angels hospitality. Maybe he suspected that evil would befall them if they stayed out in the open, and deep down knew the level of corruption in that city.
Verses 4-8, “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. 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.' So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, and said, 'Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 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.' ” With all the men of the city coming out, it is clear to see that this was socially acceptable behavior. The people had thrown off all restraint and morality in order to please their fleshly desires, to which they had been given fully over.
Romans 1:24-32, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 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. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
Only Lot would protest this behavior, but you can see from their reaction that this was not typical behavior from him, nor was it received well. Verse 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.” Whenever you cast the light of truth on evil deeds, you can expect to anger those who wish to continue in them. After all, they murdered Jesus for the same reason. But Lot had not been a strong spiritual leader in the community, and his efforts here were completely rejected as they turn on him. His solution to offer his virgin daughters to the men was not exactly a proud moment for him either. Often we convince ourselves that we are being witnesses in order to remain friends with the world, when in actuality, we have no influence over their behavior at all. When we are finally forced into a situation where we must speak the truth, they quickly will turn on us. Matthew 7:6, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”
Verses 10-13, “But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 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. 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! 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.' ” Lot was in a bad situation...much of the responsibility for which rested square on his shoulders. Through God's mercy, the angels would rescue him from this impossible predicament. We see right here that God is abounding in mercy, rather than looking for opportunities to watch us fail by our own doings.
Lot's attempt at leading his son-in-laws to safety would only further prove his poor leadership. They thought he was be joking about the impending destruction on the city. He had not established himself as the spiritual leader that he should have. He even lingered himself when told to leave the city, and the angels had to drag him and his family out by the hand and set them outside the city. The ties they had to the world were so strong, causing his wife to not even make it out alive. I John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Verses 17-20, “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.' Then Lot said to them, 'Please, no, my lords! 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. 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.' ” Lot clearly still did not fully trust in God. He had just been rescued from fire and brimstone raining from the sky, but is now concerned about his safety in the mountains? Lot and his daughters would ultimately leave the city of Zoar and end up in the mountains anyway. But it would have been better for him had he done it out of obedience in the first place. Lot would not leave behind a legacy of faith, all because of his love for the world. His drunkenness, a practice he likely picked up in Sodom, would lead to procreation with his own daughters. Their unholy offspring would end up becoming enemies to Israel, just like the descendants of Ishmael.
The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:23-26
ReplyDeleteAlthough lot and his two daughters were spared from the destruction, but his wife did not make it. Lot's wife looked back on Sodom. We loved things that it had to offer, and in her flesh look back upon it.
Sodom was a filthy, dirty place, full of fleshy desires. Just as Sodom then, the world is the same today. There are many Christians who long for the world and the things of it. They also long for their past life. We need to make sure that we do not look back, but rather keep on moving forward. Remember how filthy we were before Christ. When you are dirty you don't necessarily know you are and are content, but when you are clean, you shouldn't want to be dirty. This goes for us. We as Christians should not want to be dirty, but clean.